Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination
The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) is a two-hour multiple-choice examination designed to measure the knowledge and understanding of established standards related to a lawyer's professional conduct. It is developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
Currently, the test consists of 50 questions. Starting in 2005, the test will be expanded to 60 questions, with the same time limit. Of the 60 questions, only 50 will be used for scoring; the other 10 (randomly scattered throughout the exam) will be used for experimental purposes.
Of the 51 jurisdictions in the United States, 48 require a minimum passing score on the MPRE for bar admission; the passing score varies between jurisdictions. Only Maryland, Washington, and Wisconsin do not use the MPRE; these states incorporate their own ethics rules in their bar examinations. Oddly, California uses the MPRE even though it is the only state that has not adopted either of the model regulation sets proposed by the American Bar Association.
The MPRE differs from the remainder of the bar examination in two crucial ways:
- In almost all states, a J.D. is required to sit for the bar exam. The MPRE can be, and almost always is, taken before graduation from law school.
- MPRE scores from any jurisdiction in the United States are automatically recognized by all other jurisdictions, although in order to be admitted to a bar, an applicant must meet that jurisdiction's minimum passing score. Scores on the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), another component of the bar exam in almost all states, do not necessarily transfer between jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions will not accept an MBE score from any other jurisdiction; some others only accept MBE scores when taken by an applicant who is concurrently taking the bar exam in two jurisdictions; still others require a minimum MBE score for transfer.
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