SMU Law Alumna Receives Third-highest Score on Bar Exam
Board of Law Examiners announces top scorers on July 2022 Texas Bar Exam
AUSTIN — The Board of Law Examiners announced four individuals who scored the highest on the July 2022 Texas Bar Exam. The results included an exact tie for third place.
All of the top scorers are spring law grads who took the exam for the first time. According to the Board of Law Examiners (BLE), 3,080 examinees took the July Texas Bar exam, and the overall pass rate was 66.6%. Although examinees’ scores are confidential, the Supreme Court of Texas liaison to the BLE, by tradition, asks the three highest scorers if they would like to be publicly recognized for their top results. Justice Brett Busby, the court’s liaison to the BLE, spoke to each of them shortly after the scores were released.
“The Supreme Court of Texas is extremely proud of the achievements of these recent law graduates,” Justice Busby said. “We welcome them to the bar and wish them productive and fulfilling careers in the law.”
Alexander Jablonski, a May 2022 graduate of Texas A&M University School of law, is the top scorer on the July bar exam. Jablonski works for Munck Wilson Mandala, LLP in Dallas, specializing in litigation. Jablonski said he was shocked to learn the news of his placement.
“No one can really expect to be the highest scorer because so many people are taking the test,” he said. Jablonski offered the following advice for future exam-takers: “Take it seriously and make sure you understand the material. It can be overwhelming at times.”
Ryan Miller, an April 2022 graduate of Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School, was the second-highest scorer on the July exam. Miller works for Austin-based Pirkey Barber, PLLC in copyright and trademark law. He laughed at leaving the exam with the thought: “I think I passed.”
In the third spot, the BLE found an exact tie between Elizabeth Brown, a spring graduate of Duke University’s School of Law, and Mary “Molly” Schultz, a graduate of Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law.
Brown is currently clerking for Judge Sul Ozerden of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. She already has commitments to clerk in the Northern District of Texas and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit.
Schultz is working for Haynes and Boone, LLP as part of its real estate group. “I studied as hard as I could, but you still have anxiety waiting for the results to come out,” Schultz said. “It still feels unreal.”
The top scorers will be honored at the State Bar of Texas New Lawyers Induction Ceremony on November 14 at Bass Concert Hall in Austin.