Florida Coastal School of Law

Florida Coastal School of Law
Motto Lex Ubique Est
(law is everywhere)
Established 1996
School type For-Profit[1]
Dean Scott DeVito
Location Jacksonville, Florida, US
Enrollment 655[2]
Faculty 55[2]
USNWR ranking Rank Not Published (Bottom 25%)[3]
Bar pass rate 62.1 (Feb. '18) / 4th out of 11
Website fcsl.edu
The entrance to FCSL on Baypine Road
The lakeside of FCSL at night
Four knowledge bars serve students by providing a forum for students and professors to continue conversations outside of the classroom.[4]
The sun setting on the lake behind FCSL

Florida Coastal School of Law is a for-profit law school in Jacksonville, Florida. Established in 1996, the school was founded upon three mission pillars: serving the underserved, providing an education that is student-outcome centered, and graduating students who are practice ready.[5] The school is part of the InfiLaw System of law schools owned by Sterling Partners.[6][7]

Accreditation

The school was fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) in 2002.[8] In October 2017, the school received a letter from the ABA stating that Florida Coastal was not in compliance with several ABA academic standards, and requiring the school to submit a report by November 1, 2017, regarding the school's efforts to return to compliance, in advance of an appearance before the ABA Accreditation Committee in March 2018.[9] The school's dean sent a letter to the student body, responding to the ABA letter, in order to dispel what he deemed to be "misconceptions" about the ABA's letter.[10]

Academics

In addition to its curriculum for a juris doctor, Coastal Law offers several certification programs in specialized areas of the law. Coastal Law currently offers an environmental law certificate, sports law certificate, international comparative law certificate, family law certificate, and an advanced legal research and writing certificate. Additionally, Coastal Law, offers accelerated dual degree programs, with Jacksonville University, that allow students to complete a juris doctor and a M.B.A. or a M.P.P. in four years.[11]

Coastal Law also has an internship and externship clinical program. Criminal law externships in the United States Attorney's Office, the State Attorney's Office, and the Office of the Public Defender throughout Florida and the southeast United States are available to Coastal Law students.[12] Internships in consumer law are available through Coastal Law's Consumer Law Clinic, and students can learn to offer general legal assistance through a clinical program with Jacksonville Legal Services, a pro bono organization.[12]

Logistics and Transportation Law Program

Awards

  • In 2010, Coastal Law was the recipient of the American Bar Association E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award.[13]
  • In 2011, the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA) awarded Coastal Law the Robert J. Beckham Equal Justice Award for its partnership with JALA and its commitment to pro bono legal aid to the Jacksonville community.[14]
  • In 2013, the National Jurist ranked Coastal Law among the top innovative law schools.[15]
  • In 2014, Coastal Law made the American Bar Association's "Top Ten List" of law schools teaching the technology of legal practice.[16]
  • In 2015, the National Jurist gave Coastal Law an "A+ or A" for being one of the best law schools that offer practical training.[17][18]

LL.M. in Logistics and Transportation Law

Coastal Law offers the only LL.M. degree in Logistics and Transportation Law in the United States.[19] The program concentrates in four key areas: maritime law, trucking and rail law, aviation law, and military logistics.[20] In each of those areas, students obtain expertise in litigation, regulation, and contracting skills relating to international and domestic transportation.[21]

The program is entirely on-line and can be completed in one year. Law school graduates are required to complete twenty-four credits in order to obtain a Master of Law (LL.M.). Non-lawyers and law students may enroll in the program and obtain a Certificate in Transportation Regulation after completing twelve credits.

Moot Court

In 2016, Florida Coastal's Moot Court team was listed by preLaw Magazine as the third best moot court team of the decade.[22] Students are only eligible to try out for the Moot Court team after completing their second semester.[23]

Each year, the University of Houston Law Center's Blakely Advocacy Institute ranks the top moot court programs in the United states by assessing the quality of the competition a school participated in, the size of the competitions, and the school's performance in those competitions.[24] Florida Coastal has consistently ranked in the top 10 in those rankings:

Academic Year Rank Source
2017-2018 9[25]
2016-2017 20[26]
2015-2016 15[27]
2014-2015 1[28]
2013-2014 1[29]
2012-2013 2[30]
2011-2012 5[31]

Mock Trial

Coastal Law's Mock Trial team competes with law students across the state of Florida and the United States. The team members present their case before a judge and jury. Acceptance into the team is based upon a competitive meritocratic process that judges the student's ability and talent. Students are only eligible to try out for the Mock Trial team during their 1L year in law school.[32]

Law Review

The Florida Coastal Law Review is a legal journal edited by second and third year law students under the guidance of law professors. The journals are retrievable by judges, attorneys, and scholars around the world through the legal databases LexisNexis and Westlaw.[33][34] The journal is published three times a year. Students can join by being in the top 5% of their class or by submitting a high quality writing piece to law review.[35]

Bar passage

The Florida Bar passage rate of Coastal Law graduates compared to the average passing rate from other Florida law schools.

