Флорида Костал заң мектебінің тарихы және жабылуы

For profit law school in Jacksonville, Florida

Florida Coastal School of Law was a private for profit law school in Jacksonville, Florida. It was established in 1996 and was the last operating of three for profit law schools of the InfiLaw System owned by Sterling Partners.]] The school was originally accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) in 2002. 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. The school's dean sent a letter to the student body, responding to the ABA letter, seeking to dispel what he said were "misconceptions" about the ABA's letter. At its May 2019 meeting, the ABA found Florida Coastal fully in compliance with the ABA standards. Florida Coastal remained a fully ABA accredited law school. This standard was revised in 2019 to provide that at least 75% of an accredited law school's graduates who took a bar exam must pass one within two years of graduation. However, a new problem arose in Spring 2021 when the U. S. Department of Education terminated the school's access to federal student financial aid and directed the school to file a teach out plan with the ABA. The plan submitted in April was rejected by an executive committee of that ABA section, as lacking several required items and not providing sufficient detail as to other items. A revised plan was considered in May, but that plan was also rejected. The school resubmitted its application for Title IV eligibility, but the U. S. Department of Education turned down its request. Richard Cordray, the department's federal student aid chief operating officer, said in a press release, "Florida Coastal School of Law operated recklessly and irresponsibly, putting its students at financial risk rather than providing the opportunities they were seeking. Our commitment is to stand up for all students and ensure their institutions are held to the standards our students and communities expect and deserve." Some students would transfer to other law schools, while others would attend classes elsewhere but graduate with Florida Coastal degrees.

The median GPA of students at Coastal Law was 2.92 in 2017 and 3.14 in 2020, and the median LSAT was 145 in 2017 and 150 in 2020. In addition to its curriculum for a juris doctor, Coastal Law offered 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 offered accelerated dual degree programs, with Jacksonville University, that allowed students to complete a juris doctor and a M. B. A. or a M. P. P. in four years.

In 2010, Coastal Law was the recipient of the American Bar Association E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award. 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. In 2013, the National Jurist ranked Coastal Law among the top innovative law schools. In 2014, Coastal Law made the American Bar Association's "Top Ten List" of law schools teaching the technology of legal practice. In 2015, the National Jurist gave Coastal Law an "A+ or A" for being one of the twenty best law schools for practical training.

The average indebtedness of 2017 graduates who incurred law school debt was $160,942 (not including undergraduate debt), and 93.5% of 2017 graduates took on debt. Of those graduates who did obtain employment, in 2017 the median starting salary in the public sector was $42,250, and in the private sector it was $45,000. The Law School Transparency estimated debt financed cost of attendance for three years was $217,870.

Coastal Law's mock trial team competed with law students across the state of Florida and the United States. The team members presented their case before a judge and jury. Acceptance into the team was based upon a competitive meritocratic process that judged the student's ability. Students were only eligible to try out for the mock trial team during their first year in law school.

The Florida Coastal Law Review was a legal journal edited by second and third year law students under the guidance of law professors. The journals are retrievable through the legal databases LexisNexis and Westlaw. The journal was published three times a year. Students could join by being in the top 5% of their class or by submitting a high quality writing piece to law review.