Ask any law school leader in the United States if preparing their graduating students for first-time bar passage is a top priority, the answer is likely to be a resounding “yes!”
Ieisha Humphrey’s answer is yes — with a twist.
As Michigan State University College of Law’s new assistant dean for professionalism, leadership and bar success — a role supported by generous third-party funding — she wants bar prep programs and legal institutions to design supportive and effective courses for test-takers facing current challenges or dealing with past issues.
At MSU Law, she is developing a bar program that does just that.
“Life doesn’t pause during bar prep for these students,” Humphrey said. “Financial challenges, health struggles, discrimination, loss — it all has an impact on how well you do. That’s why we offer holistic, student-centered support that addresses the full spectrum of barriers students may face.
Humphrey and her research partner, Joseline Jean-Louis Hardwick, a professor at Cooley Law School, are surveying law students nationwide to measure how trauma, mental health and socioeconomic factors affect their bar exam outcomes. The survey is currently closed and will reopen in October. To learn more, visit the Trauma-Informed Bar Prep Study.
The goals of the study are to identify barriers standing in the way of rigorous bar exam preparation; analyze how trauma, mental health and socioeconomic factors affect scores and develop recommendations for law schools and bar prep providers to improve support.
Humphrey said such support is becoming increasingly necessary as the number of first-generation students goes up. Often, students facing barriers are first-generation, she said, noting that 80% of MSU Law’s Class of 2027.
Anthony E. Varona, dean of the University of Seattle School of Law, recently wrote an article in the American Bar Association’s Human Rights Magazine.in support of special assistance for first-generation students.
“We need to reduce the financial burden on first-gen law students. We must provide mental health and academic support services and be responsive to the special challenges our first-gen students face,” he wrote.
First-generation students don’t have the benefit of “built-in” mentors that students from college-educated households do, he wrote.
“College-educated households tend to have a higher prevalence of family members who are attorneys — able to advise law and provide professional networking,” he wrote.
Humphrey, an alumna of Cooley Law School, always knew she wanted to be a lawyer. What she didn’t anticipate was becoming a teacher — a role she now embraces through her work in academic support.
She came to MSU Law from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, where she was associate dean for student affairs. Before that, she served in student support roles for nearly 10 years at Cooley Law School, where she was also an adjunct professor.
Woven through this work is Humphrey’s dedication to preparing students for the bar exam.
“Bar prep support has been filling my cup for the past 12 years,” she said. “Passing the bar your first time out is so important.
“That’s why I came to MSU College of Law. We’re launching a comprehensive, multi-part initiative to support bar passage. I’m proud to be a part of it.”