Statement from Dean Duncan on Bar Passage Results

Dear colleagues:

The Law School has received the results for the July 2017 administration of the Mississippi Bar Exam and are much higher than the state average.  There were 41 University of Mississippi graduates who were first-time candidates.  Within this group, 31 passed.  In other words, first-time candidates from Ole Miss registered a  75.6% passage rate.  (Note: This is exactly the same percentage as July 2016).  Among all the 55 graduates of our school who took the Mississippi Bar Exam in July 2017, 36 passed which translates to 65.6%

Overall state statistics compared to ours are:

University of Mississippi

State

First time takers

31/41 (75.6%)

80/124 (64.6%)

Repeat Takers

5/14 (35.8%)

16/48 (33.4%)

All takers combined

36/55 (65.6%)

96/172 (55.9%)

Although we celebrate our alumni that passed the bar, we will continue to evaluate how to get that percentage even higher.  Bar passage is a top priority for me as Dean.  We plan to take a comprehensive look at what we are doing including what courses students take in law school as well as critically assessing our internal bar prep course in order to better prepare our students.  Our focus has always been and will continue to be preparing our students for life after law school and giving students the keys they need to succeed both on the bar exam and in practice or their chosen careers.

Please join me in congratulating our graduates on their success on the Mississippi Bar Exam.

Susan