While one group of law students tackles the bar exam in hopes of
pursuing a career in law, another begins to prepare to take it in
the future.
Statewide, only about half the test-takers will pass, but the
UCLA School of Law boasts a much higher rate ““ currently, its
graduates have the highest passage rate in California.
Prospective lawyers began the bar exam Tuesday. The three-day
test is offered twice a year in February and July.
Most take the exam in July after taking review courses the
summer following their graduation from law school.
Passing is far from a foregone conclusion ““ last July, the
average passing rate in California was 48.8 percent.
“It’s pretty intimidating,” said Justin
Osborne, a third-year law student who is currently enrolled in a
course at BAR/BRI, an exam-preparation organization.
He described a rigorous study schedule leading up to the
exam.
“You study for about eight to 10 hours a day and follow a
pretty rigid timetable in which specific goals are set that you are
expected to meet so you don’t fall behind schedule or spend
too much time on any one subject,” Osborne said.
Based on past bar-passage rates, UCLA law students have an
advantage over others.
Last year, 89 percent of UCLA law school graduates who took the
exam passed it, said Elizabeth Cheadle, dean of students at the law
school, adding that UCLA “had the highest bar pass rate of
any law school in the state of California.”
Sasha Stern, a first-year law student, said the high success
rate at UCLA gave her confidence that she would be able to perform
well on the exam.
“We’re just trying to get through the first
year,” Stern said. “We figure if we can get through
that, we can get through anything. Plus, UCLA has such a high pass
rate that you figure you’ll be well prepared by the time you
take the exam.”
The subjects on the exam are all offered in law school, and
about half of them are included in the first-year curriculum.
While the first-year courses are standardized, students have
some flexibility in terms of what additional courses they want to
take.
Osborne said he felt more confident about taking the exam after
successfully completing his law school courses.
“We go over so much hard material every day that it just
builds your confidence knowing you did so well in these
classes,” Osborne said.
The UCLA law school differs from other law schools in that it
does not require its students to take more than half of the
bar-prescribed courses.
“A lot of the lower-ranked law schools require more of the
bar subjects than we do because they are more concerned with their
students’ ability to pass the exam than we are,”
Cheadle said.