The New York State Court of Appeals has just announced that, starting in July 2028, the Uniform Bar Examination will be replaced by the NextGen Bar Exam.

“The NextGen bar exam, developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) after a years-long study, will test a broad range of foundational skills deemed necessary to the practice of law,” Heather Davis, Chief Clerk, and Legal Counsel to the Court of Appeals, said in a new release.

“We are thrilled that New York has decided to adopt the NextGen bar exam,” said Judith Gundersen, NCBE President and CEO.

“This decision will help ensure that the state’s newest lawyers are ready for today’s practice of law, while maintaining score portability for the thousands of examinees who seek licensure in New York each year,” she said.

The NextGen Bar Exam will test a broad range of foundational skills deemed necessary to the practice of law.

The exam will be a nine hour exam administered over one and a half days (six hours on the first day and three hours the second). The current bar exam is typically administered in 12 hours over two full days.

The new exam will be taken on the examinees’ own laptop computers at proctored testing locations. A secure, online assessment platform will be used to present the exam and to collect responses. The platform will include a range of assistive technologies and custom formats for test takers who require accommodation.

To ensure attorneys seeking admission to the bar in New York are sufficiently versed in New York legal principles and practice, a committee will study and report on the options for a New York-specific bar eligibility requirement, including the possibility of an in-person New York law component.

After reviewing the committee’s findings, the court will announce the implementation of any changes to the rules for admission to the bar in New York.

So far, 30 jurisdictions have announced plans to adopt the NextGen exam. The vast majority of these states will be beginning to administer the new exam starting in 2027 and 2028.

The NextGen bar exam will test nine areas of legal doctrine (civil procedure, contract law, evidence, torts, business associations, constitutional law, criminal law, real property, family law) and seven foundational skills (legal research, legal writing, issue spotting and analysis, investigation and evaluation, client counseling and advising, negotiation and dispute resolution, client relationship and management).

You can read more about this issue here.

For those of you currently studying for the February bar exam next month, there is still plenty of time remaining to get help understanding those concepts that you don’t quite “get“ or how to earn extra points on your essays even when you don’t know or remember the applicable law. We can provide this assistance to get you on track to pass before it’s too late. You can learn more about our famed bar exam tutoring program here or email us at info@marinolegal.com.