Ave Maria School of Law Acting Dean Eugene Milhizer announced on February 18, 2009 that the Law School has received acquiescence from the American Bar Association (ABA) for its relocation to southwest Florida.

 Ave Maria School of Law will retain full accreditation as it relocates. ABA accreditation is critical for law schools because it allows graduates to apply to states across the country to obtain their licensure to practice law. A law school is required to apply for acquiescence whenever a major program or structural change occurs, relocation falling into this category. Acquiescence is only granted if a law school demonstrates that the change will not detract from the school’s ability to meet the ABA’s Standards for Accreditation.

 School of Law Chairman of the Board, Thomas S. Monaghan, expressed his gratitude to everyone involved in the acquiescence process.

 “We are very excited and grateful to receive this news from the ABA,” Monaghan said, “which is obviously a crucial step in our relocation process. Speaking on behalf of the Board of Governors, I want to express my appreciation to the school’s administration for its hard work and diligence which resulted in this favorable decision. We are also grateful to the ABA for working with us throughout this lengthy process.

 Addressing Ave Maria’s students, faculty and staff, Milhizer noted both the tangible and intangible benefits of receiving acquiescence.

 “We are blessed and very grateful to have the approval and support of the ABA in our relocation to Florida,” Milhizer said. “We are pleased with the manner and speed with which the ABA considered and approved our application and look forward to a continuing cooperative relationship."

 “Our mission has always been, and will continue to be, to educate lawyers with the finest professional skills while integrating the Catholic intellectual tradition and serving the common good. Acquiescence allows us to continue fulfilling this mission in Florida. We are eager to begin a beneficial relationship with the southwest Florida community,” he continued.

 Ave Maria School of Law has applied for licensure with the Florida Department of Education’s Commission for Independent Education to be a degree-granting institution of higher education in Florida. ABA acquiescence is needed for the licensing process. Receiving this license was the final component necessary to begin operating and holding classes this August near the Vineyards community of Naples, Florida.

 When Ave Maria School of Law opens for classes this fall, it will occupy 12.5 acres adjacent to the Vineyards community, including five major buildings that will house classrooms, a library, faculty and administrative offices, a Moot Court room, clinical offices and two multi-story buildings that will provide the opportunity for on-campus housing for students and faculty. These facilities include more classrooms and a greater number of seats than the Law School’s current building in Michigan. And, for the first time, students will have the option of living on campus.

 Southwest Florida will provide law students with a wide variety of opportunities for gaining practical legal experience with courts and law firms in Naples and nearby Fort Myers. Additionally, students enrolled in the Law School’s clinical programs will be able to serve the indigent population in the largely agricultural town of Immokalee. With no other law school serving this region, which is expected to double its population in the next two decades, legal employers in the area have been enthusiastic about the Law School’s relocation.

 Within Collier county, where Ave Maria School of Law will be located, and the neighboring counties, there are nearly 70 sitting judges, offering possible clerkship opportunities at three different state court levels and the federal level. In addition to these clerkship opportunities, Collier and Lee counties have more than 350 law firms and approximately 100 solo practitioners. All of these lawyers not only have the ability to provide students with internship and externship opportunities, but also foster a very strong learning environment for AMSL students.

 “I believe that the School’s new location will afford our students a wide range of opportunities for in-depth practical legal experience and skills training,” Milhizer noted. “Our Externship Program can flourish within a welcoming legal community, our clinical programs can grow and diversify as they serve those in need in southwest Florida, and our skills programs can be strengthened by involving the wealth of legal talent to be found in the surrounding communities."

 Classes for the 2009-2010 academic year are scheduled to begin at the Vineyards campus on August 24, 2009.