Are flashcards effective for the bar exam?

Yes. Flashcards use active recall — retrieving an answer from memory — which research shows is one of the most effective ways to make information stick, especially for the many rules, elements, and definitions the bar exam tests.

What subjects do the bar exam flashcards cover?

The seven MBE subjects — Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts & Sales, Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts — plus MEE topics including Business Associations and Wills, Trusts & Estates, and MEE/MPT skills.

How should I study with these flashcards?

Mix the modes: flip to learn, type to test recall, match for speed, and quiz to check yourself. Review daily, and spend even time across the seven MBE subjects since they're weighted equally — 25 scored questions each.

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Yes — 100% free, all four study modes, no paywall and no sign-up.

What did Marbury v. Madison establish?

Judicial review — the power of federal courts to declare an act of Congress or the executive unconstitutional. Chief Justice Marshall held it is the province of the judiciary to say what the law is.

An out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. It is inadmissible under FRE 802 unless a non-hearsay definition, an exclusion, or an exception applies.

What are the four elements of negligence?

Duty, breach, causation (actual but-for cause AND proximate cause), and damages. The plaintiff must prove each by a preponderance of the evidence.

What is the rule against perpetuities?

A contingent future interest is void unless it must vest, if at all, no later than 21 years after the death of a life in being at the creation of the interest.

What two things form a contract (mutual assent)?

A valid offer manifesting present intent to be bound, plus an acceptance on the offer's terms — supported by consideration.

What are the Miranda warnings?

Before custodial interrogation, police must warn: the right to remain silent, that statements can be used against you, the right to an attorney, and the right to appointed counsel if indigent.

What is the minimum contacts test?

From International Shoe v. Washington — personal jurisdiction over a nonresident requires contacts with the forum such that the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.

How does a federal court get subject-matter jurisdiction?

Through a federal question (the claim arises under federal law, 28 U.S.C. § 1331) or diversity of citizenship (complete diversity and more than $75,000 in controversy, § 1332).

What is the Erie doctrine?

A federal court sitting in diversity applies state substantive law and federal procedural law. There is no general federal common law (Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins).

What is complete diversity?

For diversity jurisdiction, no plaintiff may be a citizen of the same state as any defendant. The amount in controversy must also exceed $75,000.

Where is a corporation a citizen for diversity?

In both its state of incorporation and the state of its principal place of business — the 'nerve center' where officers direct activities (Hertz Corp. v. Friend).

What are the waivable Rule 12(b) defenses?

Lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, insufficient process, and insufficient service — they are waived if not raised in the first response. Subject-matter jurisdiction can be raised any time.

What is the Twombly/Iqbal pleading standard?

A complaint must contain a short, plain statement showing a plausible claim for relief — enough factual matter to make the claim plausible, not merely conceivable.

When is summary judgment granted?

When there is no genuine dispute of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law (Rule 56).

What is res judicata (claim preclusion)?

A final judgment on the merits bars the same parties from relitigating the same claim or cause of action.

What is collateral estoppel (issue preclusion)?

A final judgment bars relitigating an issue of fact or law that was actually litigated, determined, and necessary to the judgment.

Where is venue proper in federal court?

In a district where any defendant resides (if all defendants reside in the same state) or where a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claim occurred.

What is supplemental jurisdiction?

A federal court may hear additional claims so related to the anchor claim that they form part of the same case or controversy (28 U.S.C. § 1367).

What is a compulsory counterclaim?

A claim that arises out of the same transaction or occurrence as the opposing party's claim; it is waived if not asserted in the answer (Rule 13(a)).

What standard governs appellate review of fact findings?

Findings of fact are reviewed for clear error; conclusions of law are reviewed de novo.

What are the three requirements for standing?

Injury in fact (concrete and particularized), causation (traceable to the defendant), and redressability (a favorable decision would remedy the injury).

What is the Commerce Clause power?

Congress may regulate the channels and instrumentalities of interstate commerce, and activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.

What is the Dormant Commerce Clause?

Even without congressional action, states may not unduly burden or discriminate against interstate commerce. Discriminatory laws face near-fatal scrutiny.

What is the Supremacy Clause?

Valid federal law is the supreme law of the land and preempts conflicting state law (express, conflict, or field preemption).

What are the three tiers of equal-protection scrutiny?

Strict scrutiny (race, national origin, fundamental rights), intermediate scrutiny (gender, legitimacy), and rational basis (everything else).

What must the government show under strict scrutiny?

