Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum has spent nearly her entire career in public service. After graduating from the School of Law, she worked as a trial attorney in the Attorney General’s Honors Program at the U.S. Department of Justice, a law clerk on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and an assistant U.S. attorney, where she became chief of the Economic Crimes Section. She joined the federal bench as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in 2007. President Barack Obama appointed her in 2012 as a U.S. District Judge, and again in 2014 as a U.S. Circuit Judge, where she continues to serve.
What aspects of the curriculum or faculty had the most significant impact on your legal education and career trajectory?
The outstanding faculty and fellow students I had the opportunity to learn from and work with had the most significant impact on my legal education and career trajectory. Professors like Irwin Stotzky, Lili Levi, Ken Casebeer, and Steven Winter challenged me intellectually and helped ignite my love of federal and constitutional law. Professor Gaubatz and the Moot Court and Mock Trial programs taught me about the art of oral advocacy and helped me develop in-court skills that are so important to a litigator. And in my capacity as Student Bar Association president, then-Dean Mary Doyle helped me understand how to work side-by-side with the faculty, students, and administration to develop answers to problems the law school faced. I carry those lessons with me when I resolve cases on a three-judge panel or en banc court.
What opportunities or connections did you gain at the law school, and how did they influence your career?
The School of Law gave me the skills I needed to succeed in the field of law. It also introduced me to a nationwide network of alumni and UM boosters, with a particularly strong presence in South Florida, where I have worked for most of my career. I always enjoy running into my former classmates and fellow alumni. Also, during the course of my career, many of my South Florida colleagues on the federal bench have turned out to be fellow alumni. In fact, when I was a student, now-U.S. Circuit Judge Bert Jordan taught one of my classes. Now, we sit together on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Finally, when I applied to become a U.S. district judge, Georgina Angones of the law school’s development office sat on the nominating committee. She had a unique understanding of UM graduates’ (including my own) qualifications.
