OREGON BAR EXAM DISTINCTIONS — ONE-PAGE CHEAT SHEET
Condensed companion to the Oregon Bar Exam Distinctions long outline.
1. EXAM FORMAT
UBE state · MBE/MEE/MPT weighted 50/30/20 · minimum passing score 270 (lowered from 274) · score transferable · plus MPRE + character/fitness · SPPE alternative pathway (since May 2024): 675 supervised hours + portfolio, but licenses in Oregon only (no portable score)—take the UBE if you want portability · essays graded on national majority law.
2. CIVIL PROCEDURE
Tort SOL 2 years (ORS 12.110) · contract SOL 6 years for BOTH written and oral (ORS 12.080)—no shorter oral period · defamation 1 year · separate statutes of ultimate repose (construction/products) · Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure (ORCP) by the Council on Court Procedures—differ from Federal Rules in numbering/specifics · long-arm (ORCP 4) to due-process limits · circuit courts of general jurisdiction.
3. EVIDENCE
Own codified Oregon Evidence Code (OEC) (ORS Ch. 40), FRE-patterned and largely parallel · scientific evidence under State v. Brown / O'Key—Daubert-type factors but OEC-grounded, not wholesale federal · codified physician-patient and psychotherapist privileges (no FRE analog) plus attorney-client, spousal, clergy.
4. FAMILY LAW
Pure no-fault—irreconcilable differences (ORS 107.025), fault irrelevant · NO common-law marriage · equitable distribution (not community property) with statutory rebuttable presumption of equal contribution to marital assets (ORS 107.105) · spousal support in THREE forms: transitional, compensatory, maintenance—identify which fits · Oregon child-support guidelines.
5. WILLS / TRUSTS / ESTATES
Non-UPC · attested will = signature + 2 witnesses (ORS 112.235) · HOLOGRAPHIC WILLS NOT RECOGNIZED—a handwritten, unwitnessed will FAILS; counsel clients to use two witnesses · sliding-scale augmented-estate elective share rising with marriage length, capped (ORS 114.600+) · intestacy: spouse takes all if all descendants are also the spouse's, else ½ with descendants taking balance (by representation) · dollar-cap homestead exemption (ORS 18.395) + support/family allowances.
6. REAL PROPERTY
Notice recording act (ORS 93.640)—later BFP without notice wins even without recording first · adverse possession 10 years WITH statutory "honest belief" of ownership requirement (ORS 105.620)—an intentional squatter who knew the land wasn't theirs CANNOT prevail · two-track foreclosure: trust deed nonjudicial trustee's sale (no redemption, no deficiency) under ORS 86.705+, vs. mortgage judicial foreclosure (with redemption).
7. TORTS
Modified comparative negligence — 51% bar (ORS 31.600): recovers if fault NOT GREATER than defendants' combined—recovers at 50%, barred at 51% · joint-and-several liability largely ABOLISHED (ORS 31.610)—several liability for own percentage, with proportional reallocation of an uncollectible share · $500K noneconomic cap (ORS 31.710)—context-dependent constitutionality (Horton v. OHSU) · Oregon Tort Claims Act caps public-body liability + notice · statutory liquor liability for serving the visibly intoxicated—servers AND social hosts (ORS 471.565), with a notice requirement for server claims · wrongful-death recovery framed by statute · plaintiff-fault reduction applies across the apportioned shares.
7A. CIVIL PRACTICE QUICK NOTES
Pleadings, motions, and discovery run under the ORCP, not the Federal Rules—watch numbering and local-specific procedure if a question localizes · trust deed vs. mortgage is the single biggest real-property practice fork (nonjudicial trustee's sale with no redemption/deficiency vs. judicial foreclosure with redemption) · adverse-possession claimants must satisfy the statutory honest-belief element on top of the common-law elements · in estates, never rely on a holographic will—Oregon requires two witnesses for validity.
8. CONTRACTS / UCC
UCC adopted (ORS Ch. 71–79)—Article 2, negotiable instruments, Article 9 uniform · standard Statute of Frauds (ORS 41.580) · 6-year contract SOL (written and oral) · otherwise national/Restatement rules.
9. BUSINESS ENTITIES
Oregon Business Corporation Act (MBCA-based, ORS Ch. 60) · LLC Act (ORS Ch. 63) · uniform partnership statutes (Ch. 67–68) · MBCA/RUPA/RULLCA-style fiduciary, derivative, and piercing analysis applies · confirm Secretary of State formation and annual-report requirements.
10. PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Oregon RPC based on the ABA Model Rules with distinctive variations (legacy of the former Code) · unified (mandatory) bar via the Oregon State Bar · MPRE tests ABA Model Rules · strict trust-accounting/IOLTA enforcement.
11. CRIMINAL
MPC-influenced code (ORS Ch. 161–167; intentionally/knowingly/recklessly/criminal negligence) with own grading · death penalty effectively ended