How to Determine if You Are Prepared for the MEE

How to Determine if You Are Prepared for the MEE

As the bar exam approaches, you may be wondering if you are sufficiently prepared for the MEE portion of the Uniform Bar Exam.  In this post, we discuss some ways to determine whether you are prepared for the MEE!

How to Determine if You Are Prepared for the MEE

1. Review the highly tested issues.

There are two key reasons why reviewing highly tested issues is key to success on the MEEs.  First, because the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) often tests these issues, there is a higher likelihood that they will appear on your exam.  So, it is a GREAT use of your time to make sure you know these issues really well!

Second, highly tested issues are more predictable, meaning that other examinees are anticipating these issues, and come to the exam well prepared to discuss the issues on the essays.  As the graders are reading and scoring essays, they will notice an answer that inadequately discusses a highly tested and predictable issue.  This is especially true if many of the other students’ answers for that issue are detailed and superior.  In order to remain competitive with other examinees, it is important that you know the highly tested issues really well.

You can find a list of the highly tested MEE issues in JD Advising’s Multistate Essay Exam Guide.   For more detail, including the substantive law for many of the highly tested issues, you can also check out JD Advising’s MEE One-Sheets.

2. Go over some practice MEEs from recent administrations.

The NCBE writes the MEEs.  Although the NCBE does not usually test the same issues in back-to-back administrations, reviewing recent MEEs will give you an idea of the types of issues that the NCBE might test in your own administration of the bar exam.  Recent MEEs are indicative of things like number of issues, length of the fact pattern, structure of the call of the question, and level of difficulty.  As you are studying, you should incorporate practice MEEs from the last 4-5 administrations of the UBE.  You will start to learn patterns, see trends, and understand whether you possess the knowledge to answer the questions.  Assessing these skills will help you determine your level of preparation for the MEEs.

3. Quiz yourself.

A great way to determine whether how you might fare on the MEE is to quiz yourself!  Make a list of MEE subjects/issues, and then see if you can state or write the rule for each issue!  Be sure you don’t confuse memorization with identification – it is not enough to simply say that you are familiar with what a topic is.  Make sure you can actually state the elements of the rule for that issue!

Here are some sample questions (answers below):

1. Identify the duty of loyalty for corporate directors.  When does it apply?

2. What happens if the beneficiary of a will predeceases the testator?

3. List the requirements of attachment for a security interest?

4. Obtain feedback from a third party.

If the MEEs still concern you, consider having a third party review your practice essays and provide objective feedback.  This third party could be a friend, study partner, lawyer mentor, professor, or even a bar prep company! (JD Advising offers written essay feedback on MEEs for a fee.)  If you are having difficultly objectively evaluating your own writing, another person may be able to provide the outside perspective that you need.  Someone well versed in the bar exam, like a fellow classmate, professor, or bar prep company, can likely also give you an idea of what score you would earn on the essay.  This is a great way to gain an understanding of how you are doing on the MEEs!

5. Take a practice test.

Being prepared for the MEEs is about more than just knowing the law.  It is also about being able to complete the MEEs under timed conditions.  So, in addition to making sure that you know the law really well, it is also important to make sure that you can complete the MEEs under timed circumstances.  The Uniform Bar Exam includes the 6 MEEs in a three-hour session during the afternoon of the first day of the exam (if you are taking the exam under normal timed circumstances).  Even though you may have no problem completing each MEE in 30 minutes, you should also make sure you have your timing down to complete six MEEs in 3 hours.  A practice test is a great way to measure this!

When taking a practice MEE, be sure to replicate actual test conditions as closely as possible.  Try to find a quiet, secluded area that is free from interruptions.  Make sure you are using real, released MEEs.  A good way to get a good mix of subjects in your MEE practice test is to use a set of MEEs from a recent administration (e.g., take the six February 2020 MEEs as a practice test).  If you don’t have time to complete a full set of six MEEs, it is still very helpful to complete a set of three MEEs.

When taking the practice test, make sure you are paying attention to timing.  This means that you should move on to the next essay after 30 minutes, and make sure you are completing all of the essays by the end of the three-hour period (or 90 minute period if you choose to take a 3-MEE practice test).  Many students often lose points on the MEE simply because they do not finish all of the questions!  Therefore, practicing timing is crucial to ensure adequate preparation for the MEE!

Quiz answers:

1. The duty of loyalty requires directors to act in good faith and with a reasonable belief that what they do is in the best interest of the corporation. A duty of loyalty issue arises in three ways: (1) a director is on both sides of a transaction (that is, the director has a material financial interest in a contract, as well as knowledge of that interest, yet votes to approve the contract); (2) the director competes with the corporation; or (3) the director usurps a corporate opportunity. The business judgment rule presumption does not apply to duty of loyalty issues.

2. The general rule is that the gift will lapse (or fail) and fall into the residuary. However, all states have antilapse statutes. Under a typical antilapse statute, if a beneficiary dies before the testator and was both related by blood to the testator within a certain degree of relationship and had issue who survived, the gift to the deceased beneficiary is saved and the beneficiary’s issue will take in lieu of the beneficiary.

3. There are three requirements of attachment: (1) value must be given by the secured party to the debtor; (2) the debtor must have rights in the collateral; and (3) there must be a binding security agreement which requires (mnemonic = AID): authentication, intent to create a security agreement, and a description of the collateral.

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