Legal Education Leader Joins Rutgers Law to Strengthen Bar Passage and Student Success
Dr. Jessica D. Findley joins Rutgers Law as associate dean for Bar Passage and Academic Success. She will play a critical role in the law school’s bar preparation and academic success efforts by developing and coordinating strategy and programming across both campuses.
“I am excited to join Rutgers Law because its commitment to access to legal education closely aligns with my own values,” Dr. Findley said. “I believe we can strengthen student success and bar passage through a strategic, evidence-based approach that is responsive to student needs. I look forward to learning from the Rutgers Law community, building relationships, and contributing to this important work.”
Dr. Findley brings more than seven years of experience building and evaluating scalable programs that improve law student success and expand access to legal education. Her work as a legal educator, researcher, and academic success leader has focused on student achievement, bar readiness, legal education innovation, and expanding access to justice.
Rutgers Law Dean Johanna Bond, said, "Dr. Findley’s evidence-based approach, commitment to expanding access to legal education, and deep understanding of student success make her an exceptional addition to Rutgers Law. We are thrilled to welcome her to our community and look forward to the impact she will have on students across both our Camden and Newark locations."
Dr. Findley earned her B.A. in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and both her J.D. and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Arizona. Previously, as Director of Bar & Academic Success at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, Dr. Findley helped launch JD-Next, a law school preparation course and admissions examination designed to predict student success. Sixty-seven ABA-accredited law schools have requested Standard 503 variances to use JD-Next as an admissions exam. Participation in the program has been associated with a 0.20-point increase in first-year law school GPA and a 9.7% increase in bar passage.
In collaboration with the University of Arizona’s B.A. in Law program and Hispanic-Serving Institution initiatives, Dr. Findley also created the LAWtina Mentoring Program. Named a finalist by Excelencia in Education, the program produced a 22% increase in interest in legal careers among participating Latina undergraduates compared with matched peers. Approximately 30% of participants have subsequently enrolled in additional higher education programs. In partnership with the Arizona Supreme Court, Dr. Findley also helped develop the Arizona Lawyer Apprentice Program, a supervised pathway to attorney licensure in the state.
Dr. Findley’s research has appeared in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, the Journal of Educational Research and Practice, and PLOS Digital Health. She has presented at the Association of American Law Schools’ Annual Meeting, the AccessLex Institute, the Conference on Empirical Legal Studies, and the Court Leadership Conference. She is also the author of The Science of Attorney Advocacy: How Courtroom Behavior Affects Jury Decision Making, published by the American Psychological Association.
One of the goals of the Rutgers Law Strategic Plan is to expand our capacity as a national model for student access and provide exceptional student learning through a commitment to academic excellence. Click here to learn more about our Strategic Plan.