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Law Center Ranked Best School in the Nation for Bar Exam Preparation

It’s no surprise to generations of LSU Law graduates that the school is #1 in the state when it comes to preparing students to pass the Louisiana State Bar Examination.  But a recent study conducted by The National Jurist magazine identified LSU Law as the #1 school in the nation in terms of first-time bar passage ratios in a predictive statistical model based on LSAT scores.

“Louisiana State University is at the top,” said National Jurist author Rebecca Larsen. “It’s easy to have a high bar pass rate when you get the best test takers in the country.  But how do law schools with low LSAT scores score big on the Bar,” asked the author.  The National Jurist study, published in the February 2012 issue, examined this question by determining a probability distribution and then identifying which schools were the most extreme deviations. LSU Law was at the top of the list, followed by Campbell University Wiggins School of Law in North Carolina and Stanford Law School.  The author also provided commentary on special programs and unique learning opportunities afforded students at many of the report’s highest ranking law schools. 

“The National Jurist study confirms that our faculty, our students, and our program are working together to provide an effective legal education—one that actually works when it’s put to the test on the bar exam,” said Chancellor Jack Weiss.  “We’re changing students’ lives and offering them a chance at success and opportunity way beyond what the LSAT data might predict. And we’re doing it at a reasonable cost, half or less of what many other law schools are charging. So this #1 ranking dovetails with LSU Law’s ranking as the # 6 Best Value Law School in the nation.  I think many prospective students will look at these two rankings together and find that a pretty powerful combination.”

The article noted that the state’s bar exam model could have “allowed the school to perform better,” but recent statistical analyses conducted under the auspices of the state’s highest Court dispel that myth, noted Chancellor Weiss.  “I don’t agree with the story’s suggestion that LSU Law students’ outstanding performance should be discounted because the Louisiana Bar Exam tests civil law material,” rebutted the Chancellor.  “Detailed statistical studies performed for the Supreme Court Committee on Bar Admissions just last year concluded that there is no difference in the performance of Louisiana law school students and out of state law school students on the civil law versus the non-civil law parts of the bar exam.  Moreover, LSU Law students consistently pass the Louisiana bar exam at a higher rate than the graduates of the other three Louisiana law schools.”

 

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