WEST LAFAYETTE— Purdue Global Law School announced Monday (April 14) that 100% of its graduates taking the Indiana bar exam were successful on their first attempt.
This marks a huge step forward in the law school’s efforts to provide a path for graduates to become lawyers in Indiana, addressing the state’s justice gap, particularly in rural or other underserved areas. Previously, only California allowed Purdue Global’s law school graduates to sit for the exam upon graduation.
“We are so proud of our graduates for their stellar performance on the Indiana bar exam,” said Martin Pritikin, dean and vice president of Purdue Global Law School. “These results are a testament to their hard work and talent, and to the power of an online law school to deliver an affordable and accessible high-quality legal education.”
All five of Purdue Global’s graduates eligible to take the exam — administered in February — succeeded in passing the exam. Those graduates are:
- Abigail Strehle (2023)
- Joud Elias (2024)
- Lindley Jarrett (2013)
- Jeff Kraft (2024)
- Daniel Stahoviak (2024)
“We share in the success of Purdue Global alumni who have taken and passed the Indiana bar exam on their first attempt — truly a celebratory moment,” said Jon Harbor, Purdue Global interim chancellor. “These results validate the hard work that Dean Pritikin and the law school’s faculty and staff have put into developing the quality of education future lawyers can receive in an online institution.”
Bar exam data released from the Indiana Judicial Branch showed Indiana’s overall pass rate for first-time takers was 63% and all takers 47%.
On July 1, 2024, the Indiana Supreme Court — motivated by an interest to address the state’s justice gap, particularly in rural or other underserved areas — put into effect an amendment to Admission and Discipline Rule 13 that created a path for Purdue Global Law School graduates to become eligible for the state’s bar exam.
The ruling allowed graduates of schools not accredited by the American Bar Association to petition for a waiver to take the Indiana bar exam. The ABA has long required a physical campus for accreditation. The state’s rules now allow a law school graduate who did not attend an ABA-approved school to apply for admission to the Indiana bar. February 2025 was the first bar exam they could apply for. All of the Purdue Global Law School graduates’ waiver petitions to sit for the February 2025 bar exam were approved, and all who sat passed.
Indiana became the second state, after California, in which Purdue Global law graduates are eligible, following a waiver application, to sit for the bar exam immediately upon graduating.
“The Indiana Supreme Court took a bold step in allowing graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools to sit for its bar exam upon graduation,” Pritikin said. “These results show that their willingness to innovate for the sake of promoting access to justice paid off. We hope that more states will follow suit in the near future — or that the ABA itself will finally allow a fully online law school to pursue approval.”
