FIU College of Law graduates 117 new lawyers


MIAMI (May 18, 2009) – The Florida International University College of Law will graduate its fifth class on Friday, May 22 at 11 a.m. at the U.S. Century Bank Arena at Florida International University’s University Park, 11200 SW 8th Street.

“This is a diverse group of graduates who will reflect the community they serve,” said College of Law Dean Leonard Strickman. “I am confident that these graduates will be a credit to the legal profession and will reflect well their rigorous education at FIU.”

Many FIU law graduates have secured positions at major law firms and public interest organizations throughout Miami and the surrounding counties.

Friday’s ceremony, in which 117 new lawyers will receive their degrees, will feature keynote speaker Stanley Fish, Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor of Humanities and Law at FIU.

The holder of a Ph.D. degree in English from Yale University, Fish has held faculty positions at the University of California at Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University, and Duke University.  At Duke, he held a joint professorship in English and Law, and also served five years as executive director of the Duke University Press.  Recognized as the most influential scholar on the work of John Milton in the 20th century, Fish has published scores of books, a number of them on the law.  He also has published articles in most of America’s leading law reviews and writes a weekly column for The New York Times Online under the title, “Think Again”.  Before coming to Florida, Fish spent six years as dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Cesar L. Alvarez, a member of the FIU Board of Trustees, will be delivering “Advice from the Bar.” Alvarez is chief executive officer of Greenberg Traurig, LLP. He joined Greenberg Traurig in 1973 as the firm’s 13th lawyer and practiced securities, corporate and international law for more than 25 years. The firm has grown exponentially under his leadership and now employs approximately 1,800 lawyers in 32 offices across the U.S., Europe and Asia. The firm was ranked 8th on The American Lawyer’s 2008 AmLaw 100, based on the total number of lawyers and ranked number 1 based on the number of lawyers in the United States.

The commencement ceremony also will celebrate the College of Law’s accomplishments in the past year.

Among those accomplishments: it welcomed its largest class ever; its graduates placed first of the 10 law schools in the state on the February 2008 bar exam and second overall in 2008; a negotiation team from the College of Law took third place in the American Bar Association National Finals; and an FIU College of Law moot court team took first place in the Susan J. Ferrell Intercultural Human Rights Moot Court Competition.

The College of Law opened its doors in August 2002 and received full accreditation by the American Bar Association in December 2006, the shortest time possible under ABA rules. In January, the Association of American Law Schools, the primary academically focused organization in legal education, followed in the footsteps of the ABA by accrediting the College of Law.

Media Contact: Jean-Paul Renaud at 305-348-2716.

-FIU-


About FIU College of Law
The Florida International University College of Law meets an important need in the community by providing a quality, affordable legal education for South Florida residents. The student body, while principally from South Florida, is diverse in racial, ethnic, and professional background.  FIU College of Law graduates have passed the Florida Bar Exam at rates exceeding the statewide pass rate.  At the most recent examination, in July 2008, FIU graduates passed at the second highest rate when compared to graduates from all law schools in the state of Florida.


About FIU:
Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, FIU graduates more Hispanics than any other university in the country. Its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University.” In 2006 FIU was authorized to establish a medical school, which will welcome its first class in 2009. FIU’s College of Law recently received accreditation in the fastest time allowed by the American Bar Association.