NJ Bar cheat sheet

Civil procedure (federal): personal jurisdiction requires minimum contacts plus fair play; subject-matter jurisdiction via diversity (complete diversity, amount over $75,000) or federal question; venue lies where any defendant resides or where events occurred; Erie requires federal courts to apply state substantive law and federal procedural rules.

Constitutional law: state action required for due process and equal protection; strict scrutiny for suspect classifications and fundamental rights, intermediate scrutiny for sex, rational basis for everything else; Commerce Clause allows regulation of channels, instrumentalities, and activities substantially affecting interstate commerce.

Contracts: acceptance effective on dispatch (mailbox rule) unless option contract; UCC 2-207 modifies mirror image rule between merchants; Statute of Frauds requires writing for land, one year, surety, marriage, executor, goods over $500; expectation damages default, consequential damages need foreseeability (Hadley).

Torts: negligence elements duty, breach, causation, damages; comparative negligence in most states, contributory negligence in a few; strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities and wild animals; defamation requires false statement of fact, publication, fault, and damages unless per se.

Real property: adverse possession requires actual, exclusive, open and notorious, continuous, hostile for statutory period; recording acts race, notice, race-notice; landlord covenants quiet enjoyment and habitability; easement by prescription mirrors adverse possession elements.

Criminal law: Fourth Amendment seizure requires probable cause or reasonable suspicion; Fifth Amendment Miranda custody plus interrogation; Sixth Amendment right to counsel at all critical stages after formal charges; mens rea levels purposely, knowingly, recklessly, negligently under MPC.

Evidence: relevance plus FRE 403 balancing; hearsay defined as out-of-court statement offered for truth; exemptions for party admissions, prior consistent statements, and present sense impression; confrontation clause bars testimonial hearsay absent unavailability and prior opportunity.

MBE timing: 200 questions over two 3-hour sessions, 175 scored; average 1.8 minutes per question; flag and return rather than stall on a single item.

MEE format: six 30-minute essays; each tests multiple subjects; answer must use IRAC with rule statements drawn from majority rules, noting minority where relevant.

Business associations: agency actual, implied, apparent authority; partnership joint and several liability; corporation veil piercing for alter ego or undercapitalization; LLC member liability limited absent personal guarantee.

Family law: prenuptial agreements require full disclosure and voluntariness; child support under income shares model; custody best interests standard; marital property equitable distribution in most states.

Wills and estates: testamentary capacity plus intent plus formalities; holographic wills valid in many states if material provisions in testator's handwriting; pretermitted child statutes protect omitted children; anti-lapse statutes save gifts to predeceased relatives.

Trusts: express trust requires settlor capacity, intent, trust property, ascertainable beneficiaries, and valid purpose; spendthrift clause bars voluntary and involuntary alienation; cy pres applies to charitable trusts; resulting trust on failure of express trust.

Secured transactions: attachment requires value, debtor rights in collateral, and authenticated security agreement; perfection by filing, possession, or control; purchase-money security interest in consumer goods auto-perfects; first to file or perfect wins.

Conflict of laws: domicile requires physical presence plus intent to remain; choice of law by forum's approach (vested rights, interest analysis, most significant relationship); full faith and credit for sister-state judgments.

MEE strategy: budget 30 minutes, spend 5 reading and outlining, 20 writing, 5 reviewing; answer every sub-question even if uncertain, because partial credit is awarded.

MPT format: two 90-minute tasks in a closed universe; the File contains facts and the Library contains authorities; no outside law applies.

Deliverables include objective memos, persuasive briefs, client letters, contracts, and opinion letters; the task memo dictates the exact format, tone, and audience.

Read the task memo first to identify the assignment, then the File for facts, then the Library for controlling rules; do not read linearly from the start.

Use the Library's authorities as the governing law, even if they conflict with real doctrine; cite them by name and apply their holdings to File facts.

Outline before drafting: identify each element from the authorities, match facts to each element, and note missing facts as gaps rather than inventing them.

Objective documents use neutral language and address counterarguments; persuasive documents advocate with a single theory and rebut opposing positions.

Time budget: 15 minutes reading and outlining, 60 minutes drafting, 15 minutes proofreading and citation checking; keep both tasks within 90 minutes each.

Formatting counts: use headings that track the elements, short paragraphs, and explicit conclusions; graders reward organization and accurate rule application over length.