Florida International University College of Law
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The College of Law at Florida International University is one of the youngest American law schools. Located in Miami, Florida, the institution opened its doors to students in August of 2002. The school received provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association at the earliest possible time, in August of 2004. The inaugural class graduated on May 22, 2005.
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History
Florida International University worked towards the creation of a public law school in South Florida for many years, beginning with the 1986 appointment of Modesto A. Maidique as University president. Maidique met resistance from the Florida Board of Regents, which had a number of graduates of other Florida law schools, and opposed the opening of any new public law schools in the state. The establishment of this institution was finally realized in 2000, when Governor Jeb Bush pushed the project through the state legislature, along with the establishment of a law school at Florida A & M University.
Shortly thereafter, the College of Law hired Leonard Strickman as its inaugural Dean. Strickman, a Yale Law School graduate, had previously served as Dean of the Northern Illinois University College of Law and the University of Arkansas School of Law, and had been a member of the ABA Accreditation Committee during the 1990s, and had chaired 15 ABA accreditation site visits.
Faculty
The FIU College of Law has about 30 full-time faculty members (including the Dean and the Associate Dean for Academics, both of whom teach on an occasional basis), and also has various visiting professors who teach subjects within their areas of expertise.
Founding Faculty
The founding faculty are the professors who came to the University before it was opened to students. Under Dean Strickman's guidance, the College of Law recruited a founding faculty that included:
- Thomas E. Baker, professor of Constitutional law and former Administrative Assistant to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist
- Jorge Esquirol, professor of International law, who had previously been Director of Academic Affairs in the Harvard Law School Graduate Program.
- Elizabeth Foley, professor of Civil procedure, and former Legislative Aide to two U.S. Congressman, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Michael Andrews of Texas
- Aya Gruber, professor of Criminal law, who had assisted Alan Dershowitz during the O.J. Simpson case before becoming a public defender in Washington, D.C.
- Andrew J. McClurg, professor of Torts and author of several books including a comedic take on the legal education process, The Law School Trip
- Mathew C. Mirow, professor of Property law and legal historian
- Ediberto Roman, professor of Contract law, and author of numerous articles and a book on the disenfranchisement of residents of the United States' inhabited Insular possessions
In addition, Professor John Stack already a long-time professor of political science at FIU before the foundation of the law school, and director of the Jack D. Gordon Public Policy Institute, became a jointly-appointed faculty member in the College of Law and the Political Science department.
Other Notable Faculty
While many members of the College of Law faculty are known and well-published within the legal community, several are particularly notable. In particular, Professor Jerry W. Markham authored textbooks on various topics, and one of the most thorough and extensive treatises on the history of securities regulation, before coming to FIU. Professor Markham teaches in the areas of business organizations, banking, securities, international litigation, and international business transactions.
Professor Frank T. Read previously served as Dean of five different law schools over a 27-year period before coming to FIU as a visiting professor. Professor Read teaches evidence and professional responsibility.
Professor Henry Latimer, also a visiting professor who taught Alternative Dispute Resolution, was formerly a judge, and was in line to become the first African-American president of the Florida Bar Association when he was tragically killed in a car accident in the Spring of 2005.
In June of 2005, the law school hired renowned Professor Stanley Fish to a five year contract, as the Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor of Humanities and Law.
Students
The FIU College of Law opened with a class of 67 full-time and 60 part-time students. LSAT and GPA scores placed the inaugural class around the middle of Florida's 11 law schools. The first student to both apply to and be admitted to the FIU College of Law, Brian Dean Abramson,[1][2] was an alumni of both undergraduate and graduate programs at the university. The first graduate was Rosann Spiegel, also a previous FIU alumni, who finished the program a semester ahead of schedule. Spiegel graduated in December of 2004 and passed the February 2005 bar examination - making FIU the only law school in the country with a 100% bar passage rate. During its brief existence, the student body has also formed a Law Review and a Moot Court team, as well as a Student Bar Association and many other student organizations, such as a chapter of the Federalist Society.
Currently, the institution has about 300 students, including part-time and full-time first, second, and third year students. Eventually, when construction of the law school facility is completed, it is projected to have a capacity of about 600 students at a time.
Curriculum
The FIU College of Law is unique among American law schools in that it requires all students to take a course entitled An Introduction to International and Comparative Law during their first year. Other required first year courses are more typical - Constitutional law, Torts, and Contracts in the first semester, Criminal law, Civil Procedure, and Property in the second, and legal writing classes (called Legal Skills and Values, or simply LSV) throughout. However, each of the substantive classes also dedicates a portion of its discussion to international and comparative issues in that area of law.
Upper level requirements also include an additional course relating to international law, an additional LSV class, a writing seminar, and a course in Professional Responsibility
Facilities
As a new institution, the FIU College of Law does not yet have its own building. Currently, the school occupies several floors of the Green Library building at FIU's University Park campus. The fourth floor of that building contains faculty offices and the Dean's suite. The law library is located on the third floor, and several classrooms on the first floor are dedicated to law student use.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the law school's building on May 22, 2005 (the same day as the inaugural commencement), although the foundation had already been laid, and principal construction had already begun at that time. $34 million has been budgeted for the construction of the facility, which will be one of the largest and most modern in the state.