In case you missed it, an overview of the upcoming changes with the NextGen Bar Exam in The National Jurist.
The NextGen Bar Exam refines rather than replaces the UBE model. It will continue to test core legal knowledge, while implementing new structures and a stated goal of better integration of analysis and skills. But that goal brings both promise and risk.
Law schools will need to adjust how they teach. Bar exam review companies will need to adapt how they prepare students. And students — the ones caught in the middle — will have to navigate this change in real time.
It is an experiment on a national scale. For now, it remains to be seen how much the new format will truly differ in practice. What is certain is that law students will still need to know the law, think critically under time pressure and communicate clearly — just as they always have.
Ashley Heidemann, NextGen Bar Exam: What’s Changing with the New Exam and How to Prepare, The National Jurist, Feb. 4, 2026; see also NextGen Bar Exam: What’s Changing in 2026, BarBri, Jan. 20, 2026. More detailed information can be found on the NCBE’s NextGen webpage.
