The Components of the California Performance Test and the Multistate Performance Test

The California Performance Test and the Multistate Performance Test simulates the experiences of a new attorney.

You’ll be given a client “File” and asked to complete what would be considered a typical assignment for a first year associate. Most likely, you’ll be asked to write a legal memorandum or persuasive brief, although it is possible to be asked to draft interrogatories, a will provision or a closing argument. Although you may not have performed all of these types of tasks during law school, the bar examiners expect you to be able to follow their instruction memo and rely on your basic legal training to complete the assignment.

Each task is designed to test your legal skills such as fact analysis, fact gathering, legal analysis and reasoning, problem solving and ethical issue problems.

The Components of the CPT and the MPT

The File

Here you’ll find the factual information about your case in the form of:

• Excerpts from deposition testimony
• Client correspondence
• Police reports and medical records
• Invoices and purchase orders
• Witness interviews
• Contract provisions, a lease, or a will.

While the File contains all the facts you need to know about your problem, it also contains irrelevant information just as in real life where your client will volunteer much more information than you actually need. The File will include irrelevant or ambiguous information, unreliable and conflicting witness testimony and inconsistent statements.

The “Task” Memo

This is the first memorandum in the File and the single most important piece of paper in the File. It introduces your problem and identifies your task. Your job is to answer the questions presented in the memo and perform the assigned task as precisely as possible.

The Instruction Memo

If the bar examiners think you need guidance in completing your task, they’ll include a second memo in the File. This memo will tell you exactly what to include in your answer. Sometimes the examiners tell you what not to include in your answer.

The Library

The Library contains all the legal authorities you’ll need to complete the assigned task. They are the only legal authorities you may use to solve the problem.

The Library may consist of:

• Statues, codes and commentaries
• Constitutional provisions and regulations
• Rules of professional conduct
• Cases
• Secondary sources such as Reinstatement provisions

The cases may be actual cases, modified cases, or cases written specifically for the exam. The rules also may be actual rules or rules written specifically for the exam. Even if you think you are familiar with a rule or a case from law school, you must still read all the material in the Library. You cannot assume that the material has not been modified.

Next time, we will discuss the best approach to answering the performance test.