THE HENRY LATIMER CENTER FOR PROFESSIONALISM
ANNUAL LAW SCHOOL PROFESSIONALISM REPORT
Law School:
Dean:
Completed By:
Academic Year:
Florida State University College of Law
Donald J. Weidner
Nancy L. Benavides, Associate Dean for Student Affairs
2014-15
The professionalism activities at the Florida State University College of Law
reflect our continuing commitment to professionalism as a vital part of legal education,
and to our coordinate part of the critical professionalism triad of bench, bar and
academy. In recent years our program has seen a number of exciting developments
and initiatives which have resulted in increased opportunities for our students and faculty
to engage with the profession. More information about some of those most recent
initiatives is described below in this representative, but not exhaustive, summary of our
professionalism activities throughout the 2014-15 academic year.
A. Orientation and Related Programming
First Year Orientation
Each August, the College of Law holds a mandatory First-Year Orientation
Program for its incoming law students. Day One of our program is designed as an
Introduction to the Law School. Day Two is an Introduction to the Profession.
Throughout both days and in various sessions, the students are exposed to themes of
professionalism, civility, and ethics.
For example, on Day One, during the Faculty Panel sessions, professors offer
their thoughts and observations on the importance of professional behaviors and civility
both in and out of the classroom. In our Placement session, students receive an
overview of the importance of the role of professionalism and civility in terms of social
media postings, interactions with prospective employers, and development of personal
and professional reputation.
Day Two, an Introduction to the Profession, examines professionalism, ethics
and civility from the perspectives of a practitioner, a judge, and a faculty member. At the
beginning of the day, students are given a copy of the Creed of Professionalism which is
referred to throughout the program. The day begins with a “Welcome to the Profession”
address by one of our alumni. This past fall, Miami attorney Eugene Stearns shared his
thoughts on the importance of professionalism through the prism of a highly successful
commercial litigator who continues to be actively involved in a host of public policy
issues on both the federal and state level and in virtually every instance on a pro bono
basis. Mr. Stearns emphasized the values and goals that he believes contributed to his
success both in law school, in the profession, and in his various leadership positions
within the community.
Following Mr. Stearns’ session, the students heard further thoughts on the topic
of professionalism from First District Court of Appeal Judge Simone Marstiller. Judge
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Marstiller’s insightful comments from the perspective of a judge provided a solid
foundation for a robust dialogue about professionalism, ethics, and civility. The third
speaker of the day was Professor Rob Atkinson, a teacher, writer, and frequent speaker
on the topic of professionalism. Professor Atkinson provided the students with a faculty
perspective on the importance of professionalism. His remarks are always highly
engaging and encouraged audience participation.
The concluding event of Day Two was a presentation and panel facilitated by
Associate Dean for Student Affairs Nancy Benavides. In her presentation, Associate
Dean Benavides introduced students to the character and fitness requirements of the
Florida Board of Bar Examiners and the law school and bar application amendment
process. The session also exposed students to various resources at the law school,
University, and community committed to promoting wellness while also addressing
issues of substance abuse and healthy responses to professional and academic
stressors. Following that presentation there was a panel, titled Looking Ahead, that
included clinical professor Sally Gertz, Associate Dean for Placement Rosanna
Catalano, and FSU College of Law alumni Karen Hundley and Christopher Emmanuel.
Included in the conversation was a robust discussion about reputation in law school,
uses and misuses of social media, and the importance of candor and full disclosure. A
mandatory session with representatives from the Florida Board of Bar Examiners and
the Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc. was held in September.
A major goal of our orientation program is to impress upon new students that
their careers as legal professionals begin as soon as they enter law school, and that
they are entitled and encouraged from that moment to engage members of the bench,
members of the bar, and their fellow classmates in a life-long dialogue on issues
affecting our common professional calling.
Orientation Programs for Transfer Students and LL.M. Students
This past fall the topics of professionalism, ethics and civility were also
introduced at several points during our orientation programs for incoming transfer
students and for foreign students in our LL.M. in American Law. During the transfer
orientation, in his welcome remarks, Dean Weidner spoke about the unique culture of
the law school and emphasized the strong sense of camaraderie and respect among the
students, faculty and staff – characteristics that our graduating students repeatedly
emphasize in their exit interviews.
Associate Dean Benavides also spoke about the importance of professionalism
and civility in her session on admission to the bar. She also introduced students in both
sessions to resources at the law school, University, and community committed to
promoting wellness while also addressing issues of substance abuse and healthy
responses to professional and academic stressors. The students were also encouraged
to attend an upcoming informational session with representatives from the Florida Board
of Bar Examiners and the Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc.
Summer for Undergraduates Program
This model summer program is designed to attract undergraduate students,
particularly from groups that are historically underrepresented in law schools, and bring
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them to the College of Law for four weeks of intensive introduction to the profession and
preparation for law school. In addition to taking two law classes taught by College of
Law faculty, the 60 students who participate in the program each summer are introduced
to the concepts of professionalism and ethics in various sessions throughout the four
weeks.
This past summer’s program featured a session devoted to Professionalism,
Character & Fitness that was led by Associate Dean Nancy Benavides and featured a
panel that included Michele Gavagni, the Executive Director of the Florida Board of Bar
Examiners, Donna Blanton, Board Member of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, and
attorney Tor Friedman. The session explored the definition and role of character and
fitness in the law school and bar admissions process and provided the undergraduate
audience with examples of past applicant behaviors that led to difficulties and delays in
the bar admissions process.
Examples of the importance of professionalism are infused in other ways as well,
including in the daily Legal Writing classes and a session where the students watch a
film portraying a legal ethics dilemma followed by a discussion led by a judge or
professor about the issues raised. The students are also introduced to role models in
the profession through a series of networking events and guest speakers.
Pro Bono Program and Distribution of Handbooks
The College of Law has a graduation requirement that students perform 20 hours
of pro bono service during their second or third year of law school. One goal of the
program is that through this experience our students will learn the value of contributing
to the profession by providing legal services to the poor.
This past academic year, members of the Class of 2014 (including December
2013 and May/August 2014 graduates) combined to complete more than 15,000 hours
of pro bono service. Approximately 40% of the Class performed forty or more hours of
service and received certificates of Distinguished Pro Bono Service.
Prior to beginning a pro bono placement, every law student must complete an
on-line orientation to our Pro Bono Program which provides information about the pro
bono requirement and highlights relevant Florida Bar Rules of Professional Conduct.
