University of Florida Levin College of Law

Infobox Law School
name = Levin College of Law


established = 1909
type = Public
endowment =
parent endowment = $1.24 billion | head = Dean Robert Jerry
city = Gainesville
state = Florida
country = USA
students = 1,153 (approx.)
faculty = 128 (approx.)
ranking = Tier 1
bar pass rate = 81.2% (Jul 07)
annual tuition = $7,786 (Florida resident), $27,419 (Non-resident)
homepage = [http://www.law.ufl.edu www.law.ufl.edu]
The Fredric G. Levin College of Law is the law school of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.

History

The College of Law was founded in 1909 and is Florida's flagship law school. It was first housed in Thomas Hall and then in Bryan Hall from 1914-1969. The college became desegregated on September 15, 1958, and its faculty became desegregated shortly thereafter. In 1969 it moved to its current location in Holland Hall, which is named after the former Florida Governor, U.S. Senator, and UF Law alumnus Spessard L. Holland (LLB 1916). Holland Hall is located in the northwest section of the UF campus. In 1984, Bruton-Geer Hall, named after the parents of UF Law alumnus Judge James D. Bruton (LLB 1933) and his wife Quintilla Geer Bruton, was added to the law school.

The College of Law was renamed the Levin College of Law in 1999 after prominent Pensacola trial lawyer and UF Law alumnus Fredric G. Levin (JD 1961) donated $10 million to the school, a sum that was matched by $10 million from the state of Florida to create a $20 million endowment. (Levin was noted for bringing a class-action lawsuit against the tobacco industry in the 1990s).

The law school underwent a major renovation between 2004 and 2005, creating new academic space and greatly expanding the law library, which was named the Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center after the former Florida Governor, U.S. Senator, and UF Law alumnus Lawton Chiles (LLB 1955). The Legal Information Center is among the largest law libraries in the Southeast. A large elegant reading room within the Legal Information Center was named after former Florida Supreme Court Justice and UF Law alumnus Stephen C. O'Connell (LLB 1940).

In September 2005, Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor spoke at the dedication of the renovated facilities. In September 2006, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg visited the College of Law to speak and to dedicate a classroom in honor of her friend and UF Law alumnus Chesterfield Smith (LLB 1948).

Construction began on a new courtroom facility in August 2008 and it is expected to be completed in June 2009. [http://www.facilities.ufl.edu/viewprj.php?prj=4711 Facilities Planning & Construction - Project Pages ] ] The facility, which was made possible by an additional $5 million donation from the Levin family [ [http://www.uff.ufl.edu/News/PressRelease.asp?Story=62 UFF Press Release: 2/21/2006 - Gifts to fund $5.2 million advocacy center of UF law school - University of Florida Foundation ] ] will be named the Martin Levin Advocacy Center after UF Law alumnus Martin H. Levin (JD 1988). The facility will be 20,000 gross square feet, two stories tall, and will include a fully-functional trial and appellate courtrooms. The new courtroom is designed to incorporate new technology to allow students to understand the role of technology in modern practice. Additionally, the facility will include offices, meeting/seminar rooms, and support spaces for legal clinics. [http://www.admin.ufl.edu/committees/taps/minutes/2006-2007/Feb132007.pdf]

Academics

The College of Law offers a three-year, full-time program leading to a Juris Doctor degree. It also has several graduate law programs, including an LL.M-S.J.D. degree program in tax law and LL.M. programs in international taxation, comparative law, and environmental law. The Levin College of Law is also well known for its commitment to diversity. Over 20% of the incoming class are minority students and about half of the students are female. [ [http://www.law.ufl.edu/about/diversity.shtml UF Law diversity statement] ]

According to the 2009 "U.S. News & World Report" law school rankings, the Levin College of Law ranks 46th overall among J.D. programs, 2nd in tax law LL.M. programs, and 14th in environmental law.

The J.D. ranking dropped from #41 in 2007. The dean of the law school characterized the drop as predictable, temporary, and due to a statistical computation based on figures that do not accurately reflect the size of the student body, primarily due to the elimination of Spring entering classes. [http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070330/LOCAL/70330002/-1/news] . The large number of students as compared to the number of faculty has also prevented the law school ranking from climbing into the top 10 of all public law schools. However, the Levin College of Law has recently trimmed the size of the incoming class from nearly 450 to 300 students, which should also improve its ranking by lowering the student to faculty ratio.

