The NextGen bar exam continues to pick up steam across the country, promising to bring the legal licensing test closer in line to the actual skills required of an attorney. The existing bar exam is a one-shot, general practice, doctrinal memory test that rewards prospective attorneys for delivering conclusive answers without conducting any research, making law one of the few professional fields that tests competence by asking examinees to commit what would be malpractice in any other setting.
While the NextGen exam has drawn a lot of bizarrely partisan complaints from critics who’ve declared any change to the test an “abandonment of competence as a standard”—as though M&A competence is best tested by memorizing hearsay exceptions for a closed book exam—the new test isn’t really all that different from the old test. It’s still presenting short fact patterns and asking doctrinal questions, but it’s now phrasing them as questions for further research rather than conclusions. This is admittedly more representative of modern legal work but still fails to do any of the skill testing that most believe a professional licensing exam should base itself around.
Nevertheless, the exam is coming, examinees need to prepare for it, and BarBri has announced its intention to revamp its approach to preparation.
As the legal landscape evolves, BARBRI is leading the charge in preparing students for the Next Generation (NextGen) bar exam. With a focus on innovation and collaboration, BARBRI unveils elements of its groundbreaking course set to revolutionize bar preparation, available March 2026.
The new exam probably doesn’t require a complete overhaul, but times and technologies change, and today’s law grads don’t necessarily absorb information the same way as those in the past. While the “Little House on the Prairie” era didn’t have access to filmstrips, children of the 80s used them to learn science. However, not every new technique is the right fit for the moment.
Embracing innovative teaching methods, the upcoming BARBRI NextGen course leverages the learning power of story-driven instruction as a central component of the course. Students will be introduced to core legal concepts with topic-based, animated videos that present character-driven stories that engage them in contextual learning. These video episodes feature a recurring cast of characters whose stories are designed to be remembered—keeping students entertained while cementing their understanding.
Are law graduates the right audience for cartoons about the Rule Against Perpetuities? This generation certainly grew up on visual learning, but the line between an engaging animated lesson and cringe is finer than most people think. The fact that they’ve memorized “Rick & Morty” scripts doesn’t mean they’re going to soak up “Johnny & Janey Journey Into The Model Rules.”
Nonetheless, BarBri has people who—hopefully—understand this. It’s going to be an interesting few years.
For more information, visit Above the Law.
Earlier: The Growing Support For The New-And-Improved Bar Exam
The Next Generation Of Bar Exam Questions: What They Are And Why They Still Suck