Copies of the handbooks containing the rules that regulate The Florida Bar (provided by
the Center for Professionalism) are made available to first year students during the
spring semester when the students are first introduced to the pro bono requirement. The
handbook is also made available to students enrolled in our Professional Responsibility
courses.
Student Conduct Codes and Professionalism
Our law students are governed by two codes of conduct – 1) an Academic Honor
Code administered by the College of Law, and 2) a Student Conduct Code which covers
non-academic matters and is administered at the University level. Students are
introduced to this bifurcated system during orientation and are instructed to familiarize
themselves with the provisions of both codes. The Academic Honor Code is set forth on
the law school website, along with a link to the Student Conduct Code. The University’s
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Student Conduct Code applies the principles found in the “Statement on Values and
Moral Standards at Florida State University” by promoting responsible freedom, directed
by ethical standards, for all students. The “Statement of Values and Moral Standards at
Florida State University” is found in the current FSU Online Student Policy Handbook.
B. Curriculum
Courses Largely Devoted to Professionalism Issues
The College of Law incorporates two courses largely devoted to professionalism
issues, the mandatory Professional Responsibility course that is offered each semester
(fall, spring and summer) and an elective seminar on Lawyers and Literature that is
typically offered once per year.
The College of Law’s mandatory, first year legal writing program is also heavily
geared toward professionalism issues. In addition to ensuring basic competence in the
fundamental skill of legal writing and research, the program also addresses particular
professionalism topics and includes special professionalism projects. For example,
students are required to attend a panel discussion with Florida appellate judges covering
a range of professionalism issues in brief-writing and oral arguments. Almost every
class meeting includes some form of discussion on issues relating to professionalism.
Professionalism Teaching by the “Pervasive Method”
Beyond the offerings described above, many of our professors raise and discuss
professionalism issues in courses found throughout our curriculum. Below is a
representative sample.
1. One fairly recent addition to our curriculum has been the Law Practice
Management course. The course has been taught by adjunct professor
Judith Equels, the director of The Florida Bar’s Law Office Management
Assistance Service (LOMAS). She is a regular presenter at CLE seminars on
behalf of The Florida Bar, and has lectured nationwide on law office
management and law practice management related topics for the ABA, state
bars, Inns of Court, and the Association of Legal Administrators. The Law
Practice Management course examines many issues relating to the
successful practice of law, including, but not limited to, risk management
(e.g., calendaring, conflicts of interest); creation and handling of trust
accounts; logistics of opening a law practice; business plans; business/client
development and retention skills; and a range of ethical and professionalism
issues. relating to fee sharing and advertising. It has as a prerequisite
successful completion of Professional Responsibility.
2. Professor Rob Atkinson, a teacher, writer and frequent speaker on the topic
of professionalism, integrates professionalism into each of his courses:
Property, Professional Responsibility, Law & Chinese Classics, and
Law, the Classics and the Scriptures. A salient theme running throughout
his classes is the question, “Can a good person be a good lawyer?”
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3. Professor Nat Stern’s popular Supreme Court Role-Play course examines
the roles of judges and lawyers. Through classroom simulation exercises,
students are taught how judges and lawyers should interact respectfully and
professionally to one another. Professor Stern additionally addresses all
aspects of professionalism with his students in the appellate advocacy setting
in his capacity as the Moot Court team faculty advisor. In that role, he
routinely presents hypothetical ethical situations for his Moot Court team to
examine and resolve.
4. Research Center Director and Professor Faye Jones’ Cyber Law Seminar
introduces issues of professionalism and ethics throughout the course. Her
classes consider lawyer ethics in the protection of trade secrets, in
representation of the media and bloggers in privacy cases, and in the context
of downloading music and movies. Her on-line course, Information Privacy
Law, incorporates professionalism and ethical issues into classroom
discussions on the intersection of information privacy, technology and the
law, social media, and government records.
5. Dean Don Weidner addresses issues of professionalism in his Real Estate
Finance class in the context of transactional lawyering.
6. Professor Tahirih Lee’s first-year Civil Procedure class includes an ethics
component for topics such as client’s hiring of an attorney, Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure Rule 11, the discovery process, and settlement negotiations.
Additionally, her International Business Transactions course includes indepth coverage of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and efforts to curb
involvement in corrupt business practices overseas.
7. We have recently added a Jury Selection course and a Deposition course
to our curriculum. Both of these courses, taught by adjunct professors,
introduce prospective litigators to a variety of related professionalism issues.
The Jury Selection course is being taught this spring by Steve Brown who
retired after serving for twenty one years as a United States Magistrate Judge
for the Southern District of Florida, the last three as the Chief United States
Magistrate Judge. Prior to that he was a partner in a Miami law firm where he
was a civil trial lawyer for nineteen years. He has taught a Trial Advocacy
Program at the UM Law School, CLE Courses, and has spoken before bar
associations throughout the United States and overseas. The Deposition
course, offered last fall semester, was co-taught by J. Layne Smith and Colin
Mark Roopnarine. Mr. Smith is General Counsel at the Department of
Business & Professional Regulation. He has 24 years of experience as a
private practice attorney, and he successfully ran his own law firm from 1995­
2011. He is a Special Designated Assistant Statewide Prosecutor and a
former Special Designated Assistant Public Defender. Mr. Roopnarine
currently serves as the General Counsel of the Florida Office of Financial
Regulation. Prior to his current position, Mr. Roopnarine was the Deputy
General Counsel of Professions at the Department of Business and
Professional Regulation. He is an experienced litigator who has been
involved in administrative litigation and several appeals throughout his career.
In 2012 he was appointed by Chief Judge Charles A. Francis to serve on the
Second Judicial Circuit Professionalism Committee.
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8. Our Anatomy of a Deal course helps students develop the skills necessary
to work on transactional matters, including drafting, negotiating, and
analytical skills development. Throughout the course, students review and
discuss many of the documents and provisions that a transactional lawyer
confronts, including: confidentiality agreements, non-binding letters of intent,
binding agreements (including purchase agreements, lease agreements,
license agreements, employment agreements, etc.), guarantees,
indemnifications, representations and warranties, working capital, escrows,
financing contingencies, non-competes, certificates and more. This course,
introduced last Spring, is taught by Germaine Gurr, Senior Legal Counsel at
Schneider Electric S.A.S., a global Fortune 500 company that specializes in
energy management with the goal of making energy safe, reliable and
efficient.