The college only offers admission in the fall semester (spring admissions were discontinued in 2006). Its 2008 entering class had a median GPA of 3.61 and a median LSAT score of 160 (in 2005 it was 161).

Required first-year courses are torts, professional responsibility, criminal law, contracts, legal research and writing, constitutional law, civil procedure, property, and appellate advocacy. Students are also required to take legal drafting prior to graduation. It is recommended, though not required, that students also take evidence, estates and trusts, corporations, and trial practice.

Students can choose to pursue their J.D. in conjunction with another graduate degree, including a master's degree, Ph.D, or M.D. in one of the university's 33 dual-degree program. Students can also complete specific requirements in addition to those required for the J.D. and receive a certificate showing specialization in estate planning and trusts, family law, intellectual property law, environmental and land use law, or international, and comparative law.

The College offers one-year courses of study leading to the degree of LL.M. in taxation or in international taxation. Nearly all students in the LL.M. in the taxation program are graduates of American law schools; the LL.M. program in international taxation is open to graduates of U.S. and foreign law schools. In a typical year, about 90 students are enrolled in the tax LL.M programs. The College of Law also offers a S.J.D in taxation, a doctorate. Nearly all courses in the program are taught by full-time faculty. The College employs more full-time tax professors than any other law school in the United States, including several distinguished tax law experts. The faculty and students of the graduate tax programs publish the "Florida Tax Review".

The college's comparative law program is offered to graduates of foreign law schools who seek to increase their understanding of the U.S. legal system.

Centers and institutes

The College of Law is home to a number of institutes including the Center for Governmental Responsibility, the Center for Race and Race Relations, and the Elder Law Center.

Extracurricular activities

The College of Law has over 40 active student organizations, including:
*Organizations devoted to interest in a specific area of law (criminal law, military law, business law, public interest law, tax law, etc.)
*Political and social organizations (Law School Democrats, Law School Republicans, National Lawyers Guild, Federalist Society, American Constitution Society)
*Community service organizations for law students to use their legal skills to help the community (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance)
*Organization for students with a common background (Black Law Students Association, Jewish Law Students Association, Christian Legal Society, St. Thomas More Society, Lambda Legal, Law Association for Women, Spanish-American Law Students Association).

The College of Law has a mock trial team, which competes nationally. Additionally, it has four moot court teams:
*The Justice Campbell Thornal Moot Court Team is the general moot court team. It competes in state, national, and intramural competitions
*The International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Team competes in international arbitration
*The Jessup Moot Court Team deals with international law,
*The Securities Moot Court Team which focuses on securities regulation, corporate governance, and fiduciary duties in business law.

The College of Law publishes five law reviews:
*The "Florida Law Review" (the major publication)
*The "Journal of Technology Law and Policy"
*The "Journal of Law and Public Policy"
*The "Florida Journal of International Law"
*The "Entertainment Law Review"

The John Marshall Bar Association (JMBA) is the Student Bar Association at the College. Its main focus is organizing social activities for law students. Membership is optional.

Campus

The architectural style of Bruton-Geer Hall, completed in 1984, is best classified as brutalism; concrete features prominently in its design. The renovation of Holland Hall was completed in 2005 at the cost of $25 million and features brick and concrete.

The grounds of the College of Law contain several pieces of artwork. The newest additions are three metal sculptures by Jim Cole of the Rhode Island School of Design representing the three branches of government: "The Legislative" and "The Executive" (installed 2005) and "The Judiciary" (installed 2006). These sculptures also function as benches. The lobby of the law school library contains a sculpture made by Cole in the form of a chair entitled "The Lobbyist".

Also contained on the grounds of the college are a series of large, intertwined metal rings, which have the appearance of being partially underground. They are known as "the Cheerios."

Deans of Levin College of Law

Alumni

Prominent alumni include:

