Results from this summer’s Texas bar examination were released Thursday. The University of Texas had the highest passage rate in the state. 94% of Texas Law graduates passed the exam on the first try.
261 of the Law School’s graduates took the Texas bar exam this summer. 245 of them passed, by far the highest number of any law school in Texas.
Ward Farnsworth, dean of the Texas Law, expressed satisfaction with the results.
“These are outstanding numbers, and I congratulate the class of 2016 on them,” he said. “They are an amazing bunch of graduates, and it’s great to see them getting off to a fast start in their careers.”
Results from the New York bar were also released recently. The exam was passed by 91% of Texas Law graduates who took it for the first time.
Farnsworth said while the Law School is happy with the results, it does not especially emphasize bar preparation in its curriculum.
“Our first priority is teaching our students how to think like lawyers, and on giving them the sophistication they need to practice law at the highest level throughout their careers,” Dean Farnsworth said. “But we also want them ready to succeed as soon as they graduate, and passing the bar exam is part of that. Our goal is to have it both ways.”