Required and Bar-related Courses

1L Required Courses

• Applied Legal Theory
• Civil Procedure
• Contracts
• Core Concepts (Term II Only)
• Real Property
• Torts (Term I Only)

Upperclass Required Courses
Graduation requires accumulation of 90 credit hours.  Beyond the first-year core curriculum of 30 credit hours, six courses must be satisfactorily completed:

• Criminal Law
• Constitutional Law
• Evidence
• Professional Responsibility
• Federal Income Taxation
• Upper-level Writing Requirement

All students who enter UDM Law in fall 2007 and beyond also must complete these requirements:

• Clinic or Externship
• Global Distribution Course
• Law Firm Program Modules (minimum of four credits)

Additional Courses covered on the Michigan Bar Exam
Source: Rule 3, Michigan Rules for the Board of Law Examiners

Many other courses are fundamental and essential to become a well-rounded attorney. The Michigan Bar Exam consists of two sections that cover many of those subjects.

Multi-state Bar Exam
A national exam prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.  The exam now consists of 200 multiple-choice questions on the following subjects:

• Constitutional Law
• Contracts
• Criminal Law
• Criminal Procedure
• Evidence
• Real Property
• Torts

Michigan Essay Examination
A group of fifteen essay questions prepared by law professors selected by the Michigan Board of Law Examiners cover the following subjects:

• Real and Personal Property [see Law 112]
• Advanced Property Law [see Law 112]
• Wills and Trusts [see Law 213]
• Contracts [see Law 111]
• Constitutional Law [see Law 206, Law 207 and Law 311]
• Criminal Law [see Law 114] and Procedure [see Law 210]
• Corporations, Partnerships, and Agency [see Law 201]
• Evidence [see Law 222]
• Creditor's Rights, including mortgages, garnishments and attachments [see Law 361 and Law 115]
• Practice and Procedure, trial and appellate, state and federal [see Law 115, Law 317, and Law 377]
• Equity [Law 111 and Law 367]
• Torts (including no-fault) [see Law 113]
• The sales, negotiable instruments, and secured transactions articles of the Uniform Commercial Code [see Law 249, Law 250, and Law 256]
• Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct [see Law 247]
• Domestic Relations [see Law 224]
• Conflicts of Laws [see Law 310]
• Worker's Compensation [see Law 395]

The Kresge Law Library maintains past essay questions and model answers since 1979.

Multi-state Professional Responsibility Examination
Source: Rule 2(D), Michigan Rules for the Board of Law Examiners

All applicants for admission to the State Bar of Michigan must achieve a scaled score of 75 on the Multi-state Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE).  Currently, the MPRE is administered at three Michigan locations three times a year.  Information regarding the MPRE is available at www.ncbex.org/ .

Further information about, and test applications for the Michigan Bar Examination and the MPRE can be obtained from the University of Detroit Mercy, School of Law Registrar's Office, Room 133.