Joshua Spector, J.D. ’02, a Wisconsin native, attended Brown University, majoring in history with the idea of pursuing a career in education or journalism. After graduating, he dedicated three years to his passion for music in Austin, Texas. It was during this time that Spector was inspired by friends attending law school, prompting him to consider a similar path. With his wife planning to enroll at the University of Miami for medical school, Spector applied to and was accepted into Miami Law.
While at Miami Law, Spector was a member of the Student Bar Association and the Inter-American Law Review. The connections he forged within these organizations proved invaluable throughout his career. He served as vice president of the SBA under President Jeff Cazeau, J.D. ‘02, a city attorney who has hired Spector several times. He helped another student, Oswaldo Rossi, J.D. ‘01, with his SBA campaign, leading to a 20+ year friendship that included co-counseling on matters and now a partnership, with Spector establishing the Miami office of Rossi’s entertainment law firm, RBKF&S.
After graduating from Miami Law, Spector spent two years at Gunster, then another two years at Weil, Gotshal & Manges. As his wife approached the end of her medical residency, Spector made the decision to leave big law and venture into solo practice. He joined Perlman, Bajandas, Yevoli & Albright, a firm that originated with several of his former Gunster colleagues. There, he focused primarily on business litigation for the next decade. Subsequently, Spector spent two years with intellectual property boutique, Allen, Dyer, Doppelt + Gilchrist, before returning to solo practice, where he worked mainly as general counsel in the blockchain space, before merging with Rossi’s firm.
What most interested Spector about Miami Law was the promise of an international outlook with openness to incorporation of sophisticated business tracks.
“Miami has been the most consequential city in the US over the last 25 years,” says Spector. He appreciates how the university embraces the city’s possibilities, opening doors for Miami Law’s students. The law school also makes it easy for cross collateralization of the university’s strengths by promoting joint degree programs and involvement in other interests.
Spector served in various leadership roles with the Law Alumni Association and the University of Miami Alumni Association. He says that involvement in these organizations is rewarding because it allows alumni to feel invested in what the university is doing. He also enjoys returning to the university to attend symposiums and other events, having recently returned to see UC Berkeley School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky speak about his new book.
Outside of his career, Spector enjoys kayaking in Biscayne Bay with his kids and tending to his 67 pineapple plants. His advice to law students is that “the relationships that you build in law school will continue and are important because as you reach levels of leadership and accomplishment you can help each other.”
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