Stetson University College of Law explained

Stetson University College of Law
Established:1900
Type:Private
Parent Endowment:US$47.6 million
Head:D. Benjamin Barros
City:Gulfport
State:Florida
Country:U.S.
Students:926[1]
Motto:Pro Deo et Veritate
For God and Truth[2]
Faculty:47[3]
Ranking:98th (tie) (2024)[4]
Bar Pass Rate:78.8% (Florida bar exam, July 2021 first-time takers) [5]
Homepage:https://www.stetson.edu/law

Stetson University College of Law (Stetson Law), founded in 1900 and part of Stetson University, is Florida's first law school. Originally located near the university's main campus in DeLand, Florida, the law school moved in 1954 to Gulfport, Florida. The law school occupies a historic 1920s resort hotel, the Rolyat Hotel, designed by Richard Kiehnel.[6] The College of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 1931. The college also has a campus in Tampa, Florida that shares space with a working court, Florida's Second District Court of Appeal.

Academics

Stetson Law currently employs more than 40 full-time faculty members and has more than 900 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) program. The J.D. program offers six concentrations: Advocacy, Business Law, Elder Law, Environmental Law, International Law, and Social Justice Advocacy. Stetson also offers advanced legal degrees, including a Master of Laws (LL.M.) with three concentrations: Advocacy, Elder Law and International Law. The law school also offers a Master of Jurisprudence (M.Jur.) with three concentrations: Aging, Law and Policy; Healthcare Compliance; and International and Comparative Business Law.[7] The J.D. degree may be combined with an LL.M or a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) with the Stetson University School of Business Administration. The J.D. degree may also be combined with an exchange program: an LL.M. in Exchange in Ireland/England with the University College Dublin Sutherland School of Law, a Master in International Economic Law (MINTEC) with Toulouse University or a Master in International and European Business Law (M.I.E.B.L.) with Comillas Pontifical University.[8] [9]

The school is home to several institutes, centers, programs, and initiatives, including the National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law; Centers for Excellence in Advocacy, Elder Law and Higher Education Law and Policy; and Institutes for Caribbean Law and Policy and Biodiversity Law and Policy.[10] [11]

Clinics

Stetson Law is one of few U.S. law schools that guarantees a clinic or externship for every student. More than 300 clinic and externship opportunities are available to students each year.[12] [13]

Publications

The Stetson Law Review was the headquarters for the National Conference of Law Reviews from 2003 to 2008. The Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy and the Journal of International Aging Law and Policy are produced in conjunction with the school.[14]

Rankings

Stetson University is nationally ranked 84th among law schools by U.S. News & World Report. Among specialty rankings, the school ranked first in trial advocacy and third in legal writing. Stetson had a 74.4 percent first-time Bar passage rate for takers of the October 2020 Florida Bar Examination.[15] 77.6 percent passed the July 2019 exam,[16] 67.2 percent passed the July 2018 exam[17] and 76.8 percent passed the July 2017 exam.[18]

Competitions

Since 1980, Stetson Law has won five world championships, 79 national championships, 97 regional championships, 53 state championships, 61 brief awards, 176 brief oralist/advocate awards and six professionalism awards.[19]

As of 2021, Stetson Law has won The Florida Bar Trial Lawyers Section of the Chester Bedell Mock Trial Competition 25 times in 38 years.[20]

Stetson Law was the first-ever American Bar Association (ABA) Competitions Champion in 2018 and earned the title for a second time in 2021.[21]

Stetson Law won The Florida Bar Foundation 2021 Florida Pro Bono Law School Challenge.[22]

Law libraries

In order to obtain, and maintain, accreditation through the American Bar Association (ABA), law schools must meet certain standards set by the ABA.[23] The Council and Accreditation Committee of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar is the accrediting agency for law schools.[24] Among the standards evaluated is the requirement that law schools have a law library.[25] The standards also establish the requirements relative to the administration of the law library, the law library director, personnel, services, and the collection the library shall hold. As such, Stetson University College of Law maintains a main library on the Gulfport campus—the Dolly and Homer Hand Law Library—and a satellite library at the Tampa Law Center.[26]

History of Stetson's law libraries

As the Board of Trustees authorized the establishment of the Stetson University College of Law in 1899, creating a law library immediately became a concern.[27] To create a core collection for the law library, book and monetary donations were sought and obtained from Florida attorneys. By its opening in October 1900, the College of Law had a law library and the 1901 annual report indicated that the library donation goals had been met.

