St. Thomas University School of Law
Encyclopedia
St. Thomas University School of Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association
and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools
. The School of Law is located on the main campus of St. Thomas University
in Miami Gardens, Florida
. The School of Law was founded in 1984 and includes a multi-level library
, a moot court
amphitheater, faculty and administrative offices, a computer lab
, and classroom
s and office
s for student organizations. The architectural combination of the law school
buildings and breezeway
provides a comfortable setting for the study of law
, including an outdoor classroom that is usable virtually year-round. Prior deans of the law school include former Florida
attorney general Bob Butterworth
, who held the position from 2003 through 2006.
places the law school in a tie for fourth place among all ABA-accredited law schools in its Diversity Index (2008 edition). St. Thomas is also first in the nation in conferring J.D.
degrees upon Hispanic
students, according to Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education
Magazine (December 2006 Issue); and the former dean, Alfredo Garcia, was the first Cuba
n-born dean
of a U.S. law school. The Princeton Review ranks St. Thomas # 3 for the Best Environment for Minority Students (2009 edition). The diverse faculty is ranked # 9 in the country according to the Princeton Review.
Team.
I, Property
I, Torts I, and Legal Research
and Writing
. The following semester students continue on to Contracts II, Civil Procedure II, Property II, Torts II, and Advanced Legal Research and Writing. Students in the first year have class Monday-Friday. In the second year, students are given the opportunity to choose which courses they take. Recently, The St. Thomas Mock Trial Team was ranked third in the nation. This was significant as the field is usually dominated by tier one schools.
s are available to qualified J.D. students based on scholastic achievement and the availability of funds. For entering first-year students, eligibility is based on the LSAT
and undergraduate GPA. Eligibility for second and third-year students is based on class rank and law school GPA. Consideration for merit scholarships is automatically given to all students; no formal application is required.
Donor Scholarships-The law school also provides its students the opportunity to seek donor scholarships from numerous organizations.
work in close collaboration to offer five exciting, joint degree programs: the J.D./M.S. in Sports Administration, the J.D./M.B.A. in Sports Administration, the J.D./M.S. in Marriage and Family Counseling, J.D./M.B.A. in International Business, and the J.D./M.B.A. in Accounting.
program in El Escorial
, Spain
each summer. El Escorial is in the beautiful foothills of the Guadarrama Mountains, about 25 miles northwest of Madrid
. With an elevation of 3,432 feet, the area enjoys a pleasant year-round temperature.
The program is A.B.A. approved. St. Thomas, along with students from other law schools can study various subjects in International and Comparative Law. Grades from St. Thomas Summer-In-Spain program counts toward the residency requirement.
Florida°N date=July 2009°W
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools
Association of American Law Schools
The Association of American Law Schools is a non-profit organization of 170 law schools in the United States. Another 25 schools are "non-member fee paid" schools, which are not members but choose to pay AALS dues. Its purpose is to improve the legal profession through the improvement of legal...
. The School of Law is located on the main campus of St. Thomas University
St. Thomas University (Florida)
St. Thomas University is a private Roman Catholic university in the Miami, Florida, United States suburb of Miami Gardens.-History:The University traces its roots to the Universidad Católica de Santo Tomás de Villanueva, founded in 1946 in Havana, Cuba, named after Saint Thomas of Villanova, by...
in Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. According to the 2010 U.S...
. The School of Law was founded in 1984 and includes a multi-level library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, a moot court
Moot court
A moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, usually to include drafting briefs and participating in oral argument. The term derives from Anglo Saxon times, when a moot was a gathering of prominent men in a...
amphitheater, faculty and administrative offices, a computer lab
Computer lab
A computer lab, also known as a computer suite or computer cluster is typically a room which contains many networked computers for public use...
, and classroom
Classroom
A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...
s and office
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...
s for student organizations. The architectural combination of the law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
buildings and breezeway
Breezeway
A breezeway is an architectural feature similar to a hallway that allows the passage of a breeze between structures to accommodate high winds, allow aeration, or provide aesthetic design variation. Often a breezeway is a simple roof connecting two structures ; sometimes it can be much more like a...
provides a comfortable setting for the study of law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, including an outdoor classroom that is usable virtually year-round. Prior deans of the law school include former Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
attorney general Bob Butterworth
Bob Butterworth
Robert A. Butterworth is an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Florida.-Early life and career:Butterworth was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and moved to Florida with his family as a child. He received a degree in business administration from the University of Florida in 1965,...
