The Best Law Schools in Florida | Guide to the Top Florida Law Schools

Guide to Finding the Best Law Schools in Florida (Top Florida Law Schools)

When you decide a career in the legal field is right for you, the biggest choice you can make is where to go to law school.

If you are interested in getting your law education in Florida particularly, you may be wondering which of the law schools in Florida is right for you and which are considered the top Florida law schools.

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You are undoubtedly asking questions about Florida law schools such as:

What is the list of law schools in Florida?
What do Florida law school rankings show as the top law schools in Florida?
How do I find out more about law colleges in Florida?
Should I be considering law schools in south Florida or north Florida?
Are any of the cheapest law schools in Florida also considered the best law schools in Florida?

This will be your guide to the best Florida law schools. We will answer all your questions and help you begin the research process to finding the top law schools in Florida for you.

List of Law Schools in Florida

In order to truly be considered one of the best law schools in Florida, each school must be accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). It is only through the ABA that anyone who graduates from Florida law schools can actually take the bar exam.

Currently, the list of law schools in Florida accredited by the ABA includes the following twelve Florida law schools:

Clicking through the individual websites of each of the law schools in Florida is a great way to start the process of finding top law schools in Florida. While the information may be biased, you can get a great idea of each school’s mission and vision.

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How to Find the Best Law Schools in Florida

Now that you have a rundown of the law schools in Florida, it is time to do the research to discover not only the top law schools in Florida but also the best law schools in Florida for you and your specific goals.

We have gathered a list of resources that will help you differentiate the good law schools in Florida from the rest. While we will not suggest any particular top Florida law schools for you to consider, we will show you the best way to go about finding the right ones for you specifically.

Do remember that law school ranking systems – including Florida law schools rankings – are not the same across the board. Various organizations will disagree slightly on the placement of not only the top law schools in Florida, but also those all across the United States.

U.S. News

U.S. News is undoubtedly one of the most important sources for understanding Florida law school rankings – or any law school ranking in general. This is a highly regarded list, and two Florida law schools happen to make the top 50.

Beyond listing the Florida law schools rankings, U.S. News offers specific information about each law school. This information includes:

Tuition costs and fees
Full-time enrollment numbers
GPA percentile of students
LSAT scores
Bar passage rate
Acceptance rate
Ease of employment after graduation
Assessment score by other lawyers and judges
Assessment score by peers

It is important to note that all of this information on the top law schools in Florida is not entirely free. They offer a paid membership, the U.S. News Law School Compass, for $29.95. This program offers you unlimited access to the information you would want to learn about these Florida law schools.

Above the Law

Above the Law is another ranking system highly valued in the legal community. When it comes to Florida law schools rankings, two top law schools in Florida make it on to Above the Law’s list at No. 30 and No. 37.

A nice feature about Above the Law is that they concentrate on the results of these law schools. Good law schools in Florida must be producing students who can get great jobs in the legal field after they graduate in order to make it onto this ranking system.

This means Above the Law is looking at factors such as employment and large firm/clerkship placement. They also view tuition costs compared to output. This means the top Florida law schools mentioned have more of a chance of offering great job opportunities post-graduation.

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Business Insider

The Business Insider’s list of top law schools is a great tool for learning more about good law schools in Florida that will help land you a job.

This publication looks at law schools similarly to the way Above the Law looks at law schools. Business Insider is interested in the legal jobs graduates can find after graduating from law schools in Florida – or any other part of the country.

Business Insider includes two law schools in Florida for their list at No. 33 and No. 44. Beyond offering these Florida law school rankings, they also offer a few helpful pieces of information on each of these good law schools in Florida, including:

Graduating percentage who end up with “highly coveted positions” in their fields
The average bar passage rate
The median LSAT score

SmartClass

The above resources will help give you an idea how top law schools in Florida compare to the rest of the law schools in the United States. Now, it is time to look how the law colleges in Florida stack up against each other.

The best way to do this is to use SmartClass. SmartClass gives detailed analysis of all the ABA-approved law schools in the United States. The best Florida law schools are included on this list, but so are the not-as-good options.

Through SmartClass, you will be able to see their Smart Rank system, one more of the Florida law school rankings to consider. They also offer extensive information on each school.

SmartClass also has filter options that allow you to categorize the law schools in Florida. For example, you may be only interested in law schools in south Florida. You would be able to separate these from those in the north or by any number of other filters.

Deeper Research Through SmartClass

SmartClass allows you to click on each of the law schools in Florida to learn considerably more about them. They also allow you to do side-by-side comparisons of all these Florida law schools. Here is a list of some of the extensive information you can find through SmartClass.

All U.S. law school rankings
Historical U.S. rankings
Admissions stats and acceptance rates
Historical acceptance rates
Median LSAT
Historical LSAT
Median UGPA (undergraduate grade point average)
Historical UGPA
In-state tuition/out-of-state tuition
Percent of students receiving grants/financial aid
Grant types
Student body number
Full-time faculty number
Percent women admitted
Ethnicities of students admitted
Average bar passage rates
Employment rates after graduation
Most common industries for employment after graduation

They also have a simple color-coding system that allows you to see how well each of the Florida law schools are doing in each category above. When a school does well in a category, the number is in green. When it is average, the number is yellow. When it is poor, the number is red.

Other Resources for the Best Florida Law Schools

Here are a few other miscellaneous resources on law colleges in Florida that you can take into consideration. They are not as full of detailed information as any of the above resources, but they can be valuable in the process of finding the best law schools in Florida.

Hermanni Lorenzo Law Group: This law firm in Florida has a list of their top 5 law schools in Florida. They share their reviews on each of the good law schools in Florida, and they share the average LSAT scores. This is a great resource for those who want to know what the local law community thinks of the best law schools in Florida.

Tampa Bay Business Journal: Sometimes in the pursuit of discovering the top law schools in Florida, it is important to not only look at the best Florida law schools, but also the worst. This article goes over three law schools in Florida that made it into the “worst law school” category.

Finding the Cheapest Law Schools in Florida

Many people who want to study law would love the opportunity to attend one of the best law schools in Florida. But sometimes they need to consider the cheapest law schools in Florida for financial reasons.

Here are some ways you can research the financial aspect of each of the Florida law schools. You can add the information you find to the process of narrowing down your options.

SmartClass: One of SmartClass’s filter features is looking for the cheapest law schools in Florida and in the rest of the United States. SmartClass also offers a list of the 32 cheapest law schools in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. One of the Florida law schools makes the list.

Internet Legal Research Group: The Internet Legal Research Group has grouped law schools by tuition costs. Simply click the “state” category on the top of the page, and all the law schools in Florida will collect together. You can then compare their tuition costs as well as the average room and board cost.

Above the Law: In 2014, Above the Law shared a list of the “Best Value” law schools. One of the best law schools in Florida happens to make the list.

AreaVibes: One of the important factors in determining which schools are the cheapest law schools in Florida is the cost of living in each area. Perhaps one of the law schools in south Florida has higher tuition but lower cost of living. You should take these factors into consideration as well. AreaVibes gives a grade to each area in Florida.

Which of the Top Law Schools in Florida Are for You?

We have now offered you the list of law schools in Florida, multiple reputable Florida law school rankings, the best resources to research each of the Florida law schools you may be interested in, and ways to find the cheapest law schools in in Florida.

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Now your job is to use these online tools as a guide to finding the best law schools in Florida and the top Florida law schools for you.

You can begin this process with the confidence of having multiple resources offering you different information and perspectives on the law schools in Florida you are excited to be applying to. In being prepared through this guide, your journey toward finding the best law schools in Florida will be an easier one.

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