Legal Education Statistics

LSAC president Sudha Setty reflects on dynamic landscape of law school admissions

Sudha Setty, president and CEO of the Law School Admission Council, spoke with the ABA Journal about the dynamic landscape facing law school admissions, ranging from the increase in applicants to financial aid changes to rural law practice to law school accreditation.

Nov 9, 2026 12:25 PM CST

Bar pass rates drop in 37 states

Overall passage rates for the July 2026 bar exam fell in 37 states compared with a year earlier, according to the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Nov 3, 2026 12:58 PM CST

Rules on taking bar, allowing JDs from Education Department-accredited schools eased in this state

The Ohio Supreme Court has amended its rules for bar admission, now giving a pathway for people with a JD from an institution that meets standards by the U.S. Department of Education, instead of mandating that candidates graduate from a school accredited by the ABA.

Nov 3, 2026 10:35 AM CST

LSAT format will be tweaked starting August 2027

The Law School Admission Test will undergo its second format shift in four years, as unscored pilot questions considered for future use move from being grouped in a separate section to being sprinkled throughout the test, the Law School Admission Council announced Monday.

Oct 26, 2026 2:34 PM CDT

NextGen UBE examinees faced unique uncertainties in July, new study finds

Going first always provokes anxiety, and bar candidates who took the inaugural administration of the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam in July had distinct pressures, a forthcoming article in the Duquesne Law Review finds.

Oct 19, 2026 3:07 PM CDT

Early law school applicants hit record number, new LSAC data shows

The competition to get into law school keeps getting tougher as the number of applicants to date increased 12% over last year, according to new data from the Law School Admission Council. That increase in applicants follows a 33% increase at this time last year—on top of a 26% increase in 2024.

Oct 16, 2026 1:48 PM CDT

Justice Department threatens antitrust probe of ABA Legal Ed council over accreditation standards

The U.S. Department of Justice has threatened the council for the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar with an antitrust investigation if it does not change by the end of this month standards limiting how much adjunct professors can be involved in teaching law.

Oct 15, 2026 9:16 AM CDT

Competition for law school admissions expected to remain hot

Thanks to the charged political climate, the law school application boom of the past two years will continue to be strong this year, which may shape up to be more competitive than last year, according to a survey released Tuesday by test prep company Kaplan.

Sep 29, 2026 10:59 AM CDT

Law school grades are related to bar passage, new study finds

Grades in law school do matter, at least as they relate to first-time bar passage, according to a new study.

Sep 25, 2026 10:34 AM CDT

Meet Melissa Hart, the new chair of the ABA Legal Ed council

Former Colorado Supreme Court justice Melissa Hart takes the helm of the ABA’s legal education council as it faces unprecedented challenges to its role as the nation’s law school accreditor.

Sep 3, 2026 3:03 PM CDT

Scores are in for July 2026 MBE; how did test-takers fare?

The national mean score for the July 2026 Multistate Bar Examination decreased about 1.7 points to 140.7 compared to the July 2025 mean of 142.4—the first decrease since 2022, according to data released Tuesday from the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Sep 3, 2026 11:59 AM CDT