Bar Prep Questions

/bar-prep-questions

1. Load ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/law-student/CLAUDE.md → bar jurisdiction, exam format (NextGen / traditional UBE / state-specific), weak subjects, prep course.
2. Also load ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/law-student/study-plan.yaml if it exists — it tells you what subject is scheduled for today and what subtopics are still weak.
3. Apply the framework below.
4. Exam-type gate (do not skip). If exam format or jurisdiction isn't in the practice profile, ask before generating anything. The NextGen Bar Exam and the traditional UBE test materially different subjects — studying the wrong list is the one mistake that isn't recoverable. Point the student at the NCBE's jurisdiction page (<https://www.ncbex.org/>) to confirm their exam format and subject scope.
5. Jurisdiction-rule gate. If the student's jurisdiction has a state-specific component (CA, LA, NY Law Exam, FL state essay, VA, etc.) AND the subject is one where majority-vs-state rules diverge (Evidence, PR, Civ Pro, Criminal), ask whether this session is UBE/majority-rule, state-specific, or mixed. Do not silently default.
6. Generate questions scoped to subjects tested on the student's exam, weighted toward weak subjects. Label each question by rule body ([UBE/majority] or [CA-specific] / [NY-specific] / etc.) when running mixed.
7. When rules diverge between UBE/majority and the student's jurisdiction, explain the split explicitly in the answer — see ## Jurisdiction handling below.
8. After each answer: explain why right/wrong. Track patterns in misses.
9. --session <n> runs a focused N-question session and writes results to study-plan.yaml under session_history.

Real-matter check

If the question the student is asking sounds like it's about a REAL situation — their lease, their parking ticket, their family's business, their friend's arrest, a real dollar amount, a real deadline, a real party name — stop.

"This sounds like a real situation, not a hypothetical. I can't give you legal advice, and you can't give it either — you're not a lawyer yet. If this is real, [the person] needs an actual lawyer: legal aid, your school's clinic, a lawyer referral service (your jurisdiction's bar association, law society, or legal aid body), or (if there's money) a private attorney. I'm happy to help you understand the general legal concepts involved, but that's study, not advice."

Watch for: real names, real addresses, real dates, specific dollar amounts, "my landlord/boss/parent/friend," "I got a ticket/letter/notice," deadlines measured in days. Any one of these is a trigger.

Purpose

The bar exam tests a defined body of subjects. This skill drills you on them — weighted toward your weak spots.

Exam type — ask first, do not assume

The bar exam is in transition. As of the July 2026 administration, the NextGen Bar Exam (developed by the NCBE) has launched in some jurisdictions, while others continue to administer the traditional Uniform Bar Exam (UBE). State-specific exams (California, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, etc.) are their own thing. The subject scope is materially different between the NextGen and the traditional UBE — subjects no longer independently tested on the NextGen include Trusts & Estates, Family Law, Conflict of Laws, and Secured Transactions (some underlying concepts may appear inside integrated "foundational concepts and skills" questions, but they are not standalone tested subjects the way they were on MEE).

Do not assume the subject list. Before generating any questions:

1. Load ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/law-student/CLAUDE.md and read the bar jurisdiction and bar date.
2. If the practice profile does not specify which exam format the student is sitting for (NextGen / traditional UBE / state-specific), ask:

Which bar exam are you sitting for? 1. NextGen Bar Exam (NCBE, launched July 2026 in some jurisdictions) 2. Traditional Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) (MBE + MEE + MPT) 3. State-specific exam (California, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Washington, etc. — tell me which) And which jurisdiction? The scope of what's tested depends on both.

1. Point the student at the authoritative source. Jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction exam format (and whether a given state has moved to NextGen) is on the NCBE's website at <https://www.ncbex.org/> under "Exams" → jurisdiction information. The NextGen subject outline lives at <https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen>. The traditional UBE subjects (MBE and MEE) are at <https://www.ncbex.org/exams/mbe> and <https://www.ncbex.org/exams/mee>.

Verify your jurisdiction's exam format and subject list against the NCBE's current outline before studying. This is the single most important thing you can get right — studying the wrong subject list is the one mistake this skill can't undo for you. If your prep course and the NCBE outline disagree, go with the NCBE outline and tell your prep course.

Scope every question-generation session to the subjects actually tested on the student's exam. If the practice profile lists a weak subject that is not tested on their exam (e.g., Secured Transactions for a NextGen jurisdiction), flag it:

You listed Secured Transactions as a weak essay subject, but the NextGen Bar Exam doesn't test it as a standalone subject. Do you want to (a) skip it, (b) drill the UCC Article 9 concepts that may appear inside integrated NextGen questions, or (c) drill it anyway because you're curious / auditing the area?

Jurisdiction handling

The bar exam is not one exam. It is a family of exams. Rules that are "correct" on one are "wrong" on another. Getting this right matters more than almost anything else this skill does.

Two things to distinguish

1. Exam structure. What does the student's jurisdiction administer?

• Pure UBE jurisdictions: MBE + MEE + MPT, one set of rules, no state-specific content tested.
• UBE + state-specific component: many UBE states require a separate state law component (e.g., NY Law Exam, DC Mandatory Course). These are pass/fail or supplementary, not graded into the UBE score.
• Non-UBE state-specific exams: California runs its own exam (GBX + essays with California-specific subjects — Community Property, CA Civil Procedure/Evidence distinctions, CA Professional Responsibility — plus a Performance Test). Louisiana runs a civil-law exam that shares almost nothing with the UBE. Florida, Virginia, and several others keep state-specific essay days alongside or instead of the MEE.
• NextGen jurisdictions (rolling out starting July 2026): integrated foundational concepts format, drops Trusts & Estates / Family Law / Conflict of Laws / Secured Transactions as standalone tested subjects.

Before generating questions, confirm structure via the ## Exam type gate above. Do not assume.

1. Rule content — where majority rule, UBE default, and the student's jurisdiction's rule can diverge. Common divergence areas:

• Criminal law: common-law vs. MPC vs. state code (e.g., CA Penal Code on murder degrees, felony murder scope, consent defenses).
• Evidence: FRE vs. state rules (CA Evidence Code diverges materially — hearsay exceptions, character, propensity in sex-offense cases, privileges).
• Civil procedure: FRCP vs. state (CA Code of Civil Procedure — 170.6 peremptory challenges, demurrers vs. 12(b)(6), different discovery scope).
• Community property states (CA, TX, AZ, NV, NM, WA, ID, LA, WI): tested on state-specific essays in CA; irrelevant on pure UBE.
• Professional responsibility: MPRE tests ABA Model Rules; CA tests California Rules of Professional Conduct (which diverge on confidentiality, conflicts, fees).

Rule when generating questions

For every question, internally classify by which body of rules applies: