The pass rate for California's July 2018 bar exam was historically brutal.

Overshadowed by that gloomy news, 3,284 test-takers did succeed and, once they fulfill all the other bar requirements, they'll be licensed to practice law in the Golden State. The state bar released their names on Sunday.

A quick scan of the list shows that 59 applicants from Washington, D.C., passed the test as did 23 registered with a New York City address. Eight people from Cambridge, Massachusetts—hello, Harvard University—were on the list, which is more than the number of successful test-takers from Canada (seven), the United Kingdom (seven), China (six) and Hong Kong (six). Ten would-be California lawyers from the Republic of Korea passed.

State bar leaders noted that California's 40.7 percent pass rate on the exam mirrors a similar drop across the country. California test-takers, however, continue to post a higher average score on the multistate bar exam than those in other states.

“Our cut score means you aren't good enough for CA (but plenty good enough in other states),” California bar trustee Joanna Mendoza tweeted Saturday. “The unfortunate consequence is less about qualifications, but directly hurts diversity and inclusion in our profession. That has a further direct negative impact on access to justice and hurts the public. This needs to be fixed.”

Federal lawmakers and some state lawmakers pressed the California Supreme Court last year to lower the bar exam's cut score, or the minimum score needed to pass the test. The justices told bar leaders in October 2017 that they were “not persuaded” by available studies and data that they needed to reduce the score, now the second highest in the nation behind Delaware.

The bar is currently conducting a study of what job skills new lawyers need and whether the exam adequately tests for them.

 

The names of the individuals who passed the California exam are posted below:

 

 

Read more:

Nearly Six in 10 Failed California's July 2018 Bar Exam

Here's Who Passed the February 2018 California Bar Exam

How Law Schools Fared on Calif.'s February 2018 Bar Exam