Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School Drives Record-Setting Bar Results for Class of 2026

Class of 2026 gains in nearly every tested subject as AJMLS reports ultimate bar passage of 90% or higher for the third straight year

Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School (AJMLS) announced today that its graduates reached two major milestones on the July 2026 Georgia Bar Examination. The school credits the result to its students’ hard work, its faculty’s teaching, and a staff that supported graduates at every step.

AJMLS graduates posted a 72.2% first-time pass rate on the Georgia bar exam, the school’s highest July rate in recent history. The Class of 2026’s own rate is slightly higher, because the Georgia first-time figure also includes out-of-state attorneys taking the Georgia exam and graduates who delayed sitting for it. Across all jurisdictions that have reported, the Class of 2026’s first-time pass rate is currently 73.9%.

AJMLS will also report an ultimate bar passage rate of 90% or higher for the third reporting year in a row. ABA Standard 316 requires accredited law schools to keep an ultimate bar passage rate of at least 75%. AJMLS is well above that standard.

Students Who Earned It

The school is clear that this success belongs first to its graduates. Members of the Class of 2026 studied through a demanding summer. They came to workshops on weeknights and weekends, took tough feedback, and used it to improve.

“This victory belongs to our graduates,” said Scot Goins, Associate Dean of Academic Achievement and Bar Success. “Our alumni are capable and hardworking. Faculty and staff gave them the tools. The students put in the work and earned this. I am very proud of them, and it’s wonderful to see their dedication pay off. We could not be prouder of our successful examinees, and we look forward to the great things ahead for them.”

Faculty Expertise Behind the Results

The Class of 2026 earned one of the highest average scores in school history on the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), the multiple-choice section of the bar exam used in most states. Scores rose year over year in nearly every MBE subject.

“When scores rise across nearly every tested subject, not just one or two, it points to real, school-wide gains in how our students learn, retain, and apply the law,” said Goins. “It reflects the quality of teaching our students receive at AJMLS, and it shows that our graduates can perform at the highest level. Our faculty prepare students for this exam and to assist future clients from their first day of law school.”

“These results reflect the sustained work of an exceptional faculty: subject-matter experts who challenge, teach, and support students throughout law school and into bar preparation,” said Vice Dean Judith M. Barger. “We are proud of our graduates for the commitment that earned these results, and we look forward to seeing them use their voices to advance the profession and serve their communities.”

A Faculty, Staff, and Program Built Around Student Success

When Dean Martin L. Ellin became AJMLS’s 11th Dean and Chief Executive Officer in July 2025, he made academic achievement and bar success a priority for the whole school, not just one department. He backed that commitment with resources, faculty support, and a consistent message across the institution.

“I’m proud of this class,” said Dean Ellin, “and proud of the faculty and staff who made bar success a shared priority across the school. From day one, bar preparation was treated as a school-wide effort, not a solo undertaking. This result belongs to the breadth of our AJMLS community.”

The school’s Academic Achievement and Bar Success (AABS) program played a central role this summer as graduates prepared for the exam. AABS plans its workshops in advance but changes them as student performance data comes in. Sometimes the team builds a new session on short notice to target a specific weakness or a high-value topic before exam day.

The results show engagement with AABS supports results:

Overall, AJMLS graduates who took part in AABS workshops passed at five times the rate of those who did not.
Workshop participants scored an average of 8 percentile points higher on the MBE.

“Our faculty and staff care deeply about our students, and it shows,” said Goins. “From admissions bringing in highly-capable students, to faculty providing a top-notch legal education, to bar success support to the final weeks before the exam, to showing up at the bar exam to support our examinees, AJMLS faculty and staff members helped create the conditions for this success. AJMLS is a community built around student success.”