Ninety-one percent of Sturm College of Law graduates passed the Colorado Bar exam this spring, making DU’s pass rate for first-time takers the highest in Colorado, and higher than the state average by six percent.

The high passage rate is a significant improvement for the College of Law, which found itself with a pass rate of 70 percent, eight percent below the state average, in the spring of 2005.

Law School Professor Scott Johns credits the improvement to the hard work of the graduates, faculty and alumni of the DU law community.

“It really is enjoyable working with these people,” Johns said. “The graduates are just sensational.”

Johns is also the director of the DU Bar Success program, which started in 2008.  The program is a free, supplemental curriculum offering strategic workshops for graduates during the two-month study period preceding the bar exam.  Elements of the program include problem-solving practice, mock bar exams and extensive individualized feedback on writing and problem-solving skills.

“It’s about the graduates building confidence in their ability to solve legal problems and then demonstrating that ability as an attorney,” said Johns.

This program is one of many unique features of a DU law degree which have helped create the Sturm’s reputation for innovation, including hands-on clinics and shadowing opportunities which partner students with practicing attorneys.

Johns says he sees continued support for students and collaboration among the law community as key components for continued success in the future.

“For many people this is something that has been an aspiration for a good part of their lives, and passing the bar exam opens the door to making that a reality,” Johns said.

The University of Colorado, the only other school in the state to offer the exam, had a passage rate of 89 percent.