That the law is narrowly tailored to a compelling government interest. It is the hardest standard to satisfy, and most laws fail it.

What is the state-action requirement?

Most constitutional rights restrain only government conduct, not private actors — unless the private actor performs a public function or is sufficiently entangled with the state.

Procedural vs. substantive due process?

Procedural due process requires fair procedures (notice and a hearing) before deprivation of life, liberty, or property. Substantive due process protects fundamental rights from government interference.

When is a speech regulation content-based?

When it targets speech based on its subject matter or viewpoint — it then faces strict scrutiny. Content-neutral regulations get intermediate scrutiny.

What categories of speech are unprotected?

Incitement to imminent lawless action, true threats, fighting words, obscenity, defamation, and child pornography.

What is the Establishment Clause test (current)?

Government action must be consistent with historical practices and understandings (the Court has moved away from the Lemon test toward a history-and-tradition approach).

What is procedural due process's Mathews balancing test?

Courts weigh the private interest, the risk of erroneous deprivation and value of added procedures, and the government's interest, to decide what process is due.

When does the UCC (Article 2) apply instead of common law?

When the contract is for the sale of goods (movable, tangible property). Common law governs services, real estate, and other contracts.

What is consideration?

A bargained-for exchange of legal value — each party incurs a legal detriment or confers a benefit. A gratuitous or illusory promise lacks consideration.

What is the mirror image rule?

At common law, an acceptance must match the offer exactly; an acceptance that adds or changes terms is a rejection and a counteroffer.

What does UCC § 2-207 change about acceptance?

A definite acceptance with additional terms can still form a contract (the 'battle of the forms'); between merchants, additional terms become part of the contract unless they materially alter it or are objected to.

What is the mailbox rule?

Acceptance is effective on dispatch (when sent), while rejections and revocations are effective on receipt.

What contracts fall within the Statute of Frauds?

Contracts for land (M)arriage, suretyship, goods of $500 or more, and agreements not performable within one year — they need a signed writing. Mnemonic: MY LEGS.

What is promissory estoppel?

A promise the promisor should reasonably expect to induce reliance, on which the promisee detrimentally relies, is enforceable to avoid injustice — a substitute for consideration.

What is the parol evidence rule?

When parties have a final written contract, prior or contemporaneous oral or written agreements that contradict the writing are inadmissible to vary its terms.

What is the perfect tender rule?

Under the UCC, a buyer may reject goods that fail to conform to the contract in any respect, subject to the seller's right to cure within the contract time.

What is substantial performance?

At common law, a party who performs the essential purpose of the contract, with only minor deviations, has not materially breached and can recover (less damages for the defect).

What are expectation damages?

The default contract remedy — the amount needed to put the non-breaching party in the position it would have occupied had the contract been performed (the benefit of the bargain).

What is the duty to mitigate?

A non-breaching party cannot recover damages it could have avoided by reasonable effort; failure to mitigate reduces recovery.

When is specific performance available?

When monetary damages are inadequate — typically for unique goods or real estate (every parcel of land is considered unique).

Who is an intended third-party beneficiary?

A non-party the contracting parties intended to benefit; once their rights vest, they can enforce the contract. An incidental beneficiary cannot.

