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Florida State University
College of Law
Location
The College of Law's campus is located in downtown Tallahassee right across the street from the First Circuit Court of Appeal (Florida's State Court of Appeal). The law school is only 2 blocks from the State Supreme Court and is right across the street from the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (where the Seminole's Basketball team plays), and 5.5 blocks from the Florida State Capitol building that houses the state legislative and executive offices.

The great location gives students the opportunity to view the Florida Supreme Court in session or walk across the street to see arguments before the First Circuit Court of Appeal. The students even have the opportunity to see the legislative sessions just a few blocks away or walk across the street to see the university's basketball team in action.

Tallahassee is the capital of Florida with a population of about 170,000. For a city of its size it has a proportionally large legal community. There are approximately 6 large law firms (250+ attorneys), 21 medium sized firms (50 - 249 attorneys), and 67 smaller sized firms (2 - 49 attorneys). There are well over 4000 alumni currently practicing with over 1000 working in Tallahassee and over 200 practicing in both Miami and Jacksonville.
  Florida State University
Public or
Private
 Public                    
Tuition (resident)
 
(non-resident)
$14,993
 
$31,210                 
Acceptance
Rate
 32.5%                        
State Bar
Pass Rate
Florida, July 2008            
85.8% 
 
(Avg. Bar pass rate for 
Florida, 77.56%)                       
Employment
Rate after
9 mos. from
Graduation
91.3%                       
Employment
Rate at
Graduation
82.0%
Average Salary
for Graduates in
the Private Sector
  
$55,000                    
Student Body
Population
 764                        
LSAT score
bottom
25th percentile of
incoming class
 157                         
LSAT score
top
25th percentile of
incoming class
 161                        
Median LSAT
of incoming class
 159                         
Bottom 25th
percentile of
incoming class
undergraduate
GPA (UGPA)
 3.31                         
Top 25th
percentile of
incoming class
UGPA
 3.72                         
Median UGPA 3.55                   
Former U.S. Presidential nominees to speak at Shepard Broad Law Center
The FSU College of Law is a top ranked law school located in downtown Tallahassee. The law school has a great reputation and is one of the top law school's in the state on par with the University of Florida.
On March 26, 2009 the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee George S. McGovern and John B. Anderson, an independent candidate in the 1980 presidential election, will answer questions about politics and thier careers in a public forum.
Professor Bruce Rogow argued before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Florida Supreme Court and was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers of America
Shepard Broad Law Center's professor Rogow was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers of America for 2009, the 22nd time the honor has been bestowed upon him; The professor was included for the following practice areas: Appellate Practice, First Amendment, Criminal Law, as well as Commercial Litigation. On December 9th, 2008 Progessor Rogow argued to overturn the bribery convictions against former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy . However, on March 9th, 2009 the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld all the convictions against Mr. Scrushy. Prior to the infamous Scrushy case Professor Rogow defended Florida's 1st District Court of Appeal's Judge Michael Allen. The Florida Supreme Court publicly reprimanded Judge Allen for personally attacking a fellow judge and accusing him of a crime in a recent opinion.
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Grading System
The grading system is on a 100 point scale with the following numerical and letter grade system:

A+ 98-100
A 93-97
A- 90-92
B+ 86-89
B 80-85
B- 77-79
C+ 74-76
C 69-73
C- 65-68
D 62-64
F 60-61

The mandatory curve for most classes is as follows:


93-100 can equal 5 to 15% of all the class grades

86-92 can equal 10 to 25% of all the class grades

80-85 can equal 20 to 35% of all the class grades

74-79 can equal 20 to 35% of all the class grades

67-73 can equal 10 to 25% of all the class grades

60-66 can equal 5 - 20% of all the class grades excluding legal writing which allows 0 - 20%

The Mandatory curve allows for a lot of leeway for the professors to issue grades. The curve, depending on the professor, is around a C+ to a B. Most top law schools have around a B curve therefore FSU has a little more difficult curve, but not enough to be major concern for prospective students.
Rear Entrance to the Law School
Side Entrance Facing the Court of Appeals.
Florida's First District Court of Appeal right across the street from the law school.
The law school's Village Green Courtyard with the law school's Public Interest Law Center in the background.
The law school's Village Green Courtyard with the law school's Center for Public Policy in the background.
Front Entrance to the Law School.
View of the Jefferson Arms Apartments from the law school.