9. Professor Manuel Utset addresses issues of professionalism and legal ethics
in his Corporations, Securities Law, and Dodd-Frank Act Seminar,
including issues arising in the context of Section 307 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act (Rules of Professional Responsibility for Attorneys, the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act, and ethical issues when advising financial institutions,
investment banks, and hedge funds.
10. Professor Steve Johnson includes an ethics component in his Business
Planning class, as well as each of his tax courses, including Taxation I,
Taxation of Business Entities, International Tax, and Tax Procedure.
11. Professor Jennifer LaVia teaches the Professional Responsibility course at
the College of Law. She also teaches the Multistate Professional
Responsibility Examination (MPRE) review course for Barbri.
Experiential Learning: Externships & Live Clinics
1. Professors Paolo Annino and Ruth Stone, clinical professors in our Public
Interest Law Center (PILC), discuss various professional responsibility rules
and commentary in their classes as applied to the cases they handle for the
Center’s clients. The Public Interest Law Center is comprised of the
Children’s Advocacy Clinic and the Family Law Clinic. The classroom
components include instruction on rules of professional ethics and
professional responsibility applicable to law office management, interviewing,
pleading, negotiation and trial.
2. Professor Larry Krieger, director of our extensive externship program,
devotes a full-time unit on professionalism issues in the lecture components
of his Criminal Practice Clinic course and externship offerings. His
students are assigned substantial written work on the topics of health,
satisfaction and professionalism. Outside of the classroom, Professor
Krieger continues to devote significant time and energy writing about the
motivation and well-being of new law students and the underlying dynamics
of loss of professional values, motivations and general well-being in law
students over time. Professor Krieger is a national figure in the area of law
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student well-being and is a past recipient of the Florida Bar Law Faculty
Professionalism Award.
3. Clinical professor Sally Gertz reviews the ethical rules with her Civil Pretrial
Practice students and has them apply these rules in real life situations. In
her Externship Seminar, she discusses how to ethically and competently
represent clients and also includes sessions on how courts can and should
provide meaningful access to civil justice to underrepresented parties and the
ethical rules for judges, clerks and externs.
Recent Initiatives
1. Students in our newly established Business Law Clinic learn transactional
skills and earn academic credit by helping to advise business and social
entrepreneurs within the Florida State University community. The clinic
teaches students basic bargaining, drafting, risk-assessment, and legal ethics
skills necessary to be effective and creative transactional lawyers. The Clinic
is directed by the College of Law's Entrepreneur in Residence, Richard
Benham. Professor Benham, a 2005 graduate of the College of Law, has vast
experience representing entrepreneurs and start-up companies. Students,
under the supervision of Professor Benham, conduct a broad range of legal
services and participate in other forms of experiential learning, such as role
playing, simulations, and the keeping of transactional journals. Students help
with client intake, identifying legal and business issues, and developing
bargaining strategies. They also assist in choosing the appropriate type of
entity and drafting organizational documents, shareholder contracts, and
licensing agreements.
2. This fall the College of Law hosted a CLE program, Florida Business Entity
Update 2014, that focused primarily on Florida’s Revised LLC Act and on the
new provisions of the Florida Business Corporation Act, with a discussion of
ethical issues and small business practitioners. The three hour program
included presentations by Professor Richard Benham (’05), Professor Steve
Johnson, and Tampa attorney Gary Teblum (a University of Pennsylvania law
alum who is a shareholder with Trenam Kemker in Tampa and who has been
a leader in Florida business entity law reform). Law students were invited
and encouraged to attend this free educational event.
C. Faculty Engagement with the Profession: Service, Publications & Presentations Our faculty and administration continue to actively serve in various organizations
devoted to the promotion of professionalism in the legal profession. Recent faculty hires
reflect the value the law school places on its connections to the bench and the bar. Here
is an illustrative, non-exhaustive list of some of our recent faculty efforts in those areas:
1. Frederick M. Abbott, Edward Ball Eminent Scholar
Professor Abbott is Co-Chair of the Committee on Global Health Law of
the International Law Association, having served as Rapporteur for the
Committee on International Trade Law from the inception of its work in
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1993 to its conclusion in 2014. He is consultant to the World Health
Organization, the United Nations Development Program and other
multilateral institutions. Professor Abbott regularly serves as panelist for
the World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation
Center. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of International
Economic Law (Oxford) and on the Editorial Board of the WIPO-WTO
Colloquium Papers Series, Geneva. Article: The LDC Medicines
Extension Question: Contemplating Next Steps, 3 Bridges Africa: Trade
and Sustainable Development News and Analysis on Africa 15
(September 2014). Presentations: Transfer of Technology and a Global
Clean Energy Grid (Berne, Switzerland, Meeting on International Trade in
Electricity and the Greening Economy, World Trade Forum, World Trade
Institute, September 2014); Local Production of Pharmaceutical Products
in Africa: The WHO approach (Chicago, Illinois, 2014 Annual Meeting of
the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics, July 2014).
Recognition: Serving as administrative panelist for the World Intellectual
Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Center, rendered several
decisions in matters involving trademarks and domain names.
2. Kelli A. Alces, Loula Fuller and Dan Myers Professor
Professor Alces has served as Chair of the AALS Debtor-Creditor Section
(2013). Presentations: Fiduciary Gaps (DePaul University School of
Law, Faculty Workshop, October 2014) (The University of Chicago Law
School, Work-in-Progress Workshop, October 2014) (University of Illinois
College of Law, Faculty Workshop, September 2014) (George Mason
University School of Law, Levy Workshop, August 2014); Balance and
Team Production (Seattle University Law School, Adolf A. Berle, Jr.
Center on Corporations, Law and Society Symposium,“Berle VI,” June
2014).
3. Paolo Annino, Glass Professor of Public Interest Law
Professor Annino serves as the Statewide Coordinator for the Campaign
for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. He is also a member of the Advisory
Board of Florida’s Children First. Presentations: Presentation: The Iowa
Innovations: the Abolish of Juvenile Minimum Mandatory Sentencing and
the Requirement of Miller Principles to all Lengthy Juvenile Prison Terms
(Boston, Massachusetts, American Bar Association, New Frontiers in
Juvenile Justice after Miller v. Alabama, August 2014).
