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First of all, I want to say I’m sorry for posting a question like this amid people who are anxious about this exam - I’m with you guys. I literally passed the NY bar by accident so I’m just very very lucky.

Onto the question: I passed the NY Bar in 2014. Id like to take bar exams in other states. I know the MBE is a whole new animal I’ll have to investigate. But as far as substantive law that is not state-specific, how much has changed? I work in a very narrow field of law that is also public service, so I don’t want to pay for a full suite of bar prep when the time comes, and I want to rely on my old outlines as much as I can. Is this feasible?

Thanks in advance.

Hi, to the original poster, this is a very common question that comes up - so it sounds like you are looking to take the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) which is different in many aspects than the NY Bar Exam you took in 2014. The biggest differences is that the UBE has 6 essays and you only have 30 minutes for each one, there are now 2 MPTs - 90 minutes for each. The MBE day will look pretty similar to what you remember, with the only major change being that one new subject has since been added - Federal Civil Procedure. There are no more "NY distinctions" instead all the law for the essays is "UBE Law." Is it possible for you to pass simply by using your old outlines from 2014? Probably, but unlikely, given the changes to the laws - if you using old NY-specific statutes to study, this will be a major problem for you now unfortunately. Of course it is certainly understandable that you do not want to spend a lot on an expensive bar course, we would urge you to look for smaller courses or supplemental study products that offer updated outlines that are less expensive than the major bar companies, or seek to apply for scholarships and discounts that many companies do offer some exam takers. You just don't want to be totally unprepared in terms of your knowledge of the rules that you need to know on the exam. Good Luck!