UND LAW IS FOCUSED ON IMPROVING THE STATE ’ S LAWYER SHORTAGE
UND LAW IS FOCUSED ON IMPROVING THE STATE ’ S LAWYER SHORTAGE
BRIAN PAPPAS Dean , University of North Dakota School of Law
It was a great year for the University of North Dakota ( UND ) School of Law ! We continue to be a national leader in affordability , access , and quality . Along with the eighth lowest in-state tuition in the country , we consistently admit 74 % of applicants while maintaining an ultimate bar pass rate above 90 %. The secret to our success is our amazing faculty and staff and the incredible support we receive from the North Dakota bench and bar .
In this column , I will highlight some of our meaningful events from the last year ; detail some key statistics relating to bar passage , career services , and admissions ; and discuss our efforts to deliver more lawyers to North Dakota .
Events
Last fall we reopened our VandeWalle Courtroom with a meaningful ceremony that included Justice Gerald W . VandeWalle , Governor Doug Burgum , and Attorney General Drew Wrigley . The North Dakota Supreme Court also attended , and that same week heard cases in the renovated courtroom .
This spring Judge Ralph Erickson was honored as our Rodney S . Webb
Distinguished Jurist-in-Residence . As a part of his visit , the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals heard cases . It was a special year when law students can witness live cases from the state Supreme Court and a federal court of appeals !
In addition , we held terrific events commemorating Helen Hamilton Day , and our Law Review Symposium in Fargo this year focused on technology and innovation . We were honored to have Jack Marcil serve as our convocation speaker and Walter Echo-Hawk serve as our Distinguished Indian Law Speaker . Thank you to Beth Moe and Dalton Erickson for their good work in communication and events .
Data
Our recent bar exam performance remains strong . We outperform all other law schools on the North Dakota Bar Exam . Between 2018 and 2023 , 65 % of UND grads versus 58 % of non-UND grads passed . Over that same time span , our first-time pass rate is 78 % versus 67 % for non-UND takers . The most recent exam in February 2024 continued this trend . Our first-time takers across all jurisdictions passed at a 64 % rate , with 52 % of repeat examinees passing ( the historic pass rate for second time takers is only 36 %).
Our employed at graduation rate continues to increase ( from 28 % in 2022 to 45 % in 2023 to 56 % in 2024 ). Our employment rate 10 months after graduation remains strong at 77 % for 2023 . How many of these students will stay in North Dakota ? For 2021 , 37 % of our class remained in state , falling to 35 % in 2022 , rising to 44 % in 2023 , and so far , the rate is 37 % for 2024 .
We anticipate this number will increase after the July bar exam . Of the 81 members of the 2024 graduating class , 41 % are originally from North Dakota .
Our externship program continues to support our employment efforts . With 121 students participating in externships , 81 of those sites were in North Dakota . Minnesota was the next highest state at 23 sites . Thank you to Trish Hodny and Mary Feller for their hard work in these areas .
North Dakota Lawyer Shortage
We continue to hear that we need more lawyers in all areas of practice and in all geographic parts of our state . We are focused on this issue and are employing multiple strategies . First , our admissions strategy is focused intently on recruiting students from North Dakota . Our fall class includes 8 % more North Dakota residents than the year before . We received 431 applications , a 23 % increase , and we currently have 84 seat deposits . Our class hails from North Dakota ( 49 %), Manitoba ( 20 %), Minnesota ( 7 %), Montana ( 6 %), California ( 3.5 %), Texas ( 2.4 %), and one student each from Alabama , Arizona , Colorado , Illinois , Michigan , Missouri , Ohio , Ontario , South Dakota , and Saskatchewan . We will welcome 19 UND grads and 12 NDSU grads this fall .
Second , we will be increasing the size of our incoming class in fall of 2025 to 100 students . Thanks to Brad Parrish ’ s leadership and the hard work of Pam Shea , Megan Schiltz , and Sheri Evans , we have the applications and the strategy to be successful . To facilitate this change , we will be dividing our 1L class into two sections
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