4. Rob E. Atkinson, Jr., Ruden McClosky Professor
Recognized for his publications addressing the intersection of law and
literature, Professor Atkinson is one of the country's leading scholars on
legal professionalism, a noted scholar on the law of nonprofit
organizations and on the relationship between business ethics and legal
ethics. Chapter: Philanthropy’s Function: A Neo-Classical ReConsideration, in Not for Profit Law: Theoretical and Comparative
Perspectives (Matthew Harding, editor) (Cambridge University Press
2014). Presentations: The Hidden Promise of Huntington’s The Soldier
and the State: Military Professionals as Guardians of the Republic
(Georgetown University Law Center, Panel Presentation, U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2014 Continuing Legal Education and
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Training Program, May 2014); Law and Business as Paired Professions:
The Prophecy– and Promise! – of Justice Brandeis (Orlando, 50th
Attorneys’ Title Insurance Fund Assembly, May 2014); Virtuous
Bureaucrats as the Hope of the World (Tallahassee, Florida Department
of Business and Professional Regulation, May 2013).
5. Shawn J. Bayern, Larry and Joyce Beltz Professor of Torts
Professor Bayern’s research focuses on common-law issues, primarily in
contracts, torts and organizational law. He has recently written articles
criticizing formalism and economic simplifications of the law. He is a
presenter of bar-review lectures for Themis Bar Review. Article:
Dynamic Common Law and Technological Change: The Classification of
Bitcoin, 71 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. Online 22 (2014). Presentation: “MetaContextual Contract Interpretation,” 9th Annual International Contracts
Conference, Feb. 2014.
6. Donna R. Christie, Elizabeth C. & Clyde W. Atkinson Professor
Professor Christie is a leading authority on legal issues surrounding
ocean and coastal management law. She has served as Chair of the
AALS section on Natural Resources Law and the Section on Ocean and
Maritime Law. She has been an elected member of the American Law
Institute since 1995. Presentations: Implementation of Ocean Policy
through Marine Spacial Planning (Qingdao, China, Ocean University of
China, May 2014); United States Ocean Policy and the International Law
of the Sea (Jinan, China, Shandong University School of Law, May 2014)
(Shanghai University of International Business and Economics School of
Law, April 2014).
7. Elizabeth. F. Clifford, Associate Director Resource Center
Presentation: Presentation: Survey of Entrepreneurial Law Programs at
ABA Accredited Law Schools (Atlanta, Georgia, Emory University School
of Law, Fourth Biennial Conference on Teaching Transactional Law and
Skills, June 2014)
8. Shi-Ling Hsu, Larson Professor
Professor Hsu is an expert in the areas of environmental and natural
resource law, climate change, law and economics, and property. Articles:
A Cost- Benefit Analysis of Sugary Drink Regulation, 10 J. Food L. &
Pol’y 75 (2014); Climate Change Regulation and Prediction Markets, 37
Regulation 34 (2014); Environmental Law Without Congress, ABA
Section of Environment, Energy and Resources TRENDS
(September/October 2014). Presentations: Rise and Rise of the One
Percent: On Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century (Indianapolis,
Indiana, Midwestern Law and Economics Association Annual Meeting,
October 2014) (Atlanta, Georgia, Emory University School of Law,
September 2014); Capital Rigidities, Latent Externalities (Chicago, Illinois,
American Law and Economics Association Annual Meeting, May 2014);
The Accidental Postmodernists, (Chicago, Illinois, Sixth Annual Society
for Environmental Law and Economics Meeting, May 2014); Prediction
Markets and Climate Regulation (Atlanta, Georgia, American Bar
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Association Section of Administrative and Regulatory Practice, May
2014).
9. Steve R. Johnson, University Professor
Professor Johnson is a nationally recognized scholar on tax litigation and
procedure, including legislative and administrative law topics in tax. He is
a columnist for State Tax Notes and an associate editor of the American
Bar Association Section of Taxation NewsQuarterly. Chapter: Legal
Interpretation of Tax Law: United States, in Legal Interpretation of Tax
Law 319 (Robert F. van Brederode & Richard Krever, editors) (Wolters
Kluwer 2014). Book Supplement: 2014Supplement to Civil Tax Procedure
(2nd ed., LexisNexis). Articles: Loving and Legitimacy: IRS Regulation of
Tax Return Preparation, 59 Villanova L. Rev. 515 (2014); Reflections on
Home Concrete: Writing Tax Regulations and Interpreting Tax Statutes,
13 Fla. St. U. Bus. Rev. (2014); Using Administrative Law to Challenge
IRS Determinations, 88/6 Fla. Bar J. 81 (June 2014); Auer/ Seminole
Rock Deference in the Tax Court, 11 Pitt. Tax Rev. 1 (2014).
Presentations: Is a U.S. Value-Added Tax Inevitable? (Seattle,
Washington, 2014 University of Washington Tax Law Symposium,
October 2014); Recent Developments Involving Circular 230 and Tax
Practitioner Regulation (Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation Tax
Practice and Procedure Monthly Round Table National Telephone CLE,
September 2014); What’s Going on with Circular 230? Final Regulations
on Written Tax Advice, Litigation Development from Loving to Ridgely and
the Question of What Next (Denver, Colorado, American Bar Association
Section of Taxation Standards of Practice Comm., September 2014); The
Fallout From Loving: How Broad an Impact on Circular 230? (American
Bar Association Section of Taxation National Webinar CLE, July 2014);
Characterizing the Tax Court’s Power: From Freytag to Kuretski
(Washington, D.C., American Bar Association Section of Taxation Pro
Bono and Tax Clinics Comm., May 2014); Seeking Damages against the
IRS for Wrongful Collection Actions (Orlando, Florida Bar Association Tax
Section Annual Meeting, April 2014).
10. Faye Jones, Director of Research Center and Professor
Professor Jones is an active member of the American Association of Law
Libraries. She is admitted to practice as a member of The Florida Bar.
Presentations: Distance Education in Legal Education – Where do we
go from here? (Amelia Island, Southeastern Association of Law Schools,
Discussant, August 2014); Commenter on Alan Rubel and Mei Zhang,
Four Facets of Privacy and Intellectual Freedom in Licensing Contracts
for Electronic Journals (Washington, D.C., Georgetown University, The
7th Annual Privacy Law Scholars Conference. June 2014).
11. Marshall Kapp, Professor of Medicine and Law
Professor Kapp is the director of the Florida State University Center for
Innovative Collaboration in Medicine & Law and a faculty member in the
College of Medicine and College of Law. He is a member of the American
Medical Directors Association Foundation Scientific Council. He also is
the editor of the American College of Legal Medicine’s Journal of Legal
Medicine and serves on the editorial boards of several other major
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journals in the health law field. Chapters: Impaired Professionals (with
Michael Nair-Collins), in Bioethics (Bruce Jennings, editor) (4th ed.
