An article fromSponsored Inside a culture shift that raised the bar for Elon Law Published Aug. 24, 2026 By Zak Kramer

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Permission granted by Perfecta Visuals / Jerry Wolford for Elon UniversitySponsored content By Elon University SPONSORED CONTENT BY

In my first few weeks as dean at Elon Law, I kept hearing versions of the same thing. A student told me, "It's okay if I fail the bar. I'll just take it again." Said another: "The bar doesn't define me." Then I heard one remark they were just going to "take it to see what it's like" and pass the second time.

I understood what they meant. But they were wrong.

If you want to be a lawyer, the bar exam matters. A lot. And none of these students lacked talent. They had simply become too comfortable planning for failure before they'd even tried for success.

The numbers tell the story. Elon Law's Class of 2021 posted a 51.2% first-time bar pass rate across all jurisdictions. Four years later, our most recent class — the Class of 2025 — passed at 90.9%.

People often ask what we did. They're usually looking for a new program. A new software platform. A new course. Alas, I always disappoint them — because the answer is "culture."

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That word gets thrown around a lot, but I think it's pretty simple. Culture is what a community decides matters. It's what gets celebrated. It's what people talk about in the hallways. It's what people expect from one another.

If passing the bar matters, it can't belong to one office. It must belong to the whole school. Faculty. Admissions. Career Services. Student Affairs. Facilities. Every conversation either reinforces the mission or distracts from it.

I'm also a huge believer in mantras. People remember short phrases that tell them who they are. We needed language our students could carry with them throughout law school and into their bar preparation. We produced T-shirts and door signs and sound bites for PowerPoint presentations that would read:

• "One and Done."
• "Keep Showing Up."
• "Trust the Process."
• "Commit, Complete, Conquer."

These aren't magic words. They're reminders of who we are and what we expect from each other. Eventually, students started saying them to each other, and that's when I knew the culture was changing.

The last lesson may be the most important. Students almost always rise to high expectations. For too long, those of us in higher education have been afraid to expect too much from our students. We worry about creating pressure. We worry that we'll make things worse. We worry that they can't handle it.

I worry about something else. What happens when we don't expect enough? They're going to be lawyers, after all. Being a lawyer is hard work under ideal circumstances. We don't help our students by pretending the profession is easier than it is. We help them by telling the truth about what's required and giving them every tool they need to succeed.

At Elon Law, we expect every student to pass the bar on the first attempt. We say it early. We say it often. We say it because we believe it.

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At the same time, expectations come with an institutional obligation. When we set high expectations, we owe students extraordinary support. Anything less verges on cruelty. Support without expectations leads to complacency and we knew all too well where complacency can lead.

So we set out to support our students in every respect. We increased the number of faculty-led workshops. The Office of Academic Success administered more practice exams that offered more feedback.

Faculty and staff embraced the charge to conduct more check-ins. There was more accountability. And, yes, we provided more food and more celebration. I even dared the Class of 2025 to surpass a 90% first-time bar pass rate with the promise of getting a "One and Done" tattoo.

My appointment at a local tattoo parlor is set for September. We're sharing photos and video on Elon Law's social channels. No, that is not a joke.

Something even more fundamental happened along the way. Success became contagious. Elon Law received a record number of applications for the class we just enrolled at the start of August. It is the strongest-credentialed class in our history.

Fundraising grew 20% with alumni participation reaching an all-time high. Success has a way of spilling over. Once people believe something is possible, they start asking what else is possible. And everyone wants to be a part of a winning team.

This is about more than an exam. It's about shared belief. When an entire community pulls in the same direction, remarkable things happen. Give people a clear destination. Give them language they can rally around. Expect excellence, then provide every ounce of support people need to get there. And give them a dollop of fun.

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Today, the conversations sound completely different. Students compare practice question totals. They trade study tips. Upper-level students remind first-years that bar preparation starts on the first day of law school.

When I arrived, students told me failing the bar was okay. Now they remind each other that it isn't.

One and done.

That's what culture sounds like.

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