Rule 3.2 - West Virginia Bar Examination(a)West Virginia Bar Examination. The West Virginia Bar Examination shall consist of a General Bar Examination and the MPRE. The purposes of the West Virginia Bar Examination are to test the applicant's ability to reason logically, to analyze accurately the problems presented, to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the fundamental principles of law and their application, and ultimately to determine whether an applicant is sufficiently prepared to render legal advice and representation to the public within the bounds of the Rules of Professional Conduct.(b)General Bar Examination. The General Bar Examination will consist of three parts. Part A will consist of the Multistate Performance Test ("MPT") which will include two (2) performance test questions prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners and administered by the Board of Law Examiners. Part B will consist of the Multistate Essay Examination ("MEE") which will include six (6) essay questions prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners and administered by the Board of Law Examiners. Part C will consist of the Multistate Bar Examination ("MBE") which will include two hundred (200) multiple choice questions prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners and administered by the Board of Law Examiners. (c)Passing the examination. All answers to the MPT and the MEE will be graded and the scores combined. The total MPT/MEE raw score will be scaled to the MBE by the National Conference of Bar Examiners in accordance with Uniform Bar Examination policies. The MPT/MEE scaled score and the MBE scaled score will be combined to determine an applicant's final score on the examination. Applicants who earn a combined scaled score of 270 shall pass the examination. Applicants whose combined scaled scores are below 270 shall fail the examination. A passing score on the West Virginia Bar Examination shall remain eligible to be used for admission to practice law in West Virginia for no more than three years from the date of the examination.(d)Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination. Prior to admission on examination, an applicant, in addition to passing the General Bar Examination, must have successfully completed the MPRE prepared and administered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. To successfully complete the MPRE, the applicant must have achieved a scaled score of at least 80 as determined by the National Conference of Bar Examiners within twenty-five (25) months of successful completion of the General Bar Examination. Arrangements to take such examination, including the payment of any fees therefor, shall be made directly with the National Conference of Bar Examiners. (e)Transfer of MBE scores from other jurisdictions. In lieu of taking the MBE portion of the first West Virginia Bar Examination taken by the applicant, the Board may, if requested by the applicant, accept any MBE score achieved in another jurisdiction in a prior examination conducted within thirteen months of the current examination, provided the applicant successfully completed the entire bar examination in the other jurisdiction. If the applicant fails the West Virginia Bar Examination, the MBE may not be used in any succeeding West Virginia Bar Examination. All applicants shall notify the Board of their intention to use the MBE achieved in a prior examination at the time their application is filed. Provided, that an applicant who does not sit for the MPT, MEE, and MBE in the same administration of the West Virginia Bar Examination will not earn a UBE score pursuant to subsection (f) below. (f)The Uniform Bar Examination. Beginning with the July 2017 administration of the West Virginia Bar Examination, applicants who complete the MPT, MEE, and MBE portions of the West Virginia Bar Examination in the same examination administration and in compliance with the standards and requirements followed by UBE jurisdictions, as coordinated by NCBE, may earn a UBE score that is transferable to other UBE jurisdictions.W.V. R. Admis. Prac. Law. 3.2
As amended by order entered November 29, 1989, effective 1/1/1990; by order entered June 26, 1990, effective 8/1/1990; by order entered July 24, 1990, effective 8/1/1990; by order entered May 16, 1991, effective5/16/1991; by order entered June 24, 1992, effective 7/1/1992; by order entered December 9, 1992, effective 1/1/1994; by order entered March 24, 1993, effective 7/1/1993; by order entered April 7, 1993, effective 7/1/1993; and by order entered December 11, 1996, effective 1/1/1998; by order entered November 20, 2012, effective 1/1/2013; amended by order effective 10/5/2016.