Upon the law school's move from DeLand to Gulfport in 1954, the library collection also had to be moved. The new house for the law library consisted of "several small cubicles" and at the time "all the law books 'fit into one moving van.'" The collection contained less than 18,000 books. In 1955, an anonymous donor pledged $250,000 to assist in paying for the creation of a new law library and classroom building. Within one year, the law school was able to raise the money to match the anonymous donation and met its $750,000 goal. It became known that the anonymous donor was Charles A. Dana and the Charles A. Dana Foundation. Construction on the new Charles A. Dana Library began in 1957. Students and staff transferred the small law library collection from the original location on the Gulfport campus to the new library in less than thirty minutes. This new library included space to expand the collection (housing for 70,000 volumes) and study space for 100 students. In 1958, the Charles A. Dana Law Library opened.[28] The dedication of the library, made in the presence of Charles A. Dana, included a convocation by Florida's Governor, LeRoy Collins.[29] The Charles A. Dana Foundation provided a gift in 1971 for the purpose of doubling the law library's size. The school completed the expansion in 1973 and provided space for 275 students and 160,000 volumes. During this time, the Charles A. Dana Library also became "the first law library in Florida to be a depositary for Federal Government documents." By 1981, the library's collection contained more than 165,182 volumes.

By the mid-1990s, Stetson University College of Law "had been put on notice years earlier that its library was on shaky grounds regarding ABA requirements, and that the problems were of such magnitude that a new structure might have to be built." Some individuals did not believe a new library was warranted as they doubted the future of libraries, but Dean Moody proceeded with the planning stated by her predecessor Dean Bruce Jacob, Emeritus Law Librarian Lamar Woodard, and architect Canerday. In 1998, the new facility, named Stetson Law Library and Information Center, was completed. The new facility provided 58,000 square feet and had ample accommodation for the current collection (350,000 volumes), as well as "government documents, and other traditional resource materials." United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke at the new library's dedication on September 5, 1998.[30] C-Span provided video coverage of Justice Ginsburg's speech.[31]

In 2004, Stetson University College of Law opened its Tampa Law Center with a satellite library.[28] In 2010, Stetson University College of Law renamed the Stetson Law Library and Information Center for philanthropists Frances R. "Dolly" and Homer Hand. The renaming occurred as part of the College of Law's celebration of its 110 years in existence.[32] Dolly Hand spoke at the naming ceremony, which was captured on video.[33]

Dolly and Homer Hand Law Library

The Dolly and Homer Hand Law Library is situated on the Gulfport campus. When constructed in the late 1990s, the new library was built in the Mediterranean Revival design style to maintain consistency with the style of the buildings comprising the Gulfport campus, which were originally the Rolyat Hotel. Located across the street from the original campus buildings, the Dolly and Homer Hand Law Library contains a collection of approximately 400,000 volumes. The current collection "is above the median size of academic law libraries in the United States."[34] The three-story building offers Internet access, 35 study rooms (ranging in size), and more than 600 seats at individual carrels, tables, and lounge areas.

