In 17 years of litigating death penalty cases, Stephen Harper has never had a client sentenced to death.
Celebrating his vital career, the Greater Miami Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union recently honored Harper, clinical professor at Florida International University College of Law, with the 2013 C. Clyde Atkins Civil Liberties Award. The award acknowledges an individual who has made exceptional contributions to the advancement of civil liberties.
By Martin Haro
Eight law clinics are currently operating within the College of Law at FIU. There, law students are not only gaining hands-on experience in many areas of practice but also improving the lives of their fellow community members. In this first part of a two-part story, we tell you about some of the cases handled by the Consumer Bankruptcy Clinic, the Environmental Law Clinic, the Family and Children’s Advocacy Clinic and the Immigrant Children’s Justice Clinic.
When Peggy Maisel joined the faculty of the College of Law in 2003, she did so with a clear goal in mind: to establish a flagship clinical program that provides students with hands-on experience outside the classroom.
In August 2004, Maisel and former College of Law Professor Troy Elder launched the inaugural law clinic, the Carlos A. Costa Immigration and Human Rights Clinic. Currently, there are eight clinics and a ninth is being planned to work on behalf of veterans.
About 45 percent of FIU Law students work in a clinic before graduation. Through the end of the 2011-’12 year, the students had provided more than 27,000 hours of free legal services to approximately 400 individuals, groups and organizations. That is equivalent to a court-approved value of more than $2 million in free legal services, exclusive of faculty time.
“We are very much a law firm focusing on educating the next generation of lawyers through close supervision of law students as they practice for the first time and provide policy advocacy and community education throughout Miami-Dade,” said Maisel of the clinics, which primarily serve underprivileged individuals and nonprofits that must meet a certain threshold to receive services.
FIU Law Office of Admissions and Financial Aid hosted the Admitted Student Social on Thursday, June 7th, welcoming admitted law students that will begin classes this fall. The objective of the social was to give prospective students the unique opportunity to meet many of their future colleagues, as well as to learn how to prepare for the demands of law school.
Over the course of the event, students engaged with the law school community and learned about the various resources available to them as they transition this summer and throughout the course of their enrollment. They had the opportunity to go on a campus tour with current law students and recent graduates, purchase FIU Law S.W.A.G. (Souvenirs, wearable(s), and gifts) and meet SBA President Chris Sanchelima. They were also given the chance to connect with Associate Dean M.C. Mirow, Zoraya Ledesma from the Clinical Programs, Cynthia Henry-Duval from Career Planning and Placement, Michelle Pestaina from Admissions and Financial Aid, Tesha Allison from Student Development, and Nicole Torres from Housing & Residential Life who was on-hand to answer questions and provide helpful information about affordable and convenient housing options at FIU.
The incoming students also participated in a discussion about The Road Ahead: “Preparing for and meeting the challenges presented by the 1L year” with Dean Acosta and faculty panelists Senior Associate Dean Michelle Mason, Professor Juan Carlos Gomez, and Professor Ila J. Klion. The discussion was moderated by Tesha Allison, Assistant Director of Student Development.
This year’s entering class was selected amongst a record number of applications from a solid applicant pool. The FIU College of Law is excited that they will be joining us this fall.