Macmillan Reference 2014); Aging and the Aged: Research Ethics, in
Bioethics (Bruce Jennings, editor) (4th ed., Macmillan Reference 2014).
Articles: Old Age is No Time to Be Doing Time, 62 J. Am. Geriatrics
Soc’y 775 (2014); I’m Getting Turned Off: Emerging Consensus on
Deactivating Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices, 33 Med. & L. 14
(2014); Older Persons and Compromised Decisional Capacity: The Role
of Public Policy in Defining and Developing Core Professional
Competencies, 26 J. Aging & Soc. Pol’y 295 (2014). Book Review
Essays: Are Nursing Home Regulations Like Cobwebs? Review of “The
Rule of Nobody” by Philip K. Howard, 54 Gerontologist 885 (October
2014); Review of “Global Health Law” by Lawrence O. Gostin, 26 Int’l J.
Risk & Safety Med. 177 (2014). Presentations: Home and CommunityBased Long Term Services and Supports: Health Reform’s Most
Enduring Legacy? (Columbia, Missouri, Conference sponsored by
University of Missouri School of Medicine, Center for Health Ethics,
October 2014); Making Medical Practice More Rational: Does the Law
Help or Hurt? (Toledo, Ohio, University of Toledo Annual Law Review
Symposium, October 2014) (San Francisco, California, 37th
Annual Health Law Professors Conference of the American Society of
Law, Medicine & Ethics, June 2014); Grand Rounds Presentation
(Indianapolis, Indiana, Department of Dermatology, Indiana University
School of Medicine, May 2014).
12. Lawrence S. Krieger, Clinical Professor & Director of Clinical
Externship Programs
Professor Krieger is a national figure in the area of law student health and
satisfaction and professionalism and attorney well-being. He is a past
recipient of the Florida Bar Law Faculty Professionalism Award. Professor
Krieger is a frequent speaker at the Annual Meeting of the AALS with
recent presentations for Sections on Academic Support, Student
Services, and Balance in Legal Education. Articles: Walking the Talk:
Value Importance, Value Enactment, and Well-Being, 38 J. Motiv. &
Emotion 609 (2014); Service Job Lawyers are Happier than Money Job
Lawyers, Despite their Lower Income, 9 J. Pos. Psych. 52 (2014).
Presentation: What Makes Lawyers Happy? New Findings on 6,200
Lawyers (Albany, New York, New York State Bar Association, Statewide
Legal Education Conference, September 2014).
13. David E. Landau, Mason Ladd Professor & Associate Dean for
International Programs
Professor Landau is an editor and frequent contributor to the International
Journal of Constitutional Law Blog (ICONnect). His professional service
also includes serving on the Scientific Advisory Board, International
Journal of Constitutional Law and the Advisory Group, American
Association of Comparative Law. Chapter: The Promise of A Minimum
Core Approach: The Colombian Model for Judicial Review of Austerity
Measures, in Economic and Social Rights after the Global Financial Crisis
(Aoife Nolan, editor) (Cambridge University Press 2014). Presentations:
Constraining Constitutional Amendment (Boston College Law School,
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Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy, Symposium on
Constitution-Making and Constitutional Change, October 2014); Abusive
Constitutionalism: A Comparative Perspective on Constitutional Change
in Ecuador (Guayaquil, Ecuador, Universidad Espíritu Santo, September
2014); Improving Judicial Remedies for Social Rights (New Haven,
Connecticut, Yale Law School Human Rights Workshop, September
2014); The Success and Failure of the New Constitutionalism in Latin
America (Bogota, Colombia, Universidad de los Andes, August 2014)
(Washington, D.C., AALS Workshop on Transnational Equality, June
2014); A Dynamic Theory of Judicial Role (Stanford, California, Harvard/
Yale/Stanford Junior Faculty Forum, June 2014) (Portland, Oregon, Lewis
& Clark Law School, American Society of Comparative Law, Younger
Comparativists Committee Annual Meeting, April 2014); Commentator,
Religion, Human Rights and Constitution-Writing in Brazil (by Rodrigo
Vitorino Souza Alves) (Bielefeld, Germany, Workshop on Constitution
Writing, Religion, and Human Rights, Center for Interdisciplinary
Research (ZIF), June 2014); The Construction of Judicial Power in
Colombia (Chicago, Illinois, Latin American Studies Association Annual
Meeting, May 2014).
14. Tahirih V. Lee, Associate Professor
Professor Lee is a leading U.S. scholar on Chinese law and legal history.
She has chaired committees of the Association of American Law Schools
and the American Society for Legal History. Presentations: Sovereignty
and Autonomy in Extraterritorial Shanghai (Weatherhead Center for
International Affairs, Harvard University, Harvard Academy Alumni
Conference, Panel entitled “Self-Government, Representation, and
Sovereignty: Who Governs?,” September 2014); The Role of Courts in
the Urban Development of Pre-World War II Shanghai (Asian Studies
Department, Northeastern University, September 2014); Land Law in the
Shanghai Zujie (Beijing, China, Renmin University, July 2014); Property
Rights in the International Settlement and French Concession of
Shanghai (Minneapolis, Minnesota, 50th Anniversary Law and Society
Association Annual Meeting, May 2014).
15. Wayne A. Logan, Gary & Sallyn Pajcic Professor
Professor Logan’s external service includes membership in the American
Law Institute and the Association of American Law Schools (Committee
on Research and Criminal Justice Section). He currently serves on the
ABA Committee on Sentencing and Corrections and is the Florida
Representative on the State Policy Implementation Project. Article:
Mercenary Criminal Justice (with Professor Ronald F. Wright), 2014 U. Ill.
L. Rev. 1175. Presentations: Database Infamia: Exit from the Sex
Offender Registries (Madison, Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin Law
School, October 2014); Andrew Taslitz: The Fourth Amendment’s Happy
Warrior (Washington, D.C., Howard University Law School, September
2014); Fourth Amendment Cases from the Supreme Court’s 2013 Term
(Tallahassee, First District Court of Appeal, September 2014); A House
Divided: When State and Lower Federal Courts Disagree on Federal
Constitutional Rights (Amelia Island, Southeastern Association of Law
Schools Annual Meeting, August 2014); Current and Emerging Legal and
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Policy Issues Concerning Sex Offender Registration and Community
Notification (Wheeling, West Virginia, Annual Meeting of West Virginia
Public Defender Services, June 2014).
