February 2020 UBE Predictions by JD Advising

February 2020 UBE Predictions

JD Advising’s February 2020 UBE Predictions: Are you starting to prepare for the February 2020 Uniform Bar Exams (UBE)? Are you curious as to what subjects might be tested on the February 2020 UBE? We have taken a close look at the trends on the UBE from the past decade and created our February 2020 UBE predictions. Below are the essay subjects and MPTs that we think are coming up!

Update: please see a recap of the February 2020 UBE here!

Disclaimer: You should NOT solely rely on these February 2020 UBE predictions when you study! You should study all subjects when preparing for the UBE exam. All subjects are fair game for the exam. This is just educated guessing, for fun! Sometimes we are right. Sometimes we are not! You should review our free MEE guide for the highly tested topics and be careful to not ignore any subject!

A special update for the July 2020 MEE in light of COVID-19: As you can see, we have predicted several subjects to come up on the July 2020 MEE. We’ll be doing predictions for fall bar exams once the July 2020 exam is over. We do these predictions for fun based on subjects tested on previous exams. We want to make a special note that you should not rely on predictions (ever) but especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The National Conference of Bar Examiners is not writing just one exam; rather it is writing three exams (the July bar exam and two fall bar exams) plus it is offering an additional emergency October exam for jurisdictions unable to administer a summer or fall exam with an undetermined number of essays.  Thus, this makes it especially hard to “predict” what will come up on any given exam. Since we have had a lot of success in recent administrations making MEE predictions (just for fun!) we have found that some examinees overly rely on them (or think we have special insight — which we don’t!) so we want to make a special point to not do this! Instead, we highly recommend you not ignore any subject, but instead focus on the highly tested topics within each subject. In particular, we highly recommend you read or download our MEE highly tested topics guide (which is 100% free!) here. By focusing on highly tested topics within all subjects, you will truly be studying smart for the bar exam!

February 2020 MEE Predictions

1. Constitutional Law  Update: not tested

Constitutional Law was last tested in July 2018. Thus, we think it is very likely to appear on the February 2020 UBE. Constitutional Law has typically been tested on every other exam since February 2012. Constitutional Law essays generally center upon complex topics, including but not limited to the dormant commerce clause, sovereign immunity and the different speech tests under the First Amendment to the United States. Constitution.

We recommend taking a look at the following MEEs, all of which are available for free on the NCBE Study Aids website:

• July 2010 (First Amendment—public forum, designated forum, and nonpublic forum)
• July 2011 (Equal Protection Clause)
• July 2012 (commerce power; sovereign immunity)

Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above!

2. Evidence (possibly combined with Criminal Procedure) Update: tested, but combined with Criminal Law!

Evidence was last tested in July 2018 so we think it will show up on the February 2020 UBE. The Examiners typically include an Evidence question every other administration or so. Exam takers may encounter a pure Evidence question. However, Evidence could also be tested in a crossover essay with Criminal Procedure. In case of a crossover, pay close attention to a suspect’s Miranda rights. While Criminal Procedure was just tested in July 2019, the Examiners often like to repeat a subject or two from the previous administration.

We recommend taking a look at the following MEEs, all of which are available for free on the NCBE Study Aids website:

• February 2011 (Impeachment; character evidence)
• February 2012 (Policy exclusions)
• July 2013 (Hearsay; Confrontation Clause)

Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above!

3. Real Property Update: tested

Real Property appeared most recently in July 2018, which makes it a possible contender for the February 2020 UBE. Real Property essays, like Constitutional Law essays, tend to be more nuanced. For this reason, we strongly recommend reviewing more essays for this subject. These questions generally are open-ended in nature, and therefore, it is a good idea to figure out how to best organize your answer, whether chronologically or by party.

We recommend taking a look at the following MEEs, all of which are available for free on the NCBE Study Aids website:

• February 2009 (Joint tenancy with the right of survivorship; equitable conversion; mortgages)
• February 2012 (Easement creation and termination; future advances)
• February 2013 (Constructive eviction; landlord-tenant: surrender; landlord’s duty to mitigate)

Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above!

4. Secured Transactions Update: tested

Although Secured Transactions was tested in February 2019 we would not be surprised if it were tested on the February 2020 UBE. Secured Transactions has been tested more often over the course of the past few years. We strongly recommend that exam takers have a solid approach to tackling such essays, especially with respect to the following issues: attachment, classification of collateral, perfection, priority between competing creditors, whether the security interest survives upon the sale of the collateral, and default.

We recommend taking a look at the following MEEs, all of which are available for free on the NCBE Study Aids website:

• July 2009 (Priority between creditors; default)
• February 2011 (Buyer in the ordinary course of business; PMSI in consumer goods; consumer-to-consumer transaction)
• July 2012 (Perfection as to proceeds; priority between creditors)

Note: Do not limit your review solely to the essays listed above!

5. Torts (possibly combined with Agency) Update: Torts was not tested, but Agency was tested on its own!

The Examiners often like to rotate between testing Contracts and Torts on the exam. As Contracts was tested on the July 2019 exam, it is possible that Torts will appear on the February 2020 UBE. Torts generally appears by itself or as a crossover essay with Agency. Some of the highly tested issues include negligence and vicarious liability for employees and independent contractors.

