As you weigh the costs and benefits of a legal education, you have probably realized that some schools add more value than others. Our faculty adds value by delivering a sophisticated program of study that prepares students to enter the worlds of law, business or government at the highest possible level.

Many entering law students hope to learn more about a wide variety of practice areas. We try to provide all students with an extremely broad menu of classroom and externship experiences. We also have especially strong programs in business law, environmental law, and international law. In each of these areas, we offer courses and experiences that go far beyond the basics. In addition, we offer certificate programs in all three specialties and an LL.M. program in environmental law. Finally, we offer an LL.M. in American Law for lawyers from around the world.

Our business program goes well beyond traditional law courses in Business Organizations and Securities Regulation. We offer advanced courses such as Corporate Finance, Dodd-Frank, Empirical Methods for Lawyers, Game Theory, and Law and Economics. Our business faculty members are engaged scholars with experience at some of the nation's top corporate law firms.

Everyone rates our environmental program as one of the best in the nation. Our environmental faculty are national and international figures. Here again, we don't stop at the basics. In addition to traditional environmental law courses, we offer a wealth of specialized courses, such as Climate Change: Science, Policy & Law, Coastal & Ocean Law, Cost-Benefit Analysis in Environmental Law, Energy Law & Policy, and Risk, Public Policy & Law.

Our international program also goes beyond the basic courses in Public International Law and International Business Transactions. We offer specialized courses such as China Trade Simulation, Comparative Constitutional Law, Global Regulation of the Pharmaceutical Sector, International Aspects of Intellectual Property, and International Tax.

Our faculty members are actively involved with the work of our students. We believe collaboration outside of the classroom is as important as the classroom experience. Many of our faculty members work with students on their law review articles, moot court and mock trial competitions, business plans, or directed independent studies. Our clinical professors work closely with students in a rich array of externship programs and "live-client" clinics. Internship and externship experiences supplement the traditional classroom experience and often help our students with job placement upon graduation.

Our students love going to law school in Tallahassee. Florida's capital city offers them the chance to try on for size many different legal roles while taking classes. Many of our students find part-time employment or internships in one of Tallahassee's 500-plus law firms, courts, the Governor's Office, the Florida Legislature or one of Tallahassee's many state agencies.

Our Advocacy Center is a 50,000-square-foot building devoted to using the third year of law school to better prepare students for immediate entry into the legal profession. It houses five courtrooms for advocacy training, suites of offices for our business faculty and environmental faculty, and offices for the faculty and students serving clients in our Public Interest Law Center.

I strongly recommend that you visit any law school you are thinking of attending. Visit during Monday through Thursday, when most classes are in session and most professors are in their offices. Sit in on classes and talk with students and faculty. If you visit Florida State, I am confident you will discover our extraordinarily collegial environment. Our students like their experiences at our law school and the careers we help them launch. Begin with the end in mind.

Thank you,
Don Weidner
Dean and Alumni Centennial Professor