Multistate Performance Test (MPT): Lawyering Tasks Under Time Pressure
What the MPT Tests
The MPT gives you a File and a Library and asks you to produce a practical work product: a memo, brief, contract provision, client letter, or closing argument. It tests your ability to extract governing rules from the Library, apply them to facts in the File, and write in the assigned format. You do not need outside law; everything is provided.
Concepts You Must Own
Read the task memo first to identify the audience, the format, and the specific questions. Then read the Library to synthesize rules from cases and statutes, and the File for operative facts. Distinguish holdings from dicta, and note any conflicting authorities. Organize around the questions the task memo poses, not around the order of documents.
Traps That Appear
Candidates lose points by importing outside law, ignoring the required format, or summarizing documents instead of analyzing them. Another trap is missing a fact in the File that triggers a rule from the Library. Also watch for a Library case that is distinguishable on its facts; failing to distinguish it weakens the analysis.
Rule of thumb
Spend roughly a quarter of the time reading and outlining, then write. Use headings that mirror the task memo's questions. Cite the Library sources by name.
Worked Example
If the task asks for an objective memo on whether a client breached a duty, structure the memo as Question Presented, Brief Answer, Statement of Facts, Discussion, and Conclusion. Under Discussion, state the rule from the Library case, apply the File facts, and address the opposing argument.