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Bar Exam Flashcards

What did Marbury v. Madison establish?: Judicial review — the power of federal courts to declare an act of Congress or the executive unconstitutional. Chief Justice Marshall held it is the province of the judiciary to say what the law is.
What is hearsay?: An out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. It is inadmissible under FRE 802 unless a non-hearsay definition, an exclusion, or an exception applies.
What are the four elements of negligence?: Duty, breach, causation (actual but-for cause AND proximate cause), and damages. The plaintiff must prove each by a preponderance of the evidence.
What is the rule against perpetuities?: A contingent future interest is void unless it must vest, if at all, no later than 21 years after the death of a life in being at the creation of the interest.
What two things form a contract (mutual assent)?: A valid offer manifesting present intent to be bound, plus an acceptance on the offer's terms — supported by consideration.
What are the Miranda warnings?: Before custodial interrogation, police must warn: the right to remain silent, that statements can be used against you, the right to an attorney, and the right to appointed counsel if indigent.
What is the minimum contacts test?: From International Shoe v. Washington — personal jurisdiction over a nonresident requires contacts with the forum such that the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.
How does a federal court get subject-matter jurisdiction?: Through a federal question (the claim arises under federal law, 28 U.S.C. § 1331) or diversity of citizenship (complete diversity and more than $75,000 in controversy, § 1332).
What is the Erie doctrine?: A federal court sitting in diversity applies state substantive law and federal procedural law. There is no general federal common law (Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins).
What is complete diversity?: For diversity jurisdiction, no plaintiff may be a citizen of the same state as any defendant. The amount in controversy must also exceed $75,000.
Where is a corporation a citizen for diversity?: In both its state of incorporation and the state of its principal place of business — the 'nerve center' where officers direct activities (Hertz Corp. v. Friend).
What are the waivable Rule 12(b) defenses?: Lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, insufficient process, and insufficient service — they are waived if not raised in the first response. Subject-matter jurisdiction can be raised any time.
What is the Twombly/Iqbal pleading standard?: A complaint must contain a short, plain statement showing a plausible claim for relief — enough factual matter to make the claim plausible, not merely conceivable.
When is summary judgment granted?: When there is no genuine dispute of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law (Rule 56).
What is res judicata (claim preclusion)?: A final judgment on the merits bars the same parties from relitigating the same claim or cause of action.
What is collateral estoppel (issue preclusion)?: A final judgment bars relitigating an issue of fact or law that was actually litigated, determined, and necessary to the judgment.
Where is venue proper in federal court?: In a district where any defendant resides (if all defendants reside in the same state) or where a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claim occurred.
What is supplemental jurisdiction?: A federal court may hear additional claims so related to the anchor claim that they form part of the same case or controversy (28 U.S.C. § 1367).
What is a compulsory counterclaim?: A claim that arises out of the same transaction or occurrence as the opposing party's claim; it is waived if not asserted in the answer (Rule 13(a)).
What standard governs appellate review of fact findings?: Findings of fact are reviewed for clear error; conclusions of law are reviewed de novo.
What are the three requirements for standing?: Injury in fact (concrete and particularized), causation (traceable to the defendant), and redressability (a favorable decision would remedy the injury).
What is the Commerce Clause power?: Congress may regulate the channels and instrumentalities of interstate commerce, and activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.
What is the Dormant Commerce Clause?: Even without congressional action, states may not unduly burden or discriminate against interstate commerce. Discriminatory laws face near-fatal scrutiny.
What is the Supremacy Clause?: Valid federal law is the supreme law of the land and preempts conflicting state law (express, conflict, or field preemption).
What are the three tiers of equal-protection scrutiny?: Strict scrutiny (race, national origin, fundamental rights), intermediate scrutiny (gender, legitimacy), and rational basis (everything else).
What must the government show under strict scrutiny?: That the law is narrowly tailored to a compelling government interest. It is the hardest standard to satisfy, and most laws fail it.
What is the state-action requirement?: Most constitutional rights restrain only government conduct, not private actors — unless the private actor performs a public function or is sufficiently entangled with the state.
Procedural vs. substantive due process?: Procedural due process requires fair procedures (notice and a hearing) before deprivation of life, liberty, or property. Substantive due process protects fundamental rights from government interference.
When is a speech regulation content-based?: When it targets speech based on its subject matter or viewpoint — it then faces strict scrutiny. Content-neutral regulations get intermediate scrutiny.
What categories of speech are unprotected?: Incitement to imminent lawless action, true threats, fighting words, obscenity, defamation, and child pornography.
What is the Establishment Clause test (current)?: Government action must be consistent with historical practices and understandings (the Court has moved away from the Lemon test toward a history-and-tradition approach).
