University of Puerto Rico Law School
Encyclopedia
The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is a law school in Puerto Rico. It is one of the professional graduate schools of University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus
and the only law school
in the University of Puerto Rico System
. It was founded in 1913 at its present site in Río Piedras, which at the time was an independent municipality and is now part of the City of San Juan
. The School of Law has been accredited by the American Bar Association
since 1945 and by the Association of American Law Schools
since 1948. It is also accredited by the Council on Higher Education
and the Puerto Rico Supreme Court.
Its graduates include important and prominent figures of Puerto Rico
. Among them are former governors Rafael Hernández Colón
, Carlos Romero Barceló
and Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
.
The law school provides a unique venue for the study of the civil law tradition and its complex interaction with common law and U.S. federal law, including the controversial application of the U.S. Constitution to Puerto Rico's special political status
.
development experiences of its students. Thus, half of its 92 credit/hour study program is elective, with course offerings ranging from theoretical to practical in topics pertaining to civil rights
, technology
, feminism
, business
, international relations
and comparative law
, among others. In addition, students are required to participate in a clinical program. The majority of the courses are taught in Spanish.
The Law School has several programs of study.
); (2) the LSAT score; and (3) the score of either the Graduate Record Examination
or its Spanish language equivalent, the EXADEP (which, like the GRE, is offered by the Educational Testing Service
).
The remaining 15 spaces (7%) are selected by the Admissions Committee from among those applicants who are in positions 201 to 260 of the aforementioned ranking of academic excellence. The Committee makes a full assessment of the applicant's file, considering the essay and presented academic work, and gives weight to such criteria as economic disadvantage, academic achievement, graduate studies, trends in academic progress, publications, and extracurricular activities, to reach a conclusion about the applicant's aptitude for the study of law. Another 15 students in this group are placed on a waiting list.
and Fernando Martín García are among the law school's prominent lecturers.
Other professors include Chloé S. Georas, Glenda Labadie-Jackson, Santos P. Amadeo
, José Julián Álvarez González, Michel Godreau Robles, Érika Fontánez Torres, Vivian Neptune, Ana Cristina Gómez, Hiram Meléndez Juarbe, Ernesto Chiesa Aponte, Olga Resumil Ramírez, Félix Cifredo Cancel, Ivette Ramos Buonomo, Luis Muñiz Argüelles, Ana Matanzo Vicéns, Guillermo Figueroa Prieto, Luis González Correa, Carlos Díaz Olivo, Carmelo Delgado Cintrón, Enid Martínez Moya, Demetrio Fernández, and Roberto Aponte Toro, the current Dean.
Visiting speakers have included United States Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia
, Ruth Bader Ginsburg
, Stephen Breyer
, Sonia Sotomayor
, and professors Lawrence Tribe of Harvard Law School
, Owen Fiss of Yale Law School
and the late Ferdinand Stone
of Tulane Law School.
and inaugurated in 1962, replacing a converted tobacco storage facility which housed the Law school for many years. Built during David Helfeld
's incumbency as Dean, it was extensively remodeled under Antonio García Padilla
's term as the law school dean.
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus
The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras , also referred to as UPR-RP, is a public research university located on a campus in Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico...
and the only law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
in the University of Puerto Rico System
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
. It was founded in 1913 at its present site in Río Piedras, which at the time was an independent municipality and is now part of the City of San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
. The School of Law has been accredited by the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
since 1945 and by the Association of American Law Schools
Association of American Law Schools
The Association of American Law Schools is a non-profit organization of 170 law schools in the United States. Another 25 schools are "non-member fee paid" schools, which are not members but choose to pay AALS dues. Its purpose is to improve the legal profession through the improvement of legal...
since 1948. It is also accredited by the Council on Higher Education
Council on Higher Education of Puerto Rico
The Council on Higher Education of Puerto Rico is an agency of the government of Puerto Rico in charge of coordinating all efforts related to higher education in Puerto Rico...
and the Puerto Rico Supreme Court.
