Over three-quarters, 78 percent, of law graduates who took the bar exam for the first time in 2022 received a passing score according to new data released by the American Bar Association. This is a slight decline in the first-time pass rate recorded in 2021 (80 percent) and 2020 (84 percent), although covid-necessitated modifications to the exam in those years make direct comparison difficult.
The “ultimate bar pass rate,” or the percentage of law school graduates who pass the bar within two years, has increased this year. For the class of 2020, 91.9 percent passed the licensing exam within two years, up slightly from 91.3 percent in 2019 and 90.1 percent in 2018.
While many of the most prestigious law programs boasted their highest pass rates, the percentage who passed did decrease for most schools when compared to 2021.