What is procedural due process's Mathews balancing test?: Courts weigh the private interest, the risk of erroneous deprivation and value of added procedures, and the government's interest, to decide what process is due.
When does the UCC (Article 2) apply instead of common law?: When the contract is for the sale of goods (movable, tangible property). Common law governs services, real estate, and other contracts.
What is consideration?: A bargained-for exchange of legal value — each party incurs a legal detriment or confers a benefit. A gratuitous or illusory promise lacks consideration.
What is the mirror image rule?: At common law, an acceptance must match the offer exactly; an acceptance that adds or changes terms is a rejection and a counteroffer.
What does UCC § 2-207 change about acceptance?: A definite acceptance with additional terms can still form a contract (the 'battle of the forms'); between merchants, additional terms become part of the contract unless they materially alter it or are objected to.
What is the mailbox rule?: Acceptance is effective on dispatch (when sent), while rejections and revocations are effective on receipt.
What contracts fall within the Statute of Frauds?: Contracts for land (M)arriage, suretyship, goods of $500 or more, and agreements not performable within one year — they need a signed writing. Mnemonic: MY LEGS.
What is promissory estoppel?: A promise the promisor should reasonably expect to induce reliance, on which the promisee detrimentally relies, is enforceable to avoid injustice — a substitute for consideration.
What is the parol evidence rule?: When parties have a final written contract, prior or contemporaneous oral or written agreements that contradict the writing are inadmissible to vary its terms.
What is the perfect tender rule?: Under the UCC, a buyer may reject goods that fail to conform to the contract in any respect, subject to the seller's right to cure within the contract time.
What is substantial performance?: At common law, a party who performs the essential purpose of the contract, with only minor deviations, has not materially breached and can recover (less damages for the defect).
What are expectation damages?: The default contract remedy — the amount needed to put the non-breaching party in the position it would have occupied had the contract been performed (the benefit of the bargain).
What is the duty to mitigate?: A non-breaching party cannot recover damages it could have avoided by reasonable effort; failure to mitigate reduces recovery.
When is specific performance available?: When monetary damages are inadequate — typically for unique goods or real estate (every parcel of land is considered unique).
Who is an intended third-party beneficiary?: A non-party the contracting parties intended to benefit; once their rights vest, they can enforce the contract. An incidental beneficiary cannot.
What is the pre-existing duty rule?: Performing an act one is already legally bound to do is not new consideration for a modification. The UCC allows good-faith modifications without new consideration.
What is anticipatory repudiation?: A clear, unequivocal statement before performance is due that a party will not perform; the non-breaching party may sue immediately or wait.
What are the four Model Penal Code mental states?: Purposely, knowingly, recklessly, and negligently — in descending order of culpability.
What is malice aforethought (murder)?: Intent to kill, intent to cause serious bodily harm, reckless indifference to human life (depraved heart), or intent to commit a dangerous felony (felony murder).
What is felony murder?: A killing committed during the commission of (or flight from) a dangerous felony; the felony supplies the malice, so no intent to kill is required.
What reduces murder to voluntary manslaughter?: A killing in the heat of passion upon adequate provocation that would cause a reasonable person to lose self-control, with no cooling-off period.
Larceny vs. embezzlement vs. false pretenses?: Larceny is a trespassory taking of another's property; embezzlement is fraudulent conversion of property already lawfully possessed; false pretenses is obtaining title by a false representation of fact.
What is burglary at common law?: The breaking and entering of the dwelling of another, at night, with the intent to commit a felony inside.
What is conspiracy?: An agreement between two or more people to commit an unlawful act, with intent to agree and intent to achieve the objective (most jurisdictions also require an overt act).
What is the exclusionary rule?: Evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Amendment, and its 'fruit of the poisonous tree,' is generally inadmissible in the prosecution's case-in-chief.
When is a warrant required for a search?: When the government intrudes on a reasonable expectation of privacy — unless an exception applies (search incident to arrest, automobile, plain view, consent, stop and frisk, exigent circumstances).
When does the Fifth Amendment right to counsel apply?: Under Miranda, during custodial interrogation. It is not offense-specific, and once invoked, interrogation must stop.
When does the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attach?: At the start of formal adversarial proceedings (charging). It is offense-specific — it applies only to the charged offense.
What are the fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree exceptions?: Independent source, inevitable discovery, attenuation, and good-faith reliance on a defective warrant (United States v. Leon).
What makes a confession admissible?: It must be voluntary under the totality of the circumstances, and if from custodial interrogation, preceded by Miranda warnings and a valid waiver.
What is a Terry stop?: A brief investigative detention on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity; a frisk for weapons is allowed if the officer reasonably suspects the person is armed and dangerous.