We recommend taking a look at the following MEEs, all of which are available for free on the NCBE Study Aids website:

• February 2011 (Battery; strict products liability)
• February 2012 (negligence; false imprisonment; negligent infliction of emotional distress)
• July 2013 (Crossover with Agency – vicarious liability)

Note: Do not limit your review solely to the essays listed above!

6. Trusts Update: not tested

The Examiners typically alternate between testing Decedents’ Estates and Trusts. Most recently, the Examiners have tended to favor Trusts over Decedents’ Estates, testing Trusts consecutively in July 2018 and February 2019. In July 2019, the Examiners included a challenging Decedents’ Estates/Conflict of Laws crossover and a wills issue on one of the Multistate Performance Tests. Because the Examiners seemingly doubled down on Decedent’s Estates on the last exam, it is more likely that Trusts will appear on the February 2020 MEE.

We recommend taking a look at the following MEEs, all of which are available for free on the NCBE Study Aids website:

• July 2009 (cy pres; Uniform Principal and Income Act; duties of the trustee)
• July 2012 (Termination of a trust; class gifts)
• February 2013 (Amendment of a trust)

Note: Make sure to not limit your review solely to the essays listed above!

Wild Card: Contracts Update: tested

Our wild card subject for the February 2020 UBE is Contracts. While Contracts recently appeared in July 2019, the Examiners often test Contracts in consecutive administrations. Most recently this happened in July 2016/February 2017 and February 2018/July 2018.

If you want to make your own predictions, please see our UBE frequency chart!

Note: We want to emphasize that you should not rely on these predictions! You should still study all of the subjects and focus on the most highly tested topics within each subject. We are simply letting you know our February 2020 UBE predictions.

Note: You should review our free MEE Guide for the highly tested topics or purchase our MEE One-Sheets or MEE Seminar to maximize your knowledge of the MEE material!

Looking for other MEE options?

February 2020 MPT Predictions

On the July 2019 exam, the MPT had two objective memos. On the February 2020 MPT, you will also have to complete two tasks if you are sitting in a Uniform Bar Exam jurisdiction. However, it is not common for examinees to complete the same task twice on the MPT. Generally, the Examiners want to see whether students can write both persuasively and objectively. Therefore, it is much more common for students to see one objective task and one persuasive task. Check out our predictions for the February 2020 MPT below.

1. Objective memo Update: tested

The objective memo and persuasive brief make up almost 70% of all tasks tested during the last fifteen years. As noted above, on the July 2019 exam, the MPT had two objective memos. Since 2005, every time students were asked to draft two objective memos on the bar exam, the following administration also required exam takers to complete at least one objective memo. Thus, our best guess is that examinees will be asked to write an objective memo on the February 2020 MPT.

If you are unfamiliar with how to format an objective memo, take a look at our post on how to format an objective memo on the MPT. It is a good idea to know how to format an objective memo because usually formatting instructions are not provided on the exam.

To get some practice with objective memos, we suggest that you complete a few tasks under timed conditions to figure out your strengths and weaknesses. We recommend taking a look at the following MPTs, all of which are available for free on the NCBE Study Aids website:

• February 2009: Phoenix Corporation v. Biogenesis, Inc.
• July 2009: Jackson v. Franklin Sports Gazette, Inc.
• July 2011: In re Field Hogs, Inc.

2. An opinion or demand letter Update: not tested, it was a wildcard task: closing argument

After the objective memo and the persuasive brief, the next most common MPT tasks are opinion letters and demand letters. The last time examinees were asked to write a letter was in February 2016. We think that if you are asked to complete an objective memo for one of the tasks on the February 2020 MPT, the other task will most likely be a letter – either a demand letter or an opinion letter.

We suspect that if you are given an objective memo, you are more likely to be assigned a demand letter because that tests persuasive writing skills. Opinion letters are generally written to clients. They provide an objective view of the possible courses of action available to them. If you are feeling unsure about this task, check out our post on how to draft an opinion letter here. Demand letters generally ask the recipient of the letter to take a particular action, thus it is a persuasive task. If you are looking for tips, take a moment to read our post on how to format a demand letter.

To get some practice with letters, we suggest that you complete a few tasks under timed conditions to figure out your strengths and weaknesses. So, we recommend taking a look at the following MPTs, all of which are available for free on the NCBE Study Aids website:

• July 2009: In re City of Bluewater
• July 2012: State of Franklin v. Soper
• February 2013: In re Wendy Martel

Note: Again, we want to emphasize that you should not rely on these predictions! You should take the time to review all of the commonly tested tasks on the MPT (objective memo, persuasive brief, demand letter, opinion letter) in addition to a few uncommon tasks.

We hope you found our post on the February 2020 UBE predictions helpful!

Note: it is also worth it to review our MPT Guide or MPT Seminar if you need extra MPT guidance. 

Looking for other MPT options?

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