Coming from a lawyer who passed Illinois in 2004 and took California's bar in 2014, I can say that for my CA test, the passage rate for attorneys barred in other states was around 20% (if I recall). California has differences in its laws that make it naturally harder than the "collective norm." Further, part of that low passage rate is because of two factors: 1) most attorneys already barred work full time, thus study time constraints; 2) what you're asked on the bar exam has very little connection to the actual practice of law. Lots of theory and hand-wringing, but neither law school nor the bar exam truly prepare you for HOW to be a lawyer.
Glad I passed both on the first try. Won't ever do it again.
Glad I passed both on the first try. Won't ever do it again.