Sue M. Cobb, J.D. ’78, is a former ambassador to Jamaica, secretary of state of Florida, CEO of the Florida Lottery, partner at Greenberg Traurig, and multiyear member and three-time chair of the Miami Federal Reserve. She is also a trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Council of American Ambassadors, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the Advisory Council of the Association of Diplomatic Studies and Training. She is a skilled alpine skier and high-altitude climber and has authored "The Edge of Everest" and "The Lady of Silk and Steel: From Everest to Embassies."
What aspects or opportunities at the law school significantly influenced your legal education and career trajectory?
I was between the ages of 38-41 (1975-78) when I had the opportunity to go to the University of Miami School of Law. I was a devotee of Soia Mentschikoff and her young band of elements professors. They were strikingly smart people. But it was my '78 classmates and all their varied backgrounds and varied dreams that captured me. These men and women, all with their own unique stories, held me up and ensured that I, too, got to the finish line: to a coveted J.D.
What is one lesson you learned in law school that you still apply today?
To look beyond the surface of any statement.
What draws you to stay connected to the law school?
With a busy husband and two children, it was a grueling time for me, but it was a rewarding three years. I gained a valuable degree and lifelong friends whom I cherish. My husband, Ambassador Charles Cobb, is a 49-year trustee of the University. We live within five miles of campus and can enjoy many UM activities. I still feel, after almost 50 years of association with UM Law, that it is on the verge of leaping into the ranks of the top 20 law schools in the country.
