AR Bar study guide
AR Bar · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Arkansas Bar Examination is the licensing exam that a Juris Doctor graduate must pass before being admitted to practice law in Arkansas. It is administered under the authority of the Arkansas State Board of Law Examiners, and only that body can confirm eligibility, deadlines, and current scoring rules. The AR Bar study guide has 12 sections and about 3,177 words.
01Civil Procedure
Master the sequence: subject-matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, venue, then the merits. For subject-matter jurisdiction, remember the two gates to federal court: federal question (well-pleaded complaint rule - the plaintiff's claim must arise under federal law, not merely raise a federal defense) and diversity (complete diversity plus amount in controversy exceeding $75,000, with corporations citizens of incorporation state and principal place of business).
304 words, about 2 min02Constitutional Law
Start with standing: injury in fact, causation, and redressability. Then ripeness, mootness (with the capable-of-repetition-yet-evading-review exception), and the political question doctrine.
289 words, about 1 min03Contracts
A contract requires offer, acceptance, consideration, and no defenses. An offer must be definite enough to enforce and must manifest present intent to be bound.
300 words, about 2 min04Criminal Law and Procedure
Know the four common-law mental states: purpose, knowledge, recklessness, and negligence. Distinguish specific intent (burglary, larceny, embezzlement, assault, first-degree premeditated murder) from general intent and strict liability.
275 words, about 1 min05Evidence
Relevance is materiality plus probative value. Rule 403 excludes if probative value is substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice, confusion, or waste.
259 words, about 1 min06Real Property
Know the fee simple absolute, fee tail, life estate, and defeasible fees (fee simple determinable, fee simple subject to condition subsequent, fee simple subject to executory limitation). Future interests include reversion, possibility of reverter, right of entry, and executory interest.
303 words, about 2 min07Torts
Battery requires harmful or offensive contact with intent; assault requires apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact; false imprisonment requires confinement; trespass requires physical invasion; conversion requires substantial interference with chattels. Defenses include consent, self-defense, defense of others, defense of property, necessity, and privilege.
263 words, about 1 min08Business Associations
Agency requires consent, control, and a fiduciary relationship. The principal is liable for the agent's acts if the agent had actual, implied, or apparent authority.
261 words, about 1 min09Family Law
Marriage requires capacity, consent, and compliance with formalities. Common-law marriage requires cohabitation and holding out.
217 words, about 1 min10Trusts and Estates
A will requires testamentary capacity, intent, formalities (writing, signature, witnesses), and no undue influence or fraud. Holographic wills are valid in some states without witnesses.
229 words, about 1 min11Arkansas-Specific Law and Procedure
Arkansas has a unified court system: circuit courts, court of appeals, and the Arkansas Supreme Court. The Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure govern civil practice; the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure govern criminal practice.
250 words, about 1 min12Legal Writing and Multistate Performance Test
The Multistate Performance Test gives you a file and a library, and asks you to produce a written work product (memo, brief, letter, contract provision). The task memo tells you the audience, the format, and the specific question.
227 words, about 1 min