University of Miami - School of Law

Students come to University of Miami School of Law for its “amazing resources and faculty” and it’s “opportunities for networking,” but mostly they come because “it’s in Miami.” “Location, Location, Location,” one student says succinctly. “Miami is a vibrant building city with a lot to offer,” and students here have direct “access to Miami’s job market.” UM enjoys great “name recognition across South Florida” and has “a huge alumni base who are loyal to graduating students.” If you want to practice Law in or near Miami, “there’s no school that’s better rooted in this area.” “The campus is absolutely gorgeous—a pleasure to study by the lake, my personal favorite,” one student says. “It’s sometimes hard to stay in the Law Library all day with such a beautiful and vibrant campus just outside the doors,” one 2L explains. “You have to stay really focused.”
The “top-notch” professors at UM “cannot be beat.” The “genuinely nice” faculty is “a perfect blend of former judges, legal scholars, and adjunct faculty who are at the top of their respective fields in the private sector and judiciary.” While “the professors are extremely accessible,” since “it is a bigger school” “one-to-one time with the professors is a little difficult to come by.” Professors “truly want the students to learn and succeed” and frequently “are national leaders in their field and are greatly respected across the nation.” “If you are interested in a few specific areas of law that Miami is known for this is the perfect place.” For example, “Miami’s litigation skills program has all the major judges and attorneys in Florida,” and “UM’s resources in Health Law and its reputation as a Health Law up and coming powerhouse should be emphasized!” One student chimes in to say, “I would add art law (with Prof. Urice); maritime law (with Prof. Oxman); and criminal law (with Profs Franks, Rose, Basquez, & Graham) as additional specialties.”
While the faculty get high praise, students feel the administration “need to be replaced forthwith if the school hopes not to completely destroy its reputation.” Some students say the administration will “nickel and dime you for every penny you have,” but “student organizations are poorly funded” and “the Career Development Office does very little to aid in the search for employment.” Still, there are ten attorney advisors on staff at the CDO, and Miami Law also provides services like the Student Development Program and the Mindfulness in Law Program with students’ personal and professional development in mind. While some students think the dean is “unapproachable” and seems to “prefer to never be bothered,” Dean White does hold monthly town hall style meetings to meet with first-year and upper division students and “has used her network and reputation to make big in-roads to the New York and D.C. marketplaces for opportunities for students.” “The law library is pretty retro-looking” and “the physical buildings that make up the law school are very old.” Still, they are filled with “cutting edge” technology and the campus overall “is beautiful.” One highlight that needs to be mentioned is “the Litigation Skills Program.” “No other university that I know in the area offers such a well-structured program,” one happy student says.

The “very intelligent and competitive” students at UM “are drawn from all over the world.” “Average student age” at UM “is pretty low compared to most law schools.” While the school is diverse “relative to other law schools” (the school reports that 37 percent of the 2014 JD class identified as members of a minority group or as multiethnic), students feel that “it is not diverse at all relative to Miami,” “unless you count the many different shades of white.” UM has a more a relaxed atmosphere than most law schools. “Everyone wears shorts and the campus has a weekly farmers market.” “The university is located where vibrant Miami, beautiful Coral Gables, and quaint Coconut Grove meet,” one student explains. “There is always something going on around the university” and the city “has an amazing energy.” Students keep busy at studies, but “when you do have free time, you feel like you’re on vacation.” The undergraduate campus is “a stone’s throw away” and the UM “basketball and football teams are excellent and provide a welcome break from studying.”