Legal Research Exercises

Scope

This file explains how legal research is tested on the NextGen UBE — the exam NCBE will administer from July 2026 onward — covering NCBE's definition of legal research as a foundational skill, the specific research tasks in NCBE's Content Scope Outlines, how research appears in the exam's question formats (especially legal research performance tasks, LRPTs, and the released sample LRPT), the national scoring design for LRPT questions, and New Jersey's adoption timeline. It does not cover general research instruction in law school, NJ-specific research sources or citation rules, or the mechanics of the other question types except as they carry research components; those are covered in the module's sibling topics.

Legal Explanation

Legal research as a published foundational skill (NCBE/national). NCBE lists "legal research" among the exam's foundational lawyering skills: its About the NextGen UBE page names seven foundational lawyering skills — legal research, legal writing, issue spotting and analysis, investigation and evaluation, client counseling and advising, negotiation and dispute resolution, and client relationship and management [S1]. The NextGen UBE Blueprint (prepared June 2, 2025, covering the July 2026 and February 2027 administrations) lists the same seven skills and states that, from July 2026 through February 2028, the exam will test these Foundational Skills together with eight Foundational Concepts and Principles (business associations, civil procedure, constitutional law, contract law, criminal law, evidence, real property, and torts) [S2]. NCBE's Content Scope Outlines (August 2025) organize the Foundational Skills into four groups, with Legal Research as its own group (Group C): the purpose of Group C "is to assess the extent to which an examinee can identify and implement legal research strategies, including preliminary issue-spotting, working with provided resources, developing and refining a theory of the case, and reaching closure on research questions" [S5]. The sample-questions overview page likewise tells candidates that legal research is one of the Foundational Skills assessed throughout the exam, organized into four broad skills areas [S6].

What the research tasks actually ask (NCBE/national). The Content Scope Outlines define each Foundational Skill through a list of tasks, and NCBE states that any task may assess skills from any group [S5]. The tasks that bear directly on legal research include: identifying the research questions that need to be answered in a matter (task 15); identifying ambiguities in the language, standards, elements, or factors of a provided resource such as a statute, contract, or judicial opinion (task 16); identifying efficient legal research strategies, methods, or tools — including appropriate search terms — likely to uncover other legal sources to assist in interpreting a provided resource (task 17); identifying the roles and characteristics of a collection of legal sources, including their authoritative weight (task 18); identifying other sources, search terms, or research strategies that might be used to update sources or find additional sources (task 20); identifying which sources in a collection are relevant to or dispositive of a legal issue (task 21); and identifying whether the sources provided are sufficient to complete an assigned research or other lawyering task (task 22) [S5]. Two features stand out. First, this is a closed-universe model: NCBE states that for questions testing skills in areas outside the Foundational Concepts and Principles, examinees are "provided with the necessary legal resources (e.g., statutes, regulations, and case law)" and are not expected or required to develop a base of knowledge in those areas [S1][S2][S5]. Second, the research tasks test judgment about sources — relevance, weight, currency, and sufficiency — rather than memory of database interfaces or citations [S5].

How research appears in the question formats (NCBE/national). NCBE describes three categories of question types on the NextGen UBE: standalone multiple-choice questions (about 40% of exam time), integrated question sets (just over a quarter of exam time), and performance tasks (about a third of exam time) [S6]. Legal research is not confined to one format. Integrated question sets are based on a common fact scenario, "may include some legal resources (e.g., excerpts of statutes or judicial opinions) and/or supplemental documents," and require examinees to demonstrate Foundational Skills in realistic situations; some sets are focused on drafting or editing a legal document [S6][S2]. The Blueprint adds that integrated question sets may feature areas of doctrinal law, with accompanying legal resources, not included in the Foundational Concepts and Principles [S2]. The format most dedicated to research, however, is the legal research performance task [S3].

The legal research performance task (LRPT) (NCBE/national). NCBE defines LRPTs on its About Performance Tasks page: they include a file and a library of sources, like standard performance tasks, but "focus on legal research and analysis skills," consisting of "a series of multiple-choice and short-answer questions followed by one medium-length writing assignment" [S3]. The multiple-choice and short-answer questions "assess an examinee's research and analysis skills through questions related to the file and library," while the medium-length writing assignment "is similar to a standard PT but smaller in scale" [S3]. The Blueprint describes the same item type and states that legal resources, in the form of a case file and library, are provided within each performance task [S2]. Each administration includes three performance tasks — one per three-hour section — with an estimated time of approximately 60 minutes per task [S3][S2]. On scoring, the Blueprint states that within an LRPT the multiple-choice and short-answer components are double-weighted, with point values of 0–1 (select-one), 0–2 (select-two), and 0–2 (short-answer), followed by a medium-answer response worth 0–8 points, with partial credit available for short- and medium-answer responses and select-two questions [S2]. Performance tasks overall make up 30% of the total exam score (standalone multiple-choice questions 49%, integrated question sets 21%), with scores reported on a 500–750 scale and written portions graded by jurisdiction-appointed graders on a common grading platform using NCBE-provided rubrics [S2]. NCBE also states that LRPTs "may assess skills through subject areas that are partially or fully outside of the Foundational Concepts and Principles; however, the question will provide the resources the examinee needs to give a complete answer" — for example, an LRPT may include aspects of state trusts and estates law when assessing research and writing skills, with the library providing all necessary law [S4].

