SBM Blog

Bar Exam Pass Rate is Up 13.5 Percent for Certified Passers — or Not?

There is good news for bar exam takers in Michigan this Halloween.

Five hundred thirty eight certified passers successfully navigated July's bar exam. That number is up 13.5 percent from last year's certified passer list.

To all of you who passed, congratulations. We can't wait to welcome you to State Bar of Michigan membership.

If you happened to spot a previous blog post that claimed the number of bar exam passers was down, we apologize. In our haste to get the statistics posted for you, we inadvertently skipped a page of passers and posted the wrong number the first time. It was not intended to be a Halloween scare tactic.

Many of you have raised interesting points that we'd like to incorporate into this post, to further explain what we are reporting to you:

 

Casual Observer said...

This is simply a count of the list released on Tuesday. Of more interest would be the number of people who passed irrespective of their other qualifications, along with the total number of takers, which I understand is also close to a record high (potentially making the RATE of passage the lowest ever).

- See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2013/10/bar-exam-pass-statistics-.html#comment-6a0120a7ae33fa970b019b008ae3a2970c

Anon said...

I don't think that saying the pass rate is up 13.5% is the most academically honest thing to say either. The number of bar exam passers is up 13.5%, but based on the numbers that I've seen, the overall pass rate is up ~5% from last July.

- See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2013/10/bar-exam-pass-statistics-.html#comments

Anon said...

I don't think that saying the pass rate is up 13.5% is the most academically honest thing to say either. The number of bar exam passers is up 13.5%, but based on the numbers that I've seen, the overall pass rate is up ~5% from last July.

- See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2013/10/bar-exam-pass-statistics-.html#comments

Anon said...

Were there not only 529 passers last July before appeals? That would be a less than 2% increase.

- See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2013/10/bar-exam-pass-statistics-.html#comments

Confused said:

I thought there were 538 people on the July 2013 passing list (>1000 takers, I thought) and 529 people on July 2012's (967 takers). Can you explain how you arrived at a 13.5% passing rate increase?

SBM Blog said:

You're comparing apples to oranges by comparing the July 2013 certified passing list to the total number of passers from the July 2012 exam. The total number of passers on the July 2012 exam includes those whose "holds" were released, and those who had successful appeals to the exam results. The only number we have to go on from the Board of Law Examiners at this point is just the list of certified passers, which does not include the number with holds on their results or the number who will appeal their results successfully. So we're comparing the July 2013 certified passers to the July 2012 certified passers, and that is where we came up with the 13.5 percent increase in passers.

Anon said:

The number of certified passers for the July 2012 exam was 529 as Confused stated. Therefore, Confused is comparing certified passers to certified passers (not apples to oranges). (The number after appeals for the July 2012 exam was 549.) A jump from 529 to 538 does not equal 13.5%

SBM Blog said:

Last October, SBM staff counted the initial list of certified passers that was posted on the Board of Law Examiners website when it was first released. The number of names listed on that initial list was 474. We got the 13.5 percent increase by comparing the number of names of certified passers from this year's list, (538) and compared it to the number of names from the same list last year (474), as these numbers are on an "apples to apples" basis. The total number of passers that the BLE published for the July 2012 exam after "holds" were released and appeals granted totaled 549. There is nothing yet to compare that number to, because the BLE has not yet published a number of July 2013 bar exam passers after holds are lifted and appeals granted.

Former Michigan Bar Taker said:

I was also very disappointed to see this article yesterday. It really has no value and I find it insulting as someone who sat for the July 2012 bar exam, as it implies there was something inherently wrong with that group of applicants. It is frustrating to watch the State Bar of Michigan continue to defend the actions of the BOLE during the July 2012 bar exam. Very, very disappointing. Please save your articles for real statistics instead of using a faulty method of calculating to try to make your opinion known.

SBM Blog said:

Please be clear -- the State Bar has not defended the administration of the 2012 bar exam or any other bar exam sitting. In fact, the State Bar has asked questions about consistency and advocated for greater transparency. If our blog posts, offered in the spirit of sharing the data we get as soon as we get it, have created any other inference in any reader's mind that is unfortunate and unintended.

Anon said:

Any idea when we'll see the overall stats from the various Michigan law schools?

SBM Blog said:

Typically the BLE has made the statistics available shortly after the passage list is made public.

