For the first time in a decade, more than 90% of University of Florida Levin College of Law graduates achieved first-time passage of the Florida Bar Exam. First-time bar passage is a leading indicator in national law school standing.
Last year, with investments from the university’s Board of Trustees and the Florida Legislature, UF Law — ranked the No. 1 law school in the state of Florida by U.S. News & World Report — launched an aggressive three-year plan to increase bar passage rates. In the first year of this new program, UF Law has already achieved its initial goal: a passage rate over 90%, which leads the state.
At the same time, Mori Hosseini, UF Board of Trustee chair, challenged the law school to increase first-time bar passage rates to 90% and committed to donating $1 million if the college succeeded. At today’s Board of Trustees meeting, UF Interim President Kent Fuchs announced Hosseini’s challenge and personal $1 million donation to the Levin College of Law.
“The Board of Trustees has partnered with college leadership to provide all of our students the very best legal education. We are proud of these results and our students and look forward to following the success of these tremendous graduates,” Hosseini said. “We are the No. 1 law school in the state of Florida. We accomplish great things for the state of Florida when we set high goals and hold ourselves accountable. We are constantly striving to make ourselves better. We are grateful for the resources that our state has given us, and we are committed to educating leaders who are ready to tackle big problems.”
To achieve this goal, UF Law created a comprehensive academic success program, one that equips students with skills necessary for success even beyond the bar itself.
Led by Associate Dean Sabrina Lopez and new full-time director Natasha Carbajal, the supportive, engaging, and rigorous academic program supports students from their first year through bar preparation. The program includes frequent workshops on study skills, exam preparation, and exam taking. College-sponsored resources available to students include courses, workshops, tutors, and commercial study programs, all coordinated alongside faculty experts.
“UF Law has a state, national, and global reach,” Fuchs said. “Our graduates go on to work in an incredibly diverse, rapidly changing and fast-paced legal industry, and passing the bar is the first step. We are proud of this success, and we are not slowing down.”
The new approach has been a college-wide effort, with faculty offering new courses on bar-related topics, engaging in more formative assessments, and administering exams under bar-like conditions. The college also assessed first-year students to identify gaps in instruction and learning and worked with faculty to address early in the academic cycle.
“We’re grateful for the state and board’s investment in UF Law,” said Interim Dean Merritt McAlister. “We are proud of our graduates, and it’s rewarding to see their — and our — hard work pay off. We will be relentless in preparing lawyers to succeed in a constantly evolving legal environment. We won’t rest until every student passes the bar on the first attempt. We are grateful to Chair Hosseini for holding us to the highest standards and personally investing in our college when we achieve those goals.”
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