Florida International University College of Law

Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall, home of the FIU College of Law

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, the new law school building, the Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall, was dedicated.

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.

The 2020 U.S. News & World Report's "Best Law School Rankings" ranked the FIU College of Law at 91[6] in the United States.

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.[7] The magazine also ranked FIU at 37 in the U.S. for its part-time law programs.[8]

In October 2010, the FIU College of Law was ranked Top 10 Best Value school in the nation by The National Jurist.[9]

FIU Law graduates passed the February 2007 Florida bar exam with a 94 percent passing rate, the highest in the state of Florida.[10]

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.[11]

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. [12] FIU's Law School Transparency under-employment score was 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.[12]

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 (July 2015, February 2016, July 2016, July 2017, February 2018, July 2018, and February 2019).

FIU also ranked first in Florida in the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) with a 95.5% passage rate in 2007.[13]

MPRE
passing rates

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 (out of a possible 180 points) and a 3.64 GPA (on a 4.0 scale). 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.[16][17][18]

Annual tuition for in-state students in the day program is $21,407 and $14,501 for those in the evening program.[19] Annual tuition for out-of-state students in the day program is $35,650 and $24,150 for those in the evening program.[20]

A view of the main entrance to Rafael Díaz-Balart Hall, home of the FIU College of Law.

The Florida International University College of Law opened with a class of 67 full-time and 60 part-time students. LSAT and GPA scores placed the inaugural class around the middle of Florida's 11 law schools.[23] The first graduate was Rosann Spiegel,[24] also a previous FIU alumnus, who finished the program a semester ahead of schedule. Spiegel graduated in December 2004 and passed the February 2005 bar examination - briefly making FIU the only law school in the country with a 100% bar passage rate.[25]

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.[26]

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 (SELS). 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.

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 (called Legal Skills and Values, or simply LSV) 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.

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. (Health, Ethics, Law and Policy) Clinic, and the Education Advocacy Clinic.
• The Immigrant Children's Justice Clinic
• The Investor Advocacy Clinic[36]

Rafael Díaz-Balart Hall

The Florida International University College of Law operates out of the Rafael Díaz-Ballart Hall, designed by architect Robert A. M. Stern. A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the law school's building on May 22, 2005 (the same day as the inaugural commencement). $34 million was budgeted for the construction of the facility. The new building is also on the University Park campus, across from the FIU Arena and adjacent to the Recreation Center and a 1,000-car parking garage.

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.

• Official website