Michigan's Solicitor General To Return To Private Practice

Three years of successful argumentation in seven cases before the U.S. Supreme Court earned Michigan Solicitor General John Bursch a nod from the Wall Street Journal Law Blog this month. On December 2, he will argue his eighth case, Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community. And now comes news that Bursch will be leaving to return to the Warner Norcross and Judd LLP firm on December 6. Attorney General Bill Schuette said “I will miss John’s advice and counsel immensely. John and his wife Angela are wonderful friends, and I understand his responsibilities to his wife and children. I wish John and his family nothing but the best."

Court Of Claims Cases To Become Function Of Court Of Appeals?

In testimony yesterday on SB 652, the Michigan Senate Judiciary committee got a lesson in the history of the Court of Claims -- and voted to report out a bill that would change history again. Current statute provides that the Court of Claims, which hears cases involving claims of $1,000 or more against the state, is a function of the Ingham County circuit court. SB 652 would instead have the cases heard by four Court of Appeals judges selected by the Michigan Supreme Court. Prior to 1939, the committee was told, claims against the state were handled by the executive branch. After that, Court of Claims cases were heard by circuit court judges throughout the state assigned to the Court of Claims by the State Court Administrative Office. In 1978 the cases were consolidated in the Court of Claims as a function of the Ingham County circuit court. The 1978 change was advanced as a cost-savings move because the Attorney General's office, located in Ingham County, provides the defense in Court of Claims cases.

Proponents of the bill challenged the wisdom of all Court of Claims cases being heard by judges elected by only 3% of the electorate, and said that the ability to file claims outside of Ingham County would offer greater convenience to the public. Under the bill, a Court of Claims case would be heard in the Court of Appeals district of the judge assigned to the case. The bill's opponents challenged the propriety of appellate judges sitting as trial judges on cases that would then be heard on appeal by their colleagues.

The bill was reported out of committee on a party-line vote, with all Republicans voting for the bill, and all Democrats voting against.

Local Bar Admissions Swearing-In Ceremonies

• Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association

Visit www.detroitlawyer.org. For questions, contact [email protected].

• Federal Bar Association—Eastern District

Date: Tuesday, December 3, 2013; 4:00 p.m.
Location: Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse, 231 W Lafayette Blvd, Detroit, MI 48226

Visit www.fbamich.org for details under "Hot News" or call Brian Figot at (248) 594-5950.

• Genesee County Bar Association

Date: Friday, November 15, 2013; 2 p.m.
Courtroom: Hon. David J. Newblatt
Location: Genesee County 7th Judicial Circuit Court, 900 S Saginaw St, Flint, MI 48502

Visit www.gcbalaw.org or call (810) 232-6012.

• Grand Rapids Bar Association

Admission to the federal court is coordinated with this ceremony.

Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2013; 3:30 p.m.
Location: Grand Valley State University Eberhard Center, 301 W Fulton St, Rm 215, Grand Rapids, MI 40503

Visit www.grbar.org or contact Debbie Kurtz at (616) 454-5550 or [email protected]

• Grand Traverse–Leelanau–Antrim Bar Association

Visit www.gtlaba.org. Contact the 13th Circuit Court Administrator's Office at (231) 922-4706.

• Ingham County Bar Association/Cooley Law School

All passers are welcome to participate, you need not be a Cooley alum. A group sponsor will be provided.

Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2013; 5:00 p.m.
Location: Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Room 501, Lansing
Registration Form

Visit http://inghambar.org or e-mail Chris Wickman [email protected].

• Kalamazoo County Bar Association

Admission to the federal court is coordinated with this ceremony.

Date/Time: Friday, November 15, 2013; 4:00 p.m.
Location: Federal Courthouse, 410 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo
Visit www.kalamazoobar.org

Contact Susan Himmel at Kalamazoo County Circuit Court (269) 385-6079.

• Macomb County Bar Association

Visit www.macombbar.org or call (586) 468-2940 Ext. 102.

• Oakland County Bar Association

The Oakland County Bar Association will hold one Lawyer Admission Ceremony with judges sitting en banc. Admittees MUST register in advance.

Date: Friday, November 8, 2013; at 11:45 a.m.
Location: Commissioner's Auditorium, 1200 N Telegraph Rd, Pontiac, MI 48341

Visit www.ocba.org or contact Jan Anson at [email protected] (248) 334-3400.

• Saginaw County

Visit www.saginawbar.org. Contact Saginaw County Bar Association Executive Director Kelli Scorsone at [email protected] or (989) 790-8488.

• Washtenaw County Bar Association

Visit www.washbar.org for more information. For questions call (734) 994-4912.

