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| Home >> Academic and International Programs >> Juris Doctor Program >> Co-Curricular Opportunities | ||
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| Home >> Academic and International Programs >> Juris Doctor Program >> Co-Curricular Opportunities | ||
Co-Curricular Opportunities
The College of Law has five co-curricular academic student organizations, including three student-edited journals and trial and appellate advocacy teams. These organizations promote excellence in written and oral advocacy and enable students to achieve academic credit for their participation.
Florida State University Law Review, the flagship scholarly journal at the College of Law, publishes four issues a year. Many of these are unsolicited articles selected by law review staff based on exemplary scholarship and contribution to current legal debates. The law review also publishes the annual prestigious Ladd Lecture and exemplary notes and comments written by FSU law students. Regularly, the law review publishes symposia including articles by leading figures in specialized fields of the law. Recent symposium issues include "Genes and Disability: Defining Health and the Goals of Medicine," "The Law of Presidential Elections," "Regulatory Theory and Administrative Law," and "Legal Professionalism."
The Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law, founded in 1983, was the state's first and remains its only student publication in the field. The Journal, which publishes articles by policy makers and members of the legal and academic communities as well as outstanding student articles, has been cited by the United States Supreme Court, and numerous articles have appeared on the recommended lists of various state and national environmental reporters and newsletters. Each year the Journal sponsors two distinguished lecturers to highlight developments in state, national, and international environmental law.
The Journal of Transnational Law and Policy, first published in 1992, provides law students the opportunity to write, edit, and research on a broad range of international law topics, including human rights, comparative law, trade and economics, foreign investment law, public and private international law, and U.S. foreign policy. The Journal is supported by the Edward Ball Eminent Scholar Chair in International Law and co-sponsors speakers in international law.
A student may receive up to nine hours of academic credit for work on any of these journals. Credit is awarded for successful completion of a case note or other commentary of publishable quality and for specified work performed on one of the editorial boards. Grades are awarded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) basis as determined by the journal's faculty advisor upon the advice of the journal's editor-in-chief.
The Moot Court Team, established in 1968, has long been recognized as nationally competitive. The Moot Court team is composed of thirty upper-class students. New members are chosen through the Annual Spring Intramural Competition for first year students, which culminates in the Final Four Competition before the entire Florida Supreme Court. The FSU team competes annually in many regional and national moot court competitions, and on occasion in international competitions. Individual team coaches are drawn from the faculty and local bar. At the 2001 Florida Bar Convention, the Moot Court Team made a clean sweep of the top honors at the Robert Orseck Competition, winning the competition and receiving awards for Best Oralist and Best Brief. An endowment fund was recently created to provide permanent funding for the team's activities.
The Mock Trial Team, established in 1995, has also enjoyed great success in its relatively short history. The Mock Trial team's thirty members compete annually in two statewide competitions, as well as several regional and national competitions. Professor Ruth Penney is the team's coach. The team has won numerous competitions including the ABA National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition and the Chester Bedell Memorial Competition, sponsored by the Trial Lawyers Section of the Florida Bar. Recently, a noted alumnus, Wayne Hogan, and his wife, Pat, made a very generous $2,250,000 gift to the College of Law under the Florida Matching Gift Program, a significant part of which was dedicated to provide permanent funding for the Mock Trial team.
A student may normally receive up to six hours of academic credit for approved participation in a mock trial or appellate advocacy program. Credit is awarded only on the basis of participation in a state, regional or national competition. Grades are awarded on a satisfactory or unsatisfactory ("S/U") basis as determined by the team's faculty advisor. Credit may be awarded to a student who is not selected for a competition if, in the advisor's opinion, the student contributed substantial research and writing effort to the competition.