16. Bruce A. Markell, Jeffrey A. Stoops Professor
The Honorable Bruce A. Markell joined the Florida State faculty in 2013.
He previously was a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District
of Nevada and a Member of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is also a member
of the Board of Editors for Collier on Bankruptcy, and has been active in
bankruptcy and commercial law reform nationally and internationally. He
is a member of the American Law Institute, a conferee of the National
Bankruptcy Conference, a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy,
and a charter member of the International Insolvency Institute. Articles:
Homonym Horrors: De Novo Review and Executive Benefits Insurance
Agency v. Arkison, 34Bankruptcy Law Letter 8 (August 2014); Trust Me:
Restitution, Constructive Trusts and Mississippi Valley Livestock, 34
Bankruptcy Law Letter 5 (May 2014). Presentations: American
Bankruptcy Law for Europe (Brussels, Belgium, Presentation to the legal
and financial staff of the European Union Commission, July 2014);
Household Debt and Insolvency and Corporate Debt and Insolvency
(Vienna, Austria, Seminar on European Insolvency Laws, sponsored by
the International Monetary Fund and the Joint Vienna Institute, May
2014); The (Il)Legitimacy Of Bankruptcies For The Benefit Of Secured
Creditors (Chicago, Illinois, University of Illinois Symposium on the
Secured Creditor and Chapter 11, April 2014); Surviving Individual
Business Bankruptcies: Considerations When Choosing Between
Chapter 13 and Chapter 11 (Washington, D.C., American Bankruptcy
Institute Spring Meeting, April 2014). Recognition: Served as a reporter
for the Task Force to Revise Bankruptcy Law of Kosovo, Pristina,
Kosovo, July 2014.
17. David Markell, Steven Goldstein Professor & Associate Dean for
Environmental Programs
Professor Markell currently serves on the Environmental Law Advisory
Group for the Organization of American States Department of Sustainable
Development. He is also a member of the state of Florida’s Statewide
Community Resiliency Focus Group and its Building Resilience Against
Climate Effects (BRACE) Technical Advisory Group. Article:
Enforcement and Regulatory Governance, Reg- Blog ( June 16, 2014) (a
solicited featured essay in the University of Pennsylvania Program on
Regulation REGBLOG concerning A Holistic View of Agency
Enforcement, 93 N.C. L. Rev. _ (forthcoming 2014)). Recognitions:
Continued to serve as a member of Florida’s Statewide Community
Resiliency Focus Group and the State Department of Health’s Building
Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) Technical Advisory Group,
as well as the Florida Climate Institute; Co-written article, Administrative
Proxies for Judicial Review: Building Legitimacy from the Inside-Out (with
E. Hammond), 37 Harv. Envtl L. Rev. 313 (2013), was selected as one of
the top six environmental law articles published in 2013 and will be
reprinted in 45 Land Use & Envt. L. Rev. _ (2014-2015). The article also
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was identified as one of the best works of recent scholarship relating to
administrative law in a review published in Jotwell.
18. Murat Mungan, Assistant Professor
Professor Mungan is an associate editor of the International Review of
Law and Economics, and is a courtesy professor of economics at Florida
State University College of Social Sciences. Presentations: The Effect of
Type-I Error on Deterrence (Faculty of Law, University of Toronto,
Canadian Law and Economics Association, Annual Meeting, September
2014); Wrongful Convictions and the Punishment of Attempts (Faculty of
Law, University of Toronto, Canadian Law and Economics Association,
Annual Meeting, September 2014) (Copenhagen Business School, MiniConference on the Law and Economics of Crime, May 2014) (Bilkent
University, First International Law & Economics Conference, April 2014);
Reverse Payments, Perverse Incentives (Copenhagen Business School,
Seminar, May 2014); Abandoned Criminal Attempts: An Economic
Analysis (Bilkent University, First International Law & Economics
Conference, April 2014). Recognitions: Won the Best Young Scholar
Prize at the First International Law & Economics Conference for
Abandoned Criminal Attempts: An Economic Anaylsis.
19. Ruth E. Stone, Wayne and Pat Hogan Professor of Trial Practice
Professor Stone teaches and is a supervising attorney in the Public
Interest Law Center. She is also the faculty advisor for the Mock Trial
Team. She is one of seventeen professors at Florida State University to
receive “Transformation Through Teaching” recognition last year.
Professor Stone is a committee member of the Tallahassee Bar
Association, Young Lawyers Division Project Launch (2014).
Presentation: Overview of Dissolution of Marriage (Tallahassee, Young
Lawyers Division, Tallahassee Bar Association, September and October
2014).
20. Mark Spottswood, Assistant Professor
Professor Spottswood is a frequent FSU Moot Court Coach and judge for
the Mock Trial Team. He is currently serving as the co-manager of the
AALS Civil Procedure Section Mentoring Listserv. Article: The Perils of
Productivity, 48 New Eng. L. Rev. 503 (2014).
21. Franita Tolson , Betty T. Ferguson Professor of Voting Rights
Professor Tolson’s research has been published in leading law reviews,
and she has written or appeared as a commentator for various mass
media outlets. She is a blogger for The Huffington Post. Professor Tolson
is a founding member of the AALS Section on Election Law and a
member of the Sections on Constitutional Law, Civil Rights, and Minority
Groups. Articles: The Constitutional Structure of Voting Rights
Enforcement, 8 9 Wash. L . Rev. 379 (2014); Congressional Authority to
Protect Voting Rights after Shelby County and Arizona Inter Tribal, 13
Election L.J. 322 (2014). Presentations: The 50th Anniversary of the
Civil Rights Act – What Progress Has Been Made, What Ground Has
Been Lost, and What the Future Holds (Savannah, Georgia, National
Association of Appellate Court Attorneys Annual Conference, July 2014);
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Overview of Post-Shelby County Issues and Pending Voting Rights
Litigation (Atlanta, Georgia, ACS Voting Rights Litigation Training,
October 2014).
22. Manuel A. Utset, Jr. , William & Catherine VanDercreek Professor &
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Professor Utset has been actively involved with the Business Law Section
of the Florida Bar, as a member of its Executive Committee, and as a
member of the bar committee charged with redrafting Florida’s Business
Corporation Act. He was also a member of the executive committee that
redrafted the Limited Liability Company Act, which was adopted in
2013. Articles: Criminal Addictions, 74 Pitt. L. Rev. 673 (2014); Rational
Financial Meltdowns, 10 Hastings Bus. L.J. 407 (2014). Presentation:
Poison Pills for Latent Harm (paper co-written with S. Hsu) (University of
Illinois College of Law, Society for Environmental Law and Economics,
May 2014).
