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Performance Test
By Order of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, one Performance Test (PT)
question, developed by the board, may be used in lieu of a Multistate
Performance Test question as a component of the essay portion of the bar
examination. The PT is designed to test an applicant’s ability to use
fundamental lawyering skills in a realistic situation and to complete a task,
which a beginning lawyer should be able to accomplish.
The PT is not a test of
substantive knowledge. Rather, the PT requires applicants to: (1) sort detailed
factual materials and separate relevant from irrelevant facts; (2) analyze
statutory, case and administrative materials for principles of law; (3) apply
the law to the relevant facts in a manner likely to resolve a client's problem;
(4) identify and resolve ethical dilemmas, when present; (5) communicate
effectively in writing; and (6) complete a lawyering task within time
constraints. The skills necessary to complete the above referenced tasks
include problem solving, legal analysis and reasoning, factual analysis,
communication, organization and management of a legal task and recognizing and
resolving ethical dilemmas.
The materials provided to
each applicant for the PT question include a file and a library (research
material) that provides all of the substantive information necessary to answer
the question. The file consists of source documents containing all of the facts
of the case and a memorandum from a supervising attorney outlining instructions
for the specific assignment to be completed by the applicant. The file might
also include transcripts of interviews, depositions, hearings or trials,
pleadings, correspondence, client documents, contracts, newspaper articles,
medical records, police reports and lawyer's notes. The library consists of
cases, statutes, regulations and rules from which the legal principles necessary
to analyze the problem and perform the assigned tasks can be extracted. The
library materials provide sufficient substantive information to complete the
assigned task.
Some of the tasks an
applicant might be required to complete in responding to a PT question include
preparing or writing the following: a memorandum to a supervising attorney; a
letter to a client; a persuasive memorandum or brief; a statement of facts; a
contract provision; a will; a counseling plan; a proposal for settlement; an
agreement; a discovery plan; a witness examination plan or a closing argument. |
