TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – An impressive 97 percent of the May 2003 graduates of The University of Alabama School of Law who took the Alabama bar exam in July passed.

According to the Alabama State Bar, 95 percent of UA Law School graduates who took the exam for the first time in July passed. That figure includes some graduates from earlier classes who had not taken the exam in the past. The statewide passage rate for first-time takers was 83 percent.

Overall 94 percent of the UA graduates who took the exam in July passed, compared with an overall state rate of 70 percent.

“Great teachers and students at Alabama have partnered to accomplish an impressive bar-exam passage rate in 2003,” said UA School of Law Dean Ken Randall. “The University of Alabama is on the move, and the recent bar success demonstrates a commitment to academic excellence at the School of Law. I congratulate the UA Law Class of 2003 on their hard and successful work."

While national figures for 2003 bar passage rates are not currently available, the 97 percent passage rate would place the UA School of Law among the top six law schools nationally based on 2002 figures reported in U.S. News and World Report’s annual rankings of law schools.

The UA School of Law was ranked 45th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, spring 2003, making the list of top 50 law schools for the fifth consecutive year.