23. Donald J. Weidner, Dean and Alumni Centennial Professor
Dean Weidner is a member of the American Law Institute and Reporter
for the Uniform Partnership Act. He is a national lecturer and panelist on
fundraising for deans of all disciplines and for development officers. He
has been a member of the Florida Supreme Court Commission on
Professionalism since 1996. Dean Weidner has also been an active
member of the ABA Section on Legal Education and the Association of
American Law Schools. Since 2011, he has been a Commissioner on the
Uniform Law Commission (gubernatorial appointment). Book: The
Revised Uniform Partnership Act (with Robert W. Hillman & Allan G.
Donn) (Thomson Reuters 2014) (successor to 1999-2013 editions).
Article: Starting Line, 30-9 Power & Motoryacht 152 (September 2014)
(guest column). Presentation: Law School Entrepreneurship (Amelia
Island, Southeastern Association of Law Schools Annual Meeting,
Panelist, August 2014).
24. Hannah Wiseman, Attorneys’ Title Professor
Professor Wiseman is a widely sought after speaker in the areas of
energy and oil and gas law. She is a member of the Committee to Review
Scholarly Papers for the Annual Meeting (AALS), serves as a periodic
reviewer of National Science Foundation and Sloan Foundation grant
proposals, and is a working group team member of Science for Nature
and People, The Nature Conservancy and National Center for Ecological
Assessment and Synthesis, Hydraulic Fracturing: Impacts on Water
Quality and Quantity. Articles: Regulatory Islands, 89 N.Y.U. L. Rev.
(forthcoming October 2014); A Market Approach to Regulating the Energy
Revolution: Assurance Bonds, Insurance, and the Certain and Uncertain
Risks of Hydraulic Fracturing (with David A. Dana), 99 Iowa L. Rev. 1523
(2014); The Capacity of States to Govern Shale Gas Development Risks,
48 Envtl. Sci. & Tech. 8376, issue 15 (2014). Presentations: Allocating
Energy Governance (Vancouver, Canada, Association for Law, Property,
and Society, panelist and moderator, May 2014); Natural Resource
Extraction Planning and Law (Atlanta, Georgia, American Planning
Association, Advanced Environmental Planning Workshop, Environmental
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Planning Practices, invited presenter, April 2014); Local Energy
Governance: Strategies to Address Disproportionate Impacts (Columbus,
Ohio, Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, Ohio Energy:
Emerging Issues in Law, Finance and Regulation, invited panelist, April
2014); The Fracking Revolution: A Case Study in Policy Levers to
Promote Innovation (University of Texas School of Law, Faculty
Colloquium, co-presenter with John M. Golden, April 2014) (New Haven,
Connecticut, Yale Law School Information Society Project, Innovation
Law Beyond IP, co-presenter with John M. Golden, March 2014);
Addressing Shale Gas Governance Gaps (New Haven, Connecticut, Yale
Center for Environmental Law and Policy & Land Use Law Center, Pace
Law School, Yale Law School, Controlling the Local Impacts of
Hydrofracking, featured speaker, March 2014). Recognitions: Received
the Best Speaker Award for the September 2013 Florida Section Air &
Waste Management Association’s 49th Annual Conference; Serves as a
working group team member, Science for Nature and People, The Nature
Conservancy and National Center for Ecological Assessment and
Synthesis, Hydraulic Fracturing: Impacts on Water Quality and Quantity,
UC Santa Barbara; Is a selected member of the peer review panel for the
Hydraulic Fracturing in Michigan Integrated Assessment, University of
Michigan.
25. Samuel R. Wiseman, McConnaughhay and Rissman Professor
Professor Wiseman’s research focuses on pre- and post-trial issues in
criminal procedure, including the use of DNA evidence, post-conviction
litigation, and the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against excessive bail.
He was the co-organizer of the ABA Smart Justice Roundtable on Pretrial
Detention last year. Article: Fraud in the Market, 26 Regent L. Rev. 367
(2014) (symposium). Presentations: The FDA and Food Labeling:
Current Issues (Georgetown University, O’Neill Institute for National and
Global Health, O’Neill Institute Summer Program on Emerging Issues in
Food and Drug Law, invited presenter, July 2014); Is “Food Court”
Helping Consumers? The Historical Context of Food Labeling Litigation
and the Role of Litigation in System Reform (UCLA, Resnick Program for
Food Law and Policy, 2014 Food Litigation Conference, invited panelist,
April 2014.)
26. Mary Ziegler, Stearns Weaver Miller Professor
Professor Ziegler’s book, After Roe: The Lost History of the Abortion
Debate, will be published by Harvard University Press in June 2015. She
is the author of twenty published or forthcoming articles that fall at the
intersection of historical and legal scholarship. She has served as a
featured guest blogger on the Legal History Blog and JURIST and has
appeared as a commentator in leading media outlets, including The
Atlantic Monthly, the Orlando Sentinel, and The Tampa Tribune.
Articles: Abortion and the Constitutional Right (Not) to Procreate, 48 U.
Rich. L. Rev. 1263 (2014); The Price of Privacy, 1973 to the Present, 37
Harv. J.L. & Gender 285 (2014); Beyond Backlash: Legal History,
Polarization, and Roe v. Wade, 71 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 969 (2014).
Presentations: Originalism and the Making of Pro-Life Constitutionalism,
1965-1985 (Columbus, Ohio, Policy History Conference, June 2014);
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Illegitimate Conceptions: Unwed Motherhood and the Remaking of the
Abortion Wars (Minneapolis, Minnesota, Law and Society Association
Conference, May 2014); Negotiating the Double Standard: Sex in the
Abortion Debate, 1965-1980 (Atlanta, Georgia, Organization of American
Historians Conference, April 2014).
D. Extracurricular Student Activities and Recognitions
The College of Law has more than 30+ active co- and extra-curricular student
organizations. Several of these organizations annually partner with state and local
voluntary bar associations in structured mentoring programs designed to connect and
engage students with judges and lawyers. Our location in Tallahassee affords us access
to an outstanding network of judges and attorneys who selflessly give their time to
support our students in a number of ways.
