SCHOOL OF LAW BLUEPRINT FOR LEADERSHIP

SCHOOL OF LAW BLUEPRINT FOR LEADERSHIP

THE VISION With 650 J.D. students from across the country and world and graduate law programs in Intercultural Human Rights, the St Thomas University School of Law is a powerful force for transforming the legal profession. The unique history of our University and our geographic location help us add diversity to the profession as the leading Hispanic-serving law school. By providing access and opportunity to all our students, we open doors to leadership careers in business, government, and law. We will train lawyer-leaders to be effective and ethical advocates and counselors who will be trusted with some of the most important matters in people s lives. They will go on to be champions for justice based on the skills and knowledge they develop in our extensive public service programs. We will be a powerful force in educating the world on human rights through our Intercultural Human Rights program and the global justice initiatives it sponsors. Through our faculty s engagement and scholarship, we will help direct the future of the law and the legal system in ways that will benefit humanity. 1

Improving the Profession of Law: Access and Opportunity St. Thomas Law will play a major role in helping the American legal profession achieve a level of diversity more representative of our society. We lead the way in ensuring access for members of groups traditionally underrepresented and provide opportunity to those who could not otherwise afford a professional education. This role is incredibly important for the future of our justice system and our nation s identity as a land of opportunity. In 2010, only 3.7% of licensed attorneys were Hispanic and only 4.8% were African American at a time when 17% of our population was Hispanic and 13% African American. Women are also substantially underrepresented among U.S. attorneys. Through extensive recruiting, admissions policies that evaluate the entire candidate, and extensive academic support programs to help our students succeed, St. Thomas Law has become a leader in remedying this underrepresentation. More than half our students come from racial and ethnic groups traditionally underrepresented in the legal profession. More than half our students are women. Many of our students of all races come from low income backgrounds. Many are immigrants or first generation Americans. Many are the first in their families to attend college and have the opportunity to pursue a professional career. We are among the five most diverse law schools in the nation and the highest ranked for enrollment of Hispanic students. The level of academic support our caring community provides our students also sets us apart and makes the opportunity we provide meaningful. We provide the tools for success by offering two major summer academic skills workshops for incoming students, an extensive first year peer mentoring program and upper level programs designed to hone writing and analytical skills and provide additional preparation for the bar exam. As a consequence of these efforts and the caring sense of community provided by faculty and staff, we have been nationally recognized as being among the top five law schools for both quality of life for law students and environment for minority students. 2

Improving the Profession of Law: Training the Most Ethical and Effective Advocates By training the most effective and ethical advocates, we improve the quality of justice in our country. Through trial and appellate advocacy courses taught by top judges and lawyers and our award-winning trial advocacy, moot court, and international moot court teams, St. Thomas Law has become known for producing well trained advocates who adhere to the highest standards of professionalism. With the help of alumni and friends, we will continue and expand this tradition, provide much needed support to the students who represent us in national and international competitions, and host programs that will expand students commitment to practicing law at the highest ethical and professional levels. With the help of alumni and friends, we will expand our leadership role and recruit and support the talented students who will transform the legal profession. 3

Fighting for Human Rights: Our Global Justice Programs Every year, attorneys from across the world join our Graduate Program in Intercultural Human Rights to learn about global justice, human rights initiatives and how to combat international evils such as human trafficking. Other attorneys come to learn about protecting our planet and environmental sustainability. These programs and those who attend them have an impact on the entire University community and expand all our horizons. With the help of alumni and friends, we will train more attorneys to advance human rights, recruit and support attorneys and human rights activists from around the world to study with us and share their insights, and further expand our role as a leader in the fights for global justice and environmental sustainability. 4

Standing Up for Justice: Service to the Community St. Thomas Law s commitment to the broader community is a mark of distinction and part of our Catholic social justice mission. All our students participate in our unique Pro Bono Leadership Program, providing tens of thousands of hours of volunteer service each year and nearly 80 percent also serve the community through clinics, externships, and public service internships. In 2013, more than 80 students each received commendations for providing more than 100 hours volunteer service. Through this service, our students learn the difference a lawyer can make in a person s life, develop life-long habits of service, and learn practical skills through the practice opportunities these experiences provide. With the help of alumni and friends, we will further expand our impact on the community, create a dedicated Clinic space to provide low income clients with a modern law office service environment, support our students efforts and reinforce their commitment to do good. 5

