Supreme Court
April 25, 2024
Contact: Amy Starnes
Director of Public Affairs
512.463.1441 or email
AUSTIN — The Texas Board of Law Examiners announced the three individuals who scored the highest on the February 2024 Texas Bar Exam.
According to the Board of Law Examiners (BLE), 1,113 examinees took the February exam, achieving an overall pass rate of 48%. Although examinees’ scores are confidential, by tradition, the Supreme Court of Texas liaison to the BLE, Justice Brett Busby, calls the three top scorers to personally congratulate them and ask if they would like to be publicly recognized for their top results.
“The Supreme Court is extremely proud of the achievements of these amazing new Texas lawyers,” Justice Busby said. “We welcome them to the bar and wish them productive and fulfilling careers in the law.”
Kathryn Strickland, a native Texan and 2024 graduate of Harvard Law School, achieved the highest score of all examinees. After a cycling accident left her quadriplegic from a spinal cord injury during her first semester of undergrad at the University of Texas-Austin, Kate learned to navigate both educational spaces and the world in general from her powered wheelchair. She is a passionate advocate for accessibility and disability inclusion and will begin her legal career in Washington, D.C. this fall.
Hailey Standridge, a May 2024 expected
graduate of Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, is the second-highest scorer. Hailey was encouraged to take the Texas Bar Exam before graduation and is grateful she did. She says her undergrad experience at Baylor University was instrumental in deciding where to practice law.
Natalie Drott, a November 2023 graduate of Baylor University Law School, is the third-highest scorer on the February exam. Since graduating, Natalie and her husband, Kyle, who also passed the bar in February, moved to Tyler, Texas. Natalie is an associate with Wilson, Robertson & VanDeventer, P.C. in Tyler, where she is developing a general civil practice.
The top scorers will be honored, along with all other inductees, at the State Bar of Texas New Lawyers Induction Ceremony at 10 a.m. on May 6 at Bass Concert Hall, 2350 Robert Dedman Dr., Austin.