New York Law School Achieves Record Bar Pass Rate
Third Year Surpassing the State Average

New York, NY (December 5, 2008)— New York Law School scored its highest bar pass rate in the Law School’s history, with 93.6 percent of first-time test takers passing the exam, exceeding the New York State average of 91 percent. This places the Law School in the top five of all law schools in New York State.

“I congratulate our students; they worked hard, studied hard, and followed through on all the things they needed to do to be successful,” Dean and President Richard A. Matasar said. “This is a point of pride for the entire New York Law School community.”

Almost 10 years ago the Law School’s pass rate was at 58 percent until it rose to 72 percent and held steady at that percentage from 2000 to 2005. In 2006, the pass rate took a major jump with 84 percent of first-time test takers passing the exam, bypassing the state’s pass rate of 79 percent. Last year, the bar pass rate was 90 percent, placing the Law School in the top five of all law schools in the state and exceeding the state average of 88 percent.

A major factor in the increase of the Law School’s bar pass rate is a program instituted in 2003 called the Comprehensive Curriculum Program (CCP). CCP targets students who perform in the bottom quarter of their class after their first year, and requires them to take intense courses that help them finish law school much stronger than they started. The first cohort of CCP took the bar in 2006, increasing the Law School’s bar pass rate by 12 percent.

About New York Law School
Founded in 1891, New York Law School is an independent law school located in lower Manhattan near the city’s centers of law, government, and finance. New York Law School’s renowned faculty of prolific scholars has built the School’s strength in such areas as constitutional law, civil and human rights, labor and employment law, media and information law, urban legal studies, international and comparative law, and a number of interdisciplinary fields. The School is noted for its eight academic centers: Center for International Law, Center for New York City Law, Center for Professional Values and Practice, Center for Real Estate Studies, Center on Business Law & Policy, Center on Financial Services Law, Institute for Information Law & Policy, and Justice Action Center. New York Law School has more than 13,000 graduates and enrolls some 1,500 students in its full- and part-time J.D. program and its Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation program. www.nyls.edu

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