What is the standard for relevance (FRE 401)?: Evidence is relevant if it has any tendency to make a fact of consequence more or less probable than it would be without the evidence.
What does FRE 403 allow a judge to do?: Exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice, confusion, misleading the jury, or waste of time.
When is character evidence admissible (FRE 404(b))?: Other crimes, wrongs, or acts are inadmissible to prove propensity but admissible for non-character purposes: motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake (MIMIC).
What is an opposing-party statement?: A statement offered against a party that the party made (or adopted or authorized). It is defined as non-hearsay under FRE 801(d)(2).
What is an excited utterance?: A statement about a startling event made while the declarant was under the stress of excitement it caused — admissible under FRE 803(2) regardless of availability.
What is a present sense impression?: A statement describing an event made while or immediately after perceiving it — admissible under FRE 803(1).
What is the business-records exception?: A record of a regularly conducted activity, made at or near the time by someone with knowledge, kept in the regular course of business, is admissible under FRE 803(6).
What is a dying declaration?: In a homicide or civil case, a statement made by an unavailable declarant who believed death was imminent, about its cause or circumstances (FRE 804(b)(2)).
What is the Confrontation Clause limit on hearsay?: In a criminal case, a testimonial out-of-court statement is barred unless the declarant testifies or was previously subject to cross-examination (Crawford v. Washington).
What is the best evidence rule?: To prove the contents of a writing, recording, or photograph, the original must be produced, unless an exception applies (FRE 1002).
How can a witness be impeached?: By prior inconsistent statements, bias or interest, sensory defects, a character for untruthfulness (reputation/opinion or specific instances), and certain criminal convictions.
What does the attorney-client privilege protect?: Confidential communications between a client and attorney made to obtain legal advice; the privilege belongs to the client and survives the client's death.
When may a lay witness testify?: When the witness has personal knowledge; lay opinion is allowed if rationally based on perception and helpful (FRE 701).
What is the Daubert standard for experts?: An expert may testify if the testimony is based on sufficient facts, reliable principles and methods, reliably applied to the case (FRE 702).
What is a fee simple absolute?: The largest estate in land — ownership of potentially infinite duration that is freely transferable, devisable, and inheritable, with no inherent conditions.
What is a fee simple determinable?: An estate that ends automatically upon a stated event ('so long as,' 'until'); the grantor holds a possibility of reverter.
What is a fee simple subject to condition subsequent?: An estate that the grantor may cut short upon a stated event ('but if,' 'provided that'); the grantor holds a right of entry (power of termination).
What is a vested remainder?: A future interest in an ascertained person, not subject to a condition precedent, that follows naturally at the end of the prior estate.
What is a contingent remainder?: A future interest given to an unascertained person or subject to a condition precedent; it is subject to the rule against perpetuities.
Joint tenancy vs. tenancy in common?: Joint tenancy carries a right of survivorship (the survivor takes the whole); tenancy in common does not — each tenant's share passes to their heirs.
What is the implied warranty of habitability?: In residential leases, the landlord must maintain the premises in a habitable condition; breach lets the tenant repair-and-deduct, withhold rent, or terminate.
What are the three types of recording acts?: Race (first to record wins), notice (a later bona fide purchaser without notice wins), and race-notice (a BFP without notice who records first wins).
What is a bona fide purchaser?: One who buys for value and without notice (actual, record, or inquiry) of a prior interest; recording acts protect the BFP.
What are the elements of adverse possession?: Possession that is open and notorious, hostile (without permission), actual, exclusive, and continuous for the statutory period.
What is an easement?: A non-possessory right to use another's land for a specific purpose. It can be created expressly, by implication, by necessity, or by prescription.
What is an easement by prescription?: An easement acquired by open, continuous, hostile use for the statutory period — like adverse possession but for a use right rather than title.
What is the difference between a real covenant and an equitable servitude?: A real covenant is enforceable at law for damages and requires privity; an equitable servitude is enforceable in equity (injunction) and requires only notice plus touch-and-concern.
What rights does a mortgagee have on default?: The lender may foreclose and sell the property to satisfy the debt; the borrower has an equity of redemption to pay off the debt before sale.
What is the doctrine of part performance?: An oral land-sale contract can be enforced despite the Statute of Frauds if the buyer does acts (paying, taking possession, making improvements) that show a contract exists.
What deed covenants does a general warranty deed provide?: Present covenants (seisin, right to convey, against encumbrances) and future covenants (quiet enjoyment, warranty, further assurances).
What is battery?: An intentional harmful or offensive contact with the plaintiff's person. Intent to cause the contact (not the harm) is enough.
What is assault?: An intentional act causing the plaintiff a reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact.
What is false imprisonment?: An intentional act confining the plaintiff to a bounded area, with no reasonable means of escape, of which the plaintiff is aware or harmed by.
What is the transferred-intent doctrine?: Intent transfers when a defendant intends one tort but commits another, or intends to harm one person but harms another — for battery, assault, false imprisonment, trespass to land, and trespass to chattels.
