University of Miami School of Law

Introduction

The University of Miami School of Law is on the main campus of one of the largest private research universities in the United States. The surrounding South Florida region is unique and stands at the crossroads of the Americas in a dynamic area of international trade and commerce. Students attend law school in a beautiful, subtropical setting while taking advantage of the opportunities available in the surrounding legal community. Miami Law is accredited by the ABA, is a member of the AALS, and has a chapter of the prestigious scholastic society, the Order of the Coif.

Faculty

The faculty have exceptional credentials. They are graduates of the world's top universities and law schools, have completed prestigious judicial clerkships, and have significant work experience in private practice and government. They are leading scholars in their fields and are renowned for combining their scholarly distinction and real-world experience with an enthusiastic approach to teaching. Their expertise is especially strong in international and foreign law, arbitration, taxation, criminal law, securities regulation, immigration, human rights, the Internet, legal theory, evidence, and ethics.

Library

With over 645,000 volumes and volume-equivalents and a wide array of electronic resources, Miami Law's library is one of the most comprehensive resources for legal research in the Southeast. The library has liberal hours, a full-time staff of 28, and ample seating for individual and group study. The campus is wireless.

Curriculum

The school provides a solid foundation in all the traditional subjects basic to understanding and practicing the law. In addition, the school is constantly expanding its offerings to ensure they reflect the opportunities of the changing world.

Choosing from more than 250 courses, workshops, and seminars, students ordinarily complete the JD degree in three years of full-time study. Summer sessions are available. Miami's course offerings in inter-American, international, arbitration, and transnational law are outstanding. Joint JD/Master's programs are offered in medicine business administration, public health, music business, communications, and marine affairs and policy. In addition, JD/LLM degrees are offered in taxation, real property development, international law, inter-American law, transnational law, international arbitration, and ocean and coastal law. The school also offers a triple degree option where students who were undergraduate business majors can earn a JD, an MBA, and an LLM in tax or real property in four years.

Master of Laws (LLM) programs include inter-American law, international arbitration, international law, ocean and coastal law, taxation, estate planning, real property development, and transnational law for foreign lawyers. A JD degree (or equivalent degree from a foreign law school) is required for entrance into an LLM program.

Special Programs

The school has 10 clinics in Immigration, Investor Rights, Human Rights, Tenants' Rights, Federal Appellate, Children and Youth Law, Health and Elder Law, and Bankruptcy Assistance. In addition, there is the Miami Innocence Project and the Capital Defense Project.

The Center for Ethics and Public Service is an interdisciplinary project teaching the values of ethical judgment, professional responsibility, and public service and includes the Summer Public Interest Fellowship Program, the Professional Responsibility and Ethics Program (PREP), and the Historic Black Church Program.

Miami Law also conducts the nationally known STREET LAW program in which law students teach law at local high schools to empower youth through interactive education about law, democracy, and human rights while furthering professional development.

HOPE (Helping Others Through Pro Bono Efforts) is the law school's public interest resource center. This center helps students understand the array of public interest opportunities at Miami Law and provides guidance and training to law students dedicated to community service and advocacy.

Miami Law offers one of the most comprehensive and sophisticated Litigation Skills training programs in the nation, integrating trial, pretrial, litigation, and clinical experiences. Directed by a full-time faculty member, distinguished trial attorneys and judges from both state and federal courts assist with trial and pretrial courses and help supervise externship placements.

Study-abroad options consist of exchange programs in Germany, Israel, France, Brazil, Ireland, Belgium, Spain, China, and Switzerland. Through these programs, students can focus on specific interests such as international law, arbitration of international business disputes, comparative law issues in international business, foreign legal systems, and human rights. In addition, the school has an International Moot Court Program in which students take a workshop, obtain course credit, and participate in international moot court competitions, some of which are conducted in Spanish.

