# University of Puerto Rico School of Law

The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is the law school of the University of Puerto Rico, the only law school in the University of Puerto Rico System and the only public law school in Puerto Rico. 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 has been a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 1948.

## Academics

The Law School's academic program aims to increase and diversify the learning and development experiences of its students. Thus, 43 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.
* Juris Doctor (JD)
* Dual Juris Doctor and Law Degree Program (Licenciatura en Derecho) with the University of Barcelona, Spain;
* Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration with the University of Puerto Rico Graduate School of Business Administration;
* Juris Doctor and Doctor of Medicine with the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine;
* Juris Doctor and Master in Public Administration with the University of Puerto Rico the Roberto Sánchez Vilella School of Public Administration;
* Juris Doctor and Master in Architecture with the University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture; and,
* Juris Doctor and Master in Planning with the University of Puerto Rico Graduate School of Planning.
Graduate:
* LL.M. for Latin American and Caribbean lawyers;
* LL.M. in Criminal Law:
* LL.M. in Judiciary Training;
* LL.M. in Commercial Law:
* LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law; and,
* LL.M. Online in Criminal Law.
Special Programs: The School of Law has students exchange programs with the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, Vermont Law School, Florida International University, the University of Connecticut School of Law, the University of Palermo in Argentina, Diego Portales University in Chile, the University of Chile Law School, the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law in Canada, the University of Antwerp in Belgium and the University of Carlos III of Madrid. Under these programs, students register at their home institution, but will take a full course load at the host institution. The credits and grades earned during a single semester will be awarded by the home institution according to the standard procedure of the home law school. Students also have a chance to participate in a summer law program at the University of Barcelona, Spain.
Also, the school has a winter exchange program with the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law in Canada, through which students can earn four credits studying Law and Technology or Law, Technology, and Feminism for one week in Canada and two weeks in Puerto Rico.

## Clinical Program

In March 1974, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court approved rules for the local courts to allow students to practice law and participate in judicial proceedings. The US District Court followed suit in 1991. The school requires that students complete a two-semester clinical program in their last year of study.
* Civil Litigation
* Notary Law
* Ethics and Professional Responsibility
* Special Education Students Rights
* Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination
* Immigration Law
* Environmental Law
* Criminal Law
* Historic Buildings Protection
* Alternative Methos for Conflict and Disputes Resolution
* Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Law
* Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention and Debtor Protection
* Bankruptcy

## Admissions

For the class entering in 2024, the school accepted 49.23% of applicants, with 80.00% of those accepted enrolling. The median enrollee had a 148 LSAT score and 3.73 undergraduate GPA. The class's 25th/75th percentile LSAT scores and GPAs were 144/153 and 3.52/3.88.

### Admissions processes

The School of Law accepts students based on their academic percentile. This percentile is tabulated by combining two basic criteria: the student's bachelor's degree cumulative GPA, as per the calculations of the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) and their LSAT results. The two criteria receive the same weight at the time of calculating the numeric ranking. Admission is offered to the best ranking students.
Also, 15 spaces are offered to the applicants selected by the admissions committee recommendations, chosen from a group composed of the 60 applicants following the students admitted. Throughout this process, the committee evaluates the personal statement and writing sample, and any socioeconomic disadvantages, academic achievement, graduate studies, propensity towards academic progress, publications, extracurricular activities, and other aspects which show student's aptitude for the study of Law.

## Post-graduation employment

According to the University of Puerto Rico's 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 18.24% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners. The University of Puerto Rico's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 40.6%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.
ABA Employment Summary for 2013 Graduates
Employment Status
Percentage
Employed - Bar Passage Required
22.34%
Employed - J.D. Advantage
17.77%
Employed - Professional Position
11.17%
Employed - Non-Professional Position
0.51%
Employed - Undeterminable
0.0%
Pursuing Graduate Degree Full Time
3.05%
Unemployed - Start Date Deferred
2.03%
Unemployed - Not Seeking
10.15%
Unemployed - Seeking
27.41%
Employment Status Unknown
5.58%
Total of 197 Graduates :

