Court & LawInterviewing and counseling a client
Since July 2026 the NextGen bar exam tests client counseling and advising as a lawyering skill, not only legal doctrine. This guide follows the NCBE, the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct and the ABA Client Counseling Competition.
Free to startThe first interview
Whoever discusses with a lawyer the possibility of a client-lawyer relationship is a prospective client. Ask only what reasonably appears necessary to decide whether to take the matter, check for conflicts, and never use or reveal what you learned, even if no representation follows.
Explaining and advising
Keep the client reasonably informed, explain the matter enough for an informed decision, and pass on any communication that may affect a settlement. Give candid advice even when it is unwelcome, and look beyond the law to moral, economic, social and political factors.
The NextGen exam day
Three sessions of three hours over a day and a half, each with two integrated question sets, a performance task and about 40 multiple-choice questions, taken on your own laptop at a proctored site. Practice the interview free with Blocky.
Official sources
The NextGen bar exam
The NextGen fact sheet, the content scope and the exam structure announcement: what is tested, how it is structured and when the legacy UBE ends.
The rules of the interview
The Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct: Rule 1.18 for the prospective client, Rule 1.4 for communication and Rule 2.1 for the lawyer as advisor.
Counseling, as a competition
The ABA Client Counseling Competition: teams of three law students meet a different client matter in each round; recent problems and final round recordings are free.
Making Synapses is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by the NCBE, the American Bar Association, the Virginia State Bar or any jurisdiction. NextGen, UBE and MBE are trademarks of their respective owners and are named only to describe the exams.