WI Bar Multistate Performance Test (MPT) 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which organization develops the MPT tasks used in the Wisconsin Bar Exam?
- Wisconsin Board of Bar Examiners
- American Bar Association
- National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) (Correct answer)
- State Bar of Wisconsin
Correct answer: National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE)
The NCBE develops the MPT tasks, which are then used by UBE jurisdictions including Wisconsin.
Question 2: What skill is the MPT primarily designed to test?
- Memorization of legal rules
- Practical lawyering skills using provided materials (Correct answer)
- Speed typing ability
- Knowledge of Wisconsin court procedures
Correct answer: Practical lawyering skills using provided materials
The MPT tests practical lawyering skills — reading comprehension, organization, and the ability to apply provided law to facts to produce a professional work product.
Question 3: On which day of the Wisconsin Bar Exam is the MPT administered?
- Day 1 (Correct answer)
- Day 2
- Day 3
- Spread across all days
Correct answer: Day 1
The MPT is administered on Day 1 of the Wisconsin Bar Exam, together with the MEE.
Question 4: What is the most important first step when beginning an MPT task?
- Draft the response immediately
- Read the task memorandum to understand what is required (Correct answer)
- Review the Library before the File
- Outline all possible legal issues
Correct answer: Read the task memorandum to understand what is required
Reading the task memorandum (the instruction memo) first tells you exactly what document to produce, the format required, and any specific instructions you must follow.
Question 5: In an MPT Library, what kind of authority takes precedence when authorities conflict?
- The most recent authority always wins
- Higher court decisions over lower court decisions, and statutes over case law if they conflict (Correct answer)
- The authority most favorable to the client
- Authorities are always consistent in the MPT Library
Correct answer: Higher court decisions over lower court decisions, and statutes over case law if they conflict
Examinees should apply standard hierarchy: statutes trump case law if they conflict, and higher court decisions take precedence over lower court rulings.
Question 6: Does prior legal knowledge or the law from outside the MPT Library help or hurt an examinee's score?
- It always helps because more legal knowledge is better
- It can hurt if used instead of the provided Library (Correct answer)
- It is irrelevant as the MPT is graded only on format
- It is required to supplement thin Library materials
Correct answer: It can hurt if used instead of the provided Library
Using outside law not found in the Library can mislead your analysis and confuse graders; you must complete the task solely with Library authorities.
WI Bar Multistate Performance Test (MPT) 2
Which organization develops the MPT tasks used in the Wisconsin Bar Exam?