Office of Academic Success

Welcome to the Office of Academic Success at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. As Director, I hope to act as a resource for you from the time you begin law school to the time you sit for the Bar exam.

Our Program offers numerous services throughout your law school years. Our first-year program assists students to adjust to the new style of learning and writing. Skills Workshops are offered to all students wishing to master skills essential for law school achievement. Individual skills development, academic counseling, and legal writing assistance are also available.

The upper-level program allows students to continue to develop and hone analytical and writing skills that are vital for success in law school and on the Bar exam. Individual skills training and writing assistance, which often focus on Bar Exam questions, are available and encouraged. Our upper-level program also includes an intense and thorough Supplemental Bar Program for students to take during their final spring semester.

As Director, I am available to meet with any student on an individual basis to discuss academic performance, academic counseling, Bar Exam related issues, and methods to improve or maintain academic performance.

I look forward to working with you during your journey from law student to Bar applicant to practicing attorney.  Best wishes.

Danielle Bifulci Kocal
Director of Academic Success

First year students are invited to participate in the Academic Skills Program. Under this program, first year students meet in organized study groups for one hour per week for each of their substantive courses. The study groups are facilitated by successful third year students, referred to as Dean's Scholars, who focus on legal analysis and exam preparation. Through weekly discussions and constant exposure to exam-type questions, students are better able to make the transition to law school learning.

Study skills workshops are designed to provide assistance to law students as they acquire the skills that are necessary to be a good law student. Each semester, the Office of Academic Success encourages all first-year students to attend a series of workshops. The workshops, which focus on study skills, range from briefing to time and stress management to exam preparation. Skills workshops are offered to upper-level students as well. Significant emphasis is placed on exam writing and legal writing style.

Individual skills-mentoring is available to provide additional learning resources to those students who are need additional help in writing and analytical skills. Students with a GPA below a 2.8 are strongly encouraged to meet with either professor on a regular basis. Students who take advantage of this assistance often see a great improvement in their legal writing and analysis and, subsequently, their academic performance.

This course is designed to increase the analytical skills of second year students with an eye toward increasing their GPA and assuring a greater likelihood of success on the Bar Examination. The course is designed to assist students in developing their writing and analytical skills. Students are required to produce several written assignments, and will receive individual feedback throughout the semester.

Advanced Analytical Skills builds on the analytical, writing and organizational skills necessary to enhance a student’s ability to prepare for the Bar exam. Students will become thoroughly familiar with the format and components of the Bar exam. Students will review and outline some substantive topics, learn methods by which to review the tested areas of law, write outlines, complete practice essays, complete Multistate Performance Test questions, multiple choice exam questions and receive feedback on written answers.

MBE Strategies is a class designed to review the most heavily tested areas of law on the MBE portion of the bar exam. Students will learn the law in substantive lectures and then practice the necessary skills by completing MBE questions and having in-class skills sessions.

SBSP is a four-week program that runs concurrently with the commercial bar review course you will be taking post-graduation. SBSP involves four one-hour classes and a minimum of four essays submitted for review. During the sessions, we will be going over test-taking skills and strategies that will help you as you learn the substantive law. On your assignments, you will be getting substantial feedback from two graders, with rubrics that are either directly from the bar examiners, or very similar to the style of those used by the examiners. SBSP has proven to be a very successful program in helping students pass the bar exam on their first try.