Litigation, Arbitration and Dispute Resolution

Develop Your Advocacy Skills through Practice

Miami Law offers an impressive range of lecture and seminar courses in the fields of litigation, arbitration, and dispute resolution. Take advantage of a plethora of opportunities to engage in these fields and hone your craft in any of our 9 clinics and 68 experiential courses. Our students have an opportunity to take their academic knowledge further with our unparalleled Litigation Skills program in which students learn directly from and network with 65+ local attorneys and judges. This program features a semester-long course that uniquely covers pre-trial and trial advocacy, beginning with the filling of a lawsuit and culminating in a mock trial. Beyond the classroom, join Miami Law’s mock trial, moot court, or international moot court team—the only one of its kind in the nation. Students have unparalleled opportunities to work side-by-side with faculty, practitioners, and clients via externships and practicums. These experiences provide students access to dozens of agencies and courts - state and federal, trial and appellate, bankruptcy, immigration, family and more.

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Nicole ComparatoMiami Law’s Litigation Skills program shows there is no better training than the real thing. After a semester of learning from respected judges and lawyers in our community, the program sends law students to trial in storied courtrooms before esteemed judges and real jury members. Personally, the knowledge I gained set me up to be successful right out of the gate as a litigator. When I was just a second-year attorney, I led a trial team to an $8 million jury verdict for our client.”

Nicole Comparato, J.D. ‘17
Legal Secondee - Global Litigation & Competition
Visa 

Courses*

  • Advanced Appellate Advocacy I and II
  • Advanced Arbitration
  • Advanced Oral Advocacy in International Arbitration
  • Advanced Techniques of Persuasion
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Business Litigation
  • Civil Procedure I and II
  • Civil Rights Litigation
  • Class Action Litigation
  • Collaborative Family Law Divorce
  • Complex Litigation
  • Conflict of Laws
  • Copyright and Trademark Litigation
  • Criminal Evidence
  • Criminal Litigation
  • Criminal Procedure: Adjudication
  • Criminal Prosecution and Defense Lawyering
  • Cross-Cultural Mediation
  • Death Penalty Litigation
  • Dispute Resolution in Latin America (in Spanish)
  • Drafting Complex Arbitration Clauses
  • Electronic Discovery
  • Evidence
  • Federal and State Arbitration
  • Federal Arbitration Act
  • Federal Courts
  • Florida Civil Procedure
  • Florida Criminal Procedure
  • Florida Post-Conviction Procedure
  • Forensic Advocacy in International Arbitration I and II
  • Globalization and Arbitration
  • International Arbitration
  • International Arbitration and ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance Issues)
  • International Dispute Resolution
  • International Human Rights Lawyering and Advocacy
  • International Sports Arbitration
  • Investment Arbitration
  • Judicial Writing
  • Large Scale Litigation
  • Mediation
  • Mediation Advocacy
  • Memos, Pleadings, and Motions
  • Multidistrict Litigation
  • Negotiation Skills
  • Patent Litigation
  • Preparing the Corporate Client for Litigation
  • Pretrial Litigation
  • Public Interest Litigation in Private Practice
  • Scientific Evidence
  • Social Justice Lawyering
  • Special Topics in Federal Court
  • Systemic Advocacy
  • Transnational Litigation
  • Trial Litigation
  • U.S. Perspective on International Commercial Arbitration
  • Writing for the Judiciary

*Course list is not exhaustive and does not set out a path of study.

Concentrations and Programs

Judge Soto“I think it's great to be taught by professors that sat where the student sat. We have pride in our university and interest that [all students] excel. I think as a professor we can relate to the student on a personal level.

Judge Bertila Soto, J.D. ‘89
Adjunct Faculty, Miami Law Litigation Skills Program
Chief Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida

Michael RodriguezThe International Arbitration J.D./LL.M. provided me with a valuable tool set for big firm practice. Because of the LL.M. classes, I was able to help with arbitrator selection in an ICC proceeding and discuss the inclusion of an arbitration clause in a corporate purchase agreement with a Georgian company. I do not believe I would have gained this knowledge without being part of the [international arbitration] program.”

Michael Rodriguez, J.D./LL.M. '17 in International Arbitration
International Arbitration Associate
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
Washington, D.C.

International Opportunities

International Moot Court Program: The only one of its kind in the U.S., Miami Law offers a unique and comprehensive International Moot Court Program in which students travel and compete, in Spanish and English, in competitions around the world. Students advocate the different sides of a case and analyze the problem, identify the legal issues, research the law, write the briefs and orally present it to a tribunal. In essence, the students learn how to litigate a case in front of an international tribunal doing what an attorney does in real life. Past competitions have included:

  • Competencia UBA-Rosario International Commercial Arbitration
  • Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot - Frankfurt, Germany
  • International and European Tax Moot Court - Leuven, Belgium
  • International Criminal Court Trial Competition - The Hague, Netherlands
  • International Maritime Law Arbitration Moot - Singapore, Australia, or UK
  • La Competición Internacional de Arbitraje y Derecho Mercantil (Moot Madrid) - Madrid, Spain
  • Willem C. Vis Arbitral Moot - Vienna, Austria

