Top South Florida Prosecutor to Take Helm of Florida Int'l College of Law
A top federal prosecutor whose high-profile South Florida office won convictions of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla, among other well-known cases, will soon be overseeing more academic activities.
U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta, 40, has been named the new dean of Florida International University’s law school, reports the Associated Press.
Scheduled to step down from his prosecutorial office in the Southern District of Florida on June 5, he will step up to the FIU job on July 1, according to the news agency. A graduate of Harvard Law School who formerly clerked for now-now-Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, the soon-to-be-former prosecutor will be FIU’s second law school dean, notes an FIU press release.
“I am honored by the opportunity to take the reins of such a young and promising law school,” says Acosta in the release. “I love this community and I am honored to now be part of the FIU family. With its world-class faculty and its outstanding students, the FIU College of Law will become one of the most respected institutions in the country. Together, we can make that happen.”
Related coverage:
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “FIU Law School faculty doesn’t want U.S. attorney as dean, poll shows”
