LSAT, Law School GPA, Journals, Moot Court, Contracts, Evidence Predict Bar Exam Success; UGPA, Clinics, Con Law, Crim Law, Crim Pro, Property, Torts Do Not

Katherine A. Austin (Texas Tech), Catherine Martin Christopher (Texas Tech) & Darby Dickerson (Dean, Texas Tech), Will I Pass the Bar Exam?: Predicting Student Success Using LSAT Scores and Law School Performance:

Texas Tech University School of Law has undertaken a statistical analysis of its recent alumni, comparing their performance in law school with their success on the Texas bar exam. The authors conclude that LSAT predicts bar exam success while undergraduate GPA does not. The study also replicates findings in previous literature that both 1L and final law school GPA predict bar exam success.

Going beyond existing literature, this study also conducted more specific analysis of how student performance in specific courses can predict success on affiliated subcomponents of the bar exam; the Article identifies which courses [Contracts, Evidence] have significant impact on bar exam performance and which do not [Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Property, Torts]. Additionally, the Article reports a completely new analysis of whether student participation in curricular student engagement activities (such as journal [yes], clinic [no], and advocacy competitions [yes]) predicts bar exam success.

• National Law Journal, Success in First-Year Civil Procedure Course Points to Bar Passage