Law School Ranks as one of the Best School's for bar exam prep

by National Jurist - February 2012

February 21, 2012

Duquesne Law School has been rated among the best in the nation for its bar exam preparation, according to the National Jurist magazine. In its February 2012 cover story, Who are Bar Exam's Biggest Stars?, the National Jurist ranked Duquesne 22nd out of approximately 200 ABA-approved law schools in bar exam preparation success.

The magazine evaluated the bar pass rates for all ABA-approved law schools and compared their results with statewide averages to identify schools that outperform what their students' incoming LSAT scores would predict. The National Jurist employed a statistical analysis using each school's LSAT at the 25th percentile (to account for students most likely to fail the bar exam) and the ratio of graduates who passed the bar exam compared to the state averages for 2009 and 2010. Duquesne Law School held the highest ranking among all Pennsylvania law schools, with one exception, and was ranked slightly ahead of Yale.

Law School Dean Ken Gormley stated "it is a great honor to be recognized by the National Jurist for our students' outstanding performance on bar exams, but the results are not entirely surprising to those of us who are privileged to see the hard work and dedication that characterize our law school community. Our school's success on the bar exam is a testament to the joint efforts of our faculty, administration, staff and students who, we feel, are capable of performing at the highest levels of professional excellence and who can compete with graduates from the very best law schools across the United States."

According to Professor Richard Gaffney, Director of Bar Services at Duquesne Law School, the exceptional ranking was the product of diligent preparation, beginning with the first-year core courses and continuing through the law school's comprehensive Bar Examination Preparation program, which was instituted by the faculty in 2006. This program includes a year-long course and a separate spring semester course, both of which are designed to optimize student performance on the multiple choice and essay components of the bar exam

Since the introduction of the spring semester Bar Preparation Course in 2006, Duquesne's First-Time Bar Pass Rate has soared from a rolling 10-year average of 75% to a 5-year average of 90%. "As nice as it is to receive recognition from the National Jurist for our bar success," Gormley said, "it is even more gratifying to know that the overwhelming majority of our graduates are able to pass the bar exam on their first attempt. This allows them to move seamlessly from Law School into their chosen profession, serving others through the practice of law in both the public and private sectors."