2012-2013 Prospectus - Levin College of Law - University of Florida

with expertise in family and children’s lawand related areas administer the FamilyLaw Certificate Program — which coordinatesclinical and traditional classroomofferings and allows for more efficiencythrough sequential learning — throughthe college’s Center on Children and Families.To be eligible for the certificate upongraduation, students must achieve an averageequivalent of 3.0 in 15 of the 20 creditsearned in courses designated. (There is nooverall grade point average requirementbeyond that required of the J.D. degree.)Intellectual Property Law Certificate.Intellectual property law encompassesseveral different bodies of law, includingpatents, trade secrets, copyrights andtrademarks. The technology boom hasexpanded the need for patent lawyers aswell as lawyers trained in related fieldssuch as antitrust, media, cyberlaw andgeneral commercial law. The demand alsocontinues to grow for those who can adaptor create doctrine in new fields — such asgenetic engineering, accessing and downloadingInternet materials, and disputesinvolving domain names, metatags andhyperlinks — as well as for those who canapply these laws in more traditional industriesand the creative arts. The growth ofinternational trade also increases demandfor lawyers skilled in prosecuting, defendingand challenging intellectual propertyrights on a global scale.International and ComparativeLaw Certificate.Every field of law that involves commerce— civil procedure, business associations,securities regulation, intellectual property,trade regulation, taxation, immigrationand environmental law, among others — isaffected by globalization. Equally importantis the development of human rightslaw, domestically and internationally. Thiscertificate program helps prepare studentsfor practice in this new global legal environmentby teaching the internationalaspects of every area of the law.Toward a new mission.With an eye to preparing students for the practice of law the momentthey step off the campus as graduates, the Levin College of Law in2010 adopted a new mission statement that refocuses its curriculum.The new mission emphasizes a legal education with competency infive areas:1. Legal analysis including knowledge of laws and rules, the ability toapply laws and rules to different factual settings, and the ability toengage in legal argumentation.2. Legal research and writing including the ability to conduct independentlegal research and produce legal writings of professional quality.3. Fundamentals of client services including interviewing and counselingskills.4. Fundamentals of dispute processing and legal problem solvingincluding litigation, settlement, and transactions.5. Fundamentals of professional responsibility and identityincluding knowledge of the shared values of the legal professionand ethical problem solving, the skills to create a professionalidentity, and the skills to work with people fromdiverse backgrounds.“We want students to understandthe power and potentialof a law degree and to get realexamples and role models toencourage and inspire them.”—AMY MASHBURN (JD 87), UF Law Professor;Director, Lawyering and Professionalism ProgramProspectus 33