New Jersey’s legal community is officially on the path toward one of its most significant testing reforms in decades. Beginning July 2028, the Garden State will phase out its long-standing bar examination and adopt the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam, a modernized assessment designed to align more closely with the skills new attorneys actually use in practice. The decision, approved by the New Jersey Supreme Court, places the state among the growing list of jurisdictions moving toward a more practical, skills-driven model of evaluating future lawyers.
The shift arrives as the National Conference of Bar Examiners prepares to retire the current UBE format in early 2028, prompting states nationwide to update their systems. New Jersey’s transition is not only a logistical necessity but a strategic one, ensuring that future attorneys are trained and tested through a lens that reflects contemporary lawyering. The change also preserves score portability, a benefit the legal community values deeply—particularly in a region where many attorneys practice across state lines.
The NextGen exam condenses the testing window to one-and-a-half days, with six hours of testing on day one and three hours on day two. While shorter than the existing two-day, 12-hour format, the redesigned exam demands more integrated thinking. Instead of focusing on rote memorization, it blends doctrinal knowledge with tasks that mirror real assignments given to junior attorneys. These include research memos, client-focused writing, analytical exercises, and decision-making scenarios that require both legal understanding and professional judgment.
The updated structure draws from nine core doctrinal subjects—civil procedure, contracts, evidence, torts, business associations, constitutional law, criminal law, real property, and family law. Equally important is the emphasis on seven foundational skills such as issue analysis, legal writing, investigation, client counseling, negotiation, and relationship management. The NCBE developed this curriculum following years of data collection, surveys, and collaboration with educators and practitioners across the country.
A major practical update comes with the exam’s digital delivery. Test takers will use their own laptops at secure, proctored testing centers. The exam runs through an encrypted offline application to eliminate the need for internet access and reduce technical disruptions. Candidates requiring accommodations will continue to have access to formats like Braille, paper exams, and assistive technology.
The New Jersey Supreme Court underscored that maintaining score portability is essential for law graduates who increasingly pursue careers spanning multiple states. Most New Jersey attorneys already hold dual licensure with New York or Pennsylvania, making reciprocity a crucial part of the state’s legal landscape. Abandoning the UBE format would have forced New Jersey to create a standalone exam from scratch—an expensive and impractical task given the retirement of the Multistate Bar Exam as a national scoring anchor.
A state committee led by retired Supreme Court Justice Jaynee LaVecchia conducted months of analysis before recommending adoption of the NextGen UBE. The group included leaders from law schools, bar examiners, and seasoned practitioners. They described the new exam as a thoughtful evolution, one that builds on the practical approach New Jersey embraced when adopting the UBE in 2016. Their 61-page report detailed how the new format blends traditional competencies like close reading and legal writing with modern expectations surrounding client communication, dispute resolution, and case assessment.
Law schools across the state now have several years to adjust their curricula and prepare students for the updated exam format. The New Jersey State Bar Association supported the 2028 implementation timeline for exactly this reason. During the transition, applicants may still apply for admission using UBE scores earned in other states, and later they will have the option of using NextGen scores once the Supreme Court finalizes New Jersey’s passing threshold.
With planning already underway, the Board of Bar Examiners will develop the final logistics for the rollout, including setting a passing score and preparing testing centers for the new digital format. As New Jersey moves forward, the adoption of the NextGen exam reflects a broader commitment to modernizing professional licensing and maintaining national compatibility. It also demonstrates the state’s ongoing dedication to shaping the next generation of legal professionals—an effort that aligns naturally with the state’s cultural and educational institutions, including its vibrant theatre and arts communities that thrive on innovation, relevance, and forward motion.
The shift signals more than an administrative update; it represents a statewide investment in legal excellence. By embracing a system that mirrors the real work attorneys perform, New Jersey is ensuring that the lawyers who serve its residents—and the many newcomers who begin their careers here—enter the profession with sharper skills, practical confidence, and a deeper understanding of what it means to practice law in an evolving landscape.
