September 2005

Since graduating from the University of Miami School of Law in 2003, Josiane Deschamps Abel has been working as an attorney with Russo Appellate Firm in South Miami. While she focuses predominately on civil appellate work, she also does some trial support work for attorneys in the areas of insurance defense, maritime, medical malpractice and personal injury. “My days are spent analyzing high-level, complicated legal issues for cases that will set a precedent. The work certainly comes with a degree of stress because of the complexity of the issues that we deal with at the appellate level, but unlike trial work where there is the constant time pressure of preparing for trial, we have time to craft arguments and to do our best work. It’s very intellectual. Everything is a research project, which makes it a lot like law school. I have a great boss, Elizabeth Russo (JD’78), with an incredible reputation. Her standards are high, but it is an honor to work for her.”

Josiane is a single mom who worked as a dental hygienist for twenty-three years before starting law school, and she cites her current boss as an influence in her decision to pursue a law degree. “Dental hygiene is a limited field and I wanted something wide open, intellectually challenging, and that would compensate well. I had several patients who were attorneys and there were three women in particular, including my current boss, whom I admired for how they thought and their kind dispositions. They put to rest my notion of the stereotypical lawyer.” After Josiane completed her first year courses, Ms. Russo invited Josiane to join her staff as a clerk. Josiane clerked for Russo for the rest of law school and when she graduated she was hired as an associate attorney.

Another stereotype about attorneys and the law that Josiane says deflated quickly was that law school is a hyper-competitive, cut-throat environment. “At the start, my biggest concern was that I was not tough enough for law school. What I discovered when I arrived at orientation was a positive, supportive environment and from my first day to my last day everyone was welcoming and wanted me to succeed. The dean’s fellows really played a critical role in my success the first-year.”

The Dean’s Fellows Program (Academic Achievement Program) helps first-year students prepare for their classes and finals. Josiane thought so much of the program that she worked as a dean’s fellow during her second and third year. She was also a research assistant for Professor Mahoney and participated in UM Law’s summer study abroad program in London and an exchange program with the University of Leipzig. Josiane graduated in the top ten percent of her class and was a member of the Order of the Coif, the Honor Council, the Bar and Gavel Honorary Society, and the Student Writing Editor for Inter-American Law Review. Her law review article Language, Nationality, and the Law: What Lies Ahead for America? was published in the Inter-American Law Review during her second year.

Josiane was born in Haiti and moved to Miami when she was ten. She majored in art history at the University of Michigan and is an enthusiast for the performing arts.

“Law school is painful and confusing at times, but it is also tremendously stimulating and rewarding. UM afforded me the opportunity to transform my life and I don’t know if I would have had this experience at another school.”

Everyone at the School of Law sends Josiane congratulations on her recent engagement to Canadian architect, Ron Sandrin-Litt.