Welcome from the Dean

We are delighted that you are considering the Florida State University College of Law. Students who choose to study at our law school receive a superb legal education with a strong liberal arts orientation. To us, that means several things.

First, it means that we value close working relationships among students and faculty of the sort that characterize the best of small liberal arts colleges.

Our faculty are accessible to our students. It is an important part of the culture of our school that our faculty are available to teach students outside of the classroom as well as inside the classroom. To the maximum extent possible, we want to work with you as new members of the legal profession to support you in this important time of personal and professional growth. Not only are our faculty accessible to our students, they actively work with them on projects such as law journal manuscripts, moot court and mock trial competitions and directed independent studies.

Second, it means that our students have a special relationship among themselves. Our students have a strong sense of community. They are proud of our law school and of one another. They are confident in their successes and are competitive without being cut-throat.

Third, it means that our faculty greatly values the insights of other disciplines that can be brought to bear upon the study of law. To our faculty, it is important to integrate into the study of law insights from such diverse disciplines as history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, economics and finance. The value placed on the insights of other disciplines is reflected in such specialized courses as Law and Economics, Biodiversity and the Law and Law and Psychology. More importantly, the insights of other disciplines are pervasively taught throughout our curriculum, beginning with basic first-year courses such as Contracts, Torts and Property.

Finally, as part of a graduate research university, we profit from campus-wide expertise. Faculty in other departments frequently take part in our classes, workshops and programs, and our students often take courses offered in other departments. We also offer a wide variety of joint degree programs.

This is a great place to attend law school if you want to become a lawyer. Our students have done extremely well on the bar exam and in getting the jobs they want upon graduation. More importantly, whether you want to become a lawyer in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Tampa or Washington, it is a great place to become a well-educated lawyer.