Two Alumni, One Mission: The Arns & Brandi Trial Institute
Robert Arns '75 and Thomas Brandi '72 have spent their careers in courtrooms, representing families and individuals in high-stakes cases against powerful defendants, including large corporations. Now, through a $1.86 million gift, part of a combined lifetime commitment to USF totaling $3.25 million, they're ensuring the next generation of USF trial lawyers graduate ready to do the same.
The Arns & Brandi Trial Institute now serves as USF Law’s hub for trial practice, litigation skills training, and hands-on courtroom preparation. The Institute unites USF's curriculum, experiential learning programs, Intensive Advocacy Program, and national mock trial competitions into one comprehensive litigation training program, anchored by a Trial Advocacy Certificate that signals to employers a graduate is ready to succeed in a courtroom on day one.
Built on Decades in the Courtroom
Arns and Brandi have each spent more than five decades taking on tobacco companies, major banks, corporations whose defective and dangerous products upended lives, and more. They've also been co-teaching their Trial Practice course at USF Law for more than two decades, and are proud the in the Institute, the law school now has a permanent, dedicated home for everything they’ve been doing in the classroom and beyond.
"This is the culmination of something I've loved doing for over 20 years — a stamp on the aspect of my career I'm most proud of," said Arns. "USF opens any door necessary in law to succeed in any way you want."
For Brandi, teaching has always been about giving something back. "To teach is a way of giving back for all the things that you've received," he said. "The students that we've met bring enthusiasm, intelligence, and their dreams. It's been one of the great experiences of my life."
Dean Johanna Kalb credited both alumni for their long commitment to the school and its students. "I am grateful to Bob and Tom for this extraordinary gift," said Kalb. "As alumni, longtime faculty, and two of the finest trial lawyers this school has produced, they have already shaped a generation of advocates. The Arns & Brandi Trial Institute ensures that legacy will continue for generations to come."
Litigation Is Learned by Doing
The Institute's curriculum is built on that conviction. Students move from foundational courses, including evidence, civil procedure, and discovery, through advanced trial simulations, mastering voir dire, opening statements, witness examination, and closing arguments. Coursework in applied AI and emerging legal technology ensures graduates are fluent in the tools reshaping modern litigation.
The Institute prepares graduates for careers across the full spectrum of litigation: plaintiff's firms, DA's offices, public defenders, civil rights organizations, and beyond. Whatever the case, whomever the client, Arns and Brandi’s goal for the Institute is the same as they’ve pursued since they began teaching: ensuring that graduates are ready to walk into a courtroom and try a case from day one of their career.
