Boyd School of Law Graduates Achieve Highest Pass Rate on Nevada Bar Exam in School History

Eighty-seven percent of Boyd School of Law graduates who took the Nevada Bar Exam for the first time in July passed the test, marking the highest pass rate since the school was founded in 1998. The Nevada Board of Bar Examiners released the results Oct. 6.

Seventy-eight out of 90 Boyd graduates who took the test for the first time passed. Statewide, 194 out of 245 people who took the exam for the first time passed.

“This kind of success is not accidental,” said John Valery White, dean of the Boyd School of Law. “Our rigorous curriculum is intended to prepare students for diverse challenges in practice – and for success on the bar. We supplement our rigorous instruction with an academic success program aimed at ensuring students are equipped to succeed in law school and are confident about passing the bar.”

Boyd School of Law’s academic success program is credited with helping students and alumni prepare for the bar exam through workshops, mock exams and individual counseling sessions.

“These results are particularly impressive considering the difficult economy, but not surprising given that our program is designed to provide the kind of individualized attention to students that commercial programs can’t offer,” said Jennifer Carr, director of the academic success program. “The results show the strength of the law school curriculum and the dedication of our school to ensuring the success of our students.”

Among the results:

• 87 percent of UNLV law school graduates who took the exam for the first time passed the exam – 8 percent higher than Nevada’s pass rate for first-time test takers
• 50 percent of Boyd graduates who repeated the exam this year passed. Statewide, 26 percent who took the test again passed.
• 81 percent of all Boyd test takers passed the exam – 15 percent higher than the state’s overall pass rate for all test takers.

The Nevada bar is a three-day exam consisting of several Nevada essay questions, one Multistate Performance Test (MPT) problem, and a Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). The successful applicant must achieve a total scaled score of 75 on the exam as a whole, as well as passing at least three essays with a scaled score of 75.

The William S. Boyd School of Law has more than 450 students and offers three juris doctor degree programs: a full-time day program, a part-time day program, and a part-time evening program, and three dual degree programs: a J.D./MBA, a J.D./M.S.W. and a J.D./Ph.D. It is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the American Association of Law Schools, accomplishments it achieved in record time.