What Subjects Will Be Tested on the July 2017 California Bar Exam?

Summary: The next California bar exam will take place on July 25-26, and Law School HQ has predicted what subjects will be on the test.

Now that New York enacts the Uniform Bar Exam, California may arguably be the jurisdiction with the toughest test. The state’s results from February 2017 seem to prove this as only 34.5% of applicants passed, and it is unclear whether or not July’s test-takers will fare any better. However, the July 2017 bar exam is the first time that California will give a two-day exam instead of a three-day test, so hopefully that will increase the pass rate.

But what kinds of subjects will California test-takers face in a few weeks? Law School HQ made some predictions based on previous July tests in the state. (See their graphic below.)

Based on the previous July tests’ subject matters, Law School HQ has predicted the probability that the following subjects will appear on July’s California exam:

Business Associations – low
Civil Procedure – high
Community Property – high
Constitutional Law – high
Contracts – medium
Criminal Law & Procedure – low
Evidence – medium
Professional Responsibility – high
Real Property – medium
Remedies – low
Torts – low
Wills & Succession – medium

Law School HQ said that it was most likely that Civil Procedure, Community Property, Constitutional Law, and Professional Responsibility would appear on the test; and each of those subjects have historically appeared on the July Bar Exam in California. For instance, Civil Procedure did not appear on the February 2017 exam but it has consistently been tested at least once a year since 2013, the publication said.

According to the California Bar, the two-day test will consist of the following:

One morning session during which three one-hour essay questions will be administered;
One afternoon session during which two one-hour essay questions and one 90-minute Performance Test will be administered; and
Morning and afternoon sessions consisting of three hours each, during which 100 multiple- choice items for each session will be administered (the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)).

The attorney’s examination will take place over one day and consist of the following:

One morning session during which three one-hour essay questions will be administered; and
One afternoon session during which two one-hour essay questions and one 90-minute Performance Test will be administered.

To pass the California Bar, a minimum score of 1440 must be achieved. Because of the abysmal results of February 2017’s exam, 20 California law school deans banded together to ask the state Supreme Court to lower the state’s admission standards. The request was denied, although state lawmakers vowed to analyze the poor pass rate.