What To Do Now That You've Passed The Michigan Bar Exam

First, celebrate. Next, accept our warm congratulations. You are now eligible to join one of the best state bar associations in the country, a 79-year old institution with an unmatched reputation for integrity, excellence, and outstanding service to its members and the public.

Here's what comes next:

All persons who are licensed to practice law in Michigan must be members of the State Bar of Michigan. In order to become a member of the State Bar, you must first take steps to become admitted. If you've recently passed the bar exam, the Board of Law Examiners has mailed you a certificate of qualification. A current, active member of the State Bar must file this certificate and a motion seeking your admission to the State Bar in the Supreme Court or a circuit court. You must also appear personally in open court to be administered the oath of office. View the rule describing the steps to follow in taking the oath of office as a lawyer.

First, you must be sworn in to one of the circuit courts or the Supreme Court of Michigan. Any member in good standing of the State Bar of Michigan can move your admission. Many local bar associations hold a bar admission swearing-in ceremony. 

Next, you will need to complete a membership application and pay your membership dues. To complete the State Bar of Michigan new member application online and pay your member dues with a Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card, visit the Bar's Member Area and create an account as a "Prospective New Member & Non-Member."  Do not create an account online until you have been sworn in. If you wish to complete the paper application and pay your member dues with a check, download the new member application form.

Finally, you must provide the State Bar with a true or certified copy of the Order of Admission certified by the County Clerk. Some courts provide the Order of Admission directly to the State Bar. If you wish, you may mail your true or certified copy of the Order of Admission signed by the County Clerk to the State Bar of Michigan, Attention Finance, 306 Townsend St., Lansing, MI 48933.

You have come to the end of a long and difficult road and now begin a journey that holds the promise of great satisfaction and achievement. The State Bar will be there to help.

July 2013 Bar Exam Passers Posted

The Michigan Board of Law Examiners has posted the July 2013 Bar Exam results on its website.

Reminder To Those Who Didn't Pass The Bar Exam

Some very accomplished lawyers had to take the bar exam more than once. You're not alone. Once you do pass (and you can), this setback won't matter. Hang in there.

Today's 1L's Destined For Bar Exam Trouble?

The passage rate for Michigan's bar exam has been the subject of attention since its plunge a year ago. The 2013 July bar passers are announced online today after noon, and the data on Michigan's passage rate is expected shortly thereafter. (SBM Blog will post.) Are recent low passage rates an anomaly, or the new normal? A University of St. Thomas law professor writes at Legal Whiteboard that an overall decline in the LSAT scores of admitted law students may portend a drop in the passage rate nationwide in 2016.  He calls the entering class of 2013's LSAT profile “almost certainly the weakest of any class going back to fall 2002." But TaxLawProf's Paul Caron points to a new study that says that law school grade point averages,not LSAT scores, are the best predictor of bar exam passage success. 

Does Suit-And-Tie Dress Reduce Creativity — Or Stress?

If you turn to the gentlemen at the top of the current political heap for career dress advice, it turns out you get two pretty interesting answers. A Traverse City Eagle piece by George Weeks reveals that Michigan's governor has thought this through and decided that wearing a tie inhibits creativity. The Governor's deputy press secretary told Weeks that the idea of going tieless came to the Governor when he was addressing a crowd of suited-and-tied innovators and entrepreneurs:

The governor said innovators need to be different and think differently. They need to be bold and they need to challenge the way things normally work to find new and better ways. He said the idea came to him to take off the tie, breaking from accepted practice at the time.

The Governor does defer to custom and don a tie on particular occasions -- funerals, weddings, in the Michigan House of Representatives, and at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, after 6 p.m., for instance. 

President Obama has also been known suit up without a tie on some public occasions, including high profile economic summits. The President talked about his distinctly uncreative dressing decisions with Michael Lewis for Lewis's  "Obama's Way" piece in Vanity Fair:

“You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits,” he said. “I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.” He mentioned research that shows the simple act of making decisions degrades one’s ability to make further decisions.

Is there anyone who validates the instincts of both the Governor and the President? How about Steve Jobs, who wore the same outfit everyday -- black mock turtleneck, blue jeans and New Balance sneakers.

Maybe the best conclusion to draw is that when you reach the top you can break the rules. Good luck in your dressing decision making until then.

 

How To Console Yourself About The Tiger-Absent World Series

Read national treasure Roger Angell's exquisite New Yorker pieces on the playoffs and the Series. For a look back to the Tiger-Red Sox series, try this.