University of Florida Levin College of Law

University of Florida Levin College of Law
Established	1909
School type	Public
Parent endowment	$2.379 billion (2021)
Dean	Merritt McAlister
Location	Gainesville,Florida, U.S.
Enrollment	662 (2023)
Faculty	85 (2023)
USNWRranking	28th (tied) (2024)
Barpass rate	80.6% (Florida bar exam, July 2023 first-time takers)
Website	law.ufl.edu

TheUniversity of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law(UF Law) is thelaw schoolof theUniversity of Floridalocated inGainesville, Florida.Founded in 1909, it is the oldest operating public law school in Florida and second oldest overall in the state.

For every entering class in its three-yearJ.D.program, the law school has approximately 200 students.The first-year class is broken into three sections of approximately 50-70 students who take most first-year classes together. According to the college's official 2023 ABA-required disclosures, only 4.1% of Class of 2023 graduates were "underemployed," with 93.6% of graduates obtaining employment in either bar-passage-required or JD-advantage employment within 9 months of graduation, the highest rate of any Florida law school. 88.24% obtained bar-passage-required employment (i.e., as attorneys) within 9 months of graduation.This ranked Levin second toFlorida Statefor Florida job placement of recent law graduates in bar-passage-required employment.

William R. Thomas Hall,home of the College of Law from 1909 to 1914

Nathan P. Bryan Hall,home of the College of Law from 1914 to 1969

History

The College of Law was founded in 1909 withAlbert J. Farrahas its first dean.It was first housed inThomas Hall,and then inBryan Hallfrom 1914 to 1969.

The school excluded African Americans.Virgil D. Hawkinswas denied admission because he was African American in 1948. He appealed to theFlorida Supreme Courtand then the U.S. Supreme Court for relief. The college finallydesegregatedin the wake of his fight on September 15, 1958, and admitted an African-American student,and its faculty wasdesegregatedshortly thereafter.

In 1969, the college moved to its current location in Holland Hall, which is named after the former Florida Governor, U.S. Senator, and alumnusSpessard L. Holland(LL.B. '16).Holland Hall is located in the northwest section of the university's campus. In 1984, Bruton-Geer Hall, named after the parents of alumnus Judge James D. Bruton (LL.B. '33) and his wifeQuintilla Geer Bruton,was added to the law school complex.

The College of Law was renamed the Levin College of Law in 1999 after prominentPensacolatrial lawyerand alumnusFredric G. Levin(J.D. '61),who donated $10 million to the college, a sum that was matched by a $10 million grant from the state of Florida to create a $20 millionendowment.

The College of Law underwent a major renovation between 2004 and 2005, creating new academic space and expanding the law library, which was named theLawton Chiles Legal Information Centerafter the former FloridaGovernor,U.S. Senator,and alumnusLawton Chiles(LL.B. '55).

In September 2012, Supreme Court JusticeClarence Thomasspoke at the College of Law.

A newcourtroomfacility was completed in 2009. The facility, which was made possible by an additional $2 million donation from the Levin family,is named the Martin Levin Advocacy Center in honor of UF Law alumnus Martin H. Levin (J.D. '88), and son of Fred Levin.The facility is 20,000 square feet (1,900 m²), two stories tall, and includes a state-of-the-art courtroom.The new courtroom is designed to incorporate new technology to allow students to understand the role of technology in modern practice. Construction began on the second phase of the building (the second floor) in Fall 2010 and was completed in Fall 2011. The second floor includes offices and meeting/seminar rooms.

Fredric G. Levin College of Law & Spessard L. Holland Law Center

Campus

Thearchitectural styleof Bruton-Geer Hall, completed in 1984, is best classified asbrutalism;concretefeatures prominently in its design. The renovation of Holland Hall was completed in 2005 at the cost of $25 million and featuresbrickand concrete.

