College of Law grads stand out nationally


In a time when law school grads have to work harder than ever to gain employment after graduation, FIU College of Law graduates are beating the odds – and national average – when it comes to finding a job.

Law.com’s Daily Business Review reports that 80 percent of FIU’s College of Law graduates were employed full-time 10 months after graduation. The national average is 75 percent.

Ana Bierman, dean of the Ovadia Career Planning and Placement Office, said one of the reasons College of Law grads do so well in the marketplace is because the school teaches them the importance of acquiring as much practical experience as possible.

“We have internship opportunities and clinics here at the school, and many of our students also work part time while they are students,” says Bierman. “I think that makes them extremely marketable as young lawyers after graduation.”

When it comes to debt burden, FIU College of Law graduates often have an advantage over those from other schools.

“That plays a big role in our students’ ability to consider careers across the spectrum: in the private sector, in the government sector, and in the public sector,” says Bierman. “Because they generally have less debt burden than other students, they can really follow their passion in a way that somebody who perhaps has a much higher debt burden cannot.”

Bierman also emphasized the fact that the Planning and Placement Office makes an effort to meet with every law student during their first year.

“The idea is that they will always have a resource that will be here not just during their three years in law school – four if they are part-time students – but throughout the duration of their career that will be here to give them advice. We are really interested in identifying growth areas that are relevant to our students.”

Beyond the services offered by the law school’s career placement office, the curriculum prepares graduates to represent well during the interview process.

“Our faculty has designed a dynamic curriculum that both teaches students to ‘think like lawyers’ as well as provides wide-ranging, practical opportunities that facilitate real-world application,” says Michelle Mason, senior associate dean for experiential learning at the College of Law. “Consequently, FIU Law graduates have been able to successfully leverage these skills in the employment market.”

This is the latest in a series of accolades for the law school.

College of Law graduates have earned the highest passage rate on four of the past five Florida Bar examinations, The National Jurist named it the nation’s 17th Best Value Law School, and it has the highest acceptance rate in Florida and 30th in the nation among law schools, according to U.S. News + World Report.