Law Schools

Struggling Law School's Dean Unexpectedly Resigns

Chaos seems to have erupted at this law school. What is going on? Please note the UPDATES to this story.

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When we last checked in with Florida Coastal School of Law in February 2019, the struggling law school had recently announced its plans to convert to a nonprofit institution, having already submitted an application to the American Bar Association for the change. At the time, the law school was out of compliance with with the ABA’s accreditation standards pertaining to its admissions practices and risked facing similar consequences as its defunct Infilaw sister schools, Charlotte School of Law, which closed in August 2017, and Arizona Summit Law School, which had its accreditation revoked in June 2018 and will officially close by spring 2020.

As luck would have it, in June 2019, Florida Coastal found itself back in the ABA’s good graces after adopting higher admissions standards, but there was still no word on its would-be conversion to a nonprofit in affiliation with a yet-to-be publicly named “university located in the Southeast.” All that was known was that the affiliate school could potentially give Florida Coastal the ability to double or triple in size.

After months of waiting, Florida Coastal finally has an answer, and it seems that chaos has erupted in its wake.

Please note the important UPDATES that follow.

Under the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar’s Applications for Substantive Change page, this brief statement on the matter is listed for August 2019: “The Council denied the application of Florida Coastal School of Law to convert to a non-profit law school.” This information was communicated to students via email by Dean Scott DeVito on September 9:

Dear Students and Colleagues,

I received a letter this afternoon from the ABA informing us that they have denied our application to convert to a non-profit. This was an extremely disappointing outcome given how hard so many of us worked on the application. We are currently asking regulatory counsel to review the documents to provide insight into our next steps.

Once I have a clearer understanding of what our next steps will be, I will update you.

Dean DeVito

We’re told that students were supposed to receive their student loan disbursements for the Fall 2019 semester by or before September 9, but such funds were never deposited into student accounts. Without resolving the student loan situation, DeVito unexpectedly announced that he would be resigning as dean, and students claim that he left the building with his things shortly thereafter. Sources say that James Artley, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, was asked what was going on, and he allegedly replied, “If we are here in seven days, then we will be good,” leading them to wonder about the school’s future.

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We reached out to DeVito to speak about students’ loan funds and his sudden departure from the school he’d loyally championed since 2015, only to receive this automatic response:

Thank you for reaching out to me. Scott DeVito is no longer employed by Florida Coastal School of Law.

UPDATE (3:45 p.m.): DeVito emailed us to note the following:

With regard to the ABA Council’s decision, the transaction from for-profit to non-profit is extremely complex. So while I hoped we had satisfied the Council, I was not entirely surprised that they did not approve it at this juncture. And, while I cannot speak for the School, the last indication I had, before leaving the school’s employment, was that they were going to re-apply with the hope of being heard at this November’s Council meeting. If all goes well, the Council could approve the transaction before the end of the year.

The Council’s decision to not approve the transition had nothing to do with my leaving the school. As you know, the median tenure for law school deans is a bit over three years and the average is a bit over four. So my departure is right in line with the normal time one spends as a dean at a law school. As to why I left, I left because it was the right decision for me.

Also, my actual departure lacks the dramatic flair that seems to be making the rounds on the web. I emailed students that I was leaving and I communicated as one does with one’s employer. There was no town hall.

We reached out to the remaining members of the administration at the school, as well as its marketing liaison, and have yet to receive a response to our media inquiries.

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According to an email sent to students by Dean Artley shortly after DeVito publicly resigned, Florida Coastal is “currently working with our parent company (Infilaw) regarding this announcement and the appointment of new leadership. We ask for your patience, as we work through this transition. We will be communicating more information within the next 24 – 48 hours.”

What does this mean for the future of Florida Coastal School of Law? Some sources have speculated that the Department of Education is refusing to release federal student loan money to Coastal because of its relationship to two other failed law schools. Others still believe this means the final flame in Infilaw’s for-profit law school fire will soon be snuffed out. Either way, we’re told that students’ “dream[s] [have] been crushed” by this disheartening news, and no one is sure what will happen.

Past is precedent with Infilaw schools, and this doesn’t look good for Florida Coastal.

UPDATE (4:10 p.m.): Rick Inatome, CEO of Infilaw, sent this email to students earlier this afternoon, detailing new leadership at the school and explaining what’s happening with their undisbursed student loans:

Dear Students,

Following the resignation of former Dean Scott DeVito yesterday, I have appointed Jennifer Reiber as interim dean. She has worked tirelessly the past four years as Dean of Academics and I am confident she will provide capable leadership. In addition, Peter Goplerud, who served as Florida Coastal’s Dean from 2004-2013, has agreed to return to the law school in the role of President.

Please know the Florida Coastal administration takes very seriously the delay in disbursement of student federal financial aid funds, and we understand this delay creates undue hardship and stress for our students. Florida Coastal requested the necessary funding from the Department of Education to cover eligible Fall 2019 disbursements, but those funds have not yet been disbursed. Unfortunately, while we await the release of the funds by the Department, living expense stipends cannot be released to students. Florida Coastal is dedicated to serving our student needs and we have been working directly with the Department to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we do our best to resolve the matter expeditiously with the Department. We will provide an update as soon as more information is available.

You also may have heard that the ABA Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar (Council) denied Florida Coastal’s previously filed application for a conversion to not-for-profit status. This does not mean that the application process has ended or that conversion will not occur. Rather, the Council required Florida Coastal to submit additional items in order to grant acquiescence. We intend to submit those items to the Council for review at their November meeting.

Last, although we will miss Dean DeVito and his leadership, we do want to acknowledge his great contribution to the school. As you can see from the above, Florida Coastal is continuing forward and we value your role as students in our ongoing success. To that end, Dean Reiber, President Goplerud, the staff, and faculty, will host a student town hall very soon to answer any of your questions.

Thank you for your ongoing support,

Rick Inatome

CEO of Infilaw

UPDATE (9/13 10:30 a.m.): Students received the this message about their loan funds yesterday:

This afternoon, Florida Coastal received confirmation that starting tomorrow it will begin to receive the Fall 2019 student federal financial aid funds from the Department of Education. Florida Coastal will immediately begin processing those funds to release student stipends as early as tomorrow so students will have access to those funds starting on Monday.

The disbursement of federal student loans generally follows the following process:

  1. Florida Coastal requests the student federal financial aid funds for students from the Department of Education (this began in August and continues throughout the semester as loans are approved);
  2. The Department of Education approves the release of the student federal financial aid funds to Florida Coastal (this happened late this afternoon);
  3. Florida Coastal receives the student federal financial aid funds (we expect this to occur tomorrow);
  4. Florida Coastal processes the student federal financial aid funds (we will start this tomorrow once we have the funds); and
  5. Student stipends are received in individual student bank accounts (and the timing of the availability of your funds varies based upon your bank’s deposit procedures).

If the above assumptions change, we will communicate the same to keep you updated. Please note, the processing of all student stipends takes a few days given when the Department approves the funds and when Florida Coastal receives the funds.

Please know Florida Coastal leadership takes very seriously the delay in disbursement of student federal financial aid funds, and we understand this delay created undue hardship and stress for our students. There have been some inaccurate news reports that Florida Coastal had those funds previously and failed to disburse the same – that is simply not true. We are dedicated to serving your needs and have been working directly with the Department to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Florida Coastal appreciates their students’ patience and understanding as they worked to resolve the matter expeditiously with the Department.

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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