The Bar exam pass rate of first-time test takers from Jacksonville University College of Law’s inaugural graduating class rose to 92.3%, now that the New York State Bar exam results are in to go along with The Florida Bar exam results.
There is plenty of credit to go around. Starting with acknowledging the vision, diligent planning over nearly a decade, and continuing leadership of JU President Tim Cost, the university’s trustees and senior administrators.
Our faculty, academic success and professional support staff also deserve recognition for executing the plans in the best possible ways. That includes responding to continuously accelerating changes that constantly alter the study and practice of law, not to mention the challenge of preparing students for ongoing major changes in the exam itself.
Through it all the engagement and encouragement of our city’s bench and Bar, as well as its civic, business and public service leaders, and the community of people we all serve, have given your law school a powerful competitive boost. Thank you all sincerely.
Even so, like the secret to good cooking, which is good ingredients, the outstanding results on the 2025 Bar exams must be attributed to our students.
Our steadily growing stream of students have wondrously different backgrounds, strengths, interests and aspirations. When they gather, their critical mass of interactive intellectual energy and training triggers a dynamic chain reaction of learning that after graduation should sustain a lifetime of legal learning, critical thinking and self-improvement.
Right now, we have 135 good reasons to be optimistic about the future, our current students.
Even a small sample of biographical briefs about our first-year students makes the case. Admissions director Missy Davenport is the amanuensis of their stories:
• Karen Alderman was a Marine Corps officer stationed around the world, and later as a foreign service officer involved in counterterrorism and international relations. She worked at the U.S. State Department and the American embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
• Jennifer Fleischer was a stay-at-home mom for nine years after graduation. Passionate about athletics, she founded a successful business, a gym specializing in indoor cycling, nutrition and fitness classes. Jennifer is also a medal-winning triathlete and marathon runner. Her daughter currently is a law student at Georgetown University.
• Tia Coleman is a proud graduate of Florida A&M University with a bachelor’s in political science. She is a first-generation college graduate and a mother of two. A best-selling author, Tia is the founder and executive director of I Am The Prize Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to empowering teenage girls through entrepreneurship education. As a law student, Tia is building upon her studies in JU’s Master of Public Policy program.
• Brandon Fason graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2006 with a bachelor’s in computer science and received a master’s in electrical engineering in 2013. He went on to have a successful career in cybersecurity, risk management and operations.
• Rebecca Beauchamp graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s in English. She built a business as a performer, DJ and creator and headlined tours throughout Asia, Europe, Australia and the U.S. and has won several music awards. Rebecca also lived in Germany for several years.
• Tery White is enrolled in the MPP program. JU was his dream law school. He was a licensed title agent for the past six years and wants to become a Small Business Administration designated closing counsel in Florida.
Our “Double Dolphins” pursuing their second JU degree are a secret sauce in the irresistible hearty salmagundi that is our student body.
For example:
• Hammett Anderson is a JU grad with a bachelor’s in history and was a member of the Student Honors Association and the Executive Council member for Sigma Chi fraternity. He volunteered with North Florida School of Special Education.
• Ian Babitz is a JU grad with a bachelor’s in political science. He interned with JU alumnus Duval County Judge Gary Flower and co-founded a nonprofit called Inspire Faith Project.
• Carly Burton is a JU grad with a bachelor’s in political science. She earned many academic honors and performed community service involving the North Florida School of Special Education and the Brevard Zoo. As an undergraduate, she regularly traveled from the Arlington campus to the law school where she became a valued student worker performing a range of tasks flawlessly. We are thrilled to have Carly back as a law student.
• Madilynn Cunkelman also is a proud JU grad with a bachelor’s in marine sciences where she enjoyed extensive research and experience. Maddie was involved with campus leadership, including president of the JU National Panhellenic Association, attorney general of the Student Government Association, as well as significant community service. She and Tia Coleman are campus ambassadors for the law school.
Teaching is a big part of every lawyer’s work. That responsibility and being the good shepherd guiding a flock of proteges through the challenges of careers and life can be among our honorable profession’s most important and rewarding roles.
Whether consciously or not, usually for good and sometimes not so good, we teach other lawyers and aspiring lawyers by example.
Lawyers also are obliged to educate the public about equal justice, freedom and the role of government under the rule of law in our constitutional democracy.
The privilege and extraordinary pleasure of teaching in a law faculty and the pastoral duties of a law school administrator are not a fit for most lawyers whose careers take them in other directions.
And practically speaking, contrary to the admirable hubris of many lawyers, given the rigorous screening requirements of U.S. law schools, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.
No matter. Every judge, lawyer, law graduate and law student can be outstanding teachers and pastors enabling others to sustain the rule of law.
The legacy of lawyers is written by those they teach. Stick that aperçu to your fridge. By that measure, we expect our law graduates to be the authors of a great storied alma mater.