, who held the position from 2003 through 2006.
Diversity
The U.S. & World Report Diversity indexDiversity index
A diversity index is a statistic which is intended to measure the local members of a set consisting of various types of objects. Diversity indices can be used in many fields of study to assess the diversity of any population in which each member belongs to a unique group, type or species...
places the law school in a tie for fourth place among all ABA-accredited law schools in its Diversity Index (2008 edition). St. Thomas is also first in the nation in conferring J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degrees upon Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
students, according to Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education
Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education
The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education is an American biweekly magazine which focuses on Hispanic education in institutions of higher learning. It is notable for its annual Top 100 list of colleges and universities awarding degrees to Hispanic students.-External links:**...
Magazine (December 2006 Issue); and the former dean, Alfredo Garcia, was the first Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n-born dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of a U.S. law school. The Princeton Review ranks St. Thomas # 3 for the Best Environment for Minority Students (2009 edition). The diverse faculty is ranked # 9 in the country according to the Princeton Review.
Extracurricular activities
The school of law has several student organizations. The school of law also has a Moot Court Team, International Moot Court Team, and a Mock TrialMock trial
A Mock Trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting of volunteers as role players to test theories or...
Team.
First-year courses
In the first semester of law school, students are divided in to sections and are automatically enrolled in Contracts I, Civil ProcedureCivil procedure
Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits...
I, Property
Property law
Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property...
I, Torts I, and Legal Research
Legal research
Legal research is "the process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal decision-making. In its broadest sense, legal research includes each step of a course of action that begins with an analysis of the facts of a problem and concludes with the application and...
and Writing
Legal writing
Legal writing is a type of technical writing used by lawyers, judges, legislators, and others in law to express legal analysis and legal rights and duties.- Authority :...
. The following semester students continue on to Contracts II, Civil Procedure II, Property II, Torts II, and Advanced Legal Research and Writing. Students in the first year have class Monday-Friday. In the second year, students are given the opportunity to choose which courses they take. Recently, The St. Thomas Mock Trial Team was ranked third in the nation. This was significant as the field is usually dominated by tier one schools.
Scholarships
School of Law Merit Scholarships- ScholarshipScholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s are available to qualified J.D. students based on scholastic achievement and the availability of funds. For entering first-year students, eligibility is based on the LSAT
Law School Admission Test
The Law School Admission Test is a half-day standardized test administered four times each year at designated testing centers throughout the world. Administered by the Law School Admission Council for prospective law school candidates, the LSAT is designed to assess Reading Comprehension,...
and undergraduate GPA. Eligibility for second and third-year students is based on class rank and law school GPA. Consideration for merit scholarships is automatically given to all students; no formal application is required.
Donor Scholarships-The law school also provides its students the opportunity to seek donor scholarships from numerous organizations.
Joint degree programs
The faculties of the law school and the graduate schoolGraduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
work in close collaboration to offer five exciting, joint degree programs: the J.D./M.S. in Sports Administration, the J.D./M.B.A. in Sports Administration, the J.D./M.S. in Marriage and Family Counseling, J.D./M.B.A. in International Business, and the J.D./M.B.A. in Accounting.
Summer-in-Spain study abroad program
St. Thomas University School of Law conducts a summer study abroadStudy abroad
Studying abroad is the act of a student pursuing educational opportunities in a country other than one's own. This can include primary, secondary and post-secondary students...
program in El Escorial
El Escorial, Madrid
El Escorial is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, located 45 km northwest of the Spanish capital Madrid. Its population in 2009 was 14,979.The territory of El Escorial is home to the park of La Granjilla de la Fresneda...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
each summer. El Escorial is in the beautiful foothills of the Guadarrama Mountains, about 25 miles northwest of Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. With an elevation of 3,432 feet, the area enjoys a pleasant year-round temperature.
The program is A.B.A. approved. St. Thomas, along with students from other law schools can study various subjects in International and Comparative Law. Grades from St. Thomas Summer-In-Spain program counts toward the residency requirement.
External links
- St. Thomas University School of Law
- Profile on Law School Numbers
- http://www.stu.edu/STUBarPassageFourthHighestintheState/tabid/2167/Default.aspx
Florida°N date=July 2009°W