The released sample LRPT (NCBE/national). NCBE has published one sample LRPT on its website, described as comprising four multiple-choice questions, one short-answer question, and one medium-length writing assignment, to be completed in approximately 60 minutes (checked 2026-08-20) [S4]. The sample puts the examinee in the role of a lawyer for a pro bono client, Jane Smith, who asks whether she is legally responsible to a bank for credit card charges made by her sister [S4]. The file contains the memorandum to examinee, an excerpted transcript of the interview with Jane Smith, and notes for her file; the library contains excerpts of the (fictional) Franklin Truth in Lending Act, excerpts of the Restatement (Third) of Agency (2006), and two decisions of the (fictional) Franklin courts — Departure Lending Inc. v. Superior Airways Inc. (Franklin Supreme Court, 2017) and Edito Holdings Co. v. Spartan Lending Co. (Franklin Court of Appeal, 2019) [S4]. NCBE links two scoring guides for the sample — an "LRPT Short Answer Sample Scoring Guide" and an "LRPT Writing Assignment Sample Scoring Guide" — showing how research answers are graded [S4]. NCBE states the sample questions are protected by US copyright law (the Legal Research Performance Task is © 2025) and are for personal use only [S3]. The cases inside the sample belong to NCBE's fictional "Franklin" jurisdiction and are not real cases [S4].

New Jersey context (NJ-specific). New Jersey adopted the NextGen UBE by Supreme Court notice dated November 17, 2025, with the first New Jersey administration in July 2028 [S7]. The notice announces no NJ-specific legal-research design; the legal research skill and the LRPT item type are part of the national NextGen UBE design that New Jersey adopted [S7]. Everything above about how research is defined and tested is NCBE/national and applies to New Jersey candidates sitting for the NextGen UBE; NJ-specific research rules, sources, and citation conventions are not tested as such on this national exam [S7].

How to prepare (editorial; beyond NCBE's published guidance). Three practical points follow from the official materials, none of which NCBE states in so many words. First, practice the closed-universe mindset: because every research task comes with the resources you need, the skill being tested is disciplined evaluation of the packet you are given — deciding which provided source is relevant or dispositive, how much weight it carries, and whether the packet is sufficient — not recalling a citation from memory [S5][S4]. Second, treat the released sample LRPT and its two scoring guides as the ground truth for the format: the four-plus-one-plus-one structure (four multiple-choice questions, one short-answer question, one medium-length writing assignment) is NCBE's published blueprint for the item type [S4][S3]. Third, budget research time within the roughly 60-minute performance-task window, since LRPT research questions are double-weighted within the task's score [S2]. NCBE recommends starting with its free sample questions and free exam software preview, and notes that official NextGen UBE study aids are available on the real exam software [S1].

Currency note. NextGen exam details are still evolving. Every claim in this file was checked against the cited NCBE and New Jersey Courts pages on August 20, 2026, and reflects those pages as of that date [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7].

ELI-10: Explain It Like I'm 10

[HYPOTHETICAL — NOT A REAL CASE] At the Maple Street Community Library, the "Answer Desk" volunteers earn badges by solving one mystery box a week. Each box is sealed, and taped to the lid is a note from the head librarian: "Everything you need is inside. The red folder holds the facts of the mystery. The blue folder holds the reference pages. No other books allowed." The red folder has a letter from a patron — say, a man whose sister borrowed his library card and checked out a stack of expensive art books — plus a transcript of the librarian's interview with him. The blue folder has copies of pages from a few different reference books: one page from the library rulebook, one from the city code, one from an old, outdated edition of the rulebook, and two pages from the library's own decision records. The volunteer's job is a three-part challenge. First, answer four multiple-choice questions and one short question, like: "Which of these pages has the most authority over how cards may be used?" and "Which page is stale and should not be relied on?" and "Is what's in the folder enough to answer the patron's question?" Second, write a short note explaining the answer, using only the folder. Third, if the pages disagree, figure out which one wins and say why. The volunteer is never tested on memorizing the rulebook — the pages are always in the box; the test is picking the right pages, trusting the right ones, and knowing when the box is missing something.

