The Mississippi Supreme Court has revised the rules governing admission to the Mississippi Bar, now allowing applicants to take the bar exam four times.
Under the previous rule, enacted in 2019, after three failed attempts to pass the Bar Exam, applicants were required to successfully complete 12-course hours at an accredited law school before taking the bar exam additional times.
The new rule amendment sets a cap of four attempts to pass the Bar Exam and eliminates the provision for remedial classes.
Rule IV, Section 8, says, “Re-Examination in Excess of Four Prohibited. An applicant who has unsuccessfully taken the Mississippi Bar Exam at least four (4) times shall not be eligible for re-examination.”
A change in the petition was requested by the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions, which cited recent lower bar passage rates both in Mississippi and nationwide. Further, large numbers of repeat exam takers “adversely and significantly affected pass rates in Mississippi” as reasons for requesting the rule change.
Both of the Magnolia State’s law schools, the University of Mississippi School of Law and Mississippi College School of Law, supported the rule change.
