Ninety Percent of UC Irvine School of Law's First Graduating Class Pass California Bar
IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 20,2012—The first UC Irvine School of Law graduating class passed the California bar exam at a rate of 90 percent, which places the school among the top in the state for bar pass rate.
Some 46 of 51 members of the Class of 2012 who took the July California bar exam passed on their first try. In addition, three other class members who took the bar exam in other states also passed.
The State Bar of California reported last week that 55.3 percent of total applicants passed the July exam. The statewide average pass rate of California's schools accredited by the American Bar Association is 77 percent for first-time takers, according to bar statistics.
Although it will be a few weeks until the California bar releases a list of each law school's bar pass rate, 90 percent historically has been among the top pass rates in the state. Bar statistics from 2011 show that 90 percent would have placed UCI Law second among ABA-accredited California schools.
"We are extraordinarily pleased that our first graduating class had such a tremendous showing," said UCI Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. "It reflects not only the high academic merit of the students but also the strength of our educational program."
The three-day California bar exam, which is given in February and July, consists of a multiple-choice Multistate Bar Examination, six essay questions and two performance tests.
UCI Law will host a swearing-in ceremony and reception for new members of the California bar on Sunday, Dec. 2, 3:00 p.m., at the UCI Student Center. Event details on UCI Law Calendar of Events.
Media Contact: Rex Bossert, Assistant Dean for Communications, rbossert@law.uci.edu, (949) 824-3063.
About UCI School of Law
UC Irvine School of Law seeks to create the ideal law school for the 21st century by doing the best job of training lawyers for the practice of law at the highest levels of the profession. Recruited from prestigious schools, the faculty ranked seventh in the country in scholarly impact in a recent study. The student body has overall admissions statistics comparable to those of student bodies at top 20 law schools. The school's innovative curriculum stresses hands-on learning, interdisciplinary study and public service.