NextGen Prep is here.

JD Simplified is built around a simple idea: students should know what to study next.

That matters in law school. It matters even more when the bar exam itself is changing.

Beginning July 2026, the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination begins rolling out — a redesigned, fully digital exam organized around the skills lawyers actually use. The MBE, MEE, and MPT continue through February 2028, then are fully replaced in July 2028.

So we built prep for the exam students are actually going to take.

Today, we're announcing NextGen Prep, In Collaboration with Studicata: an adaptive practice-and-direction system built specifically for the July 2026 NextGen UBE.

It does not just give you questions. It tells you what to work on next, why you missed what you missed, and how to practice across the formats that now define the exam.

We did not relabel old UBE content and call it NextGen-ready. We read the NCBE's published framework and built the practice around it.

We studied the exam before we built the practice.

Bar prep that adapts to how you actually study

NextGen Prep is an adaptive practice-and-direction system built specifically for the July 2026 NextGen UBE.

It decides what you should practice next based on what you missed, what you have avoided, what you have not touched recently, and what the exam actually weights.

You spend time on the work — not on deciding what the work should be.

Legacy prep was built around subjects. NextGen Prep is built around tasks, skills, formats, and the actual structure of the exam.

What's different

Built to the NCBE's actual taxonomy, not a subject list.

Every exercise is built around the NCBE's 28-task framework, with each question authored to a specific Task — T1 through T28 — and one of the 7 Foundational Skills the exam tests.

When you miss something, the system knows whether the problem was issue spotting, rule application, source selection, written synthesis, triage, timing, or something else. Not just "you struggled with Evidence."

Identifying the controlling rule in a four-document case file is not the same skill as advising a client under provided statutes. NextGen Prep tracks those skills separately, even though the NCBE reports one blended 500–750 score.

A student fluent in doctrine but slow on document triage needs a different plan than a student with the opposite profile.

Every NextGen format. Not just multiple choice.

NextGen Prep trains the full exam:

Select-one MCQ.
Select-two MCQ with partial credit.
Counseling Sets.
Drafting Sets.
Standard Performance Tasks.
Legal Research Performance Tasks.
Full-section and full-exam simulations under realistic timing.

Practice happens in a split-screen workspace that mirrors the digital exam interface: tabbed legal resources, document viewer, mid-screen pull bar, and exam-style timer.

Other supplements cover multiple choice. NextGen Prep covers the exam — including the Integrated Question Sets and Performance Tasks that account for the other 51% of the scored weight beyond standalone MCQ.

Those formats include MCQs, short answers, medium-answer responses, and longer written work. NextGen Prep trains them as discrete, gradable exercises.

Why you missed it, not just what you missed.

Most bar prep shows a percentage and says, "practice Evidence."

NextGen Prep goes deeper.

Every miss is classified by pattern: recall, rule application, issue spotting, source selection, triage, timing, or conclusory writing.

Each miss gets a different fix. A recall miss gets spaced repetition on the rule. A rule-application miss gets fact-pattern drills holding the rule constant. A triage miss inside an IQS gets document-speed practice.

The system does not give you more of the same. It gives you the work your miss actually calls for.

Skill diagnostics in plain language.

Not a leaderboard.

NextGen Prep gives you a clear read on which skills are reliable, which are still settling, and which have not had enough practice yet.

Three readiness scores track the exam's actual structure:

Standalone MCQ.
Integrated Question Sets.
Performance Tasks.

Those scores align with the NCBE's 49% / 21% / 30% weighting.

Each score carries a confidence label, because 70% off three questions is not the same as 70% off thirty. Where the evidence is thin, you see "not yet assessed" instead of a fake number.

The next session is already waiting.

The hardest part of bar prep is not always doing the work.

It is deciding what work matters today.

NextGen Prep weighs what needs work, what you have not touched, what you have been avoiding, and how close the exam is. Then it chooses what comes next.

Open the app and the next exercise is already loaded: a Counseling Set on Evidence application, a select-two MCQ block on constitutional standing, or a Standard PT on a contracts dispute.

You do not manage a calendar. You do not audit a dashboard. You practice.

What that looks like in practice

You answer 20 questions. Three are hearsay misses.

Two came from not remembering the rule. One came from applying the right rule to the wrong fact.

NextGen Prep labels the difference, then chooses the next session: more hearsay in different fact patterns, weighted toward application because that is where the points are dropping.

