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		Who: Joseph Discepola From: Wayside, New Jersey What: J.D./MBA candidate 2009, co-founder of iB-LIEVE Where: Wayside, New Jersey

Joseph is a joint JD/MBA candidate here at the University of Miami School of Law. Hailing from Wayside, New Jersey, Joseph graduated from New York University with a degree in Finance and Accounting. After graduation he acquired a job at Goldman Sachs in New York City as a Financial Analyst. Following two years at the "grind", Joseph entered law school. He chose the University of Miami for its reputation in tax law as well as its focus on public interest law. During his first summer, Joseph did a public interest fellowship with Miami’s Children and Youth Law Clinic where he worked closely with DCF and the foster care system here in Miami.

During his second summer, Joseph transitioned from public interest to corporate law and worked at the Burger King headquarters in their tax law department. His third summer he went back home to New Jersey and worked at a small local law firm, Lomurro, Davidson, Eastman & Munoz. Joseph could have chosen to follow any of these other opportunities, but he used the skills he gained from these experiences to shape his own future by co-founding iB-LIEVE. iB-LIEVE was founded on the power of believing and how it translates into performance. It is a lifestyle brand that is designed to inspire people to reach their full potential. iB-LIEVE started with the Rothschild Competition sponsored by the School of Business here at the University of Miami. Students from various disciplines are able to enter the contest and submit a formal business proposal. Local entrepreneurs and UM alumni judge the competition and the winners are eligible to receive thousands of dollars to start their businesses. Joseph and one of his old friends who is currently completing a MD/PhD wrote up a plan and entered the contest with iB-LIEVE. By promoting the power of belief in conjunction with maintaining an optimistic attitude and taking positive action, iB-LIEVE contends people can become the best versions of themselves. Their target market includes, but is not limited to, sports teams, businesses and students. Their plan made it into the finals and they won an honorable mention award. With that Joseph and a handful of his friends from home invested a start up of $1000 each and iB-LIEVE got off the ground.

So far iB-LIEVE has held workshops at Boston University and Carnegie Mellon as well as at a junior high school in New Jersey. They are also involved in special logo brand needs. Recently they designed the logo for a breast cancer awareness walk in New Jersey. Joseph plans on continuing his work with iB-LIEVE upon graduation. When asked what his advice would be to prospective students, Joseph said to take your time and don't rush into it. He encourages those who need to take a year or two to work, earn money or find your self, to do so. He recommends incoming students to also look beyond the classroom, to take advantage of guest speakers that come to UM Law, get involved in clinics and get as much experience as possible through internships and clerkships. Joseph believes, “by doing these things you will get a real sense of what being a lawyer is truly about and you will be able to figure out which area of law best suits you and how to use your knowledge to shape your own future as you face the countless possibilities that legal careers present”.

Posted: 05/01/2009