Experiential education is central to Miami Law’s mission to prepare students for modern legal practice.
Through a diverse array of courses, students can apply theory from the classroom to real-world legal problems.
No matter what area of law students want to pursue, every student can gain practical experience and develop core competencies used by lawyers through a clinic, practicum, externship, Litigation or Transactional skills course, or other innovative programs.
Miami Law’s clinical program offers students an immersive opportunity to build transferable lawyering skills representing actual clients, while providing critical legal services to underserved clients and communities.
Miami Law’s experiential curriculum is continuously innovating to diversity the professional skills and practice areas available to students, and respond to today’s most pressing legal problems.
Practicums are courses that combine in-depth study of a particular subject area with real-world work on the topic. The hands-on learning might involve actual law reform work supervised by Miami Law faculty, or outside placements doing litigation, transactional or policy work with practitioners who are experts in their field.
Miami Law’s Litigation Skills program offers rigorous courses on the theory and practice of pre-trial and trial advocacy. Using realistic case files and simulations, students practice their lawyering skills every week in small sections and get feedback from highly experienced federal and state court lawyers and judges.
As a capstone, students can become a Certified Legal Intern under Florida’s student practice rule and litigate real cases with outside agencies.
Miami Law’s Transactional Skills program offers practice-oriented courses in transactional law. Through a combination of lectures and simulations, students learn and practice skills such a client communication, negotiation, drafting various contracts and transactional documents and due diligence.
The cornerstone of the program are the courses Transactional Drafting and Deal Skills where students get feedback from highly experienced transactional lawyers.
Miami Law’s externship courses provide students the opportunity to gain practical legal experience, while participating in a class focused on professional identity formation and practice skills.
Students work with public interest organizations, government agencies, judges and in-house law departments in any practice area they choose.
Miami Law offers unique hands-on learning opportunities for academic credit as part of various specialty centers and programs. These include the Center of Ethics and Public Service, Law Without Walls (LWOW), and the Human Rights Program.
Rebecca Sharpless
Associate Dean for Experiential Learning
Professor of Law and Director, Immigration Clinic
Copyright: 2022 University of Miami. All Rights Reserved.
Emergency Information
Privacy Statement & Legal Notices