By all accounts, the 5-year-old, Orlando-based Florida A&M Law School has not fared well. Barely half its students pass the Florida Bar Exam; faculty quality is questionable; leadership is a vacuum and full accreditation by the American Bar Association is far from a given.
It’s also worth reflecting on the irony of that site-selection charade back in 2000. Tampa, which was offering free land, finished behind Orlando – and Lakeland – in the running for the ostensible plum that was the FAMU Law School.
But do recall Tampa’s consolation prize: the Tampa Law Center & Campus of the Stetson University College of Law. Not only is accreditation not an issue, but the imposing, 73,500-square-foot, neo-Spanish Mediterranean facility has been a major catalyst for Tampa Heights’ development and revitalization.
And one other thing. Stetson actually bought the 7.7-acre, North Tampa Street (and razed the old Tampa Police Department headquarters) site for $11.2 million.
And one final thing. Regardless of civil rights implications and the pay-back raison d’etre , no, we didn’t need another law school. And, no, we still don’t need more lawyers. Period.