University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law

The urban public law school with a small liberal arts feel

Topics and Courses Graduation from law school does not automatically confer a license to practice law in most states, including Missouri and Kansas. In order to become licensed to practice law in most jurisdictions, law school graduates must sit for and pass a comprehensive, two-day battery of tests known as a "bar examination" in addition to undergoing a very detailed character and fitness screening. Each applicant should obtain information on the character and other qualifications for admission to the bar in the state in which the applicant intends to practice. Information regarding law student registration and bar admissions in Missouri is made available to all first-year students. Detailed information regarding admission to the Missouri Bar is provided on the website of the Missouri Board of Law Examiners. Additional materials can be found elsewhere on this site. Students interested in maximizing their chances of passing the Missouri -- or some other -- bar examination frequently enroll in elective courses that cover topics regularly tested on the bar examination. The table below lists the subject areas -- "Bar Exam Topics" -- routinely found on the Missouri bar examination, followed by the names of actual UMKC course offerings that address those subjects. Based on their review of both published questions from previous bar examinations and published subject matter outlines (see below), members of the Law School faculty have attached percentages to some of the course listings. These are simply rough estimates of the scope of specified "Bar Exam Topics" that are likely to be covered in a particular course. (Note: these are approximations, only. Coverage may vary substantially from one test to another.) The first six topics are addressed in the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), a 200-question multiple choice test written by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. The next fourteen topics typically are tested as part of the essay component of the Bar Exam. Questions focusing on the first ten essay topics usually are drawn from the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE), also written by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Additional essay questions written by the Missouri Board of Law Examiners (designated "MO Essay") usually focus on the next three topics, though the MEE subject areas, too, are fair game on the Missouri Essay questions. The essay portion of the exam is also likely to contain the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) authored by the National Conference. Subject matter outlines, sample questions from past exams, and model answers for the six MBE and ten MEE topics, as well as the MPT, are available on the NCBE website. The Missouri Board of Law Examiners does not release subject matter outlines for its Missouri Essay questions, but it does publish sample questions and answers from past exams on the MBLE website. Bar Exam Topics UMKC Course Offerings Semester Contracts (MBE) Contracts I and II First year Criminal Law (MBE) Criminal Law First year   Criminal Procedure I Fall/Winter   Criminal Procedure II (25%) Winter Constitutional Law (MBE) Con Law I (25%) Winter   Con Law II (45%) Winter   Con Law III (1st Amend.) (30%) Fall Evidence (MBE) Evidence Winter Real Property (MBE) Property I and II First year   Real Estate Transactions Fall Torts (MBE) Torts First year   Advanced Torts Winter Agency and Partnership (MEE) Business Organizations Fall Commercial Paper (MEE) Commercial Transactions* Winter Conflict of Laws (MEE) Conflict of Laws Winter   Civil Procedure II Second Year Corporations (MEE) Business Organizations Fall Decedents' Estates (MEE) Estates and Trusts Fall/Winter Family Law (MEE) Family Law Fall/Winter Federal Civil Procedure (MEE) Civil Procedure I and II First/Second Year   Federal Jurisdiction Winter   Complex Litigation Winter Sales (MEE) Sales and Leasing* Fall Secured Transactions (MEE) Secured Transactions* Fall/Winter Trusts and Future Interests (MEE) Property I and II Fall/Winter    Estates and Trusts First Year Administrative Law (MO Essay) Administrative Law Fall/Winter Remedies (MO Essay) Remedies Winter Missouri Civil Procedure (MO Essay) Civil Procedure I and II First/Second Year Multistate Performance Test (MPT) Civil Procedure I and II First/Second Year   Advanced Legal Writing:  Litigation Drafting   *   While none of these three classes -- Commercial Transactions, Sales and Leasing, Secured Transactions -- is required by itself, one of the three must be taken to satisfy the Law School's 'UCC' graduation requirement. Shading = Required