NextGen UBE Lawyering Skills Course
The NextGen UBE lawyering skills course trains seven skills through observable actions and drills. Each skill is decomposed into observable actions, common failure patterns, focused drills, cross-skill files, and a scoring rubric. Doctrine is used inside the work, not taught in isolation. The seven skills are Issue Spotting & Analysis, Legal Research, Legal Writing & Drafting, Investigation & Evaluation, Client Counseling & Advising, Negotiation & Dispute Resolution, Client Relationships & Management. Together they carry 49 observable actions and 42 focused drills. NextGen does not test a skill in isolation the way a checklist might suggest: a real task usually calls on two or three of these at once, inside one client file, under one deadline.
The NextGen UBE lawyering skills course, skill by skill
| Skill | Actions | Drills | Failure modes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issue Spotting & Analysis | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| Legal Research | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| Legal Writing & Drafting | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| Investigation & Evaluation | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| Client Counseling & Advising | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| Negotiation & Dispute Resolution | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| Client Relationships & Management | 7 | 6 | 6 |
Issue Spotting & Analysis
Identify governing issues from facts, select the right legal framework, and explain how legally significant facts affect each element and conclusion: the same three moves a real client file demands before anyone can offer a defensible answer, whether the format is a bar exam item, a closed-universe performance test, or an actual matter that walks into an office with no labeled issue attached to it at all.
- Read the task and identify the requested decision
- Separate legally operative facts from background
- Generate and prioritize an issue map
- State a rule at the depth the response requires
Legal Research
Formulate answerable questions, find and evaluate authority, update the law, synthesize sources, and communicate a supported answer: treated on the exam as a discrete, testable skill rather than something that only happens with a paid database and unlimited billable hours, which is exactly why the drills below isolate each step instead of assuming it will simply come together on its own.
- Translate the client problem into research questions
- Identify jurisdiction, source type, and authority hierarchy
- Use statutes, regulations, cases, and secondary sources appropriately
- Read holdings in procedural and factual context
Legal Writing & Drafting
Produce accurate, organized, concise, audience-appropriate legal work that completes the requested task.
- Control task, audience, objective, and format
- Plan by governing elements and issue value
- Lead paragraphs with analytic propositions
- Use facts precisely and explain their significance
Investigation & Evaluation
Identify material unknowns, select lawful and proportionate ways to obtain information, preserve evidence, and evaluate proof quality.
- Map known facts to legal elements
- Identify outcome-changing unknowns
- Prioritize sources by value, cost, urgency, and reliability
- Preserve perishable evidence
Client Counseling & Advising
Translate law and uncertainty into understandable options, consequences, recommendations, and decisions aligned with the client’s objectives.
- Clarify objectives and decision authority
- Explain governing law in plain language
- Separate known facts from assumptions
- Present realistic options and consequences
Negotiation & Dispute Resolution
Prepare and execute an ethical strategy using interests, alternatives, authority, information, proposals, and implementation terms: a sequence that rewards preparation done well before anyone sits down at the table, since a negotiator who walks in without a clear reservation point, a real sense of the other side's constraints, and actual settlement authority is negotiating against themselves before the other side says a word.
- Identify client interests, priorities, and authority
- Assess alternatives and reservation points
- Estimate the other side’s interests and constraints
- Develop openings, targets, packages, and tradeable terms
Client Relationships & Management
Form and manage a professional relationship through competence, communication, confidentiality, conflicts control, scope, documentation, and dependable execution.
- Identify the client and decision makers
- Check conflicts before undertaking work
- Define scope, fees, responsibilities, and communication
- Protect confidentiality and information security