Home is where the heart is, and Mitchell Hamline is one of those places for Judge Louis Schiff ’80
Schiff pictured in his home office, decorated by his wife Leslee
A kid originally from Brooklyn, who attended Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, and later became a judge serving Broward County, Florida, recently retired from the bench and is looking forward to the future, including the future of other law students at Mitchell Hamline.
“Things happen for a reason in life,” said Judge Schiff. “They don’t always go as planned, but you pivot. Mistakes are made along the way, but you learn from them. Some days are hard, but you work harder to push through. Life is a blessing, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
First Base: Early Beginnings
Schiff pictured on his fourth birthday (second from left) with parents and brother Fred at his grandmother’s home in Brooklyn
Of course, Schiff was a Mets fan having grown up in New York and watched them win the 1969 World Series. He also played the trumpet and accordion, influenced by his parents, Sally and Mel, who ran a music retail store in New York and later in Florida, where the family relocated during his senior year of high school. Schiff’s younger brother, Fred, took over the family business, All County Music, which received two national awards by the National Association of Music Merchants in 2022, the Best Community Retail Store and the Dealer of the Year.
Second Base: College Life
Schiff enrolled at the University of Florida in the fall of 1973 as a music major before switching to journalism in his junior year. As luck would have it, for two years he interned for the Fort Lauderdale Yankees doing public relations where he developed relationships with New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, his son Hank Steinbrenner, and some of the players who went on to play Major League Baseball. He also continued his love of music by directing a community jazz band for the city of Sunrise for six summers during college and law school.
After finishing his undergraduate degree, Schiff turned down an offer to work for the Yankees in New York to pursue another interest: law. He applied to a number of law schools but was only accepted by Hamline University School of Law, today known as Mitchell Hamline.
Schiff pictured in the back against the wall with the Hamline University Jazz Band, conducted by Paul Pizner
There, he took part in many opportunities as a student. He was the assistant editor of the student-run newspaper, “The Oracle,” played in the Hamline University Jazz Band, and worked nights at the reference desk at the Hamline Law Library.
He graduated “magna cum luck” in the top 89 percent of the class, he joked. He had also taken the LSAT five times and passed the Florida Bar on his second attempt. “Babe Ruth struck out more times than he hit home runs,” Schiff said, ever persevering.
Schiff was the first in his family to attend college and law school.
Third Base: Career Connections
Schiff had met an attorney while an undergraduate who said to give him a call if Schiff ever wanted to work as a lawyer in Gainesville, Florida. In 1981, Schiff did just that. While practicing law in Gainesville, he also taught at Santa Fe Community College.
More than a year later, he returned to Broward County and started his own practice, which he ran until he was elected judge in 1996. During that time, he had a Sunday evening call-in radio program on a Miami station called “Ask the Attorney,” wrote a legal advice column in a local community paper, and served as president of the Tamarac Chamber of Commerce. Schiff was consecutively reelected as a Broward County Court judge in 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018.
In 2008, Schiff reconnected with his alma mater as an adjunct law professor and taught a popular summer course called “Law and Cinema: Are Lawyers Still Our Heroes?” And since 2013, he has taught a two-day course each summer—“Law and the Business of Baseball”—in collaboration with the Minnesota Twins and the St. Paul Saints at their baseball stadiums.
Over the years, this sold-out course has featured heavy-hitting guest speakers including Minnesota Twins Senior Vice President and General Counsel Mary Giesler ’95; Minnesota Twins official scorer Stew Thornley; St. Paul Saints Executive Vice President Tom Whaley; St. Paul Saints former owner and impresario Mike Veeck; Commissioner of the American Association of Professional Baseball Joshua Schaub ’08; sports executive Bob Whitsitt ’21; former Minnesota Twins Bat Boy Adam Hanson ’15; former Major League Baseball Umpire Clint Fagan ’20; American sports agent Rachel Luba; award-winning sports journalist Melissa Ludtke; National Baseball Hall of Fame Historian and author John Thorne; author and attorney Craig Calcaterra; award-winning author and sports journalist Eric Nusbaum; Assistant General Counsel of the Major League Baseball Players Association Robbie Guerra; Notre Dame emeritus law professor Ed Edmonds; and Minnesota Twins President David St. Peter.
Schiff is the co-author, with Nova Southeastern Law Professor Robert Jarvis, of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) award-winning book, “Baseball and the Law: Cases and Materials.” The book has been part of the nine-inning curriculum taught at Mitchell Hamline.
Schiff, pictured with wife Leslee, receiving the 2022 Outstanding Alumni Award from Mitchell Hamline
In 2000, Schiff received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Hamline University School of Law, and, in 2022, he received the Outstanding Alumni Award from Mitchell Hamline. He has served as a judicial educator for the National Judicial College, Florida College of Advanced Judicial Studies, Florida Judicial College, and Florida DUL/Traffic Adjudication Law. And he is asked regularly to speak to judges in other states regarding judicial ethics, courtroom demeanor, and baseball law.
“Judge Schiff is one of those extraordinary and consequential alums who gives back to the school in such lasting ways. His course has become a rite of passage for so many of our students, who experienced the judge’s ‘Law and the Business of Baseball’ course as an enduring highlight of their law school journey,” said Jim Hilbert, who is a Mitchell Hamline professor, former interim dean, and friend and colleague of Schiff.
Home Base: Family and Legacy
Schiff met his wife Leslee through his father. They got married in 1983 and have two adult children, Amber and Erik.
After 28 years of service, Schiff retired as a Broward County judge on Dec. 31, 2024. He and his wife brought in the new year by creating a permanently endowed scholarship for students at Mitchell Hamline, which will be awarded to students in good academic standing who demonstrate financial need.
“Leslee and I wanted to give back in a meaningful way. It was important for us to do this. When we got married, Leslee helped me pay off my law school student loans. We have been blessed, and we wanted to ease a bit of the burden for students who go to Mitchell Hamline. This is something we have wanted to do for a long time. We love the diversity of the students, the people who work here, and the programs taught here. Leslee came to Minnesota with me in 2022 for my alumni award, and she fell in love with the people and the law school.
“Mitchell Hamline is such a wonderful place to learn and grow. It not only gave me the opportunity to go to law school, but it also gave me the opportunity to teach. If not for this school, I never would have become an attorney. If not for this school, I never would have taught. If not for this school, I never would have written my first book, let alone my second book. Mitchell Hamline has truly given me and my family the opportunity of a lifetime, and we want to give back.”
Schiff’s family (left to right): daughter Amber with dog Ming, Schiff with wife Leslee, son Erik with wife Erin and dog Taco
As for his future, Schiff wants to do more of what he loves: spend time with family and friends, travel, visit all 30 Major League ballparks, play golf, teach, and become more involved with the law school—even during the winter. His next book, “Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame,” co-edited with Professor Jarvis and written by himself and nine other law school professors, will be published later this year. And he’s even considering coming back as a senior judge…