What is the general standard of care in negligence?: The care a reasonably prudent person would exercise under the same or similar circumstances — an objective standard.
What is the but-for test?: The test for actual causation: the harm would not have occurred but for the defendant's breach. The substantial-factor test applies when multiple sufficient causes exist.
What is proximate cause?: The legal limit on liability — a defendant is liable only for the foreseeable consequences of the breach; an unforeseeable superseding cause cuts off liability.
What is res ipsa loquitur?: A doctrine that infers breach from the fact of an accident that ordinarily does not occur without negligence, where the instrumentality was in the defendant's exclusive control.
What is comparative negligence?: A plaintiff's recovery is reduced by their share of fault. Pure comparative reduces recovery by any percentage; modified bars recovery if the plaintiff is more (or equally) at fault.
When does strict liability apply?: To abnormally dangerous activities, wild animals, and defective products — liability without proof of fault.
What are the three product-defect theories?: Manufacturing defect (departs from intended design), design defect (foreseeably unreasonably dangerous), and failure to warn (inadequate warnings/instructions).
What are the elements of defamation?: A false statement of fact, of and concerning the plaintiff, published to a third party, that harms the plaintiff's reputation (plus fault and, for public figures, actual malice).
What is 'actual malice' in defamation?: Knowledge that the statement was false or reckless disregard for whether it was true — a public official or public figure must prove it (New York Times v. Sullivan).
What is respondeat superior?: An employer is vicariously liable for torts an employee commits within the scope of employment.
What is IIED?: Intentional infliction of emotional distress — extreme and outrageous conduct, done intentionally or recklessly, causing severe emotional distress.
What duty does a possessor owe a trespasser, licensee, and invitee?: To an undiscovered trespasser, no duty; to a discovered trespasser and licensee, warn of known dangers; to an invitee, reasonable care including inspection.
What is actual vs. apparent authority?: Actual authority comes from the principal's manifestations to the agent; apparent authority comes from the principal's manifestations to a third party that lead the third party to reasonably believe the agent is authorized.
What liability do general partners face?: General partners are jointly and severally liable for all partnership obligations; each partner is an agent of the partnership for ordinary business.
What is the business judgment rule?: A presumption that directors act on an informed basis, in good faith, and in the honest belief their decision serves the corporation — courts will not second-guess such decisions.
What fiduciary duties do directors owe?: The duty of care (act with the care of a reasonably prudent person) and the duty of loyalty (act in the corporation's best interest, avoiding self-dealing and usurping corporate opportunities).
When can a court pierce the corporate veil?: To hold shareholders personally liable when the corporation is an alter ego, is undercapitalized, ignores formalities, or is used to commit fraud or injustice.
What protects an LLC member from liability?: Like shareholders, LLC members generally are not personally liable for the LLC's debts; they enjoy limited liability plus pass-through taxation.
What is a derivative suit?: A suit by a shareholder on behalf of the corporation to enforce a corporate right, typically after making (or being excused from) a demand on the board.
What is the entire-fairness standard?: When a director self-deals, the transaction is reviewed for fair dealing and fair price, rather than under the deferential business judgment rule.
What are the requirements for a valid attested will?: Testamentary capacity and intent, a writing, the testator's signature, and (usually two) witnesses who sign after witnessing the signing or acknowledgment.
What is testamentary capacity?: The testator must understand the nature of the act, the nature and extent of their property, and the natural objects of their bounty (their heirs).
What is a holographic will?: A handwritten will, signed by the testator, valid in many states without witnesses if the material provisions are in the testator's handwriting.
How can a will be revoked?: By a later valid will or codicil, or by a physical act (burning, tearing, canceling) done with the intent to revoke.
What is intestate succession?: The default distribution of an estate when there is no valid will — property passes to the surviving spouse and descendants under the state's statute.
What are the elements of a valid trust?: A settlor with intent, a trustee, identifiable trust property (res), one or more beneficiaries, and a valid purpose.
What fiduciary duties does a trustee owe?: The duties of loyalty (act solely in the beneficiaries' interest, no self-dealing), prudence, impartiality among beneficiaries, and to account.
What is a spendthrift trust?: A trust that restricts a beneficiary's ability to transfer their interest and shields it from most creditors until distribution.
What does IRAC stand for?: Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion — the structure for a bar essay: identify the issue, state the governing rule, apply it to the facts, and conclude.
How is the MEE structured?: Six 30-minute essay questions over three hours, worth 30% of the UBE score. Essays can test the MBE subjects and may combine two subjects.
How is the MPT structured?: Two 90-minute closed-universe tasks worth 20% of the UBE. Each provides a File (facts) and a Library (law) and asks for a work product like a memo or brief.
What does the MPT actually test?: Lawyering skills — sorting relevant facts, analyzing the provided law, applying law to facts, and writing effectively — not memorized substantive law.