ExamCoastal LawState Average
Feb 2014[36] 72.9 72.9
July 2014[37] 58 71.8
Feb 2015[38] 74.5 64.3
July 2015[39] 59.3 68.9
Feb 2016 [40] 32.7 54.8
July 2016 [41] 51.9 68.2
Feb 2017[41] 25.0 57.7
July 2017[42] 47.7 71.3
Feb 2018[43] 62.1 57.9

Post-graduation employment and debt

Student debt

According to U.S. News & World Report, the average indebtedness of 2016 graduates who incurred law school debt was $158,878 (not including undergraduate debt), and 70% of 2016 graduates took on debt.[44]

Employment outcomes

Coastal Law's Law School Transparency score is 34.8%,[45] indicating the percentage of the Class of 2016 who obtained full-time long-term jobs practicing law within nine months of graduation, excluding solo practitioners.

ABA Employment Summary for 2016 Graduates [46] Percentage
Employed - Bar Passage Required
 
 42.1%
Employed - J.D. Advantage
 
 7.7%
Employed - Professional Position
 
 10.7%
Pursuing Graduate Degree Full Time
 
 3.7%
Unemployed - Not Seeking
 
 5.0%
Unemployed - Seeking
 
 27.8%
Employment Status Unknown
 
 3.0%
Total of 299 Graduates

Tuition and cost

Tuition and fees for the Fall 2017 semester:[47]

  • $23,034 for Full-Time Students (13-16 credit hours)
  • $18,681 for Part-Time Students (9-12 credit hours)
  • $14,645 for Part-Time Evening Students (9-12 credit hours)

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Coastal Law for the 2017-2018 academic year is $69,293.[48] The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $256,939.[49]

References

  1. ↑ "College Navigator". U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
  2. 1 2 "Florida Coastal School of Law". U.S. News and World Report. 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  3. ↑ https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/law-schools-methodology
  4. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-17. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  5. ↑ "Changing the Face of the Legal Profession: Two Law Schools' Commitment to Serving the Underserved". INSIGHT Into Diversity. 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  6. ↑ Infilaw Corp. (2012). "Home". Infilaw Corp. Archived from the original on May 26, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  7. ↑ Sterling Partners (2011). "Portfolio:InfiLaw". Sterlings Partners. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  8. ↑ "ABA grants Florida Coastal School of Law accreditation". The Florida Bar News. Tallahassee, Florida: The Florida Bar. September 15, 2002. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
  9. ↑ https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_education_and_admissions_to_the_bar/PublicNoticeAnnouncements/2017_october_florida_coastal_school_of_law.authcheckdam.pdf
  10. ↑ http://www.thefacultylounge.org/2017/11/should-florida-coastal-be-sanctioned-by-the-aba.html
  11. ↑ Law, Florida Coastal School of. "Dual Degrees". Fcsl.edu. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  12. 1 2 "Temporary Redirect Page". Abanet.org. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  13. ↑ Archive Reward Recipients Archived 2015-09-08 at the Wayback Machine., American Bar Association, (Retrieved January 28, 2015).
  14. ↑ "Florida Coastal recognized by Jacksonville Area Legal Aid". Daily Record. January 9, 2012.
  15. ↑ "PreLaw - Back To School 2013". Nxtbook.com. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  16. ↑ "Teaching the Technology of Practice: The 10 Top Schools - Law Practice Division". Americanbar.org. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  17. ↑ "Best law schools for practical training: 2015". National Jurist. February 6, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Florida Coastal School of Law Named a Best Law School for Practical Training". GlobeNewswire. March 16, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-09-17. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
  20. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-03-10. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
  21. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-01-08. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
  22. ↑ "preLaw - Fall 2016". www.nxtbook.com. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  23. ↑ "Jacksonville law students gain national respect in courtroom competitions". Jacksonville.com. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  24. ↑ "TaxProf Blog: The Top 20 Moot Court Programs (2010-2016)". taxprof.typepad.com. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  25. ↑ "Rankings". www.law.uh.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  26. ↑ "TaxProf Blog: 2016-17 Moot Court Rankings". taxprof.typepad.com. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  27. ↑ "TaxProf Blog: 2015-16 Moot Court Rankings". taxprof.typepad.com. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  28. ↑ "Rankings". www.law.uh.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  29. ↑ "Rankings". www.law.uh.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  30. ↑ "The National Jurist - October 2013 - No. 1 in moot court". www.nxtbook.com. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  31. ↑ "2011- 2012 Rankings". www.law.uh.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  32. ↑ Law, Florida Coastal School of. "Mock Trial". Fcsl.edu. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  33. ↑ "Westlaw Sign In - Thomson Reuters". directory.westlaw.com. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  34. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  35. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-17. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  36. ↑ "Examination Results and Statistics". Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Examination Results and Statistics". Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  38. ↑ "Examination Results and Statistics". Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  39. ↑ "Examination Results and Statistics". Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  40. ↑
  41. 1 2
  42. ↑ https://abovethelaw.com/2017/09/florida-law-grads-weathered-the-storm-when-it-came-to-the-bar-exam/
  43. ↑ Florida State Bar (April 26, 2018). "Press Release: February 2018 General Bar Examination". Florida State Bar.
  44. ↑ https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/grad-debt-rankings
  45. ↑ "Florida Coastal School of Law". Lstscorereports.com. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  46. ↑ http://employmentsummary.abaquestionnaire.org/
  47. ↑ "JD Tuition and Fees". Florida Coastal School of Law. Retrieved Feb 1, 2018.
  48. ↑ "JD Tuition and Expenses". 1stscorereports.com. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  49. ↑ "Florida Coastal Profile". 1stscorereports.com. Retrieved 2018-02-01.

Coordinates: 30°13′58″N 81°34′49″W / 30.23278°N 81.58028°W / 30.23278; -81.58028

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