New York Bar Exam Statistics


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New York Bar Exam Statistics 2025: Facts about Bar Exam in New York reflect the current socio-economic condition of the state.

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LLCBuddy editorial team did hours of research, collected all important statistics on New York Bar Exam, and shared those on this page. Our editorial team proofread these to make the data as accurate as possible. We believe you don’t need to check any other resources on the web for the same. You should get everything here only 🙂

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Top New York Bar Exam Statistics 2025

☰ Use “CTRL+F” to quickly find statistics. There are total 24 New York Bar Exam Statistics on this page 🙂

New York Bar Exam “Latest” Statistics

  • The total pass percentage for first time bar test participants was 61% (with ABA graduates having a pass rate of 72% and first time candidates with foreign education having a pass rate of 47%) .[1]
  • From 2006 to 2015, for first-time takers the New York bar exam pass rates range between 68-81% in each year and 68-77% in nine of those years, and peaked in 2008 at 81%.[2]
  • There were 5,150 applicants that took the New York bar exam in October 2020, and the total pass percentage was 84% .[3]
  • The New York State Board of Law examiners stated on October 28 that 63% of people passed the July bar test in New York.[3]
  • The total February 2020 New York bar exam pass rate remained low at 40% due to the fact that there were considerably more repeat test takers than first timer test takers.[1]
  • The pass rate for the first timer who took the bar exam in July was 78%. New York also breaks out pass rates for people who received their legal education outside the United States, and the July pass rate for first-time test-takers in that group was 46%.[3]
  • According to the bar exam results by jurisdiction, New York’s overall pass rate was 66% with first time pass rate of 75%, and repeater pass rate of 23%. The results were shown last October 20, 2022.[3]
  • The February 2022 General bar exam was completed by 3,113 applicants with the number of first timer of 1,090 applicants (35.0% of total).[10]

New York Bar Exam “Exam” Statistics

  • The pass percentage for first time exam takers also decreased, falling to 78% in July from 85% in late 2016.[4]
  • The greater number of repeat test takers in this year’s pool of candidates—25% as opposed to the July 2019 exam’s 21% —is primarily responsible for the lower overall passing rate.[6]
  • When compared to the exam last year, which was originally postponed and then provided close to the peak of the pandemic, the 63% pass percentage in October 2020 was down from 84% .[4]
  • The topics examined on the MEE the most commonly at this time were civil procedure (71% ), contracts (59% ), real property (59% ), constitutional law (53% ), and secured transactions (53% ).[7]
  • Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the attorney licensure test was given online for the second time, and the total pass percentage was 49%. That is the greatest February pass percentage since 2013 and is an increase over the 40% recorded when the exam was given in person a year earlier.[8]
  • A much higher number of LLM grads took the exam in 2021, she noted in a written statement, yet they passed at a relatively low rate “compared to a smaller, particularly dedicated group in 2020″ that passed at a much higher rate of 70%.[4]
  • According to Sean Silverman of Silverman Bar exam tutoring, a 21% drop is not anything to overlook.[4]

New York Bar Exam “Test” Statistics

  • In 1997, the year before the new rules were enacted, New York tested 1,701 foreign-educated candidates, 15% of our candidate pool of 11,205.[5]
  • With a combined 94.26% , or 115/122 first time test takers passing, Seton Hall University School of Law proudly claims the third highest pass percentage among New York Law schools and the greatest pass rate among New Jersey Law schools for the July 2019 Uniform Bar Exam.[9]
  • Between 1997 and 2013, the number of graduates of ABA-approved law schools we tested increased by 18%; the number of our foreign-educated candidates grew in that period by 170%.[5]
  • Of those candidates, 5,791 passed with a passing percentage overall of 63%, which is 2% lower than the overall passing rate in the test in July 2019.[6]

New York Bar Exam “Other” Statistics

  • From 2006 to 2015, the overall New York State Bar Exam Pass rates range from 56-69% in each year and 56-65% in nine of those years, and peaked in 2008 at 69%.[2]
  • Approximately 75% of foreign-educated candidates qualify to take the New York Bar Exam based upon having completed an LL.M. degree, with approximately 25% qualifying based on their foreign education alone.[5]
  • Repeat candidates passed with a 24.0% total pass rate with 2,023 applicants.[10]
  • Since February 2014, Civil Procedure has been assessed as a component or as a whole essay more than 71% of the time.[7]
  • This year’s 33.9% success rate on the General Bar Exam was lower than the 37.2% pass rate in February 2021 but better than the 26.8% pass rate in February 2020.[10]

Also Read

How Useful is New York Bar Exam

On one hand, the New York Bar Exam serves as a crucial assessment of an individual’s knowledge of the law. Passing the exam demonstrates a strong understanding of legal principles, procedures, and ethics that are essential for practicing law effectively. This rigorous testing process helps to maintain the high standard of legal professionals in New York, ensuring that only those who are truly competent and knowledgeable are allowed to practice.

Furthermore, the New York Bar Exam serves as a form of quality control in the legal profession. By ensuring that only the most qualified individuals pass the exam, it helps to protect the interests of clients and maintain the integrity of the legal system. The exam helps to weed out those who may not be well-equipped to handle the responsibilities that come with being a lawyer, thus safeguarding the public from potentially incompetent legal representation.

Additionally, the New York Bar Exam serves as a rite of passage for aspiring lawyers. Successfully passing the exam is a significant milestone in a legal career, marking the culmination of years of hard work and dedication. It symbolizes a level of expertise and proficiency that is respected throughout the legal community, opening up opportunities for advancement and specialization within the field.

However, the usefulness of the New York Bar Exam is not without its criticisms. Some argue that the exam places too much emphasis on memorization and rote learning, rather than practical skills that are actually needed in the legal profession. They argue that the exam may not accurately assess a candidate’s ability to think critically, analyze complex legal issues, or communicate effectively with clients and colleagues.

Others argue that the exam may serve as a barrier to entry for individuals from underrepresented communities or non-traditional backgrounds. The strict requirements and high pass rates may disproportionately impact minority candidates or those who face additional barriers to accessing quality legal education and resources. This can lead to a lack of diversity within the legal profession, which in turn can harm the representation of marginalized communities and limit the perspectives and experiences brought into legal practice.

In conclusion, the New York Bar Exam serves as a vital tool for maintaining the high standards and integrity of the legal profession. While it may have its flaws and criticisms, the exam plays a crucial role in ensuring that only the most qualified individuals are admitted to practice law in the state of New York. Maintaining a balance between the rigor of the exam and the practical skills needed in the legal profession will be key to ensuring that the New York Bar Exam remains a useful and effective assessment tool for aspiring lawyers.

Reference

  1. jdadvising – https://jdadvising.com/february-2020-new-york-bar-exam-pass-rate-is-40/
  2. newyorkbarexam – https://www.newyorkbarexam.com/new-york-bar-exam-pass-rates/
  3. abajournal – https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/new-york-sees-pass-rate-decrease-for-july-2021-bar-exam
  4. bloomberglaw – https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/new-york-bar-exam-pass-rate-falls-after-return-to-lengthier-test
  5. ncbex – https://thebarexaminer.ncbex.org/article/december-2014/testing-foreign-trained-applicants-in-a-new-york-state-of-mind/
  6. abovethelaw – https://abovethelaw.com/2021/11/new-york-sees-bar-exam-passage-rate-slump-as-one-famous-test-taker-finds-out/
  7. uworld – https://legal.uworld.com/resources/bar-exam/states/ny-bar-exam/
  8. law – https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2021/04/21/new-yorks-february-2021-bar-exam-pass-rate-is-the-highest-since-2013/
  9. shu – https://law.shu.edu/news/seton-hall-law-july-2019-bar-pass-rates-rank-among-elite-new-york-law-schools.cfm
  10. ca – https://www.calbar.ca.gov/About-Us/News/News-Releases/state-bar-of-california-releases-results-of-february-2022-bar-exam
  11. ncbex – https://www.ncbex.org/statistics-and-research/bar-exam-results/

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