The careers of many potential lawyers hoping to practice in Texas got off to a disappointing start in 2002, when almost 45 percent taking the February bar examination failed. The overall pass rate for everyone taking the test was 55.13 percent, compared to 60.53 percent a year ago. Graduates of Texas law schools taking the exam for the first time fared better with 70.48 percent scoring passing grades, while repeaters had a pass rate of 38.83 percent. A total of 1,072 applicants sat for the exam. Compared to the July exam, fewer people sit for the February test; many of those are repeat takers.
The results, posted on May 3, show first-time pass rates for the state’s nine accredited law schools ranging from 35.48 percent for Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston to 97.83 percent for Baylor Law School in Waco.
