Stetson University College of Law ties as top American advocacy school Legal research and writing program ties as nation’s third-best

Contact Frank Klim
Executive Director of Communications
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Gulfport, Fla. – Stetson University College of Law has once again tied as the best school in the nation for trial advocacy training in the 2006 graduate school rankings from U.S. News & World Report. The magazine also recognized Stetson’s legal research and writing program, which tied for third in the nation.

Since the magazine started ranking law schools in 1995, Stetson has consistently ranked at or near the top for advocacy training, placing first seven of those years. This was the first year the magazine ranked the research and writing programs.

“Stetson provides its students with an outstanding education and is particularly strong in the area of skills training. Our faculty work very hard to teach students the skills, such as advocacy and legal writing, they need to be successful attorneys. Our students also work very hard to master these skills. These rankings reflect the thousands of hours of effort our faculty and students devote to achieving true excellence,” said Dean Darby Dickerson, who served as legal writing director from 1996 through 2004.

Stetson’s Center for Excellence in Advocacy emphasizes the College of Law’s commitment to training in this specialty. “Stetson could not be more proud of this honor that recognizes its long-standing commitment to train law students to be exceptional lawyers. Stetson has pioneered successful advocacy training and intends to remain a leader in this area,” said Professor and Center Director Roberta Flowers.

Stetson’s trial teams have won many awards at competitions this school year, including the Frédéric Eisemann Award for winning a world championship at the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot competition, March 18-24 in Vienna, Austria. Stetson University College of Law is Florida’s first law school. It has educated lawyers for more than a century, and offers full- and part-time programs leading to the J.D., J.D./M.B.A., and LL.M. degrees. Stetson is the headquarters for the National Conference of Law Reviews