FIU Law School- reputation? (Miami, Tallahassee: mover, lawyers, look for a job)

[eclipse450]

Hi everyone,

I'm considering attending FIU Law in the fall. I realize it's a fourth tier school, and has little national recognition. I'm ok with being limited to the Miami area for my early career. But how is FIU viewed in the Miami legal community? Are the graduates considered hirable, or are they passed over for UM/UF students?

If there are any Miami based lawyers on here it would be helpful to know, before I make my decision.

-Andrew

[illini84]

Andrew,
FIU Law was one of the schools I seriously considered when applying to law school last year, so I did a significant amount of research on it (and visited). However, I ended up attending Saint Louis University Law School instead, went through a semester, and decided that I enjoyed my undergrad major much more than law and left. Ironically enough, I accepted a job in Miami, so hopefully I can give you some insight on FIU Law and Miami as a city.

FIU Law has a very nice facility since everything is brand new and fairly modern. The people were friendly enough when I visited, too, but I was very unimpressed with the customer service and attention I received when I visited. I flew all the way from Chicago to Miami--down and back in the same day--just to visit the law school and to meet the administration. They knew I was coming just for them (I'd had an appointment for months and even called the day before I arrived to confirm), but when I got there, the school acted like they didn't even know I was coming, had some student office assistant give me a 5 minute tour of the place, and that was it. I asked to speak with some administrative staff--a professor or anyone else--but no one could manage to arrange this. This was the only law school I visited who did not have an entire day or half-day planned when I arrived. I was very upset, to say the least, and this definitely made my decision not to attend FIU Law. Hopefully this was an isolated incident and they don't treat everyone this way, but I was literally appalled.

Anyway, now that I've lived in Miami for awhile, it seems like FIU is working hard to increase its reputation. I wouldn't say it necessarily has a poor reputation around here, but it is definitely overshadowed by UMiami and is considered much less prestigious. You probably already know this, but FIU's reputation doesn't extend much beyond Miami. I am originally from the Chicago area and actually discovered FIU Law through a Google search and said, "F-I-WHO?". Anyway though, my job now requires me to work with many law firms around Miami, and I can honestly say that I know of no recent hires who went to FIU Law (most from UMiami or elsewhere). That's not to say FIU grads can't get hired, though. I'd say it's just like any other college reputation situation: if you go to a small or unranked school, you're going to have a tougher time getting a job with a prestigious company (unless maybe if you're a major go-getter or an academic standout). If you don't care about prestige and working for a large law firm--who cares? I think FIU Law would be just fine. Also, and you may or may not already know this, but FIU and Miami as a city are predominately Hispanic. Not that race matters, but it presents an interesting situation sometimes since the majority of people in Miami speak English as a second language (or no English at all). I especially noticed this when I visited FIU Law. I saw a few study groups in the law library and they were all speaking Spanish, as was the staff in the offices (although the staff did switch to English to answer my questions, of course). This is typical of Miami, but you may have a hard time fitting in and making friends if you're not bilingual. If you're moving to a new city and don't know a soul, adding a language barrier to the list of challenges you have to face isn't exactly fun (take it from me). It makes the process of meeting new friends 20x more difficult.

Well, hope this helps--just my two cents from living here and from going through this law school process last year. Do you have any other schools you're considering?

[MoverandShaker2004]

FIU grads passed the Florida Bar at a higher rate than any other law school in the state @ 94%. FSU came in a close second @ 87%. Also, you guys are forgetting something about the number of FIU Law grads for hire in Miami - FIU has only graduated TWO (2) classes in the law school's two year history, so naturally there is no history of hiring FIU Law grads in the area. However, knowing how Miami operates, the apparent success of the program will not have much of an impact on the way people view the new graduates. "Prestige" will no doubt come before substance and functionality, just like everything else in Miami.Also, you should know that the only reason FIU got the money from Tallahassee to build the new school was to increase the number of minority (in particular hispanic) lawyers in South Florida. It clearly states this in the first sentence in the school's charter. So expect the school to put most of its emphasis on another group of people and not you individually. It is almost pseudo-discrimination if you ask me.