Other unique programs include the school's LawWithoutWalls program—a unique opportunity where students from Miami Law and from law schools around the world collaborate across countries to conduct investigative research and identify a problem in legal education or practice. Miami's Mindfulness in Law Program coordinates special wellness programs to help students achieve a better balance between work and life.

Admission

Admission is competitive. Undergraduate and graduate grade-point averages are used in the review process. While all LSAT scores are considered, the highest score is given the greatest weight. Two letters of recommendation or two evaluations (or combination thereof) are required and a personal statement is strongly encouraged. Work experience, extracurricular activities, special skills, and background are also considered. First-year students are admitted only in the fall semester. Applicants are urged to apply as early as possible after September 1. Applications received after February 3 will be considered on a space-available basis until July 31.

The Student Body and Student Life

Miami's student body is highly talented and exceptionally diverse. The school is consistently among the leaders in numbers of Hispanic, African American, and foreign students graduated from its JD program.

The school's many student activities include an active Student Bar Association, Honor Council, Moot Court Board, and more than 55 diverse student organizations that provide members with personal, academic, and career support. All encourage student leadership and involvement in pro bono activities, assist in recruiting students, and provide networking and career opportunities with alumni and other members of the legal community. The school's leadership works closely with student organizations and facilitates or cosponsors a broad array of special programs and events throughout the year. The school's organizations include the Black, Hispanic, Caribbean, South Asian, Middle Eastern, and Asian/Pacific American law student organizations; OUTLaw; Miami Law Women; Federalist Society; International Law Society; Entertainment and Sports Law Society; the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund; and many more. Miami's law journals include the University of Miami Law Review, University of Miami Inter-American Law Review, University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review, Race and Social Justice Law Review, Business Law Review, National Security and Armed Conflict Law Review, and Psychology, Public Policy, and Law Review.

Expenses and Financial Aid

Scholarship aid available through the school does not exceed the cost of tuition. Most scholarships are merit based, although need is sometimes considered. Admitted applicants are automatically considered for most scholarship awards. Applicants who wish to be considered for a merit scholarship should complete their admission files prior to January 6. Most scholarships are awarded on a rolling basis. Those admitted by February 3 are considered for the prestigious Harvey T. Reid and Soia Mentschikoff scholarships. In addition, admitted students are eligible to apply for the public interest-related Miami Scholars Program, which requires a separate application with a deadline of April 1.

The law school assists and encourages all students to apply for federal aid (loans) prior to considering private educational loans. Federal loans may be applied for by first completing the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.gov. Our Federal School Code is E00532. Any additional financial aid information can be found on our website at www.law.miami.edu/finaid.

Career Services

The Career Development Office (CDO) offers extraordinary individual career counseling to law students and alumni, with attorneys in different specialty areas providing guidance. The CDO offers a wide range of job-related programming and job fairs, networking opportunities with attorneys in varied practice areas, and access to a resource library and national job postings via the Internet. The On-Campus Interview Program attracts national and local employers, providing opportunities with law firms, government agencies, public service organizations, corporate counsel, and the judiciary.

Miami Law also has its Legal Corps Program, an ambitious postgraduate fellowship program that places recent law graduates in government agencies, public interest organizations, and judicial chambers in Florida and throughout the country and pays them $2,500 a month for six months.

Applicant Profile

University of Miami School of Law

This grid includes only applicants who earned 120–180 LSAT scores under standard administrations.

	GPA
LSAT Score	3.75+	3.50–3.74	3.25–3.49	3.00–3.24	2.75–2.99	2.50–2.74	2.25–2.49	2.00–2.24	Below 2.00	No GPA
LSAT score 175–180	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 170–174	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 165–169	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 160–164	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 155–159	Possible	Possible	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 150–154	Possible	Possible	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 145–149	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 140–144	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 135–139	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 130–134	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 125–129	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 120–124	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely

Good  = Good Possibility

Possible  = Possible

Unlikely  = Unlikely

When reviewing the grid, it is important to note that admission to the school is based upon all aspects of an applicant's background, and not limited to the LSAT and undergraduate grade-point average.