The library provides services for students, faculty, staff, alumni, attorneys, and the public.[35] Students have 24/7 access to the Dolly and Homer Hand Law Library through use of their swipe cards. The law library employs six professional librarians[36] and seven additional staff members, including the Systems Administrator and members of the Access Management & Services Team.[37]

In addition to its traditional collection of statutes, case reporters, journals, and treatises (both physical and electronic access), the Dolly and Homer Hand Law Library and its librarians also provide LibGuides on a variety of topics,[38] tutorials on researching a variety of sources and using electronic databases,[39] and digital archives including the Harold L. Sebring Collection, the Florida Military Academy Collection and the Hotel Rolyat Collection.[40]

Housed within the Dolly and Homer Hand Law Library is a physical archive with artifacts relevant to both university and property history.[41] This collection includes the physical copies of the Harold L. Sebring collection including his personal papers and records as a medical case judge in the Nuremberg War Trials.[42]

Tampa Law Center Satellite Library

Situated near downtown Tampa, the satellite library has two floors consisting of approximately 200 seats and 15 study rooms. The satellite library provides a core collection of materials and Internet access. The satellite library also provides services to students, faculty, staff, alumni, attorneys, and the public; however, such services are available subject to more limited hours of operation.[43]

Employment

The 2020 ABA employment summary report shows the employment status of 2020 graduates.[44]

Costs

The estimated total cost of attendance (including tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Stetson University College of Law for the 2020–2021 academic year is $70,592. [45]

Diversity and inclusion

Stetson Law received the 2020 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the largest magazine centered on diversity in higher education. The HEED Award recognizes U.S. colleges and universities for outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.[46] [47] [48]

As of 2020, Stetson Law and the 11 other Florida law schools formed the Florida Law Schools’ Consortium for Racial Justice (FLSCRJ). This collective will leverage each school's strengths and educational roles to assist community organizations fighting for racial justice and policy reform throughout Florida.[49] [50]

Stetson Law is one of the four co-founding higher education institutions of the St. Petersburg Higher Education Consortium for Racial Justice. The other three consortium institutions are Eckerd College, St. Petersburg College and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. The consortium serves 36,000 students in St. Petersburg, Florida, and focuses on dismantling racial hierarchies. Recognized for their efforts, the consortium and 78 institutions nationwide were invited to the 2021 American Association of Colleges and Universities Institute on Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) to learn about the TRHT framework and develop an action plan.[51] [52] [53]

In 2021, Stetson Law launched a youth civic education program aimed at teaching underrepresented teens in Pinellas County how to be advocates for themselves and others.[54] [55]

