A Santa Monica-based state bar preparation company has agreed to pay $130,000 in fines and restitution over accusations it made false statements about their students' success on the legal licensing exam, authorities announced Tuesday.
Barwinners, located in the 1200 block of Wilshire Boulevard, had advertised a 94% bar passage rate for first-time test takers and a 86%-87% bar passage rate for repeat test takers, according to court documents filed by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office and Santa Monica city attorney's office.
Statewide, the passage rate for the bar exam given last summer was less than 50% for those taking the exam for the first time, the lowest in a decade.