Michael Ruiz

Temple Law Community

During my four years at Temple Law I was a member of Health Law Society and the Committee of 51. I also served as Honor Code Representative and Class President.

As the Honor Code Representative and Class President, I was introduced firsthand to the difficult decisions that go into an inquiry to a peer’s integrity and the impact of the outcome of such an inquiry on that person. This was a powerful lesson I will take into my career. It is a monumental responsibility to continually develop my ability to advocate for my clients.

Experiential Opportunities

As an Evening student working full-time while in law school, experiential opportunities were difficult to fit into my schedule. However, I was fortunate enough to participate in Professor Mandelbaum’s Trust and Estates Clinical.

During this course, we were able to provide wills, financial powers of attorney, and medical directives for residents of a senior home, police, and firefighters. I also took the opportunity to volunteer for a Wills for Heroes program which Professor Mandelbaum organized for the Fraternal Order of Police.

As someone with a legal education it is easy to lose sight of the lack of basic legal knowledge, as well as the level of misinformation. The Trust and Estates Clinical gave me a sense of just how much I did not know. I learned with those who were benefiting from our experience.  There were many conversations dispelling myths about medical directives, as well as what goes into, and stays out, of a will.

That experience demonstrated the importance of my role, as not only a legal professional, but also as an educator to my future clients.

Faculty Influence

I spent over a decade in the pharmaceutical industry. In my many roles, one thing was a constant: legal compliance. During my time at Temple, I was able to take Corporate Compliance Law with Professor Smollen. I also had the opportunity to conduct a guided research with him where we explored alternatives to incentive compensation methods to reduce the temptation to violate Compliance regulations.

Professor Smollen has made himself available to me as a mentor and professional advisor.  There is no doubt that Professor Smollen will play a role in my path forward in my career.

A Community of Support

Six weeks into my first semester I experienced a personal tragedy that no parent should ever have to endure.

I did not want to go on with life, let alone law school. In many ways law school served as a distraction for me to keep mind occupied while I dealt with the loss of my daughter. However, it was the love and support of my Evening Division family that kept me going. Upon my return, I walked into my Contracts class and each and every one of my thirty six classmates physically gave me a hug in support.

We are an amazingly close cohort and I will never forget the support they gave me during the worst time of my life. The Night Owls of the Class of 2019 are truly a credit to the law school.