Florida International University College of Law
The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. The law school is accredited by the American Bar Association, and is the only public law school in South Florida.
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 re-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.
The College of Law is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 2000. It officially opened its doors in August 2002, received provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association in August 2004, and was granted full accreditation on December 1, 2006. The inaugural class graduated on May 22, 2005.
FIU, preparing for only its second graduation in Spring 2006, had passing scores from 19 of 22 students who took the Bar exam in February 2006. The state average — including graduates from all 10 Florida law schools and out-of-state graduates who took the Florida test — was 73.2 percent.
On February 10, 2007, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an Associate Justice for the United States Supreme Court, headed the Dedication of the new law school building. She formally dedicated the building and delivered a keynote address along with other dignitaries. The Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall Dedication took take place at the then-named FIU Arena and was preceded and followed by tours of the new law school building.
In May 2009, the institution announced that United States Attorney Alexander Acosta had been selected to replace Strickman as Dean, with the latter's retirement from the position. Acosta left in 2017 to become United States Secretary of Labor.
Rankings
The 2020 U.S. News & World Report's "Best Law School Rankings" ranked the FIU College of Law at 91 in the United States. This represents an increase of more than 60 spots since 2009.FIU is currently the fourth-highest ranked law school in Florida behind only Florida State University College of Law, University of Florida's Fredric G. Levin College of Law, and the University of Miami School of Law. The magazine also ranked FIU at 37 in the U.S. for its part-time law programs.
In October 2010, the FIU College of Law was ranked Top 10 Best Value school in the nation by The National Jurist.
In April 2007, it was revealed that FIU Law graduates passed the February 2007 Florida bar exam with a 94 percent passing rate, the highest in the state of Florida.
In March 2007, the FIU College of Law received its first national ranking in U.S. News & World Report. FIU was ranked in the third tier of the four tiers of law school, marking the first time in several decades that a new law school has been so highly ranked.
Employment
According to FIU's official 2018 ABA-required disclosures, 74.7% of the Class of 2018 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment ten months after graduation. FIU's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 14.01%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2018 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job ten months after graduation.Exam passage
FIU Law graduates ranked first in the state of Florida, in terms of percentage of students who pass the Florida bar exam on their first attempt, eleven times in the school's history, including seven of the last eight administrations.FIU also ranked first in Florida in the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam with a 95.5% passage rate in 2007.
| Bar exam date | Bar passing rate |
| February 2005 | 100% |
| February 2006 | 86.4% |
| July 2006 | 79% |
| February 2007 | 94.4% |
| July 2007 | 85.9% |
| February 2008 | 78.9% |
| July 2008 | 90.6% |
| February 2009 | 81.5% |
| July 2009 | 80.9% |
| February 2010 | 71.4% |
| July 2010 | 84.2% |
| February 2011 | 88.2% |
| July 2011 | 89.6% |
| February 2012 | 85.7% |
| July 2012 | 80.3% |
| February 2013 | 91.7% |
| July 2013 | 82.8% |
| February 2014 | 81.3% |
| July 2014 | 78.2% |
| February 2015 | 63% |
| July 2015 | 89% |
| February 2016 | 84.6% |
| July 2016 | 87.5% |
| February 2017 | 78.9% |
| July 2017 | 87.8% |
| February 2018 | 85% |
| July 2018 | 88.1% |
| February 2019 | 80.0% |
| July 2019 | 95.7% |
| February 2020 | 81.8% |
| MPRE exam date | MPRE passing rate |
| February 2006 | 90% |
| July 2006 | 80% |
| February 2007 | 91.7% |
| July 2007 | 95.5% |
| July 2008 | 90.6% |
| February 2009 | 82.9% |
| July 2009 | 81.4% |
| February 2010 | 86.1% |
| July 2010 | 85.4% |
| February 2011 | 93.9% |
| February 2012 | 95.9% |
| July 2012 | 90.6% |
Admissions and tuition
| 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |
| Applicants | 1,901 | 1,887 | 2,071 | 2,129 | 2,675 |
| Admits | 545 | 551 | 568 | 492 | 595 |
| % Admitted | 28.6 | 29.1 | 30.1 | 26.2 | 22.2 |
This table does not account deferred
applications or other unique situations.