Building a Better Justice System: Faculty Engagement and Scholarship St. Thomas Law faculty come to us with the highest academic credentials and the most sophisticated practice and service backgrounds. In addition to sharing their expertise with our students in the classroom, they play an important role in contributing, through their published scholarship and national and international conference presentations, to the development of law and law reform. Their many books and articles serve as practice guides to lawyers and judges, study guides to law students, and beacons to legislators and judges seeking to improve the justice system. With the help of alumni and friends, we will help members of our distinguished faculty expand their important work, enable them to further build the reputation of St. Thomas University, and help us have a positive impact on the direction of the law for centuries to come. 6

HELP US MAKE A DIFFERENCE St. Thomas Law students and faculty are actively engaged in improving our local, national, and global communities. We represent immigrants and others in need, work with governmental public service agencies, lead the fight against human trafficking, and educate the public on human rights and environmental issues. Through more than 30,000 volunteer and public service externship hours each year, our students develop a lifelong passion for serving others, learn the difference a lawyer can make in a person s life, and gain the skills to become effective agents of change. Please support their important work. They are the future of a caring society. 7

BLUEPRINT FOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL OF LAW ADVISORY BOARD CHAIRS Peter Prieto, Esq. Campaign Co-Chair Herman Russomanno, Esq. Campaign Co-Chair Douglas E. Ray is Dean and Professor of Law. Before joining the St. Thomas Law faculty in October, 2010, he served as Dean of the University of Toledo College of Law (2006-2010) and Dean of Widener University School of Law and Vice President of Widener University (1999-2005). Prior to his deanships, he taught at the University of Toledo College of Law where he served as Charles W. Fornoff Professor of Law and Values and as Associate Dean. In addition, he taught at the University of Richmond School of Law. Douglas Ray Dean- School of Law About the Dean A B.A. graduate of the University of Minnesota, 1971, cum laude and a J.D. recipient of the Harvard School of Law, 1975, cum laude, Dean Ray served as an economist with the U.S. Department of Labor and as an attorney with Dorsey & Whitney in Minneapolis. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army and a graduate of the Defense Language Institute. Dean Ray is active in professional and civic organizations, including state and local bar associations and the Association of American Law Schools, for which he served as chair of the Labor and Employment Section. He is co-author of two labor law treatises Understanding Labor Law (Lextis Nexis) and Labor Management Relations: Strikes, Lockouts, and Boycotts (Thomson/West) and over twenty law journal articles on labor and employment law, torts, and law school administration. About Co-Chair Peter Prieto Peter Prieto, Esq., a partner with Podhurst Orseck, P.A., is a former federal prosecutor whose practice is focused on complex commercial litigation, including class actions, and white collar criminal defense. Mr. Prieto earned his B.A. summa cum laude in political science from St. Thomas University. In 1985, he earned a J.D. cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law, where he served as a member of the Moot Court Board and as an articles and comments editor for the Law Review. He is a member of the St. Thomas University Board of Trustees. About Co-Chair Herman Russomanno Herman J. Russomanno, Esq., is a partner at Russomanno & Borrello, P.A., Miami, Florida. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and the Samford University-Cumberland School of Law and a former law clerk for U.S. District Judge Daniel Thomas and Alabama Supreme Court Justice Hugh Maddox. A former president of the Florida Bar, he is also President of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the Roscoe Pound Civil Justice Institute, Past President of the Florida Board of Trial Advocates and a member of the ABA Ethics Commission 20/20, among other bar and community service leadership positions. Mr. Russomanno is Chair of the St. Thomas University Dean s Board of Advisors and regularly teaches Trial Practice at the law school. 8

POCKET To make your gift to the School of Law, contact lawschool@stu.edu

SUPPORT OUR MISSION This is an exciting time at St. Thomas Law, a time when inspirational gifts will determine our students futures and the impact they can have. Through this Campaign, you can demonstrate that you share our passion for providing opportunity, for training the most ethical lawyer-leaders, for serving the community, and for fostering global justice. With a naming gift or support for a major initiative, you will improve lives and create a better future. Our motto is Leaders have the courage and compassion to make a difference. We ask you to be one of these leaders. stu.edu/law