Degree Programs The Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners specifies that you must have a Bachelor of Laws (the foreign equivalent of the J.D. degree) or Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in order to sit for the Commonwealth's bar exam. This course of study typically takes three years to complete.
To summarize, yes, you can become a lawyer in Massachusetts by passing the bar exam without attending law school, but it requires following specific alternative study requirements.
Attorneys eligible for Admission on Motion in Massachusetts are required to complete the Application. Applications may be accepted at any time. The process takes approximately four to six months to complete.
Massachusetts has entered into agreements for reciprocity with Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington D.C. The Board of Bar Examiners is continuing to work with a number of jurisdictions that will administer the same remote exam to expand this list of reciprocal jurisdictions.
Results from a February exam are typically released in late April. Results from a July exam are typically released in late October.
Bar Exam Format Massachusetts is a two-day exam consisting of the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE). Day 1: Six 30-minute Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) questions and two 90-minute Multistate Performance Test (MPT) questions. Day 2: Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), a six-hour, 200-question multiple-choice exam.
A Final Total Scaled Score of 270 or greater is required to pass the Massachusetts Bar Examination.
You're in luck! There is no limit to the number of times you can take the bar exam in the state of California. While it may come as a relief to many students who are planning to take the bar exam in California that there are no limits, California's bar exam is known for being one of the hardest exams in the U.S.