JD Journal » University of Miami School of Law

NFB Files Complaints Against 9 Law Schools for Violating Civil Rights of Blind Law School Applicants

joshua — Wed, 05 May 2010 15:37:15 +0000

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) announced today it has filed complaints with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, requesting investigations of nine prominent law schools for violating the civil rights of blind and other print-disabled law school applicants.

The basis for the complaints is that the law schools require applicants who wish to apply online to use a centralized Internet-based process provided by the Law School Admissions Council via its website – a process that is inaccessible to blind law school applicants.

According to today’s article at PR Newswire, the nine law schools named in the complaints are the University of Chicago Law School, Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, Washington and Lee University School of Law, University of Miami School of Law, William Mitchell College of Law, Gonzaga University School of Law, and Northeastern University School of Law.

The complaints ask the Justice Department to require these law schools to suspend use of the LSAC application system until it is accessible to blind and other print-disabled students, and to require each law school to provide the same application process in a format available to all students.

Founded in 1940, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the nation’s largest and most influential membership organization of blind persons. With fifty thousand members, the NFB has affiliates in all fifty states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and over seven hundred local chapters. As a consumer and advocacy organization, the NFB is considered the leading force in the blindness field today and is the Voice of the Nation’s Blind.

Oshins & Associates Merges with Jeffrey M. Verdon Law Group

Erik Even — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:51:25 +0000

Las Vegas’ Oshins & Associates has brought on the members of the Jeffrey M. Verdon Law Group.

Jeffrey M. Verdon joins Oshins as of counsel. He was Managing Partner at the Jeffrey M. Verdon Law Group. He specializes in estate & income taxation planning and asset & lifestyle protection planning for high-net worth clients.

Professor Jerry Hesch joins as Special Senior Tax Counsel. He is a former tax partner at Greenberg Traurig. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Miami School of Law and Florida International University School of Law.

Attorney Scott B. Flaherty also joins from Verdon Law Group.

Oshins & Associates is a boutique trusts & estates and asset protection law firm with eight estate planning attorneys, headed by nationally-known attorneys Steve Oshins and Richard Oshins.

University of Miami Law School Offers Deferrals to Incoming 1Ls

Erik Even — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 04:49:46 +0000

The University of Miami School of Law is offering incentives to its incoming Fall 2009 students, to defer starting at the school until Fall 2010.

The school says a higher than usual number of accepted offers has created a “larger than optimal” first year class.

Those who accept the deferral will get a $5,000 scholarship upon completing 120 hours of public interest work; increased likelihood of selection for a $75,000 Miami Scholars Scholarship; and a better shot at getting 2010 scholarships.

The University of Miami School of Law, founded in 1926, is located in Coral Gables, Florida. According to US News & World Report, the school is ranked 71st among all law schools, with its tax law program ranked 6th in the nation. The law school was ranked 26th overall in the annual 2009 Judging the Law Schools rankings.

University of Miami Law to Defer Incoming Students

Erik Even — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:56:02 +0000

For months now, Biglaw firms have been offering voluntary, or imposing involuntary, deferral schemes on incoming associates. Now a law school had jumped on the bandwagon.

The University of Miami School of Law is asking incoming 1L students invited to start in the Fall to defer their entry into the law school until Fall 2010.

Students who accept the offer will get a $5000 Public Interest Deferral Scholarship for the 2010-11 academic year, if they complete 120 hours of public service by June 2010. This is in addition to any other scholarship money.

Deferred students will also have a greater chance of receiving a $75,000 Miami Scholars Scholarship award; and will be first considered for all 2010 scholarships.

The University of Miami School of Law, founded in 1926, is one of the top 100 law schools in the United States. According to US News & World Report, the school is ranked 71st among all law schools, with its tax law program ranked 6th in the nation. The law school was ranked 26th overall in the annual 2009 Judging the Law Schools rankings.

The UM School of Law is located on the campus of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, just 6 miles southeast of Miami.

UC Irvine Law Hires Seven New Faculty Members

Erik Even — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:20:19 +0000

The new UC Irvine School of Law, which opens this fall, has hired seven new faculty members, bringing its total number of tenure-track professors to 22.

Mario Barnes joins from the University of Miami School of Law. He teaches criminal law, constitutional law, national security law, and race and the law.

Alejandro Camacho, from the University of Notre Dame Law School, teaches environmental law.

Jennifer Chacon joins from the UC Davis School of Law, where she covered criminal procedure and immigration law.

Stephen Lee, previously of Stanford Law, is an expert in administrative law and immigration law.

Christopher Leslie teaches antitrust law and intellectual property; he comes to UCI from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.

And Christopher Tomlins teaches American legal history.

When its first class enters in Fall 2009, The University of California, Irvine School of Law will be the fifth law school in the UC system, and the first public law school to open in California in 40 years.

Akerman Senterfitt Adds 3 to Labor & Employment Practice

Erik Even — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:40:25 +0000

Miami-based Akerman Senterfitt has brought a three-attorney group into its West Palm Beach labor & employment practice.

David Spector and Christopher Duke are joining the firm as shareholders. Lorraine Rogers joins as of counsel.

Spector got his JD from the University of Miami School of Law; Duke and Rogers from the University of Florida College of Law.

Akerman Senterfitt was founded in 1920, and has grown to become one of the largest law firms in the United States. In 2008, the National Law Journal ranked the firm as 92nd largest in the US by number of attorneys, and the second-largest Florida-based firm, behind Greenberg Traurig.