P.A.D. Holland Chapter Makes History!

Initiating Florida International University College of Law Dean R. Alexander Acosta 

By Heather A. Patchen, Clerk

P.A.D. Holland Chapter 

From the short time that the P.A.D. Holland Chapter has stepped onto the scene, we’ve already made a number of great accomplishments, but nothing compares to the history we made at our recent formal initiation ceremony on Saturday, September 26, 2009.  Alongside nearly 40 new initiates, the Holland Chapter had the distinct pleasure of initiating our very own Florida International University (FIU) Dean of the College of Law, R. Alexander Acosta. 

During the ceremony, the Executive Board presented Dean Acosta with a commemorative centennial coin engraved with the Phi Alpha Delta seal.  In his keynote address to his fellow initiates, Dean Acosta expressed a deep sense of pride in the fraternal bonds of community established by Phi Alpha Delta and the importance of creating such bonds to develop the professional ideals of the legal profession.  

“I will carry this coin as a continuous reminder of our fraternal bond,” said Dean Acosta.   

Other notable attendees included Alumni Chapter Advisor Robert L. Schimmel of Hessen, Schimmel & De Castro, P.A., and District XXXII Justice David S. Rothenberg of Conroy Simberg et al. and Faculty Chapter Advisor, Professor Scott H. Fingerhut. 

Dean Acosta joined FIU on July 1, 2009, becoming the second dean to lead the College of Law.  Most recently, he served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, one of the four largest districts in the nation, made up of 284 attorneys and encompassing nine counties, from Monroe to Highlands.  He is the longest serving senate-confirmed United States Attorney in South Florida since the 1970s. 

Under Acosta, the Southern District prosecuted a wide variety of high-profile cases including the prosecutions of Jack Abramoff for fraud, the prosecution of Jose Padilla, and the conviction of Cali Cartel founders Miguel and Gilberto Rodriguez-Orejuela for the importation of 200,000 kilos of cocaine, which led to a $2.1 billion forfeiture.  Acosta also targeted white collar crime, overseeing several bank-related prosecutions including that of Swiss Bank UBS, which agreed to pay $780 million and, for the first time in history, to provide the United States with the names of individuals that were using secret Swiss accounts to avoid payment of U.S. taxes.  Additionally, he established the first Health Care Fraud Strike Force in the nation, making South Florida the top district in the nation for health care fraud prosecution. 

Prior to his appointment as U.S. Attorney, Acosta served as the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, the first Hispanic to serve as an assistant attorney general.  Among his many accolades and professional accomplishments, Acosta has received the American Bar Association’s Council on Legal Education’s Legacy Award for efforts on diversity; the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund’s Excellence in Government Award and the D.C. Hispanic Bar Association’s Hugh A. Johnson Jr. Memorial Award.  In addition to his leadership role at the College of Law, Dean Acosta has a special interest in framing the national policy debate on infrastructure investment in education.   

A native of Miami, Dean Acosta earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and his law degree from Harvard Law School.  He then clerked for Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., when he served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  

The Spessard Lindsey Holland Chapter is pleased to welcome FIU College of Law Dean R. Alexander Acosta among our brethren!