Bar Exams

New York Sees Bar Exam Passage Rate Slump, As One Famous Test Taker Finds Out

NY blames the pass rate on repeat test takers.

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For those who took the New York bar exam in July of 2021, the wait is over — they now know whether they passed the licensing rite of passage. Kudos to all those who are about to enter the profession, but it is far from all good news.

The overall pass rate for the July 2019 exam (everyone pretty much agrees on taking a mulligan on 2020) was 65 percent, but in this iteration it was only 63 percent. There were differences in the two exams, as 2019 was in person and the 2021 test was given online due to the continuing pandemic. But New York Board of Bar Examiners has a theory about why the passage rate took a hit:

Overall, the Board examined 9,227 candidates, including U.S. domestic-educated candidates, foreign-educated candidates, first time candidates, and repeat candidates, during the July examination. Of those candidates, 5,791 passed for an overall passing rate of 63%, which is 2% lower than the overall passing rate on the July 2019 examination. The lower overall passing rate is largely attributable to the higher percentage of repeat takers in this year’s pool of candidates (25%) compared to the July 2019 examination (21%).

But at least one famous first-time test taker reportedly failed the bar exam:

That’s right, Japanese Princess Mako’s husband Kei Komuro, a recent Fordham Law graduate, reportedly failed the bar exam. That’s some commoner problems right there.

Seriously, given the out-of-control pressure and scrutiny Komuro has received from that Japanese press, is this much of a surprise? Princess Mako and Komuro’s relationship has been under a microscope with the press losing their shit over the princess’s decision to marry a commoner. Hell, Princess Mako has PTSD over the whole situation, so maybe lay off Komuro’s test taking skills. In the meantime, Komuro will be working at Lowenstein Sandler and is expected to retake the bar.

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But congratulations for those who did pass the NY bar exam.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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