This July, one hundred and sixteen Fowler School of Law graduates passed the California Bar Exam, posting a remarkable 81% successful pass rate for first-time bar-takers from the school. Placed in context, this achievement is nothing short of exceptional: Of the 7,500-plus bar-takers this July, 49% failed the exam; new graduates from Californian ABA-accredited schools saw a 76% pass rate; and out-of-state ABA-accredited schools had a 70% pass rate for their first-time bar-takers. The five percentage point margin of success Fowler students enjoyed over competing schools left our students, along with the Bar Preparation team of Associate Dean for Bar Preparation and Academic Achievement Mario Mainero, Assistant Dean for Academic Achievement Sarira Sadeghi, Adjunct Professor Kent Sommer, and Visiting Professor John Bishop, with a lot to be pleased about this year.

Notorious for its difficulty and high failure rates, the Californian bar exam is not something to be taken lightly, requiring rigorous and diligent preparations and lashings of late-night study sessions. Enter Chapman Law’s Bar-Prep team under the experienced and watchful eye of Professor Mainero, to guide first-, and repeat bar-takers, through the long slog of commercial review sessions, 2-3 group preparation sessions each week, and grading of thousands of written submissions to ready them for the final challenge law graduates face each February and July.

A thorough bar preparation regime is part and parcel of a Fowler School of Law legal education. Preparation sessions typically see a full contingent of the Fowler Bar-Prep team of Mainero, Sadeghi, Sommer, Bishop and Dean Paton all putting their collective shoulders to the wheel to help students clear this final hurdle, dispel anxieties and maintain a singular focus on their success. We applaud each and every Fowler graduate who passed this year’s bar exams, as well as the faculty and staff who worked tirelessly on this wonderful achievement for the school and our graduates.