Florida State University College of Law

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Florida State University College of Law, a law school in the Southeastern U.S., is one of the professional graduate schools of Florida State University, located in Tallahassee, Florida. The law school borders the South-East quadrant of the University's campus, near the Donald L. Tucker Center (also known as the Tallahassee Civic Center) and immediately across the street from the First District Court of Appeal (as of Spring 2007, the Florida Legislature has given the court building to the law school for renovation as an educational facility). It is recognizable by the distinctive and historic white wood trellis structures outside the law school's eastern buildings.

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[edit] Programs

The three-year curriculum for the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree provides students a foundational first-year program, including a rigorous legal writing program and a varied offering of upper-level courses, seminars, clinics, and co-curricular opportunities. The externship programs are extension, and arrangements in Washington, D.C., London and the Hague, as well as in every major city in the state of Florida, allow students to spend a semester outside of Tallahassee. The Master of Laws (LL.M.) program for foreign lawyers and its two certificate programs in Environmental, Natural Resources and Land Use Law, and International Law make legal education a healthy experience. Its faculty also offers a significant range of courses in Law, Economics, and Business. The College of Law offers joint degree programs that enable students to earn other degrees in conjunction with their Juris Doctor, such as FSU's top ranked Urban & Regional Planning Program (M.S.P./Ph.D.) as well as its highly-regarded Criminology Program (M.S./Ph.D). Other joint degree options include Economics (M.S./Ph.D.), Political Science (M.S./Ph.D.) and Business (M.B.A./Ph.D.), as well as other fields.

[edit] Rankings

The FSU College of Law has a peer academic reputation among the top 50 law schools in the U.S. (and ranks among the top 25 public universities) and is ranked 55th overall in the nation for 2008, according to U.S. News & World Report's weighted combination of factors. The FSU College of Law's Environmental Law program is ranked in the top 10 in the nation (4th among publics and the best in the Southeast) (also by U.S. News), and Hispanic Business magazine consistently lists the College as one of the nation's Top Ten Law Schools for Hispanics. In addition to Environmental Law, the FSU College of Law has particular strengths in Law, Economics and Business (including Tax) and in International Law.[1]

The Environmental and Land Use Law Program, which publishes the highly-regarded Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law, has been recognized by multiple sources as one of the nation's best. According to the 2009 U.S. News & World Report "Annual Ranking of Graduate Programs", FSU's environmental program ranks among the top 10 in the country, offering one of the top four public university programs in the U.S. and the best Environmental Law program in the Southeast. University of Texas Professor Brian Leiter's "Educational Quality Rankings" lists the Administrative & Environmental Law faculty among the Top 18 in category of Top Choices by Specialty. In the EQR category of Most Cited Law Faculty, Professor J.B. Ruhl, the Matthews & Hawkins Professor of Property, ranked 9th among all faculty in the U.S. in Environmental Law, based on citations.

[edit] Faculty

The faculty scholarship of the FSU College of Law ranks among the top 25 law schools based on downloads, according to the Social Science Research Network, which hosts working papers by FSU College of Law Faculty in both Public Law and Legal Theory and Law, Business & Economics.

FSU College of Law's faculty includes national scholars who publish frequently (most at least once a year) in leading journals in the fields of Administrative, and Regulatory Law (Jim Rossi, Mark Seidenfeld), Constitutional Law (Steven Gey), Criminal Law (Wayne Logan, Dan Markel), Environmental Law (Robin Kundis Craig, David Markell, J.B. Ruhl), Health Law (Frederick M. Abbott, Jonathan Klick, Lois Shepherd), International Law (Frederick M. Abbott, Fernando Tesón, Lesley Wexler), Jurisprudence (Curtis Bridgeman, Fernando Tesón), Law, Business and Economics (Bruce L. Benson, Jonathan Klick, Dino Falaschetti, Manuel Utset), and Tax Law (Joseph M. Dodge, Brian Galle, Gregg Polsky, Charlene Luke).

Three FSU College of Law faculty have published their own separate casebooks in Environmental Law -- David Markell, Robin Kundis Craig and J.B. Ruhl -- representing the one of the most significant impacts on the teaching of Environmental Law of any law school in the U.S. Other faculty authored books are widely used in law schools across the country for courses in Tax Law (Joseph M. Dodge), International Intellectual Property Law (Frederick M. Abbott), Law and Economics (Mark Seidenfeld), Bioethics (Lois Shepherd), Ocean and Coastal Law (Donna Christie), Energy Law (Jim Rossi) and Endangered Species Law (J.B. Ruhl). Beyond the classroom, FSU's College of Law faculty are regularly cited as authorities by courts, law reform bodies and other scholars. One faculty member, Sandy D'Alemberte, is a former President of both the American Bar Association and the National Judicature Society.

Affiliated faculty from other university departments holding Courtesy appointments at the law school include John Scholz, a leading political scientist addressing regulatory enforcement, Bruce L. Benson, an economist focused and law and economics, R. Mark Isaac, a leading experimental economist, and Gary Kleck, a criminologist known for his work on guns and deterrence.

[edit] Journals

The College of Law publishes four law journals: The Florida State University Law Review is the flagship scholarly journal at the College. It publishes four issues a year, and is generally recognized among the top 100 general student-edited law reviews in the U.S. based on citations. The Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law is the state's first and remains its only student publication in the field. It is ranks among the top environmental and land use law journals based on citations. The Journal of Transnational Law and Policy publishes articles in the field of international law, including human rights, comparative law, and U.S. foreign policy. Law students also publish the Florida State University Business Review, a bi-annual journal which examines the interrelated disciplines of business and law but is not officially a co-curricular journal at the College of Law.

[edit] Job placement and alumni

With more than 99% of its graduates finding legal employment within 9 months of gradutation, FSU College of Law consistently ranks as the top law school in the state of Florida for student job placement. It also consistently ranks as one of the top law schools in the state in bar passage. While 30-40% of its graduates serve in state and federal government, including in the judiciary, the bulk of its graduates enter into private practice.

Some of its distinguished graduates include:

Congresswoman Castor
Congresswoman Castor
Senator Martinez
Senator Martinez

[edit] See also

Distinguished Alumnus Michael Jackson, District Attorney in Selma,Alabama--The only African-American District Attorney in Alabama

[edit] External links


[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ FSU College of Law continues to rise in U.S. News rankings


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