FAMU Law continues to move forward with renewed prioritization of bar exam prep

Spring 2017 FAMU College of Law graduates

Interim FAMU College of Law Dean LeRoy Pernell and his team have a big job ahead. The first-try passage for rate FAMU Law graduates who took the Florida Bar Examination in Spring 2017 was 51.3 percent. That tied FAMU with Ave Maria for second-lowest in the state. But Pernell has led the school out of this type of situation before.

Back when Pernell began his first appointment as dean of the FAMU College of Law in January 2008, most classes of the reestablished law school had first-try bar passage rates in the low to mid-50s. Pernell responded by making preparation for the bar exam a top priority.

One of Pernell’s biggest contributions was the creation of the Academic Success & Bar Preparation Program in 2009. The Bar Exam Success Training (BEST) program, a centerpiece of the initiative, helped FAMU’s first-try passage rates on the Florida Bar Examination dramatically improve over those six years.

FAMU saw the best-ever performance since its reopening when graduates reached an 82.6 percent first-try passage rate on the February 2013 exam. FAMU also topped the University of Florida’s first-try passage rate several times due to the success of the BEST program.

Pernell stepped down in July 2015 under then-President Elmira Mangum. That same month, FAMU Law graduates got a 67.9 percent first-try passage rate on the bar. Questions swirled about whether Pernell was pushed aside despite his strong performance in order to make way for a replacement who would be less likely to stand firm against harmful micromanagement.

The FAMU first-try bar passage rate dropped like a rock during the rest of the Mangum presidency. The Mangum administration appointed an interim dean effective July 1, 2015 and then selected Angela Felecia Epps for the permanent deanship with a start date of January 4, 2016.  The FAMU Law first-try Florida Bar Exam passage rate was 56.5 percent in February 2016 and 52.9 percent in July 2016.

A total of 46.2 percent of the FAMU Law graduates who took the February 2017 Florida Bar Exam passed on their first try. That was the first time the FAMU first-try passage rate fell below 50 percent since the college’s reopening in 2002.

Pernell has been rebuilding FAMU Law’s bar preparation program since he was selected as interim dean earlier this year. He recently appointed Reginald Mitchell, Sr. to lead the Office of Academic Success and Bar Preparation, which runs the BEST program.

The interim dean also told the FAMU Board of Trustees Special Committee on the College of Law on June 7 that the college is considering potential partnerships with private companies that offer bar preparation services.