As I age, time seems to pass more quickly, and I focus on my children’s milestones than my own. Yet I would be remiss not to reflect on my year as president of the University of Miami Law Alumni Association, which both has flown and seemingly stretched.

When I began my term on June 1, the law school was undergoing a challenging transition. Those coming days and weeks demonstrated our 'Cane spirit in all its glory. With the approval of faculty, my Property professor from the early 90s stepped in as acting Dean. The calm and continuity Dean Steven Schnably brought to the law school confirmed to each of us that our school’s future was secure. Through the summer and into the beginning of the school year, Dean Schnably stabilized the faculty and students and ensured that the curriculum was intact and would fully support and train our strongest-ever entering class.

At Orientation in August, the diversity, brilliance and eagerness to learn of that class reminded me of our school’s many strengths. Those students soon had the opportunity to meet our interim Dean, Nell Newton, whose steady hand gave us even greater stability. Our alumni showed their support for that stability with strong financial support on October’s Giving Day, and by coming together in person for the first time since Covid separated us all at our Homecoming reunions for the classes of '81, '91, '01, and '11 at our Morning Spirits Breakfast.

Back together on campus this winter and early spring, our alumni and students had the opportunity to learn from many lecture series and symposia. From Keith Ellison to Harold Koh to Kristen Clarke, our law school taught alumni and students about the legal system bettering communities where injustice is rising. By February, Covid had stabilized such that we were able to host our first ‘mass’ in-person judicial reception in two years.  We honored our chief judges and the judicial system in Miami for rising to the challenges presented by Covid and ensuring that the courts stayed open for the administration of justice throughout the pandemic.  

Happy occasions continue for our law school; for the first time in nearly 10 years our students brought home the Dean’s Cup after resoundingly defeating the medical school team on March 5! We congratulated the next group of alumni the next day at their first graduation celebration in my home March 6, and we look forward to celebrating them as they all graduate. Three of those soon-to-be alumni, Kelly Malloy, Jenna Jurado and Tori Simkovic, joined me and Director of the International Moot Court Board Paula Arias as tappees into the Spring 2022 Iron Arrow class on April 7. The United States Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown-Jackson, the daughter of alumnus Johnny Brown, JD ’77, to the United States Supreme Court.  We celebrated the life of Gail D. Serota, JD ’79, by dedicating the Reading Room in her memory, and we celebrated the appointment of Professor Mary Anne Franks to the Michael Klein Chair. The Law Alumni Association will very proudly welcome a new class of alumni at graduation, and we will watch – and hire – them as they go out into the legal community and do great things on their own.

Coming full circle, I have had the opportunity to serve on the search committee for the next Dean of our Law School and confess to being impressed with the support of the Board of Trustees and the administration for UM Law’s continued and future strength both nationally and at home.  I am confident that the next Dean of our beloved alma mater will move us to further greatness, and that our love and support for our school will only grow.  

It has been a privilege to represent you. The Law Alumni Association Board has worked tirelessly to represent you in the school and in the community and has successfully fundraised for the school, and I thank each of them. The extraordinary privilege of working so closely with Georgie Angones  and President-elect Dan Newman cannot be understated. I leave you in their capable hands, and I hope you show them the same support you have shown me. I leave you with these lyrics: May Southern suns and sky blue water shine upon you. Thank you.  

Julie Braman Kane, BA '90, JD '93
President, Law Alumni Association

Partner, Colson Hicks Eidson
 

Remember to connect and keep up with the latest from your Law Alumni Association on the web, and on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. If you have any accomplishments you would like to share, Submit a Class Note and we will update the Class Notes page with your story!

Harold Long, Jr., JD '71 and H.T. Smith, JD '73 - Honored with Naming of Student Services Building.

Alumna and Chief Diversity Officer + Shareholder at One of Largest U.S. Law Firms Speaks to Student Organizations.

Law Alumni and Miami Law students were tapped in Iron Arrow: Paula Arias, JD '09; Jenna Jurado, 3L; Julie Braman Kane, JD '93, Kelly Malloy, 3L; Tori Simkovic, 3L (not pictured); Gene Sulzberger, JD '91 (not pictured). 

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Michael A. Haggard, JD '95. The managing partner of The Haggard Law Firm in Coral Gables, Haggard is a leading plaintiff’s personal injury attorney in Florida and nationally.

CABA Elects Miami Law Alumni to its Board of Directors: Miriam Soler Ramos, BSC ’99, JD ’02, was elected President, as well as double Canes Haydee Sera, BBA. ’06, JD ’09; Nory Acosta-Lopez, BBA. ’02, JD ’05; and Emily Balter, BBA ’14, JD ’17 who are Directors.

Patricia D. White served as Miami Law’s dean from 2009-2019 after serving as dean of Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. During her tenure as dean of Miami Law, the law school added the LawWithoutWalls program, more than doubled the number of clinics, and added the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. Dean White’s tenure was also marked by extraordinary alumni giving. In 2015, the quadrangle bricks area were named the Bass Bricks in recognition of the generous gift from Hilarie Bass (JD ’81), former American Bar Association president, and former chair of the University of Miami Board of Trustees. The following year Laurie Silvers and Mitchell Rubenstein Hall was dedicated in honor of longtime Miami Law supporters, Laurie Silvers (AB’74, JD’77) and her husband Mitchell Rubenstein. Then, in 2018, in honor of his $1.1 million gift supporting student scholarships and faculty research and teaching, one of the law school buildings was named for Robert Earle Dooley (JD ’53). 

2010 – Miami Law Professor Michele DeStefano founded Law Without Walls (LWOW), an initiative that places an emphasis on cultivating skills necessary for successful global lawyers and redefining how law, business, and social justice interact on a global scale. 

2011 - American Bar Association Law Student Division’s Judy M. Weightman Memorial Public Interest Award was awarded to HOPE Public Interest Resource Center in recognition of the program’s strong commitment to public interest.  

2014 – Miami Law launched Washington, D.C. Semester in Practice, which aimed to demonstrate the institutional, political, and legal contexts in which policymaking and implementation take place.

Enjoy the memories shared in these videos by Miami Law Alumni who attended during these years:
Frederick Hawkins, JD '11