Its graduates include important and prominent figures of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. Among them are former governors Rafael Hernández Colón
Rafael Hernández Colón
Rafael Hernández Colón is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the fourth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for three non-consecutive terms, from 1973 to 1977 and from 1985 to 1993. An experienced politician, Hernández holds the record for being the youngest Governor of Puerto Rico,...
, Carlos Romero Barceló
Carlos Romero Barceló
Carlos Antonio Romero Barceló is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the fifth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the second governor to be elected from the New Progressive Party and also Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001, making him one of the more successful...
and Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the eighth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a Commonwealth of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus and a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law,...
.
The law school provides a unique venue for the study of the civil law tradition and its complex interaction with common law and U.S. federal law, including the controversial application of the U.S. Constitution to Puerto Rico's special political status
Political status
In international law three categories of Political status are usually recognized:#Independent countries e.g.: France, Canada#Internal independent countries which are under the protection of another country in matters of defense and foreign affairs, e.g.: Netherlands Antilles, the Faroe Islands,...
.
Academics
The Law School's academic program aims to increase and diversify the learning anddevelopment experiences of its students. Thus, half of its 92 credit/hour study program is elective, with course offerings ranging from theoretical to practical in topics pertaining to civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
, technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
and comparative law
Comparative law
Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law of different countries. More specifically, it involves study of the different legal systems in existence in the world, including the common law, the civil law, socialist law, Islamic law, Hindu law, and Chinese law...
, among others. In addition, students are required to participate in a clinical program. The majority of the courses are taught in Spanish.
The Law School has several programs of study.
- Juris DoctorJuris DoctorJuris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
(JD) - Juris Doctor / Master of Business Administration concurrently (JD / MBA)
- Juris Doctor / Double DegreeDouble degreeA double-degree program, sometimes called a combined degree, conjoint degree, dual degree, or simultaneous degree program, involves a student's working for two different university degrees in parallel, either at the same institution or at different institutions , completing them in less time than...
Program, University of BarcelonaUniversity of BarcelonaThe University of Barcelona is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. It is a member of the Coimbra Group, LERU, European University Association, Mediterranean Universities Union, International Research Universities Network and Vives Network...
(JD / LLB) - Juris Doctor / Master of Public PolicyPublic policyPublic policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
, University of MinnesotaUniversity of MinnesotaThe University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
(JD / MPP) - Juris Doctor / Doctor of MedicineDoctor of MedicineDoctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico (JD / MD) - Master of LawsMaster of LawsThe Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
(LLM) for International Students
Admissions
Each incoming class at the Law School has 215 students. Of those, the top two hundred (93%) are automatically selected on the basis of a numerical ranking of academic excellence which gives equal weight to the three basic criteria for admission: (1) the undergraduate GPA, as computed by the Law School Data Assembly Service (an information collection service offered by the Law School Admission CouncilLaw School Admission Council
The Law School Admission Council is a nonprofit organization whose members include more than 200 law schools throughout the United States and Canada...
); (2) the LSAT score; and (3) the score of either the Graduate Record Examination
Graduate Record Examination
The Graduate Record Examinations is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the United States, in other English-speaking countries and for English-taught graduate and business programs world-wide...
or its Spanish language equivalent, the EXADEP (which, like the GRE, is offered by the Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service , founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization...
).
The remaining 15 spaces (7%) are selected by the Admissions Committee from among those applicants who are in positions 201 to 260 of the aforementioned ranking of academic excellence. The Committee makes a full assessment of the applicant's file, considering the essay and presented academic work, and gives weight to such criteria as economic disadvantage, academic achievement, graduate studies, trends in academic progress, publications, and extracurricular activities, to reach a conclusion about the applicant's aptitude for the study of law. Another 15 students in this group are placed on a waiting list.
