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Florida State University Graduate Bulletin 2007-2009

College of Law

Dean: Donald J. Weidner; Associate Deans: Nancy L. Benavides, Donna R. Christie, Jim Rossi, Mark B. Seidenfeld, Stephanie L. Williams; Director of Law Library: Faye Jones

The Florida State University College of Law provides a three-year program of study leading to the juris doctor (JD) degree. The JD degree is a requirement for admission to any state bar and is a prerequisite for the practice of law.

The College of Law prepares highly qualified graduates for positions as counselors, advocates, judges, law-oriented business professionals, researchers, teachers, and philosophers of the law.

The College of Law faculty members are among the national leaders in high-level scholarship. The faculty's interests range from fundamental legal doctrine to cutting-edge interdisciplinary work, from issues of local concern to national and international areas, from matters of day-to-day practice to the purest of legal theory. Members of the faculty have written leading texts and treatises in such fields as evidence, environmental law, partnership law, international law, international intellectual property, law and economics, and constitutional law.

Small class sizes allow for free-ranging discussion in the classroom, as do a wide range of seminar offerings and individualized learning opportunities. The faculty is highly accessible, which makes it possible for discussion to continue outside the classroom on a personal basis.

The student body at the College of Law is diverse, which adds to the quality of the college. Over two hundred undergraduate and graduate institutions from all over the world are represented, as are most states. Many students have significant non-academic experience as well, ranging from engineering to medicine to business to government. This range of backgrounds and interests is displayed in the great variety of student organizations and activities at the College of Law.

Three programs of emphasis—Environmental, Natural Resources and Land Use Law; International Law; and Law, Economics and Business—offer students the opportunity to maximize their law degrees through concentrated study. Certificate programs are offered in Environmental and Land Use Law, and International Law. Upon graduation, students receive a certificate along with their JD degrees, indicating that they have achieved special competency in the appropriate concentration area. The programs require students to tale three semester hours in addition to those required for the JD degree.

The location of the college in relation to the state capitol complex provides a wide range of internship and clerkship opportunities, as well as part-time employment opportunities, with some of the country's most prestigious law firms during the second and third years. Judges and lawmakers frequently speak and teach at the College of Law. While these collateral opportunities are no substitute for the day-to-day study and experiences of the classroom, one of the aims of legal education is the teaching of law in its broader context. The College of Law's location provides this context, giving it special advantages.

The college offers one of the most extensive clinical externship programs in the United States. Students earn academic credit while learning to assume the role of attorney or judicial clerk in the litigation and adjudication of real cases. Judicial externships are available with state trial and appellate courts, including the Florida Supreme Court and the federal courts. Externship opportunities with government agencies and commissions, the state attorney, the public defender, and legal services offices are also provided, as well opportunities abroad with the International Bar Association in London. The college is also home to the internationally recognized Children's Advocacy Center, which trains law students in legal advocacy with an emphasis on intensive one-on-one and small group instruction. The Center is unique among law school clinical programs for providing a broad range of legal services. With approximately 80 on-going cases, it represents children, persons with disabilities, and victims of domestic violence. It also handles special education, Medicaid, foster care, delinquency, criminal, school expulsions, developmental services, and supplemental security income (SSI) cases.

The Law Library is located in its own building which opened in 1983 and provides the most up-to-date legal research facility available in Florida. It consists of over 46,000 linear feet of shelving and seating capacity for over 400 at carrels or tables and in enclosed conference rooms, typing rooms, group study rooms, and computer assisted legal research and microcomputer labs.

Law Library collections exceed 454,000 volumes and volume equivalents with more than 164,000 cataloged titles. Continuing subscriptions number more than 4,300. Law Library personnel provide training in LEXIS and WESTLAW; word processing programs are provided for student use on microcomputers available in the computer laboratory.

Special collections in the Law Library include rare legal materials from England, the United States, and Florida. Early printed editions of Bracton, Coke, and Glanville are held, as well as more recent publications, including a first edition of Blackstone's Commentaries. There is a substantial collection of signatures, letters, signed portraits, and other memorabilia of the justices of the United States Supreme Court.

Law students also have access to the Paul M. Dirac Library and the Robert Manning Strozier Library of Florida State University. Furthermore, the State Library of Florida, the Florida State Archives, and the Florida Supreme Court Library are within two blocks of the College of Law.

Interdisciplinary and Joint-Degree Programs

In order to further the goals of broad liberal arts education and scholarship, the College of Law has authorized interdisciplinary work for selected graduate students. Joint-degree programs, in which students receive both the juris doctor and the master's degree concurrently, are offered with the College of Business, the Department of Economics, the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, the Program in International Affairs, the College of Social Work, the College of Information, and the School of Public Administration and Policy.

Upon the recommendation of the department chair, and with the permission of the Dean of the College of Law, a graduate student may take a limited number of College of Law courses related to the major field of study. Grades are reported on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) basis.

Credit hours earned in law courses prior to admission to the College of Law are not counted toward the minimum hours required for the law degree upon subsequent admission to the College of Law.

Additional information regarding law programs is contained in the College of Law Bulletin available from: Office of Admissions, College of Law, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306 or at http://www.law.fsu.edu.