Extracurricular Opportunities

2019 Trial Team

Externships and Internships**

  • 3rd District Court of Appeal
  • 18th Judicial District of Colorado (Centennial, CO)
  • ACLU – American Civil Liberties Union (New York, NY and Atlanta, GA)
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb
  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
  • Federal Communications Commission
  • Florida Supreme Court
  • Hogan Lovells
  • Jones Day
  • Legal Services of Greater Miami
  • Miami-Dade County School Board Attorney's Office
  • Miami-Dade Legal Aid
  • Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office
  • Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office
  • National Women's Law Center (Washington, DC)
  • Office of the District Attorney (TX, MA, NY, GA)
  • Office of the Public Defender (CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, ID, IL, MD, OH, RI)
  • Office of the State Attorney (CT, FL, IL, KS, MA, NM)
  • Sidley Austin LLP
  • Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP|The Legal Aid Society (New York, NY)
  • University of Miami, Contract Administration  
  • University of Miami, Office of Privacy and Data Security  
  • U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida  
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
  • U.S. Department of Justice (Washington, DC)
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida 
  • U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  • U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission 
  • U.S. Southern District Court of Florida
  • White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs  (Washington, DC)

**List is not exhaustive and is intended to provide examples of past externships and internships.

Faculty Experts

  • Anthony V. Alfieri is an expert in civil procedure, environmental litigation, civil rights litigation and heads the Center for Ethics and Public Service.
  • Paula Arias is an expert in alternative dispute resolution in Latin America, international arbitration and litigation, international written and oral advocacy, and leads the International Moot Court Program.
  • Jill Barton is Director of the Legal Communications and Research Skills Program.
  • Ricardo J. Bascuas is an expert in evidence, criminal procedure, international criminal law.
  • Donna K. Coker is an expert in criminal law, evidence, gender and inequality.

  • Charlton Copeland is an expert in civil litigation, elements, administrative law, and federalism.
  • Christie Anne Darias Daniels teaches legal writing and is a former Assistant State Attorney for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, focusing on Domestic Violence crimes
  • Michele DeStefano has expertise in civil procedure and runs the LawWithoutWalls program.
  • Andrew Elmore's main area of expertise is employment law litigation, and torts.
  • Abigail Fleming has expertise in environmental litigation and runs the Environmental Justice Clinic.
  • Sandra Friedrich has expertise in international arbitration and directs the White & Case International Arbitration LL.M. program.
  • Christina M. Frohock is an expert in legal communication and research.
  • Donald M. Jones has expertise in criminal procedure, constitutional law, employment discrimination.
  • Jeannie Jontiff is the Acting Director of the Litigation Skills Program and is an experienced litigator.
  • Tamara Rice Lave is an expert in criminal law and litigation, criminal procedure, ethics, punishment, and sex offender legislation.
  • Marni Lennon teaches in the area of alternative dispute resolution and directs the HOPE Public Interest Resource Center.
  • Martha R. Mahoney has expertise in criminal law, race and urban development, public interest law, property and land use.
  • JoNel Newman directs the Health Rights Clinic and has expertise in civil procedure and civil rights litigation.
  • Shara Kobetz Pelz teaches in the area of legal communication and research.
  • Rebecca Sharpless directs the Immigration Clinic and has expertise in immigration and refugee law, civil litigation and procedure, evidence, and trial advocacy and practice.
  • K. Renee Schimkat has expertise in electronic discovery, legal communication and research, and complex litigation.
  • Scott E. Sundby is an expert in corporate governance, criminal law and litigation, criminal procedure, constitutional law, and innocence and wrongful conviction.
  • Annette Torres has expertise in civil litigation and procedure, antidiscrimination, and legal writing.
  • Craig Trocino runs the Innocence Clinic and is an expert in wrongful death penalty litigation, criminal law and procedure, and appellate practice and procedure
  • Cheryl E. Zuckerman has expertise in legal communication and research.

Conferences / Centers

  • Class Action and Complex Litigation Forum- This event offers a unique perspective for attorneys looking to understand the latest issues and topics associated with multi-district class actions and complex litigation.
  • HOPE Public Interest Resource Center - This center runs the HOPE Fellows Program in which students have the opportunity to create summer "dream jobs" in the public interest arena, often in Offices of the Public Defender.
  • International Arbitration Institute - The International Arbitration Institute is an embodiment of the University of Miami’s long tradition of engagement with the law of arbitration. The Institute strives not only for progress through the education of the new generation of arbitration lawyers, but also for progress through research in international arbitration.

Fellowships

  • Litigation Skills Fellowships
  • Ervin Gonzalez Fellowship
  • HOPE Fellowship Program
  • Summer Public Interest Fellowship Program

Scholarships / Awards

  • Marco A. Vazquez Memorial Scholarship
  • John F. Evans Memorial Scholarship
  • Honorable Theodore Klein Endowed Scholarship
  • Litigation Skills Adjunct Faculty Scholarship
  • Honorable Stanford Blake Mediation Award
  • Richard L. Lapidus Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund
  • John M. Hogan Fund for Public Interest Litigation
  • American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) Civility Matters Award
  • Ervin A. Gonzalez Endowed Scholarship
  • Daniel S. Pearson Endowed Scholarship