Faculty
Former gubernatorial candidates Rubén BerríosRubén Berríos
Rubén Ángel Berríos Martínez is a lawyer, a Puerto Rican politician, and the current president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party...
and Fernando Martín García are among the law school's prominent lecturers.
Other professors include Chloé S. Georas, Glenda Labadie-Jackson, Santos P. Amadeo
Santos P. Amadeo
Santos Primo Amadeo Semidey , a.k.a "Champion of Hábeas Corpus", was an educator, lawyer and former Senator in the Puerto Rico legislature., constitutional law scholar and is one of the founders of Phi Sigma Alpha Fraternity....
, José Julián Álvarez González, Michel Godreau Robles, Érika Fontánez Torres, Vivian Neptune, Ana Cristina Gómez, Hiram Meléndez Juarbe, Ernesto Chiesa Aponte, Olga Resumil Ramírez, Félix Cifredo Cancel, Ivette Ramos Buonomo, Luis Muñiz Argüelles, Ana Matanzo Vicéns, Guillermo Figueroa Prieto, Luis González Correa, Carlos Díaz Olivo, Carmelo Delgado Cintrón, Enid Martínez Moya, Demetrio Fernández, and Roberto Aponte Toro, the current Dean.
Visiting speakers have included United States Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
, Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
, Stephen Breyer
Stephen Breyer
Stephen Gerald Breyer is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, and known for his pragmatic approach to constitutional law, Breyer is generally associated with the more liberal side of the Court....
, Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice....
, and professors Lawrence Tribe of Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, Owen Fiss of Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
and the late Ferdinand Stone
Ferdinand Stone
Professor Ferdinand Fairfax Stone was a longtime law professor at the Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans and an expert in comparative law. A native of Urbana, Ohio, he graduated from Ohio State University, where he obtained both a bachelor's and master's degree before attending Oxford...
of Tulane Law School.
Deans
Some of the distinguished scholars who have served as deans, include:- Manuel Rodríguez RamosManuel Rodríguez Ramos-Early life and education:He born on January 1, 1908 in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. His father died when he was barely a year old. In 1930 he became the third president of Phi Sigma Alpha fraternity. In 1931 he and y Manuel García Cabrera with the help of the UPR Law School Dean Rafael Martínez...
"Dean Emeritus" - David HelfeldDavid HelfeldProfessor David Helfeld is the longest-serving dean of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law , currently a Professor Emeritus. At the age of 87 he was still teaching law. He also served as a close advisor to long-time UPR Chancellor and President Jaime Benítez.Dr...
- Jaime B. Fuster
- Carlos Cadilla
- Antonio García PadillaAntonio García PadillaAntonio García Padilla is a Puerto Rican scholar born in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1954. He was president of the University of Puerto Rico.-Training:...
- Efrén Rivera Ramos
- Roberto Aponte Toro
Facilities
The Law School is housed in a building designed by architect Henry KlumbHenry Klumb
Heinrich Klumb was a German architect who worked in Puerto Rico. He was one of Puerto Rico's most prominent architects in the mid 20th Century.-Education and Early Life:...
and inaugurated in 1962, replacing a converted tobacco storage facility which housed the Law school for many years. Built during David Helfeld
David Helfeld
Professor David Helfeld is the longest-serving dean of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law , currently a Professor Emeritus. At the age of 87 he was still teaching law. He also served as a close advisor to long-time UPR Chancellor and President Jaime Benítez.Dr...
's incumbency as Dean, it was extensively remodeled under Antonio García Padilla
Antonio García Padilla
Antonio García Padilla is a Puerto Rican scholar born in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1954. He was president of the University of Puerto Rico.-Training:...
's term as the law school dean.
See also
- University of Puerto RicoUniversity of Puerto RicoThe University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
- University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras CampusUniversity of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras CampusThe University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras , also referred to as UPR-RP, is a public research university located on a campus in Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico...
- Rio Piedras