42.2 percent
pass the February bar exam
Just over 42 percent of the would-be lawyers who took the
February bar exam passed, the Committee of Bar Examiners announced last month. If the 1,849 successful test-takers satisfy other requirements for
admission, they will join the bar, pushing the number of California lawyers
past the 238,000 mark.
Of the 4,382 applicants who took the exam, 33 percent were
first-time takers. They held a passing rate of 53 percent, compared to a 37
percent success rate for repeaters.
The committee also announced that 201 (45.9 percent) of the
438 lawyers who took the attorneys’ exam passed. Of those, 25 were disciplined
lawyers who took the examination as a condition of reinstatement; just six
passed.
The attorneys’ exam is open to lawyers who have been
admitted to the active practice of law in good standing for at least four years
in another U.S. jurisdiction.
Successful applicants who have satisfied other requirements
for admission – those who have not been reported by local district attorneys
for being in arrears with family or child support payments, who have received a
positive moral character determination and who have passed the Multistate
Professional Responsibility Examination – may either take the Attorney’s Oath
individually or participate in admissions ceremonies held throughout the state
during June 2012.