## Noted graduates

Three governors of Puerto Rico are graduates of the law school: Rafael Hernández Colón, Carlos Romero Barceló, and Aníbal Acevedo Vila. Also, Puerto Rico Supreme Court Chief Justices Luis Negrón Fernández, Pedro Pérez Pimentel, Miriam Naveira Merly, Víctor Manuel Pons Núñez, José Antonio Andréu García, Liana Fiol Matta, and Maite D. Oronoz Rodríguez, as well as Associate Justices Borinquen Marrero Ríos, Emilio Sastreño Belaval Maldonado, Rafael Hernández Matos, Carlos Santana Becerra, Raúl Serrano Geyls, Luis Blanco Lugo, Carlos Víctor Dávila Dávila, Marco Antonio Rigau Gaztambide, Hiram Torres Rigual, Héctor Martínez Muñoz, Armindo Cadilla Ginorio, Jorge Díaz Cruz, Carlos Juan Irizarry Yunqué, Antonio S. Negrón García, Francisco Rebollo López, Peter Ortiz Gustafson, Rafael Alonso Alonso, Jaime B. Fuster Berlingeri, Baltasar Corrada del Río, Anabelle Rodríguez Rodríguez, Rafael L. Martínez Torres, Mildred G. Pabón Charneco, Erick V. Kolthoff Caraballo, Edgardo Rivera García, Roberto Feliberti Cintrón, and Luis F. Estrella Martínez.

## Faculty

Former gubernatorial candidates Rubén Berríos and Fernando Martín García are among the law school's lecturers.
Other professors and lecturers have included Santos P. Amadeo, Vivian Neptune, Hiram Meléndez Juarbe, Carlos Díaz Olivo, Puerto Rico Supreme Court Chief Justice Liana Fiol Matta, and Antonio García Padilla.
Visiting speakers have included United States Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and professors Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School, Owen Fiss of Yale Law School and the late Ferdinand Stone of Tulane Law School.

## Deans

Some of the deans include:
| | Name | Start Term | End Term | Years in Position | Notes |
| 1 | José Benedicto y Géigel | 1913 | 1917 | 3–4 | As Director. |
| 2 | Rafael Martínez Álvarez | 1917 | 1944 | 26–27 | Director until 1925, then position was renamed to Dean. |
| 3 | Manuel Rodríguez Ramos | | 1960 | | Named Dean Emeritus. |
| 4 | David Helfeld | 1961 | 1974 | 12–13 | |
| 5 | Jaime B. Fuster | 1974 | 1978 | 3–4 | |
| 6 | Carlos G. Cadilla | | 1986 | | |
| 7 | Antonio García Padilla | 1986 | 2001 | 14–15 | Named Dean Emeritus on September 6, 2009. |
| 8 | Dr. Efrén Rivera Ramos | August 1, 2001 | July 31, 2007 | 5 years, 364 days | |
| 9 | Dr. Roberto Aponte Toro | August 1, 2007 | February 15, 2011 | 3 years, 198 days | |
| 12 | Vivián I. Neptune Rivera | August 8, 2011 | Incumbent | 13 years, 147 days | First female dean. |

## Facilities

The UPR Law School Building was designed by architect Henry Klumb 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 by architect Segundo Cardona, FAIA of Sierra Cardona Ferrer Architects under Antonio García Padilla's sixteen-year term (1986–2001) as the law school dean.

### UPR Law School Building

The original Law School building of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), built during David Helfeld's incumbency as Dean, replaced a converted tobacco storage facility which housed the Law school for many years. It was designed by Henry Klumb in 1961 and inaugurated in 1962. Klumb, a German architect and disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright, was based in Puerto Rico for the latter part of his life.

### Law school expansion and new library

In 2001, the law school building was extensively remodeled and expanded under Antonio García Padilla's term as the law school dean. In the expansion of the Law School, it was decided to preserve the architecture of the original structure. The expansion project and new library were designed by Puerto Rican architect Segundo Cardona FAIA (Sierra Cardona Ferrer Architects), who had worked as student intern for Henry Klumb before becoming an architect.
The program for the project required a substantial expansion of the library and the faculty offices area, as well as construction of new facilities for the legal aid clinic and an updating of the infrastructure. The new structures were joined to the original building, preserving its architecture without concealing each unit. The reception and security areas of the library form an open space onto the exterior through a tall glass façade. The inauguration of the new library and expansion was on January 24, 2001
The design for the expansion won the 2001 Honor Award in the VI Bienal de Arquitectura - Colegio de Arquitectos y Arquitectos Paisajistas de Puerto Rico.