Summer Program in Law at Oxford

Director: Donna R. Christie

The College of Law conducts the oldest summer program in Oxford sponsored by an American law school. Since its establishment in 1973, law students from the United States and Canada and a limited number of graduate students in related fields, lawyers, and others have been taught by tenured members of the Oxford University and Florida State University law faculties. The five and one-half week program begins annually on the Tuesday following Oxford's Trinity term.

For information contact: Director, The Florida State University Summer Program in Law at Oxford, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1600; (850) 644-4578; http://www.law.fsu.edu/academic_programs/interational_law/oxford/index.html.

Degree Requirements

Eighty-eight (88) semester hours of course credit and six full semesters of residency are required for the JD degree. The following courses are currently required of all students: legal writing and research I (2), legal writing and research II (3), contracts I (3), contracts II (2), civil procedure (4), criminal law and procedure (4), torts (4), property I (2), property II (3), constitutional law I (3), constitutional law II (3), and professional responsibility (3). In addition to the courses listed above, each student must take an extensive writing course to fulfill the upper-level writing requirement.

Mindful of the special responsibility of lawyers in light of the monopoly given them, particularly as to those individuals who need and cannot afford their services, the College of Law has instituted a pro bono graduation requirement. Each degree-seeking student must do a minimum of 20 hours of pro bono work on behalf of indigent individuals or other uncompensated legal work in conjunction with an individual attorney, law firm, or organization on behalf of a disadvantaged minority; the victims of racial, sexual, or other forms of discrimination; those denied human and civil rights; or other work on behalf of the public interest.

Academic Policies

All academic policies of the College of Law can be found in on the College of Law's Web site at: http://www.law.fsu.edu/current_students/rules/index.html.

The first-year curriculum is mandatory for all students. First-year students register for fifteen (15) semester hours during the Fall semester and fifteen (15) semester hours during the Spring. All other students must register for a minimum of twelve (12) semester hours of credit each Fall and Spring semester. Students may register for a maximum of eighteen (18) credit hours during the Fall and Spring semesters. Attendance during the Summer semester is not mandatory, nor is a specific credit hour requirement imposed.

In order to obtain the JD degree, in addition to the eighty-eight (88) semester hour requirement, students must earn a minimum of six semesters in residence. Twelve (12) semester hours of course credit are required to earn one semester of residency during the Fall and Spring terms.

The College of Law is a full-time law school in accordance with the standards set by the American Bar Association. The minimum credit hour load requirement is designed to ensure that law students participate in their law studies on a full-time basis.

Authorization for less than the twelve (12) semester hour requirement will not be granted on the basis of the student's need for outside employment. Full-time students are restricted to 20 hours of employment per week.

Attendance at all regularly scheduled classes is expected of all law students. Instructors will announce their specific attendance policy at the beginning of each term's classes. Chronic unexcused absences may result in the student being dropped from the course or being awarded an administrative "F" grade.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the College of Law is a competitive process. Applications are accepted between October 1 and February 15 for admission the following August. The College of Law enrolls only one class in the fall of each year. It does not offer a part-time or evening program. Applicants are encouraged to submit and complete law school applications as early as possible, preferably by December 1. Files must be complete by April 1 to receive full consideration.

Admission decisions are based upon evaluation of each applicant's potential for success in law school and in the legal profession and the extent to which the applicant's background offers a unique contribution to a diverse educational environment in the College of Law. To this end, the Admissions Committee has authority over all matters pertaining to admissions.

Admission to the College of Law is a competitive process and applications with the strongest records are given priority. A majority of admissions decisions are made primarily on the basis of combining LSAT scores with undergraduate grades. In addition, the personal statement, resume, recommendation letters and strength of undergraduate program are reviewed for all applicants.

The Committee takes into consideration such factors as exceptional personal talents, interesting or demanding work or service experience, rigorousness of undergraduate course of study, leadership potential, graduate study, maturity, ability to communicate effectively, and other factors. In addition, the Committee considers obstacles or accomplishments that indicate a greater chance of success in law school than might be indicated by performance in college or on the LSAT, including but not limited to: economic need requiring significant employment during college, social and cultural disadvantages, linguistic barriers and extraordinary family or personal responsibilities.

The college does not prescribe a specific undergraduate major. All applicants are required to have a baccalaureate degree from a nationally or regionally accredited college or university prior to commencing law study.

Every applicant must take the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) administered by Law School Admissions Services. The LSAT is given in June, October, December, and February of each year. It is administered at Florida State University and at test centers throughout the world. The test should be taken as early as possible so that applications can be acted upon without unnecessary delay. Scores from the February administration of the LSAT are the latest accepted for entrance into the next August entering class.

Applicants must register with the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS), provided by Law School Admissions Services. An official transcript from every college attended is sent directly to LSDAS, which analyzes transcripts and sends results to the College of Law. Applicants register with LSDAS at the same time they register for the LSAT.

For application materials contact: Director of Admissions, Florida State University, College of Law, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1601; (850) 644-3787 or at http://www.law.fsu.edu.

Financial Aid

There is no separate financial aid office in the College of Law. All financial aid inquiries can be directed to the Florida State University Office of Financial Aid at http://www.finaid.fsu.edu/. For additional information, see the Financial Aid section of this Graduate Bulletin.

Student Services

The associate dean for student affairs assists students in all facets of student life, from financial aid to the adjustment to law school. The office of career placement within the college assists students in finding employment both during and after law school.

A special orientation program for all new students is held during the week prior to the beginning of classes to acquaint students with the college.