Federal Bar Examination Information

Public Notice

 

The FEDERAL BAR EXAMINATION will be offered on Saturday, April 4, 2020 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico School of Law, Tres Monjitas Industrial Park, 170 Federico Costa St., Hato Rey, PR 00918-1303. Click here for a map.

The examination consists of eight (8) separate subject areas to be tested :

Subject Area

Percentage

Questions

Federal Civil Procedure (Sample Questions)

16%

8

Federal Evidence (Sample Questions)

16%

8

Federal Jurisdiction and Venue (Sample Questions)

16%

8

Federal Criminal Procedure (Sample Questions)

(Includes the subject of Sentencing Guidelines. Applicants must be familiar with the ruling in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621(2005) and progeny from the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals).

12%

6

Local Rules  (Sample Questions)

12%

6

Federal Appellate Procedure (Sample Questions)

10%

5

Bankruptcy (Sample Questions)

(Including the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 and the Bankruptcy Rules)

10%

5

Ethics (Sample Questions)

8%

4

TOTAL

 

50

The essay question is mandatory as it is designed to assess the candidates' proficiency in English --ability to read, write and understand the English language-- to satisfy the requirement of effective assistance of counsel to their clients under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.  Regardless of the result in the multiple choice part of the examination, applicants who do not answer the essay question will receive a grade of "fail".

For Sample Essay Questions, please click here .

Attorneys who wish to take the examination must file an Application Form (please click here) (Acrobat Reader Required) or an online Application Form (please click here) with the Clerk of Court, 150 Carlos Chardón Street, Federal Building, Office 150, San Juan, P.R. 00918-1767.

 

  • Submit, with the application, an original certificate of good standing (not more than six months) issued by the Puerto Rico Supreme Court, the highest court of any state of the Union, the District of Columbia, the Territory of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.

 

  • Include a non-refundable $100.00 fee payable to the Clerk, U.S. District Court, in the form of check, money order, or, if in person, in cash or credit card.  The fee will be credited towards the admission fee.

 

Application

Deadline to Submit Application, Documents and Fee.

In Person

Friday, March 20, 2020, at 4:45 PM

·         Application

·         Original certificate of good standing

·         $100 non-refundable fee

By Mail

Friday, March 6, 2020, Postmark

·         Application

·         Original certificate of good standing

·         $100 non-refundable fee

Online

Friday, March 6, 2020, Postmark (by mail)

·         Online application receipt

·         Original certification of good standing

·         $100 non-refundable fee

 

  • Applicants who require reasonable accommodation shall submit: a letter addressed to the Clerk of Court detailing the accommodation. The request letter must be included together with the Application Form and/or be filed at the Clerk’s Office within the deadlines set forth in this Notice.

 

Petitions for review must be filed within thirty (30) days from the date of notification of the results of the examination

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL (787) 772-3016, or send an e-mail to: prd-bar-exam@prd.uscourts.gov.

 

MARIA ANTONGIORGI-JORDAN, ESQ.
Clerk of Court

rev. 07/26/2017