University of Miami School of Law: Fostering Unparalleled Legal Education

We foster intellectual discipline, creativity, and critical skills, which will prepare our graduates for the highest standards of professional competence in the practice of law.

Situated in the magnetic coastal city of exotic beauty and world-class ambience, University of Miami School of Law is set on to fulfill the legal profession’s historic duty to promote the interests of justice. It is “a multicultural mecca reflecting an array of colorful influences and its unparalleled setting” make it an extraordinary place to learn, believes the Dean. “Miami Law vividly reflects the one-of-a-kind metro area it calls home.”

Miami Law’s student activities include more than 55 other diverse student organizations. Some of the organizations include: diverse groups (Black, Hispanic and Asian/Pacific American law student organizations; OUTLaw; Miami Law Women); legal thought or political groups (Federalist Society, Democratic Law Students Association, Republican Law Student Association); legal practice area groups (International Law Society, Entertainment and Sports Law Society, Intellectual Property Law Society); and advocacy groups (Student Advocates for Veterans, Child Advocacy Family Law).

A Sought After Leader and Educator

Patricia D. White came on board as the Dean in 2009. She is the University Of Miami School Of Law’s eleventh dean. Her legal career spans over four decades as an attorney and educator.  She was the first woman law school dean in Arizona, and the longest serving one in the history of Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

Dean White has continued her longstanding commitment to students, the transformation of legal education and public service.  She transformed Miami Law’s student services program, adding the unique Student Development Program, and the the AskUs Fellows initiative, and expanding the Academic Achievement Program and the Office of Professionalism to name a few.  She established the ‘Law Without Walls program’, linking students and faculty from over 30 academic institutions around the world to examine issues and develop new solutions in legal education and practice. In addition, Dean White was selected to serve on the Commission on the Future of Legal Education founded by ABA President Hilarie Bass, J.D. ’81, in 2017.

Unique Courses & Academic Programs

Miami Law provides a solid foundation in all the traditional subjects’ basics, to understanding and practicing the law. Miami Law’s course offerings in inter-American, international, arbitration, and transnational law are outstanding. Taught by experts from around the world, Miami Law offers a plethora of innovative compressed courses. It has expanded interdisciplinary programs and collaborative joint degrees with other departments within the University and offers an array of joint degrees:

Miami Law is at the forefront in training legal professionals for this rapidly changing world. It is accredited by the ABA, is a member of the AALS, and has a chapter of the prestigious scholastic society, the Order of the Coif.  The Legal Services Innovation Index ranked the University of Miami Law in the top four for law schools delivering innovation and technology programs in 2017.

An Extravagant Campus Offering

Increased International Exchange Offerings — Miami has added several new study abroad options in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Spain, Switzerland and Vietnam.

More Innovative Programs and Conferences — Miami Law boasts of its Law Without Walls, interdisciplinary Hospital Course, and Black Lives Matter course offerings that provide a multidisciplinary perspective to complex issues. Miami’s LL.M. in International Arbitration is headed by one of the world’s most powerful international arbitrators, Jan Paulsson

Campus & Location — Miami Law is on the 260-acre main campus of one of the largest private research universities in the United States. The law school is situated in Coral Gables, next door to Miami, a burgeoning international center for trade and finance and the nation’s gateway to the Americas.

Scholarships &Fellowships Miami Law Offers

All academic scholarships for incoming students are awarded by the Office of Admissions. Scholarships are highly competitive and are granted to students on a rolling basis. Each year the School of Law awards renewable Dean’s Scholarships to entering law students who have strong academic records and possess other outstanding qualifications for the study of law

The Harvey T. Reid Scholarship program and the Soia Mentschikoff Scholarship awards provide full law tuition. These prestigious scholarships are awarded to the outstanding members of the entering class who possess exemplary academic records, demonstrate leadership qualities, and exhibit the potential for making substantial contributions to the legal profession and society.

For LL.M. study, some scholarships are available to outstanding applicants on the basis of skills and achievements. Applications for admissions and scholarships are considered on a rolling basis by each LL.M. program director.

“Words of Trust”

The UM faculty provides mentorship and training from the world’s leading minds in various areas of International Law. Professors like Jan Paulsson and Albert Jan van den Berg gave me the solid grounding required for the fast moving world of arbitration today. All of this in a beautiful environment that constantly teaches you to think globally.”

-Diogo Pereira, J.D. ’10 Private Sector Development, World Bank Group, Washington, D.C.

“During my LL.M. at UM, I received valuable mentoring from some of my classmates, UM´s staff and Professors. After my LL.M., I took the New York Bar, and returned to my home country, Brazil. Here, I had the chance to choose from a selection of great law firms, and the conversations I had at UM were decisive in determining the next step in my career.”

-Caroline Klamas, LL.M. ’14
Associate Attorney, Carvalho, Machado e Timm Advogados, Brazil

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