FIU Law asserts powerhouse status as one of the country’s leading schools

The College of Law has earned a slew of top-notch rankings and recognitions and is turning out hundreds of successful lawyers

Campus & Community

By Gisela Valencia

April 16, 2024 at 11:19am

FIU Law ranks No. 68 among the nation’s law schools and No. 3 in Florida, according to U.S. News & World Report. In its short history (and even as it competes with schools more than 100 years older), the college has the strongest first-time bar passage rate in the state.

FIU law graduates recently surpassed the statewide average passage rate for schools in Florida by a commanding 28.6 percentage points with a first-time passage rate of 82.6%. Additionally, FIU Law’s recent classes have enjoyed employment rates above 90%.

“FIU Law was founded on a mission to serve Floridians, particularly those in South Florida who lacked a public law school, and particularly those who were traditionally underrepresented in the legal profession, by providing access to a contemporary, high-quality program of legal education,” said FIU Law Dean Antony Page. “The ongoing fulfillment of that mission is a testament to a faculty and staff that consistently has prioritized the student experience, and a community of legal employers that recognizes our graduates’ ability, work ethic and professionalism.”

FIU Law’s recent classes have enjoyed employment rates above 90%.

International perspective

A key component of FIU Law’s success lies in its curriculum, which places a special emphasis on international law. “Unlike most law schools in the U.S. which focus only on U.S. law, we have a mandate by institutional design to engage in international and comparative law and for our students to learn about these areas and connect them with U.S. law,” says Manuel Gomez, associate dean for Graduate Studies and Global Engagement and professor of law.

Gomez adds that offering students an international perspective is critical, especially as the world becomes more and more globalized. It’s also particularly relevant for attorneys in South Florida.

“The vast majority of lawyers from FIU will practice law in South Florida or in a big metropolitan area,” Gomez says. “Even if they want to remain in a seemingly local area of law such as family law or real estate law, the mere fact that they live in an urban area forces every lawyer to, at some point, engage with international law.”

Aside from offering foundational courses on international and comparative law, the college also infuses these themes through its entire curriculum, exploring topics ranging from the practice of international law in trade, climate change, human rights and more; how these areas are regulated by legal systems across the world; and the impact of globalization on the legal profession.

Research and faculty excellence

FIU Law offers students the opportunity to learn and receive mentorship from nationally recognized law faculty who produce top-notch research and publications. For example, Professor Jerry Markham is the author of a seven-volume financial history of the United States. The latest book in his series covers the period after the Great Recession to the financial and economic turmoil that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Numerous faculty members also write casebooks and treatises for use in law schools on topics ranging from constitutional law and corporate finances to wills, trusts and civil rights litigation. Faculty members also work extensively on issues of discrimination in all its forms, editing books and writing articles on the topic.

Likewise, faculty have received prestigious honors for their research. Just one example: Assistant Professor John (Alex) Erwin, who joined FIU Law in 2022, was selected last year as a Young Scholar by the University of Utah’s Wallace Stegner Center, which invited him to deliver a lecture in recognition of his work.

Through its faculty researchers, FIU Law is putting its expertise into action to address issues affecting our world.

“Our faculty approach their research pursuits with the same enthusiasm and thoughtfulness as their teaching,” said Page. “They are prolific scholars whose work directly contributes to our greater understanding of legal issues both domestically and internationally. Over the next twenty years their research will contribute to solving some of our regions’ most pressing issues, including environmental resilience and health care policy.”

Assistant Professor John (Alex) Erwin has a background in wildlife conservation and genetics. His research focuses on environmental law and natural resources law. An article he wrote on a policy for hybridization under the Endangered Species Act was recognized as one of the top environmental policy-relevant articles from 2016-2017.

Government service

FIU Law has distinguished itself as a leading educator of lawyers who serve in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps — the military justice branch of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. FIU is one of the top producers of JAG Corps in the country.

“These positions are hyper-competitive, and we have tremendous success,” says Eric Carpenter, associate professor of law and the leader of FIU’s JAG Corps education efforts. “[FIU students are] getting selected for these roles about 70% of the time. Pretty much all of our students that are interested in getting in, get in.”

The secret? Carpenter, a retired Judge Advocate himself, prepares students with top-notch academic and cocurricular experiences specifically designed to equip law students to enter the JAG Corps. He teaches a military justice course — something that sets FIU apart from the majority of universities across the university and is developing a nation-wide program on National Security Law.

Carpenter also organizes an annual JAG fair at which representatives from the different services in the military come to discuss what it’s like to be a Judge Advocate, and he invites alumni who served in the JAG Corps return to campus and share their tips with students. If students decide to apply for JAG positions, Carpenter himself guides them throughout the process. He has created a network of internship possibilities for law students interested in the area; students having interned at the U.S. Coast Guard Station Miami Beach, U.S. Southern Command and local civilian attorney offices that work in military justice.