Same logic with IQS.

You complete a 24-minute Counseling Set with three provided statutes, two depositions, and four prompts. You get the rule-application questions right but score low on a select-two asking which evidence best supports the client's risk position.

The system reads that as a source-selection miss, not a doctrinal miss.

The next exercise is not more Evidence review. It is more practice identifying which provided document controls.

You do not manage any of this. You just prepare.

A separate JDS Study Coach chat sits on top of the system with access to your performance profile. Ask, "what should I do tonight?" and it answers with a specific drill, not a platitude.

What is the NextGen Bar Exam?

The NextGen UBE is the redesigned bar exam the National Conference of Bar Examiners will administer for the first time in July 2026.

It is fully digital, 9 hours across 1.5 days, and built around the skills the NCBE's Practice Analysis identified as what newly licensed lawyers actually do.

Ten jurisdictions sit NextGen for the first time in July 2026:

Connecticut.
Guam.
Idaho.
Maryland.
Missouri.
Northern Mariana Islands.
Oregon.
Palau, administered at the Guam test site.
U.S. Virgin Islands.
Washington.

Additional jurisdictions are scheduled to adopt in 2027 and 2028. The legacy MBE, MEE, and MPT continue to be administered alongside NextGen through February 2028 and are then retired in July 2028.

Every NextGen administration has three scored question categories.

Standalone multiple-choice questions — 49%

There are 120 standalone MCQs total, 40 per section.

These include both select-one questions with four answer options and select-two questions with six answer options. Select-two questions allow partial credit.

Integrated Question Sets — 21%

There are 6 Integrated Question Sets total, 2 per section, with each designed for roughly 24 minutes.

These include Counseling Sets and Drafting Sets. Each is built around a fact pattern with provided legal resources, supplemental documents, and a mix of MCQs and short- to medium-answer written responses.

Performance Tasks — 30%

There are 3 Performance Tasks total, 1 per section, with each designed for roughly 60 minutes.

Standard PTs are longer writing assignments based on a case file and library. Legal Research PTs combine MCQs and short answers with a medium-answer written response.

The exam tests 8 Foundational Concepts:

Business Associations.
Civil Procedure.
Constitutional Law.
Contract Law.
Criminal Law and Procedure.
Evidence.
Real Property.
Torts.

It also tests 7 Foundational Skills:

Legal Research.
Legal Writing.
Issue Spotting and Analysis.
Investigation and Evaluation.
Client Counseling and Advising.
Negotiation and Dispute Resolution.
Client Relationship and Management.

Family Law and Trusts and Estates are tested from day one in July 2026 inside IQS and PT, with resources provided. No rote memorization is required during the transition.

Family Law joins the standalone doctrinal pool in July 2028.

Who NextGen Prep is for

3L students sitting the bar in July 2026.

If you are graduating in spring 2026 and your jurisdiction is in Wave 1, you are sitting the first NextGen administration.

You do not have the option of legacy prep. You need a system built for the exam you are actually taking.

Repeat-takers in jurisdictions transitioning to NextGen.

If you sat the legacy UBE and need to retake during a NextGen cycle, the format your scores were built around no longer exists.

IQS and PT now account for 51% of the score, and the way they are assessed is structurally different.

You need to retrain for the format, not just review the content.

Law students in non-Wave-1 jurisdictions whose schools have not updated curriculum.

Many law schools still teach the doctrinal-memorization model the legacy exam rewarded.

If you are a 1L or 2L in a 2027 or 2028 jurisdiction, the skills NextGen tests — issue spotting under time pressure, source selection from provided documents, counseling-format reasoning, and written application — are skills you can start building now.

Who NextGen Prep is not for.

If you are sitting a final legacy UBE administration in your jurisdiction before it transitions, use the regular JD Simplified app and your school's traditional prep stack.

NextGen Prep trains for a different exam.

How NextGen Prep compares

NextGen Prep is a supplement, not a replacement for a full bar review course.

Most students will pair it with one.

If you are using a full-curriculum bar course

You likely have lectures, outlines, and a broad doctrinal schedule.

NextGen Prep adds the practice-and-direction layer: skill-tagged exercises, IQS and PT training, written-response grading, and recommendations built around the 7 Foundational Skills instead of only a subject calendar.

If you are using an MCQ-only practice tool

You have multiple-choice drilling covered.

NextGen Prep adds select-two MCQs, plus the IQS and PT formats that account for the other 51% of the score.

