Interesting Articles on Bar Passage

As many of us know all too well, bar pass rates dramatically dropped upon introduction of Civil Procedure on the MBE in 2015.  Some people correlate the drop with decreasing applications, but at least at OCU, applications and credentials were steady in 2011 and 2012, which are the graduates who took the 2015 MBE.  Criticism of the MBE may be warranted, but the reality is we need to adjust to the exam in the short term while trying to advocate for a better test in the long term.  I don't believe practicing attorneys, who are members of boards of bar examiners, understand the new and more difficult exam.  Not only do we need to advocate to the NCBE for changes, we must inform and persuade state boards because the current perception is law schools are the cause of decreasing bar pass rates. 

Law.com published 3 articles online that illustrate the perception we are fighting.  The first 2 articles focus on law schools and the causes of the decline.  The last article discusses how that decline effects the job market.  Some articles highlight schools that overcome falling bar pass rates, but inherent in that argument is that other schools aren't doing enough.  The logical extension is law school policies and teaching are the major factors influencing bar pass rates.  Knowing many of you, I believe law schools are going well beyond what each school provided a mere 10 years ago, significantly more than 20 years ago.  Check out the articles below published over the last few weeks.

The Big Fail Part I

The Big Fail Part II

The Big Fail Part III

I encourage everyone to understand the perception in the legal community at large.  Let's keep working to make meaningful changes both to the exam and community perception.  

(Steven Foster)