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 for the second year in a row.
Santa Clara Law’s pass rate for first-time takers for the July 2016 exam was 66%. This is 4% higher than the average for first-time takers from California ABA-accredited law schools and 23% higher than the overall pass rate.
“Once again, we’re very proud of our students and this tremendous accomplishment,“ said Bradley Joondeph, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. “While we’re excited about this achievement, we’re also looking forward to see how we can continue preparing our students for further improvements in the years to come.”
Professor Yvonne Ekern, previous Director of the Law School’s Office of Academic and Bar Success (OABS), worked tirelessly to help Santa Clara law 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 Santa Clara Law 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.”
The new OABS Director, Professor Michael Flynn, plans to build upon this effective program to meet the challenges of the new two-day bar exam, which will begin in July 2017. Nearly all graduates are enrolled in Santa Clara’s internal bar preparation class, Advanced Legal Writing: Bar Exam. “The class will focus more heavily on the multiple choice section of the exam (the Multistate Bar Exam),” said Flynn, “as the new bar will weight that section more heavily. Santa Clara remains committed and energized to helping our students succeed.”
Special Congratulations to Our New Admittees
Santa Clara University School of Law extends its congratulations to its graduates who passed the July 2016 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 6, 2016 at Mission Santa Clara de Asis located on the Santa Clara University campus. New admittees were sworn in by The Honorable Risë Jones Pichon, B.S. ’74, J.D. ’76, Presiding Judge, Superior Court of Santa Clara County, and The Honorable Edward J. Davila, United States District Court, Northern District of California.
