Students graduating from the University of Miami School of Law’s Juris Doctor program will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the law and the American legal system, which encompasses:
    1. Knowledge of the law, the legal system and the society in which it operates
    2. Understanding the hierarchy of legal authority, including constitutional, statutory and policy frameworks, regulatory landscapes, alternative problem-solving forums, and international legal materials
    3. Awareness of the impact of international advisory institutions
  2. Effectively engage in legal reasoning, legal research, fact analysis, and critical thinking, which encompasses:
    1. The ability to identify, frame, and narrate problems for legal analysis
    2. Command of statutory and doctrinal legal interpretation
    3. Familiarity with legal theories as interpretive and predictive tools
    4. Comfort with legal uncertainty and capacity to keep abreast of pertinent changes in legal practice
  3. Effectively communicate orally and in writing, including:
    1. Engaging in fact development, legal research, and analysis to craft arguments and produce documents that are responsive to and appropriate for presented legal questions and problems
    2. Using legal research and analysis to deliver formal and informal written and oral communication about legal institutions, underlying norms animating the law’s development, and the resolution of problems shaped by the law
  4. Conduct themselves professionally and ethically, which encompasses:
    1. Understanding the rules, standards, and norms of professional conduct
    2. Possessing the interpersonal skills needed to provide competent and ethical client-centered representation, which includes understanding the various roles lawyers play in society
    3. Understanding the unique obligation of lawyers to provide access to justice for underserved populations
    4. Understanding a lawyer’s professional commitments to equity, tolerance, inclusion, and diversity
    5. Engagement with the bar and attempts at legal reform
  5. Understand the demands of practice, which includes:
    1. The deployment of judgment and the ability to provide not just legal services, but also legal counsel
    2. The capacity to work with and, when appropriate, manage employers, employees, clients, co-parties, opposing parties, courts, and governmental or other entities
    3. The ability to work effectively on both collaborative and independent projects
    4. Effectively representing and arguing for positions with which one disagrees
    5. Bringing creativity and interdisciplinary awareness to problem-solving