20 years of revolution in Brazilian legal education: FGV students have highest Brazilian Bar Association Exam pass rate

In 2002, Fundação Getulio Vargas took on the challenge of revolutionizing the teaching of law in Brazil. Two decades later, its Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo law schools are benchmarks for students, professors and legal experts, because of their innovative methodology, which has educated professionals who are protagonists in their areas of expertise. One indicator that attests to the quality of the education offered by the two schools is their students’ pass rate in the Brazilian Bar Association Unified Exam.

A study by the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo found that FGV Rio de Janeiro Law School alumni have the highest average Brazilian Bar Association Unified Exam pass rate, 79.33%. The FGV Sao Paulo Law School comes second, with an average pass rate of 63.92%. The same study found that fewer than 30% of students pass the exam at nine out of 10 law schools in Brazil.

“The Brazilian Bar Association Exam pass rate is just one indicator and a consequence of our academic rigor,” said Professor Sérgio Guerra, the dean of the FGV Rio de Janeiro Law School.

He also noted that close links between professors and students are one of his school’s distinctive features, contributing decisively to its students’ strong performance in the Brazilian Bar Association Exam and other key quality indicators calculated by the Education Ministry and the education market. This same successful formula is followed by the FGV Sao Paulo Law School.

“The Brazilian Bar Association Exam is an important indicator, which alongside other factors, such as our highly qualified faculty, small classes, which allow greater interaction and participation of students, international links, curricula aligned with contemporary challenges and strong dialog with new technologies. These attributes allow the formation of a new generation of legal professionals capable of dealing with the complexities of our world,” said Professor Oscar Vilhena, the dean of the FGV Sao Paulo Law School.

Both schools have stood out in other important assessments, such as the Education Ministry’s General Course Index and National Student Performance Exam (ENADE), obtaining the maximum possible score. In the latest edition of the Folha University Student Ranking, the FGV Sao Paulo Law School came third in Brazil and it was rated the best private sector institution in the country.

To find out more about Fundação Getulio Vargas’ law courses, click here.