"I have family and friends in Miami and wish to stay here to practice law," said Prieto. "It didn't make sense to go elsewhere for me. I really like Miami and want to remain here."
Prieto graduates having served as a judicial intern to Judge Adalberto Jordan, J.D. '87, on the United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and Chief Magistrate Judge John O'Sullivan. He clerked at Kozyak, Tropin & Throckmorton, and Podhurst, Orseck.
The Inter-American Law Review appointed Prieto as articles and comments editor during the 2020-2021 year.
Following in his father's footsteps
He came to law school with a strong foundation, having grown up around cases and courts. "I have always wanted to be a lawyer since I was a kid," said Prieto, who also took an interest in computers at a young age and built his first at age 14. "My dad is a lawyer and I have always found his work interesting; he would sometimes take me to court to watch proceedings."
David's father is the Cuban-born Peter Prieto, J.D. '85, a first-generation college graduate whose working-class parents taught him the value of an education and provided him with a thirst for learning.
"Preparing and taking exams in my first semesters was extremely stressful, but also gratifying when I did well," Prieto said. "I had really good professors in my first semester which definitely made paying attention and studying far easier."
He will be working as an associate for León Cosgrove in Coral Gables. He will also be clerking for Cecilia Maria Altonaga, Chief United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, starting in May 2024. She is the first Cuban American woman to be appointed as a federal judge in the U.S.
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