The College of Law only admits students during the fall to its full-time day program or its part-time evening program. Admissions is done on a rolling basis.
For Fall 2016, 1,901 students applied for admissions into the FIU College of Law, 545 were accepted, and 130 enrolled for the day program and 16 for the evening program. The Fall 2016 entering class had a median LSAT score of 156 and a 3.64 GPA. 62.9% of students were ethnic minorities, and 52% were women. The average age is 25 for the day program and 28 for the evening program.
Annual tuition for in-state students in the day program is $21,407 and $14,501 for those in the evening program. Annual tuition for out-of-state students in the day program is $35,650 and $24,150 for those in the evening program.
Specialty programs
Specialty programs
- International and Comparative Law Program
- Legal Skills and Values Board
- Board of Advocates
- Community Service Board
- Trial Advocacy Program
- Intellectual Property Certificate
- Environmental & Natural Resources Law Certificate
Faculty and administration
Administration
- Antony Page, Dean.
Faculty
Founding faculty
The founding faculty are the professors who came to the University before it was opened to students. Under Strickman's guidance, the College of Law recruited a highly experienced founding faculty that included:- Thomas E. Baker, professor of Constitutional law
- Jorge Esquirol, professor of International law, who had previously been Director of Academic Affairs in the Harvard Law School Graduate Program.
- Elizabeth Price Foley, professor of Civil procedure and Constitutional law.
- 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.
- 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
- Scott F. Norberg, professor of Bankruptcy and Contracts
Notable faculty
While many members of the College of Law faculty are known and well-published within the legal community, several are particularly notable.- Stanley Fish was hired to a five-year contract, as the Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor of Humanities and Law in June 2005.
- 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. He teaches in the areas of business organizations, banking, securities, international litigation, and international business transactions.
- 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 killed in a car accident in spring 2005.
Notable adjunct faculty
- Judge Adalberto Jordan of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Judge Angel A. Cortiñas of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal
- Former Judge Juan Ramirez, Jr. of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal
- Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Students
In January 2010, FIU College of Law students placed first among the Southeastern States Regional American Bar Association negotiation competition. Students also placed second in the Zehmer Mock Trial Competition and second on the brief at the Skadden Arps International FDI moot competition.
The student body has also formed two Law Reviews and a Moot Court team, as well as a Student Bar Association and other student organizations, such as a chapter of the Federalist Society, a student newspaper called "Ipsissima Verba", and a Sports and Entertainment Law Society. Currently, the institution has about 450 students, including part-time and full-time first, second, and third year students. Eventually, the school is projected to have a capacity of about 600 students at a time.
Law journals
''FIU Law Review''
Established in 2004, the FIU Law Review is the law school's official student law review. The FIU Law Review is committed to facilitate FIU Law’s growth and impact in the legal community.The Review organizes two symposia and publishes two symposium-based issues annually. Articles Editors and Staff Members also write about current changes in the law on the Law Review’s blog.
Symposium topics include:
- Immigration Law
- Layers of Law and Social Order.
- Aviation and Space Law.
- Religion and the Law.
- Separation of powers.
''FIU World Arbitration and Mediation Review''
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 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.
Clinical programs
The FIU College of Law offers six in-house clinics:- The Carlos A. Costa Immigration and Human Rights Clinic
- The Community Development Clinic
- Consumer Bankruptcy Clinic
- Family Law and Education Advocacy Clinic
- The H.E.L.P. Clinic, and the Education Advocacy Clinic.
- The Immigrant Children’s Justice Clinic
- The Investor Advocacy Clinic
Facilities
On-campus housing is available for graduate students in the College of Law at the University Park Towers and the University Park Apartments through the graduate housing community.