*Attorneys – Howell W. Melton Jr. (managing partner of Holland & Knight), Cesar L. Alvarez (Greenberg Traurig CEO), and Fred Levin (law school namesake and prominent figure in tobacco litigation)
*College & University presidents – Edythe M. Abdullah (Florida Community College at Jacksonville), Marshall Criser, (University of Florida and Scripps Florida), Harold B. Crosby (University of West Florida, Florida International University), John Delaney (University of North Florida, former Jacksonville mayor) Sandy D'Alemberte (Florida State University, Ray F. Ferrero Jr. (Nova Southeastern University), Robert Lindgren (Randolph-Macon College), Stephen C. O'Connell (University of Florida, Florida Supreme Court justice), W. Reece Smith Jr. (University of South Florida,
*Political Figures – Charles O. Andrews (U.S. Senator), Reubin O'Donovan Askew, (Florida governor, presidential candidate, United States Trade Representative), Charles Edward Bennett (U.S. Representative), Carol Browner (EPA administrator, Audobon Society chair), Lawton Chiles (Florida governor, U.S. Senator), Ander Crenshaw (U.S. Representative), Paul Rand Dixon (Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission), Jim Davis (U.S. Representative, Florida gubernatorial candidate), Richard Ervin (Florida Attorney General), William Luther Hill (U.S. Senator), Spessard Holland (Florida governor, U.S. Senator, namesake of Holland Hall), Marjorie Holt (U.S. Representative), Harry Johnston (U.S. Representative), Jeff Kottkamp (Florida lieutenant governor), James W. Kynes (Florida Attorney General), William C. Lantaff (U.S. Representative), Buddy MacKay, (Florida governor and lieutenant governor, U.S. Representative), Bill McCollum (Florida Attorney General, U.S. Representative), Chester B. McMullen (U.S. Representative), J. Hardin Peterson (U.S. Representative), Paul Rogers (U.S. Representative), Joe Scarborough (U.S. Representative, media personality), George Smathers (U.S. Senator), Rod Smith (Florida Senate, successfully prosecuted Danny Rolling), Donald L. Tucker (U.S. Ambassador), Ed Austin (Jacksonville mayor), Buddy Dyer (Orlando mayor)
*Presidents of the American Bar Association – Chesterfield Smith (ABA), Martha Barnett (ABA), W. Reece Smith Jr. (ABA), and Sandy D'Alemberte (ABA)
*United States District Court Judges – Stephan P. Mickle, Maurice M. Paul, John Richard Smoak, Jr. (Northern District of Florida), William J. Castagna, Anne Conway, Patricia C. Fawsett, William Terrell Hodges, Marcia Morales Howard, Ben Krentzman, Howell W. Melton, Steven Douglas Merryday, James S. Moody, Jr., Ralph Wilson Nimmons, Jr., Gregory A. Presnell, George C. Young (Middle District of Florida), Sidney M. Aronovitz, C. Clyde Atkins, Edward B. Davis, William Dimitrouleas, Jose A. Gonzalez, Jr., Paul Huck, James W. Kehoe, James Lawrence King, Donald M. Middlebrooks, Ursula Mancusi Ungaro-Benages ((Southern District of Florida)
*United States Court of Appeals Judges – S. Jay Plager (Federal Circuit) and Rosemary Barkett, Susan H. Black, John M. Bryan Simpson, and Peter T. Fay (Eleventh Circuit)

Other

*Seventeen graduates have served on the Florida Supreme Court, 15 of them as Chief Justice
*Charles W. Dorman, Marine Corps brigadier general, and chief judge for the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeal
*Mark S. Fowler, former Federal Communications Commissioner
*Richard Grayson, writer and political activist
*W. Michael Heekin, founding chief operating officer of WebMD and former Florida State University College of Law dean
*Joe Scarborough, cable news personality, host of a show on MSNBC and former U.S. Congressman
*Harold Sebring, judge at the Nuremberg Trials

*In the past 40 years, four presidents of the American Bar Association were graduates of the college, more than any other law school for that time period. Since 1950, some 60 percent of Florida Bar Association presidents were graduates of the college.

References

External links

* [http://www.law.ufl.edu/ The official College of Law website]
* [http://www.law.ufl.edu/news/flalaw/ FlaLaw Online] weekly email newsletter
* [http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20080329/NEWS/803290341/1002/NEWS "Gainesville Sun" Article about the College's Rankings]
* [http://www.law.ufl.edu/lic/ Link to the Legal Information Center at Levin]
* [http://education-portal.com/articles/University_of_Florida_in_Gainesville,_FL.html "Gainesville Sun" info about the College]
* [http://news.ufl.edu/2005/07/06/taxlaw/ Info about programs offered by the College]
* [http://www.floridatomorrow.ufl.edu/Law/ Info about Levin's Capital Campaign]
* [http://www.alligator.org/articles/2008/03/31/news/campus/080331_ranking.txt "Alligator" article about the rankings]
* [http://news.ufl.edu/2003/02/07/jerrylawdean/ Info about the Dean]