If you’re a third-year law student (3L), the bar exam probably feels closer and more real than ever. While you still have time to expand your knowledge, you’ve already been building many of the skills the next generation of the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) tests.
The NextGen bar exam, launching in some jurisdictions in July 2026, reflects a major shift. It’s no longer just about memorizing rules. Instead, the NextGen UBE tests how well you use the law in realistic scenarios. What this means is that the bar exam is becoming more aligned with what you do in law school—and what you’ll do as a lawyer.
How to Prepare for NextGen While You’re Still in Law School
Build Your Doctrinal Foundation Early
The smartest move you can make right now is continuing to strengthen your understanding of core doctrinal subjects. NextGen still tests the core subjects you already know—Civil Procedure, Contracts, Torts, Evidence, Criminal Law, Real Property and Constitutional Law.
The key difference? These things are no longer tested in isolation. Instead, you’ll apply them together with foundational lawyering skills in more practice-based scenarios. What’s great is that law school has been preparing you for this all along. Now you just need to connect your law school skills to your NextGen bar exam preparation.
While focusing on doctrinal knowledge, be sure to also pay attention to foundational skills like:
- Legal research and writing
- Issue spotting and analysis
- Investigation and evaluation
- Client counseling and advising
- Negotiation and dispute resolution
- Client relationship management
Form Habits That Will Pay Off Later
- Take clear, organized notes in your doctrinal classes. These subjects show up repeatedly in NextGen tasks.
- Create and update your own outlines throughout the semester. Outlining helps you understand how rules fit together, which is exactly how NextGen expects you to think. (Here’s a little refresher on outlining.)
- Use BARBRI 2L/3L Exam Success and Quimbee Study Aids to supplement your class materials and ensure you’re covering high‑yield, frequently tested topics.
- Strengthen your core legal skills, like writing, analysis and communication, through clinics, legal writing courses, journals, externships, or by working with a law school tutor.
These habits don’t just help you survive law school; they give you a major head start when bar prep begins. Instead of learning the law from scratch, you’re refining skills you’ve already built.
Practice the Skills NextGen Actually Tests
Because the NextGen UBE shifts the focus from memorizing rules to using them, you’ll be asked to demonstrate your ability to:
- Analyze legal scenarios and apply rules to new facts
- Conduct targeted legal research
- Draft clear, client‑focused communications
- Spot ethical and procedural issues
- Use legal rules in practical, real‑world contexts
To prepare for this skills‑based approach, start training your brain now:
- Engage deeply with legal writing and research assignments. Pay attention to how you structure analysis, explain rules, and communicate with clarity. These are important skills NextGen assesses.
- Join clinics, externships, journals, or mock trial teams. These experiences force you to apply doctrine in real or simulated practice settings, which mirrors the NextGen format.
- Work with a tutor or writing instructor if you want personalized feedback on your reasoning, organization, and communication skills.
The earlier you start thinking like a practicing lawyer, and not just a student, the more natural the NextGen exam will feel when you get there.
Explore NextGen Study Strategies That Work
Where You’ve Already Built NextGen Bar Exam Skills
1. Issue Spotting in Every Class
Think about every cold call, exam, or hypothetical you’ve worked through. That skill—quickly identifying legal issues in a fact pattern—is precisely what the NextGen exam is testing. In fact, some question formats specifically reward your ability to identify relevant legal concepts rather than just recite rules.
Keep sharpening this skill by pushing past outline memorization. Focus on why an issue matters, how doctrines interact, and what facts trigger specific legal questions.
2. Legal Writing Translates to Bar-Ready Writing
Your legal writing classes and memo assignments haven’t just been busywork. They are early and direct training for the NextGen bar exam. The ability to analyze facts, apply legal rules, and communicate clearly and efficiently will come in handy when you are expected to work NextGen integrated question sets and performance test tasks.
As you continue your writing, prioritize clarity over perfection. Remember that strong, straightforward reasoning will always outperform dense, overly complicated writing.
3. Legal Research Matters
NextGen expects you to work with statutes, cases, and other legal sources on the spot. That means your ability to read, interpret, and apply legal materials is no longer optional; it’s essential.
Treat every research assignment as a chance to build this muscle. The more comfortable you are navigating legal authorities now, the smoother your bar prep will be.
4. Clinics, Internships + Simulations are Skill-Builders
If you’ve participated in clinics, externships, mock trials, or negotiation competitions, you’ve already practiced key skills NextGen assesses: client counseling, fact investigation, strategic decision‑making, and practical problem‑solving.
Reflect intentionally on these experiences. Ask yourself how you approached each problem and what skills you used. Those insights translate directly to exam performance.
5. Class Discussions Shape Analytical Thinking
Every time you’ve debated a case or walked through a professor’s questions, you've strengthened your analytical reasoning, legal judgment, and the ability to apply rules in context. The NextGen bar exam prioritizes this kind of applied thinking over rote memorization.
Stay engaged in discussions and keep pushing your analytical thinking. The more you practice now, the more naturally it will show up during bar prep.
Explore more tips to jump start your NextGen prep right now.
Make Your 3L Year the Ultimate Bar Prep Power Play
As you approach the law school finish line, your focus should shift from “learning more law” to refining how you use the law. Here’s where to prioritize your energy:
- Practice integrated thinking by combining doctrines in a single analysis.
- Strengthen timing and efficiency with quick, straightforward practice.
- Use realistic practice questions that mesh skills and doctrine.
- Note: BARBRI’s NextGen Bar Review course provides authentic preparation with licensed NCBE content that aligns with the bar exam.
- Focus on the process of analyzing a problem, not just getting the correct answer.
You’ve built important knowledge and skills in preparation for taking (and passing) the NextGen UBE. Every time you think and communicate like a lawyer, solve a complex legal problem, or work with real-world materials, you are gaining training for the bar exam.
When you’re ready for actual bar prep, BARBRI has engineered our NextGen UBE prep course to meet the bar exam evolution. We’ve always understood that every student learns differently, so we meet you where you are with content tailored to support your learning style and retention.
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