Translating back to the real rule: the sealed mystery box is the NextGen UBE legal research performance task, which NCBE describes as a closed-universe item with a file of facts and a library of provided legal sources [S3]; the patron's letter and interview transcript are the file, and the rulebook pages are the library [S3][S4]; the multiple-choice and short questions are the LRPT's research-and-analysis questions, which NCBE says are graded double-weighted within the task [S2][S3]; the short note is the medium-length writing assignment that follows [S3][S4]; "which page has the most authority" is NCBE's task of identifying the roles and characteristics of legal sources, including their authoritative weight [S5]; "which page is stale" is NCBE's task of identifying sources or strategies used to update sources [S5]; "is the folder enough" is NCBE's task of identifying whether provided sources are sufficient to complete the assigned task [S5]; and "never tested on memorizing the rulebook" reflects NCBE's statement that examinees are provided the necessary legal resources and are not expected to develop a base of knowledge in areas outside the foundational concepts [S1][S2]. The badge challenge itself is the legal research skill NCBE says is tested throughout the NextGen UBE [S6] — and for New Jersey candidates, the first such challenge under the new exam is July 2028 [S7].

Real Case Reference (if applicable)

No published judicial decision addresses how the NextGen UBE tests legal research, or the design of its legal research performance tasks — the skill and item type are defined by exam specifications, not by litigated doctrine. The governing authority is NCBE's official exam materials: the Content Scope Outlines, which define the legal research skill (Group C) and its tasks [S5], the NextGen UBE Blueprint, which sets the question-type structure and LRPT point values [S2], and NCBE's About Performance Tasks and sample LRPT pages, which describe and illustrate the item type [S3][S4]. For New Jersey, the governing action is the New Jersey Supreme Court's November 17, 2025 notice adopting the NextGen UBE with a first administration in July 2028 [S7]. The cases cited inside NCBE's sample LRPT — Departure Lending Inc. v. Superior Airways Inc. (Franklin Supreme Court, 2017) and Edito Holdings Co. v. Spartan Lending Co. (Franklin Court of Appeal, 2019) — are part of the sample's fictional "Franklin" jurisdiction and are not real cases [S4].

Key Takeaways

• Legal research is one of seven foundational lawyering skills NCBE lists for the NextGen UBE (with legal writing, issue spotting and analysis, investigation and evaluation, client counseling and advising, negotiation and dispute resolution, and client relationship and management), organized into four skills groups in which Legal Research stands alone as Group C (NCBE/national) [S1][S2][S5].
• NCBE's research tasks test judgment about provided sources: identifying the research questions, spotting ambiguities, choosing efficient strategies and search terms, weighing the roles and authoritative weight of sources, updating sources, finding the relevant or dispositive source, and judging sufficiency — all in a closed-universe design where needed legal resources are provided (NCBE/national) [S5][S1].
• The format most dedicated to research is the legal research performance task: a file and a library, with a series of multiple-choice and short-answer questions followed by one medium-length writing assignment; the sample LRPT is four multiple-choice questions, one short-answer question, and one medium-length writing assignment in roughly 60 minutes (NCBE/national) [S3][S4].
• Within an LRPT the multiple-choice and short-answer components are double-weighted (0–1/0–2/0–2 points) followed by a 0–8-point medium-answer response with partial credit; performance tasks are 30% of the total score, and written portions are graded by jurisdiction-appointed graders using NCBE rubrics (NCBE/national) [S2].
• LRPTs may test subject areas outside the Foundational Concepts and Principles — e.g., state trusts and estates law — with all necessary law supplied in the library, so outside doctrine is never a research-knowledge requirement (NCBE/national) [S4].
• New Jersey-specific: first NextGen UBE administration in July 2028 by Supreme Court notice dated November 17, 2025; no NJ-specific legal-research design was announced, and the skill tested is the national one [S7].

Sources

• [S1] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "About the NextGen UBE," https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/about-nextgen (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S2] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "NextGen UBE Blueprint, July 2026–February 2027" (PDF, prepared June 2, 2025), https://www.ncbex.org/sites/default/files/2025-07/NCBE-NextGen-UBE-Blueprint_5.pdf (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S3] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "About Performance Tasks (NextGen UBE sample questions)," https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/sample-questions/performance-task (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S4] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "Sample NextGen UBE Legal Research Performance Task (Jane Smith matter)," https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/sample-questions/performance-task/sample-research-pt (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S5] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "NextGen UBE Content Scope Outlines, July 2026–February 2027" (PDF, August 2025), https://www.ncbex.org/sites/default/files/2025-07/NCBE%20NextGen%20UBE%20Content%20Scope-Aug%202025.pdf (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S6] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "NextGen UBE Sample Questions," https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/sample-questions (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S7] New Jersey Courts, "Notice — Supreme Court Adopts the 'NextGen' Uniform Bar Examination — First Administration in July 2028" (Nov. 17, 2025), https://www.njcourts.gov/notices/notice-supreme-court-adopts-nextgen-uniform-bar-examination-first-administration-july-2028 (verified 2026-08-20).

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