The Sturm College of Law was ranked as the No. 1 law school in Colorado by Super Lawyers magazine.

This is largely due to an increase in the bar passage rates, which went from 89 percent to 91 percent after appeals of the scores released in early November.

Rankings are not everything, however. Being able to use the degree that students have prepared years for is incredibly important to both students as well as their professors. It is more valuable to them than rankings or percentages.

Law students can only put their educations to good use if they pass the annual bar exam, which 91 percent of students at the Sturm College of Law have proven they can do.

This achievement has created a sense of community among law school students said Scott Johns, the director of the DU Bar Success Program.

“Excellence can be felt from orientation to graduation to the bar exam two months later,” Johns said. “Students and professors are completely committed to reaching higher because they know it can be done.”

The increased emphasis on the bar exam comes from a commitment by faculty and students to a higher and better degree of education and preparation for the bar exam.

Professors do not teach to the test but rather beyond it, equipping law students to learn by experiencing what it is like to be a lawyer both in and out of the  classroom.

Ultimately this experiential learning and much studying enables students to pass the bar exam in July.

The ability to write is highly valued because it allows students to present solutions to concrete client problems and eventually being able to articulate a resolution to those problems.

Writing is emphasized on the bar exam and is a critical component in a comprehensive education in law.

“Being able to advocate for and represent clients with significant legal problems” is something that Johns stated as being one of the many high reaching goals for Sturm College of Law students and professors.

Johns and the rest of the DU Bar Success Program want the years that graduate students spend in law school to end in success.

Through the education given at the Sturm College of Law, Johns hopes to “enable people to reach their dreams.”

High achievement and  excellent education standardshave been and will continue to be valuable commodities that the Sturm College of Law holds in high regard.