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Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam

Fall 2008 Information

Prepared by Professor Barbara Glesner Fines

This is an informal summary of information about the MPRE. For more complete information, please pick up an MPRE application form packet from the administrative office.

The MPRE & the Professional Responsibility Course

The Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) is NOT a law school exam or a requirement of any law school course. Most students take the MPRE in the same semester as they enroll in Professional Responsibility; however, the exam can be taken before taking the course or in semesters after completing the course. While there is a substantial overlap in subject matter between the professional responsibility course and the MPRE, the law school course is not designed as a "bar prep" course for the MPRE. Students are urged to prepare for the MPRE separately from their course preparation. I will schedule review sessions specifically for MPRE preparation throughout the semester. These sessions are entirely optional and provided merely as a service to students preparing for the MPRE.

The Missouri and Kansas MPRE requirements

A passing score on the MPRE is required for admission to the Missouri and Kansas Bars and the bars of most other jurisdictions.

Missouri Supreme Court Rule 8.08(b) provides:
”Applicants are expected to have knowledge of legal ethics and familiarity with the Missouri rules of professional conduct. Prior to being issued a license to practice law, each applicant for admission by examination shall provide proof of a scaled score of not less than 80 on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination taken no later than one year after the date of written notification of the applicant's successful completion of the bar examination prescribed in Rule 8.08(a).”

The examination is given three times a year (fall, spring and summer).

For information about the exam, including test dates, subject matter coverage, instructions for registering and more, see the National Conference of Bar Examiners .

The test dates and application deadlines are:

Test Date	Regular Application Receipt Deadline	Late Application Receipt Deadline
*Sat. Nov. 8, 2008 Test Date	Application Receipt Deadline: Sept. 30, 2008	Late Application Receipt Deadline: Oct. 16, 2008
Online registration must be received before 12:00 midnight Central Time on the published deadline date. Paper applications must be received in the MPRE Application Department in Iowa City, by 5:00 p.m. Central Time on the published deadline date. (Applicants needing accommodations due to a disability must apply by mail. See section on Testing of Applicants with Disabilities in the MPRE Information Booklet.)
The Multistate Professional Responsiblity Examination is two hours and five minutes in length. Applicants for the November exam must report to their assigned test center no later than 9:00 AM on test day.