Duquesne Kline Law School Grads Exceed State Averages in First-Time, Overall Attempts on Latest PA Bar Exam

 This marks the Commonwealth’s third administration of the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE), which allows individuals who successfully pass the exam to seamlessly transfer their scores to become licensed in other jurisdictions.
 
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania now maintains the highest cut score—or passing score—for its bar takers out of any jurisdiction in the nation, making it one of, if not the most, challenging bar examinations to pass in the country among the 41 jurisdictions that have adopted the UBE. 
 
“While these results are strong on their own merit, the deeper meaning for our graduates is that they can now go out into the world and accomplish the goals they have set for themselves as future leaders of the legal profession,” said April Barton, Dean of the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University. “I offer my sincere gratitude to our faculty and staff who work tirelessly to help prepare our students for this rigorous exam.”
 
This administration of the UBE in Pennsylvania occurred during a time when lawyer licensure has never been under more scrutiny as law schools across the country work to prepare law students for a newly formatted bar exam slated for administration in 2026, according to Duquesne Kline School of Law Director of Bar Studies Ashley London.    
 
“Our graduates are truly prepared for anything, and this July 2023 result demonstrates how committed our entire law school is to positive outcomes for our students,” London said. “The work is not easy, but all of our faculty, staff and alumni rise to the challenge year after year to support, promote and now to celebrate our successful graduates.” 
 
Some highlights from the Pennsylvania results include:

• Duquesne’s first-time pass rate of 82.93% outpaced the statewide first-time pass rate average of 78.75%.
• This marks the EIGHTH consecutive year the law school has outperformed the state average.
• Duquesne’s overall pass rate of 78.36% exceeded the statewide overall passage rate of 71.38%.

Since February 2018, the American Bar Association (ABA) requires law schools to report their “ultimate bar passage rates,” which track law school graduates for a period of two years or four bar exam cycles (July and February). In 2022, Duquesne Kline School of Law reported an ultimate bar passage rate of 92.31% for its class of 2019, placing the law school ahead of other PA law graduates in terms of bar passage rates. 
 
The bar exam is one metric where Duquesne Kline School of Law graduates do well, another is employment statistics. In April, the American Bar Association (ABA) released ten-month employment statistics from law schools nationwide regarding the class of 2022. As reported, the 2022 graduates of Duquesne Kline School of Law are doing exceptionally well. As of March 15, 2023, 93.8% (121/129 graduates) of the 2022 class from Duquesne Kline School of Law were employed or pursuing a graduate degree; this includes three graduates whose start date was deferred beyond March 15 and one graduate who was enrolled in full-time graduate studies. Delving further into the data, 87.6% of the class (113/129 graduates) had full-time and long-term jobs that required bar passage or where the JD was an advantage to their position, outpacing the national average of 84.6%.

Duquesne University

Founded in 1878, Duquesne is consistently ranked among the nation's top Catholic universities for its award-winning faculty and horizon-expanding education. A campus of nearly 8,200 graduate and undergraduate students, Duquesne prepares students by having them work alongside faculty to discover and reach their goals. The University's academic programs, community service and commitment to equity and opportunity in the Pittsburgh region have earned national acclaim.

It's time for bigger goals. Follow Duquesne University on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and LinkedIn.
www.duq.edu