The rich academic life at Miami Law encompasses an array of distinguished lectures, forums, panel discussions, and other scholarly events sponsored by the law school and by student organizations. (To learn about all events at the Law School, visit the events calendar.)
Faculty Speaker Series: Internal Series and Legal Theory Workshop
Faculty speaker events are divided into two categories: the Legal Theory Workshop Series and the Internal Speaker Series. The Legal Theory Workshop Series brings distinguished faculty from law schools throughout the United States and abroad. The Internal Speaker Series spotlights our own faculty members who present works in progress and gain feedback from attendees.
Distinguished Lecture Series
Each year, important scholars and renowned practitioners deliver distinguished lectures at Miami Law sponsored by one of several endowed lecture series. These series include:
Alan S. Becker & Gary A. Poliakoff Preeminent Leaders in Law Speaker Series
This speaker series honors the legacy of the law firm’s founding shareholders by bringing renowned national and international legal experts to Miami Law every semester. Past speakers include Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General and Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice.
John Hart Ely Lecture Series
This lecture series was named in honor of the late John Hart Ely, a Miami Law professor and renowned constitutional scholar and academic who is the fourth most-often cited America legal scholar. His book, Democracy and Distrust, is regarded as one of the most important books about American constitutional law published in the twentieth century. Civil liberties lawyer Alan Dershowitz and constitutional lawyer Henry Monaghan were the speakers for the John Ely Hart inaugural lecture in 2010.
Louis Henkin Lecture Series on Human Rights
Miami Law’s lecture series on human rights is named in honor of the late Louis Henkin, a prominent law professor at Columbia University who was one of the founders of the academic study of human rights and who helped educate a whole generation of human rights lawyers, scholars, and activists, including some Miami Law professors. Miami Law created a lecture series in his memory.
Robert B. Cole Lecture Series
The Cole Lectures provide a forum for faculty, students and practicing attorneys to hear distinguished jurists and public figures discuss important legal and international matters. The Series honors the late Robert B. Cole, who served for years as the principal legal advisor for the University of Miami and served on the School of Law’s Visiting Committee. Previous speakers have included: U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Justice John Paul Stevens, Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., Justice Harry A. Blackmun, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Justice Stephen G. Breyer and Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anothony M. Kennedy.
The Hoffman Forum
The Hoffman Forum is supported by generous gifts from Larry J. Hoffman, J.D. ’54, and Debi Hoffman, J.D. ’83. Committed to the civil exchange of ideas for the benefit of our university, our community, and the wider world, the Forum provides an annual opportunity to have collaborative and interdisciplinary programs related to issues at the intersection of law, public policy, the arts, and social justice.
Environmental Law Program Distinguished Speaker Series
The Environmental Law Program Distinguished Lecture series brings leading thinkers to campus to discuss pressing and novel legal issues. The University of Miami School of Law established this lecture series to create dynamic exchange between our students, faculty, researchers, and activists who are shaping environmental law today. Each year we invite a panel of experts to engage on an area of environmental law from multiple angles.
SELA - the Seminario en Latinoamérica de Teoría Constitucional y Política (Seminar on Latin American Constitutional and Political Theory)
This is an annual academic gathering which brings scholars together from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain to discuss complex theoretical issues of law, society, and policy of significance to the Americas.
White & Case International Arbitration Institute Lecture
Miami Law School hosts faculty workshops during each academic year that allow faculty, professors from other law schools, and interdisciplinary scholars to discuss works in progress. Lectures, roundtables, symposia and seminars are also sponsored by individual academic programs. In addition to engaging with faculty and presenting their current research, scholars occasionally deliver guests lectures to classes or public lectures.
Legal Malpractice & Professional Liability Roundtable Series
The International Law Lecture Series provides an opportunity to increase knowledge as well as debate and share ideas on current legal topics in the areas of international and comparative law. Miami Law professors and renowned keynote speakers lead the lectures.
Judge Serio Moro
Public Interest Lecture Series
These lectures take place in a small-group setting with dynamic and accomplished alumni and faculty who have either dedicated themselves to public interest law or have made a commitment to pro bono work in their private practice and teaching careers. These informal roundtable luncheons allow students to share their aspirations, ask questions and learn about the myriad opportunities in public service and public interest law.
