FAMU Law posts 67.9% first-try passage rate on Bar Exam, continues to top state average

More than 40 Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) College of Law graduates participated in the 14th College of Law Swearing-In Ceremony on Tuesday, September 22, 2015.  The event, held in the Ceremonial Moot Courtroom, featured a standing-room-only crowd of family, friends and supporters who witnessed the momentous exchange.

The new attorneys passed the July 2015 Florida Bar Exam, where the overall pass rate for FAMU first-time takers continued to show consistency in state standings.  The 67.9 percent passage rate bested the 63.0 percent achieved by out-of-state test takers. Of the 84 FAMU graduates who took the exam for the first time in July, 57 passed.  In addition, FAMU’s 67.9 percent pass rate was higher than the pass rate of five other law schools in Florida — the College of Law outscored the same number of law schools a year ago.

The Oath of Attorney was administered by a number of judges from the Ninth Judicial Circuit including the Honorable Faye Allen; the Honorable Tina Caraballo; the Honorable Leticia Marques; the Honorable Elizabeth Starr; and the Honorable Diana Tennis.  The program also featured remarks from Sopi Mitil, Esq., (’10), representing the FAMU College of Law Alumni Alliance, and College of Law Interim Dean Darryll Jones.

Alicia Jackson, FAMU College of Law Academic Success and Bar Preparation Director, congratulated the graduates as part of the ceremony.  Jackson oversees the law school’s B.E.S.T. (Bar Exam Success Training) program, which has helped to drive increased bar passing scores among participants.

The B.E.S.T. program was instituted at the College of Law in 2009 to complement commercial programs by incorporating essay writing and multiple-choice exam workshops as well as individual training and structured study plans.  The program provides support to both first-time and repeat bar exam takers, and for bar preparation in any state.