Graduates of Santa Clara University School of Law have exceeded the California ABA-accredited law school average pass rate on the state’s bar examination and increased the average bar passage rate by nearly 9 points over last July. This is an exceptional achievement for our graduates.
Increasing Bar Passage Rates
Santa Clara Law’s first-time pass rate was 69.3%, an improvement of nearly 9 points from last year’s July pass rate (60.36%) and 1.3 points higher than the state pass rate of 68% from ABA-accredited law schools.
“We’re very proud of our students and this accomplishment, “ said Bradley Joondeph, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. “This is especially promising given that the California ABA-accredited law school pass rate was only 68%. While we’re excited about this achievement, we’re also looking forward to see how we can continue preparing our students for further improvements.”
“This achievement reflects our commitment to improving our preparation for our students to enter the legal profession,” Joondeph said. “The real challenge will be to sustain this effort, year in and year out, to help our students perform their very best.”
Spearheading the effort to improve bar passage results is Professor Yvonne Ekern, Director of the Law School’s Office of Academic and Bar Success. Professor Ekern worked tirelessly to help Santa Clara students perform at their best. Her efforts organizing the Bar Resources, Instruction, Coaching, and Support (BRICS) program, monitoring the progress of our entire cohort of bar takers throughout the summer, and supporting the students in other ways were central to this achievement.
“We are very excited about the SCU pass rate for last July’s Bar,” said Ekern. “I attribute much of this to enthusiastic student involvement, early Bar preparation and the support of the faculty and the staff during the entire Bar preparation process.”
“I firmly believe that early Bar preparation is an important key to success on the Bar,” Ekern said. “I urge all students to participate in as many BRICS sessions as possible, create and stick with an early Bar prep plan that includes no less than 2,000 practice MBE questions.”
Special Congratulations to Our Graduates
Santa Clara University School of Law extends its congratulations to its graduates who passed the July 2015 California Bar examination. A swearing-in ceremony for graduates who passed the bar, co-sponsored by the Santa Clara County Bar Association, took place on December 1, 2015 at Mission Santa Clara de Asis located on the Santa Clara University campus.
