Numerous professors at Chicago-Kent founded and developed the BarBri curriculum, which is the biggest and most popular bar exam review preparation course in the nation. Of note is the fact that the first time passage rate for the bar exam in Illinois is 96%.
In 1886, numerous law clerks received instruction in the chambers of Appellate Judge Joseph M. Bailey's in order to prepare for the newly instituted Illinois bar examination. These sessions grew into formal classes, and in 1888, the Chicago College of Law was established, with Judge Bailey as its first dean.
The school is home to several major institutes and centers dedicated to research and scholarship in the areas of health law and bioethics. These include the Center for Diabetes Research and Policy, the Institute for Biotechnology and the Human Future, and the Institute for Science, Law, and Technology.
Focusing on programs that promote a broader understanding of the evolving global environment, as well as a means of strengthening democratic institutions around the globe is the purpose of the Global Law and Policy Initiative. In tandem with this initiative is the school's exchange program with nearly a dozen countries, including Germany, Denmark, France, Spain and New Zealand.
Created in 2009, the Center for Open Government is a pro bono initiative, formed for the purpose of ensuring ''transparency, accountability and responsibility in local and state government. The Center will identify instances where legal recourse is needed to provide access to government information and proceedings,'' according to an August 2009 press release at kentlaw.edu.
Currently, Harold J. Krent serves as dean of the law school. An expert in administrative law, he is the law school's tenth dean.
