School: The MPRE

In most states, law students are required to take the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination in order to be admitted to the bar. This is separate and distinct from the actual bar examination; the MPRE exclusively tests knowledge of legal ethics. It's also a much simpler affair than the real bar exam - just a two-hour multiple choice test.

Here at UF, all first-year students are required to take a course in Professional Responsibility, so the MPRE isn't really a big deal. In fact, the passing score required in Florida is so low (80 on a test where the possible scores are from 50 to 150) that most of my friends don't spend more than a weekend studying for it. This is markedly different from other law schools, where the MPRE might be the first time a law student bothers to glance at the ABA's Model Rules of Professional Conduct.

I'm taking the MPRE this weekend, and I am studying for it. I do feel like the end goal here, though, is to fashion the law school experience such that people won't need to study the rules in order to determine what's right and what's wrong.