The Barrister Exam: What You Need To Know
Over the next two weeks, we’re breaking down the barrister and solicitor exams in detail. This week, we’re focusing on the barrister exam. Here’s what you need to know.
The Barrister Exam: The Basics
The term “barrister” refers to lawyers who specialize in courtroom advocacy. As a result, the barrister portion of the bar exam focuses on litigation-related topics—namely, civil litigation, criminal law, family law, and public law (in addition to professional responsibility, which is also featured on the solicitor portion of the exam).
The Exam Itself
The barrister exam consists of 160 multiple choice questions. However, rather than having to answer all 160 questions in one sitting, the exam is broken down into two 80 question segments. You’ll get two hours to complete each segment (with a 30 minute break in between). So, in total, the exam lasts 4 hours (or 4.5 hours if you include the 30 minute break halfway through).
Not all of the topics are covered equally on the exam. In other words, you could get a lot of civil litigation and criminal law questions and only a few family law, public law, and professional responsibility questions (or vice versa). Because it’s impossible to predict which topics will be covered the most, it’s best to be prepared for all of them. However, you can almost guarantee that professional responsibility will be covered in relative detail on both exams—so don’t skimp the study materials covering this section!
Is The Barrister Exam “Easier” Than The Solicitor Exam?
In short, “no”. As we’ve mentioned before, the answer to this question likely depends on your legal interests. If you’re genuinely interested in litigation-related topics, then you’ll likely find the barrister study materials more interesting. As a result, you’ll likely find the barrister exam easier. If, however, you’re more interested in solicitor-related topics (e.g., real estate), then you’ll likely find the solicitor study materials more interesting. As a result, you’ll likely find the solicitor exam easier.
How Do I Ace The Barrister Portion Of The Bar Exam?
No secrets here: read the study materials thoroughly, make sure you’re actually comprehending the study materials, and do lots and lots of practice tests. We’ve covered this topic extensively before, so we won’t repeat ourselves here. But if you stick to this advice, you should be more than prepared for the barrister portion of the bar exam come test day.
TL;DR
The barrister portion of the Ontario bar exam covers litigation-related topics—namely, civil litigation, criminal law, family law, and public law (in addition to professional responsibility).
The exam consists of 160 questions. However, these 160 questions are broken down into two 80 question segments.
You get two hours to complete each 80 question segment. The two segments are separated by a half hour break. In total, then, the exam lasts 4 hours (or 4.5 if you include the 30 minute break).
Whether you find the barrister portion of the bar exam “easier” than the solicitor portion likely depends on your legal interests.
Read the study materials thoroughly, make sure you’re actually comprehending the study materials, and do lots of practice tests if you want to ace the barrister exam on test day.
PS: You can take 20% off ANY of our practice tests by using discount code “PASS” at checkout.
