About UF Law
Welcome to UF Law
The University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law:
- Was founded in 1909, and is accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the Association of American Law Schools.
- Is a high quality, comprehensive law school, with leading programs in graduate taxation, environmental and land use law, and family law. The Graduate Taxation Program, which offers the LL.M. in Taxation, LL.M. in International Taxation and S.J.D. in Taxation, is widely and consistently regarded as one of the nation’s top programs. The Environmental Law Program offers the nation’s first LL.M. in the closely-related fields of environmental and land use law.
- Is one of the nation’s largest law schools, with 1,200 students, approximately 60 tenure/tenure-track faculty and 40-plus other full-time faculty who support the college through clinical, research, skills training and administrative programs. It offers J.D. certificate programs in Environmental and Land Use Law, Estates and Trusts Practice, Family Law, Intellectual Property Law, and International and Comparative Law; an extensive array of joint degree programs; specialized centers, institutes and program areas; and strong clinical offerings.
- Has a longstanding tradition of preparing its graduates for significant leadership roles. Its 18,000-plus alumni include numerous leaders in law, business, government, public service and education at the state and national level. No other law school has produced as many presidents of the American Bar Association in the past four decades — five when UF Law graduate Steve Zack serves as president in 2010-11. Graduates also are represented by the majority of The Florida Bar presidents, including its immediate past president, John G. White III, and president-elect, Mayanne Downs; four governors of Florida; and hundreds of state senators and representatives and Florida Cabinet members. Nine graduates became college presidents, including at UF. More than a dozen have served as deans of law schools. It is ranked fourth among public law schools in 2008 (eighth overall) in the number of its graduates serving as federal district and circuit court judges; more than 250 graduates serve as state appellate and trial judges in Florida, and many serve in those roles in other states as well.
- Boasts an impressive list of distinguished visitors to campus, including four Supreme Court Justices in the last five years.
- Is a leader in the quality and size of its facilities. A major $25 million expansion and renovation project that concluded in 2005 made the UF Law library the largest in the Southeast and among the top 20 in the country. A new multi-million-dollar advocacy center opening in Fall 2009 will place the college at the forefront of major law schools providing students with state-of-the-art trial facilities.
- Has a better and more consistent pass rate on a class-by-class basis than any other Florida law school on the Florida Bar Exam, coming in first or second 11 of the last 12 years.
- Is one of the nation’s best values in legal education. In 2009-10, the semester credit hour fee was $474.25 for Florida residents, and $1,119.74 for non-Florida residents.
- Has offered strong international programs for more than three decades, and many members of the faculty are experts in international legal issues. These programs and its LL.M. in Comparative Law Program for foreign lawyers expand the school’s curriculum and international offerings and strengthen its ties with programs and scholars around the globe.
- Is located in North Central Florida, one of the country’s most desirable areas. Gainesville is ranked No. 1 of the 400 cities in the United States and Canada by Cities Ranked and Rated, 2nd Edition, declared the “Best Place to Live in America” by Money Magazine ‘95 , ranked 12th by Forbes Magazine as one of the best places to do business and have a career, and named the “Most Technologically Advanced City” in Florida by Popular Science magazine.
- Hosts of one of the largest on-campus recruiting programs in the Southeast, with legal employers interviewing during fall and spring. The 2008 success rate for graduates who wish to work and who are working or pursuing a graduate degree is 96.7 percent.
- Is named for alumnus Fredric G. Levin, a prominent trial lawyer, whose financial support has made the college one of the best endowed public law schools in the United States.
- Is one of the top 10 law schools in the nation for Hispanics, according to Hispanic Business Review (seven times in nine years).
Vision and Mission Statement: A law school dedicated to advancing human dignity, social welfare and justice through knowledge of the law. Our mission is to obtain excellence in:
- Educating professionals
- Advancing legal scholarship
- Serving the public
- Fostering Justice
To learn more about life on campus, events, and students through pictures, visit our UF Law Photo Gallery.