As ASU’s new Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law building nears completion, the college's graduates have claimed the number one rate of bar exam passage and the top three scores in the state.
The July exam indicated that ASU grads had a first-time pass rate of 83.7 percent, compared to the statewide average of 65.7 percent, according to a press release from the University.
Kyle Orne, an ASU alumnus who graduated in May 2015, had the highest score in the state.
“I was very surprised to have the top score, I’m not going to lie,” he said.
Orne said the classes he took at ASU covered the subjects on the bar exam well.
“I had a great time at ASU,” he said. “The professors there are all really great. It's a solid learning environment, and it really prepared me well for actually practicing law.”
Two ASU graduates, Robert Andrew Clarke and Christopher Jacob Waznik, tied for the second-highest bar exam score, according to the press release.
This is not the first time ASU graduates received high bar exam passage rates, and Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law continues to be ranked No. 14 among all law schools and No. 5 among public law schools in graduates placed in “real lawyer jobs,” according to the press release.
The school's Marketing and Communications Director Melissa Thirsk wrote in an email that they are very dedicated to providing each student with a personal experience.
“We obsess over ensuring our students get the personal attention they need to be successful in law school,” she wrote. “The bar exam is a reflection of the quality of our students as well as the dedication of our faculty and staff.”
Thirsk wrote that Sandra Day O’Connor is unique among other colleges in that it really strives to cultivate a tightly knit, communal environment.
“Instead of focusing on what other law schools have done or are doing, we consider what needs to be done and how can we pave the way,” she wrote.
Thirsk also said that excitement has been growing at Sandra Day O’Connor as the new building is constructed at the downtown campus and the school continues to grow.
“Our students will be in the legal, political and economic heart of Arizona with endless opportunities to participate in externships and other experiential learning to gain practical skills and potentially work with their future employer,” she wrote.
Dean Douglas Sylvester wrote in an email that student success is a top priority at Sandra Day O’Connor.
“Students choose our law school because of the comprehensive and personalized legal education we offer,” he wrote. “Our vibrant and dynamic community of faculty, staff, alumni, donors, and employers in Arizona and throughout the country, support students at every step of their legal career.”
Related Links:
You cannot afford to go to ASU law
ASU law school prepares to break ground on downtown location
Reach the reporter at icastil3@asu.edu or follow @isabella_m_cast on twitter
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter
