Law School Places 3rd in Pennsylvania Bar Exam Results

The School of Law achieved a first-time taker pass rate of 91.56 percent on the July 2014 Pennsylvania Bar Examination. This result placed Duquesne third out of 10 Pennsylvania area law schools, behind only the University of Pennsylvania and Villanova University.

The July 2014 pass rate is the highest that Duquesne has accomplished in six years, and exceeds the Pennsylvania state average pass rate (82.43 percent) by nearly 10 points. This marks the eighth time in the last nine years that Duquesne has exceeded the state average.

One hundred forty-one (141) of 154 Duquesne graduates passed the exam on their first attempt. Six additional applicants, who were taking the exam for the second or later time, also passed.

Law Dean Ken Gormley attributed the remarkably strong results to the hard work of the students who graduated in 2014 and to the dedicated efforts of the School of Law faculty and the support of the University.

“We are proud of our students and proud of our Law School. We made it a top priority to make sure that all students were thoroughly prepared for the bar examination so that they could be practice-ready as soon as they graduated,” said Gormley. “The hard work of our students and faculty has made this remarkable achievement possible. It provides further evidence that Duquesne’s School of Law has established itself as a premier institution in Pennsylvania and nationally.”