ASU Law advances in national bar passage metrics with strong 2025 results

The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University is celebrating a major milestone in bar passage performance, with new national data confirming the impact of the law school’s focused efforts to prepare students for professional success.

According to the 2026 American Bar Association bar pass reports, ASU Law ranks No. 8 in the nation for first-time bar passage differential, posting a 13.71% margin above statewide averages. The first time bar passage differential measures how a law school’s graduates perform on the bar exam relative to the statewide averages for first-time test takers, indicating whether graduates outperform peers across the country. The result places ASU Law ahead of several highly ranked law schools on that metric, including Yale Law School, the University of Michigan Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, the University of California Los Angeles School of Law, Vanderbilt Law School and the University of Iowa College of Law. 

ASU Law also reported a 91.94% first-time bar passage rate, continuing a strong upward trend from 87.54% last year and 86.55% the year prior. The result ranks No. 40 nationally and places the college ahead of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, the University of California Irvine School of Law, Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, the George Washington University Law School and Emory University School of Law.

Willard H. Pedrick Dean and Regents Professor Stacy Leeds said the milestone reflects the law school’s continued commitment to student success and professional readiness.

“These results reflect our commitment to preparing students for success not only in the classroom but also in their legal careers,” Leeds said. “Through expanded bar preparation programming, stronger academic support and a career services team deeply focused on outcomes, we are seeing clear evidence that our execution of strategy is working in the ways that matter most to our students.”

Over the past several years, ASU Law has strengthened its academic success and bar preparation programming, offering additional coaching, structured bar readiness support and curriculum alignment designed to help students build the skills needed to pass the bar exam on the first attempt. The law school has also expanded its career services efforts, integrating professional development, practical experience and career guidance throughout the student experience.

A key part of ASU Law’s strategy has been strengthening its bar preparation infrastructure under the leadership of Antonia “Toni” Miceli, the law school’s inaugural director of bar exam success. Miceli brings more than 15 years of experience in academic support and bar exam preparation and is widely recognized and respected for her expertise in legal licensure and bar exam success strategies. She is also a nationally recognized expert on the Uniform Bar Exam and the forthcoming NextGen Bar Exam, co-author of The Ultimate Guide to the UBE, and a frequent speaker on legal education, licensure reform and bar preparation strategies.

“Bar exam success is the result of intentional preparation that begins long before the final semester of law school,” Miceli said. “We work with students from the very beginning of their legal education to build the analytical skills, test-taking strategies, and confidence they need to pass the bar exam and launch successful legal careers."

ASU Law was recently recognized as a “Top 10 law school for return on investment” by the ABA Journal, ranking No. 10 nationally in an analysis that compares employment outcomes and bar passage performance to the cost of attendance.

The law school’s global reputation is also continuing to grow. ASU Law ranks No. 15 globally in law in the 2025 ShanghaiRanking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, reflecting the college’s strong research impact and increasing international recognition.

Together, these outcomes highlight ASU Law’s focus on delivering measurable results for students, from academic preparation and bar passage to career success after graduation.

For ASU Law leadership, the latest bar results reinforce a simple goal: ensuring that every student who enters the college leaves prepared to thrive in the legal profession.

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