In a recent Justia blog post, Illinois Law dean and professor Vikram David Amar reflects on the past academic year, highlighting both some bright spots and significant challenges for legal education. He talks about trends in employment outcomes, law school applications, and bar passage. On bar passage specifically, he says:

"Even with the prospect of better aggregate times for legal education ahead, all law schools must figure out how better to enable their graduating classes to pass the bar. The academic strength of the students coming in is of course a factor, but I am aware of no comprehensive study that indicates that incoming credentials can by themselves explain the lower recent pass rates. Indeed, my sense is that some of the studies done thus far suggest there must be other large factors at work too. There is an urgent need for additional studies here. And if changes in legal education (which, though gradual, might have reached some tipping points) are contributing to the low pass rates, law schools need to deal with them promptly and forcefully."

Full post at verdict.justia.com