That includes Counseling Sets, Drafting Sets, Standard PTs, and Legal Research PTs.

If you are using flashcards, case briefs, or video review

You have doctrine support.

NextGen Prep trains deployment: applying rules, choosing sources, writing under time, and moving through NextGen-style materials.

NextGen Prep does not teach doctrine from scratch. It assumes you have a course or content stack giving you the rules.

It trains you to use those rules in the formats the NextGen exam actually uses.

Honest scope: what is live and what is still settling in

The diagnostic engine is live today.

NextGen Prep tracks performance across subject, skill, and exam format. More than 4,553 practice exercises are live across every NextGen format. Misses are classified by pattern. Sessions assemble around the NCBE's published format weights. Recommendations re-rank after every session.

A few pieces are still maturing.

Format readiness scores are gated by statistical confidence on purpose. Most students need a real run of NextGen practice before a score is meaningful, and we would rather show "not yet assessed" than fake precision.

The Study Coach is live, with deeper memory persistence rolling in. The "Why You Missed It" panel is rolling out by format.

We chose honest gates over fake numbers.

That is by design.

In Collaboration with Studicata

Studicata has spent years helping students understand the law clearly.

That is the part of bar prep that has to be right.

JD Simplified built the practice and intelligence layer — the system that surfaces what to work on next and keeps your prep pointed at the right work.

We brought the two together because that is what students need: trusted footing, plus a system that meets them where they are.

This is a co-created product with shared credit. Studicata is the authority students already trust. JDS is the practice-and-direction layer.

It is not a content license, white-label, or discount partnership. It is a collaboration built around what students actually need: trusted law plus smarter practice.

Pricing

$499. One-time. No subscription.

NextGen Prep access covers the July 2026 exam cycle and the February 2027 retake window.

If your jurisdiction delays its NextGen adoption date, your access extends to match.

Included with NextGen Prep: the full JD Simplified app — case briefs, outlines, Ask JDS chat, and study mode.

7-day free trial. No credit card.
14-day refund. No questions asked.

The first ten jurisdictions sitting NextGen in July 2026 are listed on the NextGen Prep page, with additional jurisdictions scheduled to adopt in 2027 and 2028.

FAQ

When does the NextGen UBE start?

July 2026, in 10 jurisdictions: Connecticut, Guam, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Palau, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington.

More jurisdictions adopt in 2027 and 2028.

The legacy MBE, MEE, and MPT continue elsewhere through February 2028 and retire in July 2028.

Is NextGen Prep a subscription?

No.

It is $499 one-time. No monthly billing. No auto-renewal.

Access covers the July 2026 cycle and the February 2027 retake window.

Will my access extend if my jurisdiction delays adoption?

Yes.

If your jurisdiction pushes its NextGen date back, your access extends to match.

You do not pay again because the NCBE schedule shifts.

Does NextGen Prep replace a traditional bar review course?

No.

NextGen Prep is designed to work alongside a full-curriculum bar course.

We do not sell lectures or comprehensive rule review. We provide the practice, diagnostics, simulations, and study-direction layer on top of the doctrine source you already use.

How is NextGen Prep different from MCQ-only practice tools?

MCQ-only tools are built around multiple-choice drilling.

NextGen Prep trains standalone MCQs, select-two MCQs, Integrated Question Sets, Performance Tasks, written responses, and source-selection work — all authored to the NCBE's 7 Foundational Skills and 28 Tasks.

Standalone MCQs are 49% of the NextGen score. The other 51% comes from IQS and PT, which include MCQs alongside short-answer and written-response formats.

NextGen Prep trains all of it.

What is a Performance Task?

A Performance Task is a 60-minute exercise where you receive a case file and a library of provided law, then produce a written work product — memo, letter, or brief — applying the law to the facts.

Standard PTs are one longer writing task.

Legal Research PTs combine MCQs and short answers with a medium-answer written response.

PTs account for 30% of the scored weight.

What is the relationship with Studicata?

NextGen Prep is a co-created product, not a content license or white-label.

Studicata brings trusted legal instruction. JD Simplified built the practice, diagnostics, simulations, and recommendation layer.

That is what "In Collaboration with Studicata" means.

Start with NextGen

Start with NextGen — $499

7-day free trial, no credit card. 14-day refund.

Built for the July 2026 NextGen UBE. In Collaboration with Studicata.