NextGen UBE Content Scope

The Content Scope serves as the foundation for the NextGen UBE, showing you the range of topics that will be tested within the Foundational Concepts and Principles and the Foundational Skills, which represent what the profession considers essential for newly licensed lawyers. The development of the Content Scope included extensive qualitative and quantitative work conducted by external experts, along with a large practice analysis survey that asked lawyers across the country about the realities of early-career legal work. The results of this study laid the groundwork for redesigning the bar exam to better reflect what new lawyers actually do. To translate these findings into a precise scope of content, NCBE assembled a Content Scope Committee made up of academics, practitioners, judges, and other stakeholders who were tasked with determining the appropriate breadth and depth of both subject matter and skills for the new exam.

When deciding which topics belong within each Foundational Concept and Principle, the Committee focused on three central considerations. First was frequency, a practical inquiry into how often a new lawyer is likely to encounter a topic in general entry-level practice. Second was universality, asking whether the topic is likely to arise across specialised settings as well as general ones. Third was risk, reflecting the potential consequences if a new lawyer encounters a topic without any background knowledge. High-risk topics, even if uncommon, typically require inclusion because the cost of ignorance is too great.

Beyond deciding which topics belong, the Committee also considered the depth at which each topic should be tested. This phase turned on how much a newly licensed lawyer should be able to recall without research when providing minimally competent representation. Complexity played a central role, as highly intricate or variable areas of law may require only basic recall, while stable doctrines with widespread agreement may warrant deeper testing. Context also mattered, particularly the speed at which a lawyer must act when a legal issue arises. If a topic typically allows time for research, the exam need not require memorisation of detailed sub-rules. Finally, the Committee weighed stability and majority approaches, giving more emphasis to doctrines that are relatively settled across jurisdictions. For Constitutional Law, an additional factor came into play: the lawyer’s role as a guardian of constitutional principles, which shaped decisions about what newly licensed lawyers should be expected to know from memory.

The same level of care guided the selection of lawyering tasks assessed under the Foundational Skills. The Committee examined which tasks best corresponded to the findings of the practice analysis, ensuring continuity between the research and the exam design. It also considered universality and balance, choosing tasks that arise in many types of practice and that capture both litigation and transactional dimensions of the profession. Practical constraints also shaped the final selections, as the exam must remain affordable and manageable. The Committee therefore focused on tasks that could be assessed reliably through written responses without replicating the cost or complexity of a full performance-based assessment.