Mainland Law Schools Come Forward to Help Puerto Rican Law Students

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Like everything else in Puerto Rico, the University of Puerto Rico and its law school were devastated when Hurricanes Irma and Maria swept across the island in September 2017.

That left students at UPR’s law school not knowing how they were going to continue their education.

Fortunately, numerous mainland law schools and the Florida Bar Association are stepping up to help these students find a place to continue their education and get the funds they need for housing and other necessities.

It’s all because of Hiram Meléndez Juarbe, a law professor at the University of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican students were already calling mainland law schools to see if they could take classes, so Meléndez Juarbe took the question to a legal email list, approaching deans of various schools to see what could be done.

As a result of his efforts, Florida State University College of Law, Touro Law Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Law, University at Buffalo School of Law, and American University Washington College of Law are admitting Puerto Rico Law students and offering a limited course load of approximately seven credits for students, which will be offered free of charge.

The American Bar Association approved the plan, and the schools can give Puerto Rican law students reduced credit for the courses they join late.

The students will be classified as “visiting” or “transient,” said American Bar Association Managing Director of Accreditation Barry Currier said.

“That means that these students remain students at their home school, take credits at another school, those credits will transfer back to their home school and count toward the J.D. there,” Currier told the ABA Journal in an email.

So far, about 35 students have taken advantage of the schools’ offers of assistance, and now it’s just a matter of when they will be able to leave Puerto Rico for the mainland. Puerto Rico Law has nearly 700 students enrolled, so the school may need to repeat the fall semester in the spring.

Florida State University Dean Erin O’Hara O’Connor said, “We don’t anticipate that they won’t be able to do it, but you just don’t know with so many people trying to leave Puerto Rico right now. We have to make sure they get books and materials. We have students willing to help and mentor.” 

“These law schools put things together very quickly. It’s really humbling to see the machinery at work,” Meléndez Juarbe said. “We have a sense of gratitude not only to the five law schools that are doing this, but to the entire law school community.”