Dean Resigns After Abysmal Bar Passage Numbers

You can't keep putting up these numbers...

Laptop in classic libraryA mere three weeks removed from calling out bad students for his school’s precipitous 20-point bar passage rate plunge over the last three years, Hofstra Law School Dean Eric Lane is stepping down.

It’s been a difficult tenure for Lane, who came into the job when the bottom fell out of the legal industry. In his departure memo, Lane touts his efforts to stem the tide of history barreling down on the school:

Reducing the class size, updating the curriculum and getting students jobs became my top priorities. I am pleased to be leaving my position with job numbers that have improved to a rank of sixth-best among law schools in New York state, a fresh and innovative curriculum that balances experiential learning with doctrinal training, and a significantly reduced student body that allows us more opportunities to provide more individualized advising and support.

New York has 15 law schools — three of which are Columbia, NYU, and Cornell — so placing sixth is an accomplishment. Still, that’s just around 66 percent placement in full-time, long-term jobs requiring law degrees, meaning about one-third of Hofstra grads aren’t getting FTLT jobs at the end of the road, and that’s not exactly encouraging.

But the ultimate stumbling block for Lane was Hofstra’s bar passage rate. The school boasted an 84 percent passage rate in July 2013 and just 64 percent in July 2016. The average passage rate for all first-time takers in New York was 83 percent, meaning Hofstra went from hovering around the mean to dragging it down.

Judge A. Gail Prudenti will serve as interim dean while the school conducts a full search.

(Lane’s full departure memo is provided on the next page.)

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Earlier: Law School Blames Lazy Graduates With Low GPAs For Abysmal Performance On Bar Exam


HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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