[kevinkagy]

The FIU Law School building is really nice and has an amazing library. However, I'm pretty sure FIU Law is a 3rd tier school because they continually advertise how rare it is for such a young law school to raise rankings so fast. Also, FIU law students ranked #1 in Florida for bar passing rates and the law grads are well known throughout South Florida. But again, there aren't many just yet, it's fairly new. The university as a whole though is known statewide. FIU has quickly improved and the law school's future looks really bright IMO, it has a lot of potential and it's proven really successful.

[d40372]

Originally Posted by MoverandShaker2004

FIU grads passed the Florida Bar at a higher rate than any other law school in the state @ 94%.

Actually, there was one person in their first graduating class who graduated early and then took the Bar early. She passed.

So, for a few months there, 100% of all FIU Law grads had passed the Bar.

Of course, if she had failed, she would have given the school an all-time (albeit short-lived) pass rate of 0%.

[illini84]

Talk about some pressure! I wonder if she rushed through school just so she could be the first person ever who graduated from FIU Law That would be pretty cool.

The Princeton Review is my favorite site Florida International University for law school info. Check it out if you haven't already! It says the bar passage rate is 86%, which is still higher than the state average, I think. Average starting salary is $63,681. Compare it to UMiami Law, which has a bar passage rate of 85% and an average starting salary of $81,000.

For a school that's just starting though, their stats aren't too shabby.

[Valwpcc9w6]

F I Who?

I had people make the same argument with the CPA exam passing rate. FIU grads pass in greater numbers than those at UM and other schools. BIG DEAL. If I cross the nation and look for a job, people will recognize me for the name of the school that I attended, all things being equal.

You get what you pay for. The reason FIU people pass these tests at a higher rate is that many (not all) professors there do not teach. This leaves students to learn everything with minimal faculty support.

If you want to attend a solid public school in Florida, go to UF.

Now bash me all you can, FIU people. There are plenty of smart people at your school. It's just the way life and the pecking order go. Harvard people laugh at UM, and UM people laugh at FIU.

[kevinkagy]

There will always be haters, it's okay. UM is a great school and so is FIU. FIU continues to get more and more competitive and has enlarged its range of academic programs. In the end, having good universities benefits Miami, our education and our economy and that's what matters most in my books.

[Eva19]

If FIU has a high Bar passage rate, it is because they expel all the underachievers after their first and second years, just like all the other third and fourth tier law schools down here do...at least you won't waste tens of thousands of dollars if you go to FIU. But seriously, the only attorney I knew who graduated from there was publicly fired from a low-status job...plus it's in Doral or somewhere way out west where no one wants to be...campus is beautiful though.
It is really kind of absurd that someone compared it to FSU though...that is like comparing Yale to Texas A&M or something.
If you have any other choices, pursue those...see what kind of LSAT UM is accepting these days. Apparently they're not too selective right now, but they have a smidgen of respect around the country and the Miami-Dade area.

[MoverandShaker2004]

Originally Posted by Eva19

If FIU has a high Bar passage rate, it is because they expel all the underachievers after their first and second years, just like all the other third and fourth tier law schools down here do...at least you won't waste tens of thousands of dollars if you go to FIU. But seriously, the only attorney I knew who graduated from there was publicly fired from a low-status job...plus it's in Doral or somewhere way out west where no one wants to be...campus is beautiful though.
It is really kind of absurd that someone compared it to FSU though...that is like comparing Yale to Texas A&M or something.
If you have any other choices, pursue those...see what kind of LSAT UM is accepting these days. Apparently they're not too selective right now, but they have a smidgen of respect around the country and the Miami-Dade area.

Haha FSU = Tallahassee = Ghetto = 1/2 black ghetto + 1/2 redneckville