The American Bar Association has determined that Western New England is in compliance of having 75% of graduates passing the bar within a two-year period. The ABA had found them to be out of compliance in December 2021.
Western New England’s two-year pass rate for 2018 graduates stood at 64.8%, failing to meet Standard 316, which was passed 2019.
At the time, supporters praised the ABA’s action, saying schools were failing students if they couldn’t meet that number. Grads need to pass the bar to practice law, after all, and most schools were easily eclipsing it.
Critics were worried about the affect it would have on diverse schools, some of which were not meeting that threshold. If they closed, diversity efforts could be compromised, they feared. It’s not a concern without merit; the law profession continues to struggle with diversity.
Initially 10 schools were out of compliance. Since then, most have reached the 75% mark. Two of the lagging schools are in Puerto Rico. The other school remaining out of compliance is Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco was also found out of compliance in December 2021 with a two-year pass rate for 2018 graduates at 57.5%. No word as of press time where its compliance stands.
But Golden Gate University is confident it will rebound.
“My number one priority since joining GGU Law last summer has been improving the school’s bar passage rates,” said Colin Crawford, dean of Golden Gate University. “GGU has always placed a premium on preparing our students for legal professions, and we have been rededicating our efforts to ensure strong bar passage rates for graduates.”
