Brooks Holcomb has kept himself busy since graduating from the University of Miami School of Law in 2000. He passed the Arizona Bar, earned an LL.M. in taxation from New York University School of Law, and as of May 2001, has been an Associate Attorney with Quarles & Brady, one of the 60 largest law firms in the United States.

As an undergraduate at Brigham Young University, Brooks majored in English and minored in Business Administration. He knew he would continue his education beyond a bachelor's degree, but he was not sure what he wanted to study until a relative got him interested in estate planning. "One of the main factors behind my decision to study law at the University of Miami was the school's expertise and reputation in estate planning and taxation. Miami is actually the only law school in the country to offer a Master of Laws program in estate planning."

Another factor that led him to the University of Miami was the big-city, multicultural environment that Miami had to offer. Brooks was looking for a place where he would have opportunities to gain practical experience while going to law school and he also wanted to experience some place new and outside his comfort zone. "Miami's greatest strength is its diversity of people. The presence of different cultures and different backgrounds is reflected in the student body at UM Law. You just have to look at the array of student organizations to see the mix of different communities at the law school."

UM Law is happy that Brooks chose to pursue his legal education in Miami. During his three years at the School of Law, Brooks was the recipient of four Dean's Certificate Awards (given to the one or two students with the highest grade in a class) and one CALI Excellence Award (given to the top student in a class as determined by the professor). "Most students are lucky if they get one of these awards," commented Therese Lambert, Director of Student Recruiting, "to get five is really impressive."

Brooks has left his mark outside the classroom as well. He is a co-founder of the Miami Tax Law Chronicle and the Tax Moot Court Team. During his second year of law school he served as President of the Tax Law Society. When Brooks took the helm of the three-year old organization, membership was low. He concentrated his efforts on generating student interest in tax law and estate planning and, as a result, membership increased to 100+ members, making it the third largest student organization at the law school.

Brooks graduated magna cum laude, but he openly admits that law school is not an easy endeavor. "With a bachelor's degree in English, I thought the Legal Research and Writing class would be a breeze. I quickly realized that writing well and legal writing are two entirely different things. Legal writing has its own unique style, it is almost better to go into it with a blank slate." Brooks' advice to students planning on going to law school is to be adaptable. "Doing well the first year requires being able to make adjustments. The teaching style is different; the legal material is complex and overwhelming at times; law has its own vocabulary; and the rigors of finals can be intense."

After an eight-year educational odyssey that led him from Arizona to Utah, to Miami, and to New York, Brooks is back home in Arizona, practicing law in his areas of interest, estate planning and taxation. The University of Miami School of Law is very proud of this successful and active alumnus.