The results are in for the July bar exam and graduates from NSU’s Shepard Broad Law Center outperformed graduates from other law schools in Florida.
According to the Florida Supreme Court, NSU placed first in the state for passing the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), a portion of the bar exam that tests knowledge of conduct and ethics rules.
NSU also ranked in the top–five law schools for passing rates on the general bar exam. The university obtained an 87.4 percent pass rate, a rate that put them just 2.2 percentage points below Florida International University, which placed first. NSU jumped 6.6 percentage points from last year’s performance and exceeded this year’s statewide (average) pass rate by seven percentage points.
Sari Canavan, first–year law student, said, “I feel more comfortable knowing that I am attending a law school that is preparing me well for the bar exam.”
Linda Harrison, professor and associate dean for the Law Center’s Critical Skills Program, said the American Bar Association uses the state-wide rate to measure if students have been successfully prepared for the bar exam. She said numerous factors contributed to the students’ success.
“Focusing the curriculum on more bar–tested subjects and tightening student performance requirements to the implementation of the Critical Skills Program and, most recently, the Florida Bar Auxiliary Program (FBAP)[helped students succeed],” she said.
Although the law school has utilized a number of strategies to enhance student performance on the bar exam, Harrison said FBAP has had the most direct effect.
NSU law students view the achievement as a precursor to their success.
First–year law student, Russel Newman, said, “NSU has shown great improvement among the years; they’re doing a fantastic job.”
Harrison said the bar results show that the law school is a promising place for students seeking law careers.
“Successful bar passage is one important measure of the quality of a law school education and the faculty that provides it,” she said. “Future students and graduates can be assured that attending Nova will fully prepare them for the practice of law.”
To view this year’s bar exam results, go to http://www.floridabarexam.org/. For more information on how NSU law students prepare for the Bar Exam, contact Linda Harrison at harrisonlf@nova.edu. For general questions regarding Shepard Broad Law Center and admissions, go to http://www.nsulaw.nova.edu.