The grounds of the College of Law contain several pieces ofartwork.The newest additions are three metalsculpturesby Jim Cole of theRhode Island School of Designrepresenting thethree branches of government:The LegislativeandThe Executive(installed 2005) andThe Judiciary(installed 2006). These sculptures also function asbenches.The lobby of the law school library contains a sculpture made by Cole in the form of achairentitledThe 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 "theCheerios".

Academics

The Levin College of Law offers a three-year, full-time program leading to aJuris Doctor(J.D.) degree. It also offers advanced law degrees, includingMaster of Laws(LL.M.) degree programs intaxationandinternational taxation,in addition to aDoctor of Juridical Science(S.J.D.) in taxation.

Rankings

According to the 2024U.S. News & World Reportlaw school rankings,the Levin College of Law ranks tied for 28th overall amongAmericanlaw schools and 11th among public law schools. It places third inTax Lawamong all law schools and first among public law schools, tied for #85 in Clinical Training, tied for #68 in Intellectual Property Law, and tied for #66 in Legal Writing. TheU.S. News & World Reportranks the Levin College of Law as the best law school in the state of Florida.

Admissions

For the class entering in 2022, the school accepted 681 (16.94%) of applicants, with 189 of those accepted enrolling, a 27.75% yield rate. Seven students were not included in the acceptance statistics. The class consists of 196 students. Of scores reported, the medianLSATscore was 169 and the median undergraduateGPAwas 3.90. Its 25th/75th percentile LSAT scores and GPA were 162/170 and 3.52/3.97. Eight students were not included in the LSAT calculation and seven not included in the GPA calculation.33% of the incoming class are racially or ethnically diverse students, and 45% are women. The college currently only offers admission for the fall semester.

Coursework and programs

Required first-year courses aretorts,criminal law,contracts,legal researchandwriting,constitutional law,civil procedure,property,introduction to lawyering, andappellate advocacy.Students are also required to take legal drafting and are recommended to take courses inevidence,estates and trusts,corporations,andtrial practice.

Students can choose to pursue their J.D. in conjunction with another graduate degree, including amaster's degree,Doctor of Philosophy(Ph.D.), orDoctor of Medicine(M.D.) in one of the university's dual-degree programs. Students can also complete specific requirements in addition to those required for the J.D. and earn a certificate indicating specialization inestate planningandtrusts,family law,criminal law,intellectual propertylaw, environmental and land use law, or U.S. law.

The College offers nine-month programs leading to the LL.M. degree in taxation or international taxation. The LL.M. in international taxation is open to graduates of both U.S. and foreign law schools. The College of Law also offers an S.J.D in taxation.

Centers

The Levin College of Law hosts five university-wide academic centers.In 1988, Law School professors Sharon Rush and Kenneth Nunn founded the Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations.Staff directors and professors from across the university advise the center and collaborate with law professors to research the intersection of race and the law.The Levin College of Law also hosts the Center for Government Responsibility, the state's oldest legal and public policy research institute.Former dean and emeritus professorJon Millsfounded the center in 1972 to studyRichard Nixon's cut in funding to public housing and civil rights programs.The Levin College of Law also hosts centers on Children and Families, Estate Planning, and a Race and Crime Center for Justice.

Bar examination passage

In 2023, the overall bar examination passage rate for the law school’s first-time examination takers was 81.94%. The first-time passage rate for the Florida bar examination was 80.6%. The Ultimate Bar Pass Rate, which theABAdefines as the passage rate for graduates who sat for bar examinations within two years of graduating, was 92.83% for the class of 2021.

Employment

According to the University of Florida's official 2019 ABA-required disclosures: 80.6% of the Class of 2018 obtained full-time, long-term JD-required bar-passage-required employment nine months after graduation. In addition, 7.5% obtained full-time, long-term employment where a J.D. is an advantage; 3.75% enrolled in graduate degree programs (predominantly in UF’s LL.M. program, which is ranked third in the country byU.S. News & World Report); and 0.9% had their employment start date deferred or were unknown or not seeking employment.University of Florida'sLaw School Transparencyunder-employment score is 10.9%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2018 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree (a large number of UF Law graduates pursue LL.M. degrees), or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.

