Archive for 'R. Alexander Acosta'

The legal community came together Sept. 29 to celebrate 10 years of FIU Law. In the process, nearly $1 million was raised for fellowships and scholarships, ensuring that the college’s promise to educate a unique type of lawyer will be kept for generations.

“Miami opens its doors to all individuals with the will and the heart to seek and achieve success. FIU Law will do the same,” said College of Law Dean Alexander Acosta, addressing more than 400 law students, lawyers, judges, alumni, faculty and university leaders who gathered at the Four Seasons Hotel Miami. “There is something special about the FIU Law student. They do not believe in limits. They charge forward with the attitude that with hard work and an excellent education nothing is beyond their grasp. This is the attitude that makes FIU Law and FIU Law graduates distinct.”

The Judge Aaron B. Cohen Foundation, law firms and individuals contributed to the $918,000 fundraising effort. Net proceeds will directly benefit law students by providing summer stipends and by funding scholarships for first generation students.

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MIAMI (August 31, 2012) – The Florida International University College of Law ranked second in the nation for Hispanics, according to Hispanic Business magazine. This marks the third consecutive year FIU Law has ranked among the 10 best in the nation, up from No. 4 in 2011.

Each year, Hispanic Business magazine measures and ranks the effectiveness of the nation’s universities in attracting Hispanic students. The rankings are determined based on the percentage of Hispanic student enrollment, percentage of Hispanic faculty members, percentage of degrees conferred upon Hispanics, and progressive programs aimed at increasing enrollment of Hispanic students.

Hispanics accounted for 47.2 percent of the law degrees awarded to the Class of 2011, a mark significantly higher than any other law school in the top 10.

“In less than 10 years, FIU now ranks second in the nation for Hispanics.  Imagine where FIU will be in 20 or 30 years.  Having grown up in Miami, I have seen this university transform from an idea to a city of nearly 50,000 students.  I am excited about our future,” said Dean R. Alexander Acosta.

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In the Orlando Sentinel, Dean R. Alex Acosta is quoted on the threat underfunding for the state court system can pose on wrongful convictions.

R. Alexander Acosta is the Dean of the College of Law at Florida International University. A native of Miami, Dean Acosta earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and his law degree from Harvard Law School. After serving as a law clerk to Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., then a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Dean Acosta practiced law at the law firm of Kirkland and Ellis and taught at the George Mason School of Law. Most recently, Dean Acosta became the longest serving U.S. Attorney in South Florida since the 1970s, sitting as the senate-confirmed United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, which carries one of the busiest trial calendars in the nation. He currently serves on the Florida Innocence Commission, a 23-member commission, made up of judges, politicians, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other criminal justice professionals.

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FIU Law Office of Admissions and Financial Aid hosted the Admitted Student Social on Thursday, June 7^th, 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.

View Photos of Event

MIAMI – Florida International University College of Law congratulates the incoming 2012-13 FIU Law Review Editorial Board. Editorial board members include: Editor-in-Chief Courtney Walter, Managing Editor Cristina Neuman, Executive Symposium Editor Erin Auble, and Executive Comments Editor Jennifer Soberal.

The FIU Law Review is a student-run organization responsible for producing a journal of scholarly legal works.  As a symposium-based law review, their issues are composed of articles addressing a particular area of the law, with its authors often participating in a live symposium before publication.

“I congratulate the new board members of the Law Review and look forward to working with them in the year ahead,” said FIU Law Dean R. Alexander Acosta.

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Nicholas Icaro had a rough start. When he was 5, a car accident rendered his father quadriplegic. When he was 12, his mother suffered a work injury that kept her from ever holding down another job. Public assistance followed.

Born in Ghana, raised in the United Kingdom, and educated in the United States and Canada, Tawia Ansah fits right into a College of Law whose faculty has been ranked among the most diverse in the country.

But even in a college – and university – teeming with diversity, Ansah comes with a unique world view.

As a legal expert for several international organizations, including the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the United Nations Centre for Human Rights, Ansah helped emerging nations adopt democratic laws. In Rwanda, he helped train law enforcement in how to conduct investigations; in Bosnia, he trained officials on how to run elections, and monitored them to ensure fairness.

It is that international experience in Europe and Africa that he hopes will add a new dimension to an already international law school.

“The really interesting thing about FIU Law is how new and very forward-looking it is,” said Ansah, who is also the college’s associate dean for academic affairs. “Somebody with my background can really contribute and make a difference here.”

Read full story here.

—jprenaud

MIAMI (March 13, 2012) – Florida International University’s College of Law jumped 19 spots in U.S. News and World Report’s 2013 edition of Best Graduate Schools, from 132 to 113.

“These rankings recognize what we already know, that the FIU College of Law is on the right track,” said College of Law Dean R. Alexander Acosta. “As we celebrate our 10^th anniversary, I am proud of what this law school, its faculty and students have achieved in such a short time. As South Florida’s only public law school, our students receive a superb legal education without the crushing debt burden too often faced by law students at other schools. This community should be proud of FIU College of Law’s accomplishments, the standards we have set and the graduates we produce.”

The rankings place FIU College of Law in fourth place among Florida’s 11 law schools as the 3rd most diverse law school in the nation.

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This past week the College of Law hosted the First Annual Dannette’s Voice Symposium. The First Annual Symposium theme was Perspectives: The Complexities of Domestic Violence and the Response of Various Professions and Agencies. Through the symposium, FIU Law endeavored to further the domestic violence discussion, increase awareness, advance community efforts to combat this epidemical problem and express our sincerest thanks to the Willory family for the gift that was Dannette.

In addition to the Symposium, the College also held a dedication ceremony in memory of Dannette Willory.

Pictured with Dean Acosta at the ceremony are Dannette’s friends and colleagues, and her mother Avril Willory.

Pictured above is Professor and Judge Adalberto Jordan (center),along
with Chief Justice Charles T. Canady and FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg.

Adjunct Professor elevated to 11th Circuit Court of Appeals

MIAMI (February 16, 2012)  — FIU College of Law is proud to congratulate Professor and Judge Adalberto (“Bert”) Jordan on his confirmation by the United States Senate to join the Eleventh Court of Appeals.

“Judge Jordán is among our best adjunct faculty. Our students consistently praise him for his teaching, and as important, his mentoring of our future lawyers. We at FIU College of Law are proud to call him a colleague,” said Dean R. Alexander Acosta.

Judge Jordan is the newest member of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and he is the first Cuban-American to serve on the federal appeals court that has jurisdiction over Florida.