What is the most common MEE essay mistake?: Reciting black-letter law without applying it to the specific facts. Examiners reward fact-based application far more than long rule statements.
Which MEE subjects were removed in July 2026?: Conflict of Laws, Family Law, Trusts and Estates, and Secured Transactions. From July 2026, the MEE-only subject is Business Associations (plus the seven MBE subjects).
How is the UBE scored?: MBE (50%) + MEE (30%) + MPT (20%) are combined into one scaled score out of 400. The score is portable to other UBE jurisdictions.
What is a passing UBE score?: There is no national cut score; each jurisdiction sets its own, currently 260–270 out of 400 (e.g., New York and Maryland 266; Texas and Massachusetts 270).
Uniform Bar Examination (UBE): A standardized bar exam, developed by NCBE and adopted by 41 jurisdictions, made up of the MBE, MEE, and MPT. It produces a single 400-point score that is portable to other UBE jurisdictions.
Multistate Bar Examination (MBE): The 200-question, six-hour multiple-choice component of the bar exam (175 scored + 25 unscored pretest), testing seven subjects equally. It is 50% of the UBE score.
Multistate Essay Examination (MEE): The essay component: six 30-minute essay questions over three hours, worth 30% of the UBE score, testing legal analysis and written communication.
Multistate Performance Test (MPT): The skills component: two 90-minute tasks worth 20% of the UBE, in which examinees complete a lawyering task using a provided File and Library rather than memorized law.
Personal jurisdiction: A court's power over the parties to a lawsuit. For an out-of-state defendant, due process requires minimum contacts with the forum such that the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.
Subject-matter jurisdiction: A court's power to hear a type of case. Federal courts have it through a federal question or diversity of citizenship (over $75,000 between citizens of different states).
Erie doctrine: The rule that a federal court sitting in diversity applies state substantive law and federal procedural law. There is no general federal common law.
Judicial review: The power of courts to declare a statute or executive act unconstitutional, established in Marbury v. Madison.
Strict scrutiny: The most demanding level of constitutional review, applied to suspect classifications (such as race) and fundamental rights; the law must be narrowly tailored to a compelling government interest.
Due process: The constitutional guarantee of fair procedures (procedural due process) and protection of fundamental liberties (substantive due process) before the government deprives a person of life, liberty, or property.
Mutual assent: The meeting of the minds required to form a contract — a valid offer manifesting present intent to be bound, plus an acceptance on the offer's terms.
Consideration: A bargained-for exchange of legal value. Each party must incur a legal detriment or confer a benefit; a gratuitous promise generally lacks consideration.
Statute of Frauds: The rule that certain contracts — for land, suretyship, marriage, goods of $500 or more, and those not performable within one year — must be evidenced by a signed writing to be enforceable.
Mirror image rule: The common-law principle that an acceptance must match the offer exactly; an acceptance adding or changing material terms is a rejection and counteroffer (the UCC relaxes this for merchants).
Mens rea: The mental state required for a crime. The Model Penal Code recognizes four levels: purposely, knowingly, recklessly, and negligently.
Felony murder: An unlawful killing committed during the commission of (or flight from) a dangerous felony, which supplies the malice for murder even without intent to kill.
Exclusionary rule: The rule that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Amendment, and its fruits, is generally inadmissible in the prosecution's case-in-chief.
Miranda warnings: Warnings police must give before custodial interrogation — the right to silence, that statements may be used, and the right to (appointed) counsel — under Miranda v. Arizona.
Hearsay: An out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. It is inadmissible under FRE 802 unless a non-hearsay definition, an exclusion, or an exception applies.
Best evidence rule: The requirement (FRE 1002) that the original document be produced to prove its contents, subject to several exceptions for duplicates and lost originals.
Fee simple absolute: The largest estate in land — ownership of potentially infinite duration, freely transferable, devisable, and inheritable, with no inherent conditions.
Rule against perpetuities: The rule voiding a contingent future interest unless it must vest, if at all, within 21 years after the death of a life in being when the interest was created.
Adverse possession: Acquiring title to land by possession that is open and notorious, hostile, actual, exclusive, and continuous for the statutory period.
Easement: A non-possessory right to use another's land for a specific purpose, such as a right of way; it can be created expressly, by implication, by necessity, or by prescription.
Negligence: Conduct that breaches a duty of reasonable care and causes harm. Its four elements are duty, breach, causation (actual and proximate), and damages.
Proximate cause: The legal limit on liability for negligence — a defendant is liable only for the foreseeable consequences of the breach; an unforeseeable superseding cause cuts off liability.
Strict liability: Liability without fault, imposed for abnormally dangerous activities, certain animals, and defective products that are unreasonably dangerous.
Business judgment rule: The presumption that corporate directors act on an informed basis, in good faith, and in the honest belief their decision serves the corporation; courts will not second-guess such decisions.
Respondeat superior: The doctrine that an employer is vicariously liable for torts an employee commits within the scope of employment.

