MEE SUBJECT FREQUENCY CHART (UBE ESSAYS)
The Multistate Essay Examination gives 6 essays per administration, drawn from the subject pool below. This chart weights the long-run testing pattern so you can prioritize. Tiers are a study guide, not a guarantee — the NCBE can test any listed subject, and many questions are crossovers spanning two subjects. Each subject links to its full outline and lean one-sheet.
The MEE subject pool: Business Associations (Agency & Partnership; Corporations & LLCs), Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws, Contracts (incl. UCC Art. 2 Sales), Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence, Family Law, Real Property, Secured Transactions (UCC Art. 9), Torts, and Trusts & Estates (Decedents' Estates; Trusts & Future Interests).
| Subject | Frequency Tier | Pattern | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Procedure | ★★★★★ Very High | Almost every exam | The most consistently tested MEE subject; PJ, SMJ, Erie, joinder, preclusion. |
| Contracts & Sales | ★★★★ High | Very frequent | Common-law + UCC Art. 2; frequent crossover. |
| Evidence | ★★★★ High | Very frequent | Hearsay-heavy; FRE. |
| Real Property | ★★★★ High | Frequent | Conveyancing, mortgages, estates/future interests, landlord-tenant. |
| Constitutional Law | ★★★★ High | Frequent | Often a crossover with another subject. |
| Torts | ★★★ Moderate–High | Regular | Negligence core; products, defamation. |
| Business Associations | ★★★ Moderate–High | Regular (Agency/Partnership & Corps rotate) | Frequently appears; fiduciary duties, derivative suits. |
| Trusts & Estates | ★★★ Moderate | Regular (Wills / Trusts rotate) | Decedents' estates, trusts, future interests. |
| Family Law | ★★★ Moderate | Regular | Divorce, property division, custody, premarital agreements. |
| Secured Transactions (UCC 9) | ★★ Moderate–Lower | Periodic | Attachment, perfection, priority — very rules-based. |
| Criminal Law & Procedure | ★★ Moderate–Lower | Periodic | Less common standalone on the MEE (heavily on the MBE). |
| Conflict of Laws | ★★ Lower | Less frequent (often a sub-issue) | Usually rides inside another subject's essay; the 3 approaches + judgments. |
How to read this: the MEE rotates its 6 subjects each administration, so the tiers describe the long-run pattern, not any single sitting. The NCBE does not pre-announce subjects. Treat the top five as near-certain to appear in some form across a couple of exams, and keep the lower tiers warm — Secured Transactions and Conflict of Laws are "low frequency but high reward" because they're rules-based and easy points when they do appear.
HOW TO USE THE FREQUENCY DATA
1. Bank the high-frequency subjects first — Civil Procedure, Contracts, Evidence, Real Property, and Constitutional Law are the safest places to spend essay-prep time.
2. Learn the rules-based low-frequency subjects to a checklist level — Secured Transactions and Conflict of Laws reward a memorized element sequence; their one-sheets are designed for exactly that.
3. Practice crossovers. Many MEE questions span two subjects (e.g., Con Law inside Civil Procedure, Agency inside Contracts). Drill timed essays at BarExamNextGen with AI feedback, and pair each subject with its MEE outline and one-sheet.