Dec 10, 2007 -- On Friday, November 30, a story in the New York Law Journal provided the bar exam passage rates for all schools in New York State. As reporter Tom Adcock put it in the lead: "A long tradition was smashed by the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, whose 289 graduates sitting for the July bar exam pushed their way into the top rank of New York state’s 15 law campuses with a first time pass rate of 92 percent —marking a steady rise in success over the past five years for the comparatively young institution." Cardozo surpassed Cornell, traditionally among the top three, which had a pass rate of 91 percent, and followed New York University School of Law (96 percent), and Columbia Law School (95 percent). “This is a milestone for our school,” Cardozo Dean David Rudenstine said. “This achievement is emblematic of the school’s upward growth in many areas, its wonderful accomplishments, and the quality of its students.” Cardozo’s passage rate has risen steadily in the past few years, from 86 percent in 2005, to 90 percent in 2006, to this year’s high of 92. “Our congratulations go out to Dean David Rudenstine and his team at Cardozo for this impressive achievement,” said Yeshiva University President Richard M. Joel on hearing the good news.