LAS VEGAS - Oct. 28, 2009 - UNLV Boyd School of Law graduates who took the Nevada Bar Exam for the first time in July achieved the highest pass rate since the school was founded in 1998. This is the fifth consecutive year that the UNLV law school's pass rate surpassed the statewide average on the summer exam. The Nevada Board of Bar Examiners released the results Oct. 22.

Ninety-one out of 106 Boyd graduates who took the test for the first time passed. Statewide, 219 out of 295 people who took the exam for the first time passed. Boyd School of Law's academic success program is credited with helping students and alumni prepare for the bar exam through workshops, individual counseling sessions and peer-to-peer mentoring.
"These strong results reflect the high caliber of our student body and the strength of our program and we are proud of our graduates," said John White, dean of the Boyd School of Law. "Faculty have been instrumental in teaching courses in the spring semester intended for students who needed extra help honing writing, analytical and exam taking skills."

Among the results:
o 86 percent of UNLV law school graduates who took the exam for the first time passed the exam - 12 percent higher than Nevada's pass rate for first-time test takers
o 33 percent of Boyd graduates who repeated the exam this year passed. Statewide, 28 percent who took the test again passed.
o 74 percent of all Boyd test takers passed the exam - 11 percent higher than the state's overall pass rate for all test takers.

The Nevada bar is a three-day exam consisting of several Nevada essay questions, one Multistate Performance Test (MPT) problem, and a Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). The successful applicant must achieve a total scaled score of 75 on the exam as a whole, as well as passing at least three essays with a scaled score of 75.

The William S. Boyd School of Law has more than 450 students and offers three juris doctor degree programs: a full-time day program, a part-time day program, and a part-time evening program, and three dual degree programs: a J.D./MBA, a J.D./M.S.W. and a J.D./Ph.D. It is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the American Association of Law Schools, accomplishments it achieved in record time.