Notable faculty

Notable alumni

References

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Admissions . Stetson University College of Law . 22 September 2021.
  2. AbleMedia.Latin Mottoes of U.S. Colleges and Universities
  3. Web site: Faculty . Stetson University College of Law . 22 September 2021.
  4. Web site: Stetson University . U.S. News & World Report – Best Law Schools . 3 May 2024.
  5. https://www.floridasupremecourt.org/content/download/788827/file/09-20-2021-FBBE-Full-Press-Release.pdf
  6. http://www.stetson.edu/law/about/tour/plaza-mayor.php Stetson Tour
  7. Web site: Message from the Dean . Stetson University College of Law . 22 September 2021.
  8. Web site: Dual/Joint Degrees and Special Programs . Stetson University College of Law . 22 September 2021.
  9. Web site: Semester Exchange Programs . Stetson University College of Law . 22 September 2021.
  10. Web site: National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law . Stetson University College of Law . 22 September 2021.
  11. Web site: Institutes, Centers, Programs and Initiatives . Stetson University College of Law . 22 September 2021.
  12. Web site: These US law schools equip T-shaped graduates for a global career . Study International . 2 June 2021 . 23 September 2021.
  13. Web site: Clinics and Externships - Get Real World Experience . Stetson University College of Law . 23 September 2021.
  14. Web site: Academic Journals . Stetson University College of Law . 22 September 2021.
  15. Web site: Bar Preparation . Stetson University College of Law . 22 September 2021.
  16. Web site: FLORIDA SUPREME COURT RELEASES THE JULY 2019 BAR EXAM RESULTS . The Florida Bar . 22 September 2021.
  17. Web site: OCT 15, 2018 ERRATA . The Florida Bar . 22 September 2021.
  18. Web site: July bar passage released . Stetson University College of Law . 22 September 2021.
  19. Web site: National Recognition of Stetson Law . Stetson University College of Law . 23 September 2021.
  20. Web site: Mock Trial Competition . Florida Bar Trial Lawyers Section . 23 September 2021.
  21. Web site: Hats off: Stetson wins 2021 Competitions Champion title . ABA for Law Students . 18 May 2021 . 23 September 2021.
  22. Web site: Florida Pro Bono Law School Challenge . The Florida Bar Foundation . 23 September 2021.
  23. Web site: ABA Standards: 2015-2016 Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools. American Bar Association. 28 November 2015.
  24. Web site: Accreditation Overview: The Law School Accreditation Process. American Bar Association. 28 November 2015.
  25. Web site: ABA Standards: Chapter 6: Library and Information Resources. American Bar Association. 28 November 2015.
  26. Web site: University Libraries. Stetson University. 28 November 2015.
  27. Book: Swygert. Michael. Vause. W. Gary. Florida's First Law School: History of Stetson University College of Law. 2006. Carolina Academic Press. Durham, North Carolina. 1-59460-316-2.
  28. Web site: History - Florida's First Law School. Stetson University. 29 November 2015.
  29. Web site: Charles A. Dana Building. Stetson University. 29 November 2015.
  30. News: Bellerose. Kaitlin. Dean of College of Law Will Resign in May. 29 November 2015. The Stetson Reporter. October 21, 1998.
  31. Web site: September 5, 1998: College of Law Dedication. C-SPAN. 29 November 2015.
  32. Web site: October 4, 2010 . Stetson Law Celebrated 110 Years as Law Library Named for Dolly and Homer Hand . https://web.archive.org/web/20151209000941/http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS191156+04-Oct-2010+BW20101004 . December 9, 2015 . 29 November 2015 . Reuters.
  33. Web site: Dolly Hand Speech Excerpt - Stetson Law Library Naming Ceremony on Oct. 2, 2010. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/uN9E6eo1G_E . 2021-12-14 . live. YouTube. Stetsonlaw. 29 November 2015.
  34. Web site: Dolly & Homer Hand Law Library. Stetson University College of Law. 29 November 2015.
  35. Web site: Information, Hours, and Directory: Gulfport Map and Hours. Stetson University College of Law. 29 November 2015.
  36. Web site: Information, Hours, and Directory: Professional Librarians. Stetson University College of Law. 29 November 2015.
  37. Web site: Information, Hours, and Directory: Library Staff. Stetson University College of Law. 29 November 2015.
  38. Web site: LibGuides. Stetson University College of Law. 29 November 2015.
  39. Web site: Tutorials. Stetson University College of Law. 29 November 2015.
  40. Web site: Digital Archives. Stetson University College of Law. 29 November 2015.