According to UF Law's official disclosures to theAmerican Bar Association,nearly 85% of the Class of 2019 successfully obtained employment as attorneys licensed to practice law.

Costs

The 2019-20 semester per credit hour tuition/fee for continuing law students who matriculated before fall 2018, is $743.31 (30 hours = $22,299.30) for Florida residents and $1,296.80 (30 hours = $38,904.00) for non-residents. The 2019-20 semester per credit hour tuition/fee for students who matriculated in fall 2018 and beyond will be part of the block tuition system. The rates are $21,803.76 for Florida residents and $38,039.47 for non-residents.

Student life

Publications

The College of Law publishes the followinglaw reviews:

• TheFlorida Law Review,the university's flagship publication
• TheFlorida Journal of International Law
• TheUniversity of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy
• TheJournal of Technology Law and Policy
• TheFlorida Entertainment & Sports Law Review
• TheFlorida Tax Review

Student organizations

The College of Law has over 40 active student organizations, including:

• Organizations devoted to interest in a specific area of law (art law, criminal law,military law,business law,public interestlaw, tax law, immigration law, real estate law, etc.)
• Political and social organizations (Law School Democrats,Law College Republicans,National Lawyers Guild,American Constitution Society)
• The Federalist Society at the College of Law is considered one of the preeminent chapters in the nation. The chapter hosted the Federalist Society's 33rd Annual National Student Symposium in the Spring of 2014.
• The John Marshall Bar Association (JMBA) was founded in 1909 and is one of the oldest organizations at the University of Florida.
• The Board
• 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 (Asian-Pacific American Law Student Association, Hispanic and Latino/Latina Law Student Association, 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 amock trialteam, which competes nationally. Additionally, it has sixmoot courtteams:

• The Florida Moot Court Team, governed by theJustice Campbell ThornalExecutive Board. It competes every semester in state, regional, national, and intramural competitions.
• The Tax Moot Court Team, which competes annually in multiple LL.M. and J.D. national and international Tax Moot Court Competitions.
• The Jessup Moot Court Team, participating ininternational lawcompetitions
• The International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Team, competing ininternationalarbitration
• The Corporate & Securities Moot Court Team, which focuses onsecurities regulation,corporate governance,andfiduciary dutiesin business law.
• The Environmental Moot Court Team competes annually at the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Pace Law School.

Notable alumni

Main article:List of Levin College of Law graduates

Lawton Chiles

The Fredric G. Levin College of Law has produced numerousUnited States Senators,fifteen members of theUnited States House of Representatives,many state governors, and a couple ofUnited States Ambassadors.In the past forty years, four presidents of theAmerican Bar Associationwere graduates of the college, more than any other law school for that period. Since 1950, over sixty percent ofFlorida Bar Associationpresidents were graduates of the college. Numerous alumni have served as judges on the federal bench, and five have served on theUnited States Court of Appeals.Seventeen graduates have served on theFlorida Supreme Court,fifteen of them as chief justice. Eleven graduates have served as presidents of a college or university.

Deans

Years	Dean
1909–1912	Albert J. Farrah
1912–1915	Thomas Hughes
1915–1947	Harry R. Trusler
1948–1958	Henry A. Fenn
1959–1970	Frank E. Maloney
1971–1980	Joseph R. Julin
1981–1988	Frank T. Read
1988–1996	Jeffrey E. Lewis
1996–1999	Richard A. Matasar
1999–2003	Jon L. Mills
2003–2014	Robert Jerry
2014–2015	George L. Dawson (Interim)
2015–2023	Laura Ann Rosenbury
2023–Present	Merritt McAlister (Interim)

Gallery

• 
  Entrance
• 
  East side of Holland Law Center
• 
  Northeast corner of Holland Law Center
• 
  Plaza within Holland Law Center
• 
  Chiles Law Library
• 
  "Cheerios" sculpture
• 
  College of Law sign
• 
  Bruton-Geer Hall
• 
  Levin Law Advocacy Center

External links

• Official website