Patricia Sánchez Abril never walked the halls of the University of Miami as a student, but her ties to and knowledge of the institution run deep—from learning about its rigorous academic standards while growing up in Miami to teaching at the institution and taking on prominent leadership roles at some of its most esteemed schools.
Now, a new chapter in Abril’s history with the University has been written. The first generation Cuban American, Miami native, and Harvard-educated lawyer, whose academic and research career at the University spans more than two decades, has been named dean of the School of Law.
“I’m deeply honored to serve as the next dean of the law school,” Abril said. “I was born and raised in Miami, and I’ve always said that one of the great honors and blessings of my life is to be an academic leader and a professor in my hometown and in a place that I have long admired.”
She had served as interim dean of the School of Law for nearly the past two years, and before that, she held several administrative roles that have given her extensive knowledge of the University of Miami and the landscape of education nationally. She has served as chair of the Business Law Department, vice dean of the Miami Herbert Business School, and interim dean of the Graduate School, where she oversaw all university-wide master’s and doctoral programs.
With specialties in privacy and intellectual property law, Abril started at the University in 2005 as a lecturer in business law.
“Through our work with Dean Abril, we have seen firsthand her deep commitment to the U and her singular understanding of the priorities at the School of Law, which position her to envision its next chapter,” read a letter to the University community by President and CEO and President, UHealth Joe Echevarria and Joel H. Samuels, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, and a lawyer.
“As dean, she will guide the school’s academic mission, financial health, and external engagement with a focus on faculty excellence, student outcomes, and a keen eye on elevating the school’s national profile,” the letter said. “She will work to expand learning opportunities, deepen partnerships across the University and in the legal community, and accelerate innovation in teaching, research, and professional preparation. She will also play a central role in setting clear priorities, strengthening operational effectiveness, and fostering a strong, cohesive culture in partnership with faculty and staff.”
Echevarria and Samuels noted that Abril provided thoughtful leadership during her stint as the law school’s interim dean, working closely with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and leadership to advance academic priorities, promote student success, and cultivate a collaborative community.
During her time at the School of Law, Abril made a marked impact on the school, helping to secure a gift from University alumni couple Arlene and Wayne Chaplin that supports the transformation of a space in the School of Law into a state-of-the-art facility designed to simulate a real courtroom environment.
“The courtroom is very significant because it’s a powerful signal of not just investment in the school, but investment in the mission of the school, which is to educate lawyers and to have them practice their skills in the most realistic place possible,” Abril said. “It’s also a convener. It brings judges, alums, practitioners, faculty, and students together in one place. And that’s extremely important.”
At the beginning of her interim deanship, the law school launched its new Miami Law and AI Lab, an initiative that brings together scholars, practitioners, and students in the fields of law, AI, computer science, and ethics to address the complex challenges and opportunities AI presents in the legal domain.
“In its first year it created new teaching and research technologies. It brought together students from across the University, and it’s garnered national and international recognition,” said Abril, noting that the National Jurist recently named the School of Law one of the top 10 most innovative law schools in the country.
The many leadership roles she has taken on at the University will help in her new position as dean of the law school. “Miami is a wonderfully relational place. We talk about the importance of interdisciplinarity, and we talk about the importance of thinking and working across schools and across disciplines,” Abril said. “I am very lucky to have now been in leadership positions in three different schools and one, the Graduate School, really touches upon every school and college. So it is, I think, a great benefit to count on collaborators and thought partners all around the University to help bridge the work of the law school into the work that they do in a significant way.”
Abril attended Duke University as an Angier B. Duke Scholar and went on to Harvard Law School, where she served as editor in chief of the Harvard Latino Law Review. When she returned to South Florida, she practiced corporate law and served in a legal and business affairs capacity at Univisión before joining the University of Miami as a faculty member in 2004.
She quickly became a noted scholar in her field, authoring several widely cited articles in privacy, technology, and securities in various prestigious law reviews. Her work earned her the international Academy of Legal Studies in Business’ Distinguished Faculty Early Career Achievement Award.
She maintains a thriving research agenda, publishing in such esteemed law reviews as the University of North Carolina Law Review and the Yale Journal of Law and Technology. Her most recent publication focused on the impact of AI tools such as ChatGPT on the practice of law. She has published numerous textbooks.
Abril is also a recipient of the Faculty Senate’s Outstanding Teaching Award.
Beyond her campus endeavors, Abril served as an observer on a Uniform Law Commission for Social Media Privacy, where she contributed to the first uniform privacy law addressing access to students and employees’ social media. Active in her communities, she also serves on the boards of several local and national nonprofits whose work centers on education and access.
Abril’s entrepreneurial father, Ralph Sanchez, brought the first Grand Prix to Miami in the early 1980s. She credits him and her mother for being a big influence in her life. “They were both forces of nature,” she said. “I grew up in a house full of pride and optimism where we saw possibilities. My father was a visionary, and I’d like to think that that influenced me a great deal.”
A combination of factors attracted her to the legal profession. “It was being extraordinarily mission driven and having a passion for solving problems, and those are two qualities that are essential components at the law school,” Abril explained. “It is mission driven because lawyers need to be realistic and yet idealistic at the same time, as well as optimistic in making arguments. They need to not shy away but to lean in and help facilitate solutions to the thorniest problems that our society faces today.”