Multistate Performance Test (MPT)
Multistate Performance Test (MPT)
The MPT is the skills component of the UBE: two 90-minute tasks. Each task supplies a File (facts, client documents, correspondence) and a Library (statutes, regulations, cases). You must produce a practical lawyering document-an office memo, client letter, brief, contract provision, or discovery plan-using only the supplied Library and File. The MPT tests legal analysis, fact analysis, organization, and communication, not recall of substantive law.
Core rules
Read the task memo first and identify the deliverable, audience, tone, and deadline. Then read the Library to extract rules and the File to extract facts. Use only the authorities in the Library; do not import outside law. Cite the Library and the record. Analogize and distinguish the supplied cases. Organize under headings that track the task. Write in plain, professional prose and follow any format instructions exactly.
Worked example
A task memo asks for an objective office memo on whether a client’s covenant not to compete is enforceable. The Library contains a statute permitting such covenants in the sale of a business and two cases: one enforcing a sale-of-business covenant, another refusing to enforce an employment covenant lacking consideration. The File shows the client sold a bakery, received goodwill value, and agreed not to compete within five miles for two years. The reasoning is: the statute permits sale-of-business covenants; the first case is analogous because the covenant was part of a sale and supported by consideration; the second case is distinguishable because this is not an employment setting. The conclusion should assess reasonableness of scope and duration under the statute and facts, not simply announce enforceability.
Traps
Ignoring the task memo’s format is a major score loss. Do not copy Library text without applying it. Do not omit unfavorable authority. Do not write an academic essay when the task calls for a client letter. Do not invent facts or law. Leave time to check that every legal conclusion is tied to a File fact and a Library source.