Michael Huber: Awarded Grant to Attend Communications Law Conference

Last semester Michael Huber saw an announcement that was being circulated by the Career Planning Center. The American Bar Association was offering a grant for law students to attend the ABA's annual conference on communications law. Michael applied and was one of only two applicants accepted nationally. The American Bar Association paid all of his expenses, he got to spend four days rubbing elbows with all the bigwigs from the communications law community, and the only thing that they requested in return was for Michael to write an article about the conference for the ABA's magazine on communications law. The article should not be too great a task for the first-year law student who, before enrolling in law school, accumulated over twenty years of experience in the newspaper industry.

As a returning student, fall semester was a bit of a role reversal for Michael. From 1992 to 1999, Michael was on the other side of the lecture podium, as a professor of journalism at Florida International University. After completing his bachelor's degree, Michael studied law for a year, but decided to postpone his legal education in order to pursue a graduate degree in journalism. For twenty-five years Michael carried with him the intention of one day returning to law school and with his two kids getting closer and closer to starting college themselves, Michael decided not to delay any longer.

Determined that the time had come to return to law school, he put his journalism skills to work. "I'm a reporter. I did what a good reporter does; I investigated. I researched law schools and I came to the conclusion that, with its rigorous curriculum and its broad alumni base, the University of Miami was the place for me to go." Ultimately, he wants to take his law degree back to the newspaper business to practice First Amendment law. However, as is the case with many students during their first year of law school, Michael has discovered other areas of interest. Michael was not that enthusiastic about criminal law until spring semester when he took Criminal Procedure with Professor Simon. In addition to his J.D., Professor Simon holds a Ph.D. in sociology and his course has inspired Michael to consider practicing criminal law.

Michael has found that there is a great skill transfer from journalism to law. In both professions, a substantial amount of time is spent researching and writing. Legal writing and journalistic writing are two contrasting styles and even for a veteran writer like Michael, legal writing did not come naturally at first. "Legal writing is very formal, while in journalism the writer uses a more informal, conversational tone. Despite this disparity, writing is like acting, you play a role, and you adjust your writing style to fit your audience. That's what a writer does."

Originally from Norfolk, Virginia, Michael earned his bachelor's and master's from Indiana University. As an undergraduate, he majored in political science, with a minor in psychology. After completing his studies in Bloomington, Michael moved to Chicago where he worked for the Chicago Sun-Times. After two years in Chicago, he took a job as reporter for the Louisville Times and then in 1982 he took a job with The Miami Herald. Miami has been his home ever since.

He worked for The Miami Herald for ten years and he was the executive editor of The Broward Review (now The Daily Business Review) for three years. In 1994 Michael co-founded The Word Association, an educational software business and he served as the company's director for its first five years. Other highlights in his career include one book, a chapter in another, ten years as an independent consultant and freelance writer and editor, and an extensive list of professional honors and awards.

For anyone contemplating returning to school to pursue a law degree, Michael says it was easy to make the transition from work back to school. "The adjustment period was a matter of weeks, even days. From the start you are so immersed in the challenge of legal studies that you simply don't have any time to be apprehensive." One of Michael's favorite hobbies is boating and through his hobby, he is able to offer a revealing perspective on the commitment demanded by law school. "Before going to law school, I used to take my boat out two times a week. Since I started law school, I've taken the boat out just twice."