Campus

Student Life Center & Experiential Learning Hub

In 2019, UF Law renovated the entire second floor and a section of the first floor of Bruton-Geer Hall. The second floor, now Student Life Center, houses the Office of Career and Professional Development, a news nook, ample study and collaboration space for students, reservable conference rooms of varying sizes, and the Experiential Learning Hub that connects to offices on the first floor.

Bailey Event Space

In 2020, UF Law transformed its Bailey Courtroom into a multifunctional space that operates as both a high-tech classroom and an advanced event venue. An entire wall of digital screens presents an opportunity for immersive technology, and another wall of folding doors fully opens to a spacious deck that offers plenty of sunny and shaded areas for event flow – and a great place for law students to study.

Commons

In 2017, UF Law renovated this Commons space to increase food and beverage offerings, including a coffee shop and Smart Market self-checkout micro-market, expanded study areas, implemented new technology, and upgraded furniture, which now houses charging stations and USB ports.

Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center

The center is named in honor of Martin H. Levin (JD 88), who is the son and former colleague of Pensacola attorney and college namesake Fredric G. Levin (JD 61). Facilities such as these provide students a sophisticated learning space and place the Levin College of Law at the forefront of major law colleges.

Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center

The Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center is one of the largest law libraries in the Southeast and among the top 20 law libraries in the country. Its three floors are filled with books, articles, research and journals on a variety of law topics. The center is named in honor of Lawton Chiles (JD 55), who was a U.S. Senator and governor of Florida. The Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center prides itself on its wide collection of law articles, experienced library faculty and comfortable ambiance.

Spessard L. Holland Law Center

Holland Hall was built in response to the influx of post-World War II baby boomers at the urging of Dean Frank E. Maloney who anticipated an increase in enrollment and campaigned for the new building. The building’s three stories contain faculty offices in addition to administrative ones such as the dean’s suite, development and student affairs and faculty support. The center is named in honor of Spessard L. Holland, who served as governor of Florida and as a U.S. senator. He graduated from UF Law in 1916.

Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom

The Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom is the most frequently used classroom at the law school. Lecture halls include classroom inputs for laptops, DVD, projectors and audio. Recording and streaming services are also available as needed. The classroom is named in honor of Chesterfield Smith, a UF Law graduate who presided over the American Bar Association during the Watergate Scandal. His famous quote, “No man is above the law,” is displayed in large metallic letters in the foyer before entering the classroom.

Walking Trail

The half-mile path, which circles the UF Law campus, gives students, faculty and staff access to a conveniently located trail, making it a little easier to stay in shape or just get the blood moving in between classes.

Outside Areas

Areas around the law school are populated with chatting students during mealtimes as well as faculty walking to and from buildings with their morning cups of coffee.

Other Campus Facilities:

UF Law students have access to a full range of on-campus recreation through the University of Florida’s Department of Recreational Sports. These locations include Southwest Recreation Center, Student Recreation & Fitness Center, Center for Outdoor Recreation and Education (CORE), and Lake Wauburg.

The University of Florida’s student union Reitz Union offers an arts and crafts room, and game room, including bowling and pool tables, among other recreational activities.

The Florida Constitutional Law Endowment in memory of Justice Ben F. Overton was created by Judge Karen Miller in 2013. This fund supports lectures and presentations by Justices of the Florida Supreme Court at the Fredric G. Levin College of Law.

HISTORY

Justice Overton, who earned his B.S. in 1951 and his Juris Doctor in 1952 from the University of Florida, was the first merit appointment to the Florida Supreme Court. Throughout his career he was active in legal education and served as an Adjunct Professor at the Levin College of Law through December 2012, the month of his death. Although he resided at Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, a continuing care retirement community developed in cooperation with UF, he also considered the Florida Supreme Court “home.” Among the high points of his later years was hosting Justices of the Florida Supreme Court in Gainesville and taking his class to Tallahassee to hear oral arguments at the Florida Supreme Court.
Judge Miller, who earned her B.S. cum laude from New York University in 1974 and her Juris Doctor from New York Law School in 1977, served as Chief Administrative Law Judge of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, New York City’s business regulatory agency, before she retired to Oak Hammock at the University of Florida. Having accompanied Justice Overton on his excursions to Tallahassee and joined him in welcoming guests to Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, she created the endowment in memory of Justice Overton to ensure that the Levin College of Law continues to have the funding necessary to continue and enhance the interaction between its students and the Florida Supreme Court.

Judge Miller remembered the event that motivated the endowment.

Prior to a dinner at the home of Dean Robert Jerry and Lisa Jerry shortly after Justice Overton’s death, Justice Barbara Pariente and I were discussing a suitable memorial. Justice Pariente, who had been Justice Overton’s colleague on the Florida Supreme Court and who understood the importance to him of the interaction between his students and the Court, suggested the outline of what has become the Overton lectures. Dean Jerry, who has since retired, as has Dean Emeritus Jon Mills, who assumed responsibility for implementing the Overton lectures, were very supportive from the beginning. Since Dean Mills’ retirement, Professor Timothy McClendon, who assisted both Justice Overton and Dean Mills teaching Florida Constitutional Law and who co-authored the recent Florida Constitutional Law casebook, has continued the Overton lectures with the support of Interim Dean Merritt McAlister and CGR director, Professor Danaya Wright.

Justice Overton was a devoted jurist, educator, and ethical leader of the Florida legal profession. The Overton Lecture Series brings Florida Supreme Court Justices to the University of Florida, Levin College of Law, and serves to introduce students to the inner workings of the Court. CGR and the students of the College of Law extend our deepest gratitude to Judge Karen Miller for making the Overton Lectures possible in perpetuity.

You can watch an interview for the Florida Historical Society by Mary Adkins, professor emeritus of the UF Levin College of Law, with Justice Overton here.

Justice Overton was also interviewed for the Samuel Proctor Oral History Project and a transcript of his interview is available at the Smathers Library, and here.
Justice Overton sat on the Constitution Revision Commission of 1977-78 that proposed a right to privacy in the Florida Constitution. Although it failed as part of the Constitution Revision Commission recommendations, it passed in 1980 when proposed by the legislature. The bill was co-sponsored by our very own Jon Mills. The privacy provision prevailed by greater than 60%. Justice Overton then wrote a concurrence in a critical reproductive rights case in 1989 affirming that the privacy provision of the Florida Constitution included the right to obtain an abortion. That decision was overruled in Planned Parenthood of SW and Central Florida v. Florida. You can read about the role of Justice Overton, Jon Mills – director emeritus of CGR, and the history of the 1989 case here.