  41. Web site: Moore . Kristen R. . Stetson Law Library Research Guides: Digital Archives: Home . 2023-03-23 . libguides.law.stetson.edu . en.
  42. Web site: Moore . Kristen R. . Stetson Law Library Research Guides: Digital Archives: Home . 2023-03-23 . libguides.law.stetson.edu . en.
  43. Web site: Information, Hours, and Directory: Tampa Map and Hours. Stetson University College of Law. 29 November 2015.
  44. Web site: EMPLOYMENT SUMMARY FOR 2020 GRADUATES . Stetson University College of Law . 29 September 2021.
  45. Web site: Estimated Student Budget . Estimated Student Budget / Cost of Attendance . 29 September 2021.
  46. Web site: 2020 Recipients . Insight Into Diversity . 28 September 2021.
  47. Web site: Our Company . Insight Into Diversity . 28 September 2021.
  48. News: Mulrooney . Laura . Stetson Gets Noticed for Diversity and Inclusion . 28 September 2021 . The Gabbe . 14 September 2020.
  49. News: Sloan . Karen . Florida's Law Schools Team Up to Fight Racial Injustice . 28 September 2021 . Law.com . 29 June 2020.
  50. News: Dobson . Byron . Florida law schools teaming up to address social, racial injustice . 28 September 2021 . Tallahassee Democrat . 8 July 2020.
  51. News: Weathers . Saundra . Group of Florida colleges, universities come together to address racial injustice . 29 September 2021 . www.baynews9.com . 3 June 2020 . en.
  52. Web site: Higher education institutions in Pinellas County unite for racial justice . Stetson University College of Law . 29 September 2021.
  53. Web site: Gerard . Sam . Seventy-Eight Institutions Selected to Participate in AAC&U Institute on Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Campus Centers . Association of American Colleges & Universities . 29 September 2021 . en . 18 May 2021.
  54. News: Weathers . Saundra . Law school offers course to underrepresented students . 29 September 2021 . www.baynews9.com . 24 May 2021 . en.
  55. News: Baker . Abby . Stetson Launches Program for Underserved Teens . 29 September 2021 . The Gabber . 15 May 2021.
  56. Web site: Professors Emeriti . Stetson University College of Law . May 31, 2019.
  57. Web site: Professors Emeriti . Stetson University College of Law . May 31, 2019.
  58. https://cap-press.com/authors/2483/Bradford-Stone Bradford Stone.
  59. https://www.law.msu.edu/faculty_staff/daniel.barnhizer.pdf Daniel D. Barnhizer, Bradord Stone Faculty Scholar
  60. News: Bojarski . Sam . Education is power for Haiti-born Stetson Law dean, Michele Alexandre . 27 September 2021 . Haitian Times . 16 August 2020.
  61. News: Morrow . Emerald . New Stetson Law School dean sets tone for diversity . 27 September 2021. wtsp.com . 15 August 2019.
  62. Web site: Ciara Torres-Spelliscy . Brennan Center for Justice . 27 September 2021.
  63. News: The Senate Should Not Confirm Kavanaugh . 27 September 2021 . The New York Times . 3 October 2018.
  64. News: Barnes . Robert . Lawyer introducing Gorsuch suing Trump administration over travel ban . 27 September 2021 . . 20 March 2017.
  65. Web site: NAELA Announces Winner of President's Recognition Award . National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys . 27 September 2021.
  66. Web site: Peter F. Lake . Steptoe & Johnson PLLC . 27 September 2021.
  67. News: Kafka . Alexander C. . The Cost of Insuring Colleges Continues to Rise. And Covid's Not the Reason . 27 September 2021 . The Chronicle of Higher Education . 3 March 2021.
  68. Nagle becomes Stetson's first Hispanic full law professor . Stetson Lawyer . Spring 2005 . 45 . 1 . 13 . 27 September 2021.
  69. Web site: Taylor . Margaret . Fighting modern slavery in the Covid era . International Bar Association.
  70. News: Baldwin . Libby . Tampa legal community celebrates its 'Hidden Figures' at luncheon . 27 September 2021 . Tampa Bay Times . 11 February 2018.
  71. McKnight-Taylor. Ashley. PROFESSOR DOROTHEA BEANE RETIRES . Stetson Lawyer . Spring 2021. 59. 1 . 19 . 27 September 2021.
  72. Web site: Florida Sheriffs Association Announces New Board for 2019-2020 . Florida Sheriffs Association . 27 September 2021.
  73. Book: The presidents and chancellors: Profiles of chief executive officers of member institutions of the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges. 1982. American Association of Community and Junior Colleges and its Presidents Academy. 68. 0-87117-113-9.
  74. Web site: CHRIS SPROWLS . Florida House of Representatives . 27 September 2021.
  75. Web site: Mayor Dean J. Trantalis . City of Fort Lauderdale, FL . 27 September 2021.

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