Dean's Blog

On June 1, Judge Joel Dubina '73 became the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Since graduating from Cumberland, Chief Judge Dubina has had a distinguished career as a lawyer and a judge.

Cumberland is fortunate to have professors that are nationally and internationally recognized experts in their field. I want to reference two of those professors in this blog.

Here at Cumberland, we consider our students to be members of the legal profession. Membership is in the legal profession carries with it the obligation to serve the welfare of the greater community. I am extremely proud of the seriousness with which our students approach that obligation.

At Cumberland we pride ourselves on being a law school whose mission is to train lawyers to be advocates. That advocacy training is important whether you are a lawyer who spends time in the courtroom or the boardroom. Advocacy training teaches you to marshal facts into a coherent argument and to think on your feet. Those skills are important whether you are a courtroom lawyer or a lawyer who represents clients in major financial transactions. Those skills are also important as you represent clients in mediation and arbitration.

As I will tell anyone who will listen, the great strength of our law school is its people. The events of this past weekend highlight that strength.