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By Career EmployerUpdated Jun 20, 2026

150+ free Bar Exam flashcards — 4 ways to study

Bar Exam Flashcard of the DayNew daily

The classic card. Do you know this one?

Click Study Flashcards above to open the flashcard hub — 150+ bar exam cards you can flip, match, type, or quiz yourself on. Every card is drawn from the seven MBE subjects and high-yield MEE topics, so you study exactly what the exam tests.^[1] Pair them with our free practice test and study guide.

Bar Exam Flashcard Study Modes

Most flashcard sites give you one thing: a card to flip. Ours has four modes so you can both learn the material and prove you actually know it — the difference between recognizing a rule and recalling it under pressure.^[3]

Flip (Study) — the classic card. Flip term ↔ rule, shuffle the deck, and mark each “Got it” or “Still learning.”
Match (Game) — a timed game: pair each term to its definition as fast as you can. Great for cementing elements and tests.
Type (Recall) — read the rule and type the term. Typing forces true active recall instead of passive recognition.
Quiz (Test) — multiple-choice questions generated from the cards, so you can self-test exactly like exam day.

Free bar exam flashcards from Career Employer — active recall for all 7 MBE subjects

Why Flashcards Work for the Bar Exam

Flashcards aren’t busywork — they’re built on active recall: pulling an answer out of memory strengthens it far more than re-reading outlines. Pair that with spacing — short sessions across several weeks rather than one cram — and you retain more in less time.^[3]

That matters for the bar exam, which is dense with elements (the four parts of negligence, the requirements for a valid will), tests (minimum contacts, the tiers of scrutiny), and rules that reward repetition. Used alongside our practice test and study guide, flashcards turn review time into measurable progress.^[3]

Bar Exam Flashcards by Subject

The cards are organized by the seven MBE subjects (weighted equally — 25 scored questions each) plus high-yield MEE topics. Spread your time evenly across the MBE subjects, then layer in the MEE material:^[1]

Bar exam flashcards by subject (2026)
Subject	Where it is tested
Civil Procedure	MBE & MEE (25 scored MBE questions)
Constitutional Law	MBE & MEE (25 scored MBE questions)
Contracts & Sales (UCC Art. 2)	MBE & MEE (25 scored MBE questions)
Criminal Law & Procedure	MBE & MEE (25 scored MBE questions)
Evidence	MBE & MEE (25 scored MBE questions)
Real Property	MBE & MEE (25 scored MBE questions)
Torts	MBE & MEE (25 scored MBE questions)
Business Associations	MEE essay subject
Wills, Trusts & Estates	Tested on the MEE through Feb 2028 / with provided resources on NextGen

How to Get the Most Out of These Flashcards

Start early, review daily. Begin flashcards as you cover each subject, not the week before — a few minutes a day beats one marathon.^[3]
Use Type and Quiz, not just Flip. Recognizing the rule is easy; recalling and applying it is the real test.
Drill your weakest subject. Pick a single subject deck and grind it until the Match time drops and the Quiz score climbs.
Keep the MBE subjects even. All seven are weighted equally, so don’t let a favorite crowd out a weak one.
Then prove it. When the cards feel easy, confirm with a full practice test.

Bar Exam Flashcards FAQ

Over a hundred free bar exam flashcards, organized across the seven MBE subjects plus high-yield MEE topics like Business Associations and Wills, Trusts & Estates. They're free to use with no account required.

References

1.National Conference of Bar Examiners. “About the MBE.” NCBE. ↑
2.National Conference of Bar Examiners. “Uniform Bar Examination (UBE).” NCBE. ↑
3.Institute of Education Sciences (U.S. Dept. of Education). “Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning (Practice Guide).” What Works Clearinghouse, IES. ↑

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