Major Guybert “Jimmy” Paul J.D. '15 got his start as a judge advocate thanks to Carpenter’s guidance. Paul, who is also an Army veteran, has served as a JAG for nearly eight years now. He has worked at Fort Hood in Texas and at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and as a prosecutor in the 82nd Airborne Division, which is known for its zero tolerance of misconduct. He advises the general of the United States Army Special Forces, known as the “Green Berets,” on all civil matters.

"FIU gets you ready,” Paul says. “You look back after you graduate, and you say, ‘They prepared me for everything.’”

Even after graduation, Paul would carry around a binder with information about litigation provided by one of his professors, H. Scott Fingerhut. The binder was so valuable, that, when in 2018 Paul deployed to Iraq and had to conduct a military trial overseas, he asked a friend in the states to mail him the binder as he prepared. “My real binder, the one I took for my first trial, was Professor Fingerhut’s binder,” he says. “And I won.”

Associate Professor of Law Eric R. Carpenter oversees FIU Law's robust JAG education offerings.

Experiential learning excellence

The college provides hands-on learning opportunities that are key for student development. Through the college’s clinical program, for example, students gain for-credit legal experience in a variety of law clinics, ranging from the Carlos A. Costa Immigration & Human Rights Clinic to the Death Penalty Clinic to the Business, Innovation and Technology Clinic to the Community Lawyering Clinic.

Through practicums, externships, semesters-in-practice, and pro bono work, students also learn through experiences such as working at a private firm, corporation, non-profit, legal services organization or government agency.

The college of law also hosts competition teams that allow future lawyers to develop their chops, including moot court, trial advocacy and negotiation teams. Alumni like Alina M. Fernandez Portela ’15, J.D. ’19, who was a member of the moot court team, call such experiences crucial. Through the moot court team, she participated in some of the world’s most prestigious international, national and regional competitions, taking part in simulated court or arbitration proceedings, along with colleagues from other schools.

“It was the best thing that ever happened to me in law school,” she says. Fernandez Portela competed twice at the annual Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, where she was awarded “Top 10 Orator” both times. She also participated in Moot Madrid, an international commercial arbitration competition in Spain. Today, Fernandez Portela is an associate at the Miami office of Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, a global law firm recognized as one of the world's top firms advising on corporate, finance, litigation, regulatory and intellectual property law.

In addition, the FIU Law Path program offers undergraduate students pre-law programming that builds skills critical to success in law school. The program exposes students to the traditional law school experience supplemented by a range of opportunities including academic enrichment and critical skills development, intensive LSAT preparation, personalized counseling throughout the application process, and individualized mentoring by a member of the bench or bar.

“Experiential learning programming serves a two-fold purpose,” says Michelle Mason, senior associate dean for experiential learning. “First, graduating soon-to-be lawyers who understand the value of helping those in need. Under the supervision of senior attorneys, annually, students provide thousands of pro bono service hours. Second, as the legal field becomes more complex and new legal employment opportunities develop, experiential learning provides work experience and job references that enhance employability after graduation. They offer occasion[s] for students to engage in critical reflection about the legal profession, their career and the priorities and values of lawyers and individuals in the legal system.”

Wellness

The College of Law has carved itself status as a trailblazer on student health and wellness. National studies have found that lawyers have higher rates of substance-abuse and other harmful behaviors than many other professions, often attributed to the high-stress and high-stakes situations attorneys confront daily. Law students across the country also often struggle to cope with stress in their education.

To combat the strain of law school — and provide healthy coping strategies for the future — the college launched a well-being program in 2020. The initiative quickly made strides in helping students and has developed a strong group of advocates who feel indebted to the program.

“Without a doubt, the wellness [initiative and strategies] helped me get through law school,” says alumna Stephanie Cross J.D. ’21, now an attorney for the Department of Children and Families. “It comes down to building that emotional capacity to deal with the stressors that are always going to come at you in life, no matter what. I work in child dependency cases, specifically cases involving child abuse, neglect and abandonment. It’s dealing with traumatic stuff. I feel like in a lot of ways, I wouldn’t be able to do this kind of work without wellness and mindfulness techniques.”

Cross, who is also currently a yoga instructor, was the president of the Mindfulness Association at FIU and was heavily involved in the wellness initiative as a student. She says FIU offers the complete package for legal education.

“FIU has a strong commitment to their students,” she explains. “This wellness initiative is showing that we’re helping students pass the bar and helping them increase their capacities to deal with the stressors that come with law school.”

For these efforts, the American Bar Association in 2021 honored the FIU program with an award that recognizes the nation’s exemplary professionalism programs that help maintain integrity and dedication to the legal profession.

It’s just one more example of FIU Law leading the way.

Alumna Stephanie Cross J.D. ’21 is an attorney for the Department of Children and Families.