The law school’s recent spring 2023 magazine covered how Miami Law prepares women to be leaders in law and business, but the fact is Miami Law alumni have always taken the preparation they received in law school out into the workforce and excelled as leaders.
In the business realm, alumni lead companies across the globe in areas from finance to telecommunications to hospitality to technology and beyond.
As far as law firms, some of the top six metro areas for Miami Law alumni are also cities with the biggest law firms: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. It is no coincidence that in addition to recent grads working at Big Law firms, many Miami Law alumni are steering those firms as their leaders.
Meet Alumni Heading Some of the World’s Largest Law Firms
Ira Coleman, LL.M. ’87 in Tax, is the Chairman of McDermott Will & Emery, one of the largest-grossing law firms in the United States with locations in North America, Europe, and Asia.
John C. Koski, J.D. ’92, is the Global Chief Legal Officer of Dentons, one of the largest multinational law firms in the world with $2.9B gross revenue by Global 200 ranking in the fiscal year 2021.
Yvette Ostolaza, J.D. ‘92, was named chair-elect of the management committee at Sidley Austin LLP, one of the country’s premier law firms with about 2,000 lawyers. She also teaches a course in Investigations at Miami Law.
Steven Sonberg, J.D. ‘72, is the Managing Partner of Holland & Knight and oversees the firm’s strategic growth and direction as the chief executive officer. He is also an Emeritus Member of the University of Miami Board of Trustees and a Miami Law’s Dean’s Advisory council member.
Miguel Zaldivar, J.D. ’95, is the Global CEO of Hogan Lovells, considered one of the most innovative firms with 45 offices worldwide.
Miami Law alumni have also had a hand in starting some of the nation’s biggest firms. Greenberg Traurig, the 9th largest law firm in the United States as of 2022, was founded by Miami Law alumni, including Bob Traurig, J.D. ’50, known as the “Father of Miami Land Use Law” and its founding chairman, Larry Hoffman, J.D. ‘54.
Meet Alumni Leaders in Business
Mara Bloom, J.D. '94, is the Vice President of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA.
Richard Domingues Boscovich, J.D. '87, is Assistant General Counsel-Digital Crime Unit/Malware Analysis & Disruption Team at Microsoft in Redmond, WA.
Wayne E. Chaplin, J.D. ’82, is the Chief Executive Officer of Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, LLC and a member of the University of Miami Board of Trustees.
Aleksandra Cuprys, J.D. '09, is the Global General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Latino Media Network.
Dennis Curran, J.D. ’75, heads the NFL Management Council as its Senior Vice-President and General Counsel in New York, NY.
Stephanie C. Davis, J.D. ’08, is the Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer at Volkswagen Group of America in Herndon, VA.
Linda C. Frazier, J.D. ’93, oversees compliance as the Chief Compliance Officer, Associate General Counsel and Vice President at TripAdvisor in Needham, MA.
Stéphane Gerschel, LL.M. '94 in International Law, works as the Chief Marketing Officer for the Movado Group International in Milan, Italy.
Stewart Glendinning, J.D. ’94, is the Chief Financial Officer at Tyson Foods in Springdale, AR.
Valerie Jahn Grandin, J.D. '83, is the Executive Vice President and Chief Underwriting Counsel for Doma Title Insurance, Inc.
Stacy Green, J.D. ’94, is Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Sony Pictures Entertainment in Los Angeles, CA.
Horacio Gutierrez, J.D. ’98, took the helm as Senior Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of The Walt Disney Company in Burbank, CA.
Cynthia Hill, J.D. ’93, works as Director, Corporate Counsel at the Starbucks Coffee Company in
Seattle, WA.
Kali Hira, J.D. ’07, is Principal Counsel and Senior Manager at Apple in Cupertino, CA.
Corey Jackson, J.D. ’97, leads UCSF Medical Center as its Senior Vice President & Associate Vice Chancellor in San Francisco, CA.
Ilene Kobert, J.D. '88, oversees legal for Subway as its Chief Legal Officer in Milford, CT.
Steve Klimacek, J.D. ’84, serves as Vice President and Associate General Counsel at AT&T in
Dallas, TX.
Gary Lancaster, J.D. ’79, is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel at National Gas & Electric LLC in Houston, TX.
James Lechter, J.D. '13, is Global Legal Counsel, Data Privacy & Cybersecurity for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, OH.
Marilu Marshall, J.D. ’69, is the Senior Vice President, Executive Management and Global Chief Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Officer for the Estée Lauder Companies Inc. in New York, NY.
John McManus, J.D. ’93, holds the title of Executive Vice President and General Counsel atMGM Resorts International in Las Vegas, NV.
Michael Poplack, J.D. ’85, leads Oracle as its Global Senior Vice President in Burlingame, CA.
Ellen Raim, J.D. '82, works as the Chief People Officer of Nautilus Inc. in Portland, OR.
Johanna Ravelo, J.D. ’99, is the Director and Associate General Counsel at Meta in San Mateo, CA.
Laurie S. Silvers, J.D. ’77, is the Chair of the University of Miami Board of Trustees and Co-Founder of the Syfy Channel, Co-CEO of Hollywood.com, and Co-Founder of Misfits.
Ihsan Speede, J.D. ’05, works as the Managing Director and Counsel at Wellington Management in Boston, MA.
Sonia Zeledón, J.D. '00, is the Associate General Counsel, Ethics, Compliance and Data Privacy for The Hershey Company.
With more than 100 courses and experiences in business law and an impressive range of lecture and seminar courses in litigation, arbitration, and dispute resolution, Miami Law prepares students every day to enter the fields of law and business and excel.
Read about more outstanding Miami Law alumni.
