Dean

Patricia

Sanchez

Abril

Patricia Sánchez Abril is Interim Dean of the University of Miami School of Law. In this role, Dean Abril has been successful in reducing the entering JD class size, designing and funding a new moot courtroom, and achieving record admissions and employment rates.

A first generation Cuban-American and Miami native, Dean Abril attended Duke University as an Angier B. Duke Scholar and went on to Harvard Law School, where she was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Latino Law Review. Upon her return to South Florida, Dean Abril practiced corporate law and served in a legal and business affairs capacity at Univisión prior to joining the University of Miami as a faculty member in 2004.

Very quickly, Dean Abril emerged as a scholar in her field, authoring several widely cited articles in privacy and technology. She has published numerous works, ranging from textbooks to scholarly articles. Her most recent law review article in 2024 focused on the impact of large language models on the practice of law. 

Over her twenty-plus year career at the University of Miami, Dean Abril has also built a reputation for pedagogical innovation in law and business. As Vice Dean of the Miami Herbert Business School, she led successfully efforts to redesign the school’s MBA curriculum. Her track record for innovation and her focus on students earned her the 2018 University of Miami’s Faculty Senate Outstanding Teaching Award. Under her leadership, the Financial Times recognized the Miami Herbert Business School as the top MBA program in the world for teaching law in 2022.

Known for her collaborative style and effective leadership, Dean Abril has had 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 University of Miami Graduate School, where she oversaw all master’s and doctoral programs university-wide. 

Beyond her campus endeavors, Dean 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.