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State Bar Exam Records
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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]3460 Chestnut Street, Biddle Law Library, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3406
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
In the United States, the state bar examination is a test that law school graduates take in order to determine whether they are qualified to practice law in a specified jurisdiction. The exam was designed to test a candidate's knowledge of the law and their ability to apply that knowledge during the exam. Individual states are in charge of administering the bar examinations which are conducted two or three times a year, depending on the state. The exam is usually two consecutive days long, but some states require three consecutive days. As a recent standard rule, the bar exam is always held on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of every February and July.
The exam usually involves a combination of essay questions and multiple choice questions. In order to perform well on the bar exam, candidates should have in-depth understanding of basic legal principles and the state's own laws, as well as be able to use legal reasoning skills to reach appropriate conclusions to cases in the court of law. During the bar exam, candidates must complete the exam in a specified amount of time which is predetermined by each state. The total time of actual test taking vary depending on the jurisdiction but usually takes 6 hours a day. Testing days are usually divided into sessions—morning and afternoon sessions—with time in between for a lunch break. The bar exam is essentially uniform, but each state has the right to determine what constitutes a passing score.
Delaware was the first state to establish the bar exam in 1763 and other American colonies followed soon after. As previously stated, it has become a national standard practice to administer the bar examination only in February and July. However, in the early twentieth century, it was the state that ultimately decided when the bar examination was to be administered. For instance, information gleaned from the State Bar Exam Records reveals that New Jersey administered the bar examination three times a year: February, June, and November; Pennsylvania administered the bar examination two times a year: July and December; and New York administered the bar examination three times a year: January, June, and October.
The State Bar Exam Records span the years 1911-1921 and features materials for the New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania bar examination. This small collection of records consists of a variety of materials which include study materials, state bar examinations, drafts of bar examination questions, and practice questions for the bar exam.
Also note that some materials are stamped with the date and label 'Cornell University Law Library.'
- New Jersey Bar Exam Materials
- Pennsylvania Bar Examinations
- New York Bar Exam Materials
- Bar Exam Questions: Unidentified Origins
Processed by Hoang Tran, November 2012.
- Publisher
- University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library
- Finding Aid Author
- Hoang Tran
- Finding Aid Date
- 2012 November
- Access Restrictions
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The archives reserves the right to restrict access to materials of sensitive nature. Please contact the department for further information.
- Use Restrictions
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Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Collection Inventory
File includes three copies of a study guide that specifically focuses on the Bill.
November Term, 1911, Morning Paper. Februrary Term, 1911 Afternoon Paper. Febrary Term, 1913, Morning and Afternoon Paper. June Term, 1913, Morning and Afternoon Paper. November Term, 1913, Morning and Afternoon Paper. November Term, 1914, Morning and Afternoon Paper. Febrary Term, 1915, Morning and Afternoon Paper. June Term, 1915, Morning and Afternoon Paper. November Term, 1915, Morning and Afternoon Paper. Februrary Term 1916, Morning and Afternoon Paper.
- February Term, 1911. Afternoon Paper. November Term, 1911. Morning Papers.
- February, June, and November Term, 1913. Morning and Afternoon Papers.
- November Term, 1914. Morning and Afternoon Papers.
- February, June, and November Term, 1915. Morning and Afternoon Papers.
- February Term, 1916. Morning and Afternoon Papers.
February Term, 1911. Morning and Afternoon Paper. June Term, 1911. Morning and Afternoon Paper. November Term, 1911. Morning and Afternoon Paper. February Term, 1912. Morning and Afternoon Paper. June Term, 1912. Morning and Afternoon Paper. November Term, 1912. Morning and Afternoon Paper. February Term, 1913. Morning and Afternoon Paper. June Term, 1913. Morning and Afternoon Paper. November Term, 1913. Morning and Afternoon Paper. June Term, 1914. Morning and Afternoon Paper. November Term, 1914. Morning and Afternoon Paper. February Term, 1915. Morning and Afternoon Paper. June Term, 1915. Morning and Afternoon Paper. November Term, 1915. Morning and Afternoon Paper. February Term, 1916. Morning and Afternoon Paper.
- February, June, and November Term, 1911. Morning and Afternoon Papers.
- February, June, and November Term, 1912. Morning and Afternoon Papers.
- February, June, and November Term, 1913. Morning and Afternoon Papers.
- June and November Term, 1914. Morning and Afternoon Papers.
- February, June, and November Term, 1915. Morning and Afternoon Papers.
- February Term, 1916. Morning and Afternoon Papers.
July and December Term, 1916. Morning and Afternoon Papers.
July Term, 1921. Morning Paper.
File includes bar examinations for Group One: Pleading, Practice and Evidence and Group Two: Substantive Law (Morning and Afternoon Session) for June 22, 1916.
File includes the two part examination for Group One: Pleading, Practice and Evidence and Group Two: Substantive Law (Morning and Afternoon Sessions).
File includes Group Two: Morning Paper examination questions 6-10 inclusive, Part I - Practice material for October 14, 1919 exam in Syracuse, and Group Two - Substantive Law-Afternoon Session for October 15, 1919.
File includes a handwritten draft of the Substantive Law section of the bar examination of New York for January 1920, and typewritten draft copies of both the Pleading and Practice and Evidence and Substantive Law sections of the New York Bar Exam.
File includes bar examination questions for Group I - Practice and Procedure and Evidence, as well as Group II - Substantive Law Morning and Afternoon Session elaborated by Kenneth Dayton, Cornell Class of 1917.
File includes the two original hardcover cases that bar examinations were enclosed which have handwritten notes on the inside.
File includes questions for the Procedure section and the Substantive Law Morning and Afternoon Sessions. The origins of the exam questions cannot be gleaned from the documents.
File includes bar exam questions from the Substantive Law Section and the Practice, Evidence, and Procedure Section. The origins of the exam questions cannot be gleaned from the documents.