University of Miami School of Law Closes in on `Momentum’ Campaign Goal
Thanks to the generosity of many loyal alumni, the University of Miami School of Law is close to meeting its fundraising goal of $16 million. As of August 1, the school had raised $13,555,059.
Momentum: The Campaign for the University of Miami was launched in October 2003. The School of Law’s goal was to raise enough funds to strengthen the endowment for scholarships, faculty chairs, visiting professorships and build a Litigation Skills Training Center, which includes a model courtroom.
Among the distinguished graduates who contributed one third of the goal towards the campaign are Laurie Silvers, Mike Klein and the estate of Reba Engler Daner.
Other prominent donors include UM Trustee Carlos M. de la Cruz, Sr., J.D. ’74 and Wayne Chaplin, J.D. ’82 co-chair of the School of Law campaign, whose leadership gift has funded an endowment student scholarship, and the law firm of Kozyak, Tropin & Throckmorton, P.A., who funded the Suite of Offices in the new Skills Litigation Center Building. The family of Mayer Simcha Leiter, J.D.’02 established in his memory the “Meyer S. Leiter Judaic Collection and Study Area” in the Law Library. The fund will expand the Library’s Collection of Materials on Jewish Law and will fund a lecture series.
“The success of the fundraising campaign shows that our alumni have arrived, and are at the pinnacle of their careers,” said Dennis O. Lynch, dean of the School of Law. “Now they are eager to give back to the place that helped them become successful professionals.”
“It is very rewarding to watch the tremendous success of the Momentum campaign at our Law School,” said Hilarie Bass, J.D. ’81, who co-chairs the School of Law campaign. “It shows the commitment of our fellow alumni in making sure that our school and University continue to be among the finest in the nation.”
The University of Miami School of Law is fast emerging as one of the top law schools in the country. Its geographic location in one of the most multicultural cities in the country has made its students among the most diverse and sought-after. For several decades, the school has attracted numerous international students, many of them multicultural and multilingual. Its brilliant faculty is diverse, well-known for its prolific scholarship, eclectic range of expertise and influential in their leadership.
The school is one of the primary educators of bilingual law graduates in the nation. Consistently listed among the top law schools in the nation for Hispanic students, this year, it was ranked No. 2 by Hispanic Business magazine in its annual ranking of the top 10 U.S. law schools.
The school’s program in taxation is regularly ranked among the top in the nation. UM law school graduates who took the Florida Bar Exam led the state last summer with an 84 percent pass rate. This excellence in academics translates into prestigious graduates who have made their mark in the world of law and politics.
In addition to alumni giving back to their school, many law firms joined in raising funds for the Momentum campaign. Among them:
— Podhurst, Orseck, P.A.
— Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP
— Abadin, Jaramillo, Cook, Heffernan & Martinez
— The Attorneys’ Title Insurance Fund, Inc.
— Isicoff, Ragatz & Koenigsberg, P.A.
— Kenny Nachwalter, P.A.
— Kluger Peretz Kaplan & Berlin, P.A.
— Parenti, Falk, Wass, Hernandez & Cortina, P.A.
— Ruden, McClosky, Smith, Schuster & Russell, P.A.
— White and Case
— Wicker, Smith, O’Hara, McCoy, Graham & Ford, P.A.
— Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A.
— Zuckerman Spaeder LLP
— Kozyak, Tropin & Throckmorton, P.A.
In addition, the Carlos Armando Mario and Pablo, C.A.M.P. 4 Justice Foundation, an entity founded to honor the memory of the four Brothers to the Rescue pilots who were downed by Cuban planes in February 1996, established the “Henry Bandier Fellow” at the Children and Youth Law Clinic, and the Armando Alejandre, Jr. February 24, 1996 Memorial Foundation has endowed a scholarship. Attorneys Title Insurance Fund has also endowed a scholarship for students who are members of the Florida Bar and are enrolled in the LLM Program in Real Estate with a gift of $250,000 at the School of Law.
If you wish to help the School of Law campaign by establishing a scholarship or obtaining a list of the naming opportunities for the Litigation Skills Center, visit http://www.miami.edu/campaign/priorities/s_law.html, or contact Dean Dennis O. Lynch or Assistant Dean Georgie A. Angones at (305) 284-2394.
The University of Miami’s mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond. Committed to excellence and proud of the diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world. http://www.miami.edu