Hawaii Bar Exam Details
Bar exam details
A typical Hawaii Bar Exam is a 2-day exam.
Day 1
- Six 30-minute Multistate Essay Exam questions (MEE)
- Two 90-minute Multistate Performance Test questions (MPT)
- Hawaii Legal Ethics Examination (30-minute, 15-question multiple-choice exam)
Day 2
- Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), a 200-question, multiple-choice exam (100 questions in the AM, 100 questions in the PM)
Subjects tested
- Constitutional Law
- Contracts/Sales
- Criminal Law/Procedure
- Evidence
- Federal Civil Procedure
- Real Property
- Torts
- Business Associations (Agency and Partnership; Corporations; and Limited Liability Companies)
- Conflict of Laws
- Family Law
- Trusts and Estates (Decedents' Estates; Trusts and Future Interests)
- Article 9 (Secured Transactions) of the Uniform Commercial Code
- Plus all MBE subjects
- “Closed universe” practical questions using instructions, factual data, cases, statutes and other reference material supplied by examiners.
- A scaled score of 85 on the MPRE within two years before or within one year after the Hawaii Bar Exam is required for admission.
Scoring
The MBE is weighted 50%. The individual remaining items are all equally weighted for a cumulative total of 50%
- Six MEE questions
- Two MPT tasks
- Locally developed Hawaii Legal Ethics Examination (15 multiple-choice questions)
A score of 134 (out of 200) or higher is required to pass the Hawaii Bar Exam.
Reciprocity
- Hawaii does not accept an MBE score from an exam taken in another jurisdiction.
- Although admission on motion is not generally available, Hawaii allows it on specific and limited grounds.
Additional information
- The Hawaii Legal Ethics Examination consists of 15 multiple-choice questions. It was developed by the Hawaii Board of Examiners and is based on the Hawaii Rules of Professional Conduct (HRPC). This exam component is administered on Tuesday morning. Hawaii allots 30 minutes for this exam component. Do not confuse the Hawaii Legal Ethics Examination with the NCBE’s Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) or the mandatory Hawaii Professionalism Course conducted by the Hawaii State Bar Association.
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