1. For the fifth time in seven years (2014, 2013, 2012, 2009, 2008), the College
of Law Student Bar Association (SBA) was named SBA Chapter of the
Year by the American Bar Association’s Law Student Division this past
August. The award recognizes the efforts of an SBA organization to create a
better environment for law students and a more positive image of the legal
profession. The College of Law’s SBA also won the Henry J. Ramsey, Jr.
Diversity Award which recognizes excellence in activities that have
contributed toward the achievement and advancement of women, minorities,
persons with disabilities, and persons of differing sexual orientation and
gender identities. This is the second time in three years that Florida State
won the diversity award.
2. Florida State University College of Law’s Black Law Students Association
(BLSA) won two major advocacy competitions and won a Chapter of the Year
award at the Southern Region Black Law Students Association (SRBLSA)
Regional Convention last month. The College of Law’s BLSA won first place
overall and a best advocate title in the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial
Competition. The team was coached by Florida State alumna C. Erica White
who is chief attorney at the Florida Department of Business & Professional
Regulation. The College of Law’s BLSA also won first place in the Frederick
Douglass Moot Court Competition. First District Court of Appeal Judge
Simone Marstiller and alumna Karla Ellis, an attorney at the Florida Supreme
Court, served as coaches for the team. They also coached a second FSU
BLSA team that won the award for best brief in the competition and placed
third overall. Florida State’s BLSA Chapter will compete for the related
national awards at the end of this month at the National Black Law Students
Association Annual Convention in Portland, Oregon. Our BLSA Chapter has
previously received Chapter of the Year honors in 2012, 2011 and 2006.
BLSA has a long-standing relationship with the Tallahassee Barristers
Association.
3. The Women’s Law Symposium (WLS) is one of our largest and most active
student organizations. One of its signature programs is a mentoring program
with the Tallahassee Women Lawyers. Each fall, approximately 70-80 law
students are paired with local judges and attorneys who serve as their
mentors throughout the academic year, and in many cases, well beyond
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graduation. The WLS and TWL hold two mentoring receptions each year in
addition to individual outreach efforts by the mentors and mentees. WLS
members also work closely with TWL members in providing assistance in
preparing for the popular Judicial Reception that takes place each fall. That
networking event connects our law students with more than 300 local judges
and lawyers.
4. Florida State’s Law Student Division of The Florida Bar YLD co-hosted a
widely attended event this past fall with The Florida Bar’s Standing
Committee on Professionalism. The presentation, entitled Balancing Life and
Law, featured First District Court of Appeal Judge Stephanie Ray, Holland &
Knight attorney Josh Aubuchon, Carrie Roane, an attorney with Guilday Law,
and Mike Schneider, General Counsel for The Judicial Qualifications
Commission. Attorney Sean Desmond moderated the discussion.
5. One of our largest and most active student organizations is the student
chapter of the Cuban American Bar Association (CABA). Our CABA
Chapter recently received the 2014 CABA Student Chapter of the Year
Award from the Cuban American Bar Association. Next month, CABA will be
hosting an event featuring The Florida Bar President-elect Ray Abadin. Our
CABA chapter works closely with the attorneys of the Cuban American Bar
Association in Miami and is dedicated to providing opportunities for its
student members to engage with legal professionals by offering mentoring
and related professional development activities.
6. Our Moot Court team members work closely with First District Court of
Appeal judges who serve as coaches for various moot court competitions
throughout the country. This current academic year, Judge Stephanie Ray,
Judge James Wolf, and Judge Bradford Thomas have coached and traveled
with teams participating in competitions in Charleston, SC, Chapel Hill, NC,
and San Diego, CA, respectively. Our Moot Court and Mock Trial teams
both also benefit from the mentoring and expertise of a network of local
attorneys who give of their time to serve on practice panels and as coaches
and judges throughout the academic year.
7. The opening of the state-of-the-art Advocacy Center in 2012 made it possible
for the College of Law and Mock Trial Team to host an annual National Mock
Trial Competition and we are preparing to host the competition again later
this month. Past participants include members from the following law
schools: University of Alabama School of Law (Tuscaloosa, Alabama),
Brooklyn Law School (Brooklyn, New York), SUNY Buffalo Law School
(Buffalo, New York), Catholic University's Columbus School of Law
(Washington, D.C.), Charleston School of Law (Charleston, South Carolina),
Faulkner University School of Law (Montgomery, Alabama), Fordham
University School of Law (New York, New York), Georgia State University
College of Law (Atlanta, Georgia), Golden Gate University School of Law
(San Francisco, California), John Marshall Law School (Chicago, Illinois),
Thomas M. Cooley Law School (Lansing, Michigan), and the University of
Wisconsin Law School (Madison, Wisconsin). A number of local attorneys
will once again serve as judges for the three-day competition.
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8. Law Students as Mentors - Approximately 45 current law students serve as
mentors to students at Griffin Middle School. This new mentoring partnership
has the potential to change the trajectory of many students at Griffin Middle
School, a Title I school located just about five minutes north of the Florida
State University College of Law. Many of the law student mentors are paired
with "at risk" students. Our law student mentors have also recently started
working with civics teachers to conduct mock trials at Griffin. Law students
serve as coaches for the middle students who participate in the mock trials.
E. Additional Efforts
1. During the fall and spring semesters, a large group of alumni and others met
with students as part of our Placement Office’s Networking Nosh Series.
Students were able to network, both in person and virtually, with successful
attorneys who serve as professional mentors and role models. These guest
speakers addressed a wide range of topics, including how to break into
various practice areas and geographic locations. Many of these attorneys
also shared experiences and thoughts on the subjects of leadership,
professionalism and civility in the legal field.
2. Earlier this semester, Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the 6th Circuit visited the law school as part of our Jurist-in-Residence
Program. During his visit, Judge Sutton had breakfast and lunch meetings
with students, visited Professor Mark Spottswood’s Advanced Civil Procedure
class, met with faculty members, and had individual interviews with students
interested in judicial clerkships. Next week we will be welcoming two more
Jurists-in-Residence, Judge M. Casey Rodgers and Judge Mark Walker, of
the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. They will have
similar schedules interacting with students and faculty.
3. In early March, Associate Dean Nancy Benavides will moderate “The
Winning Edge”, a jointly sponsored lunch and learn presentation developed
by The Florida Bar’s Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism and The
Florida Bar’s Standing Committee on Professionalism. This presentation,
featuring four local attorneys, will focus on topics such as reputation and
professional identity, professionalism in the legal system, networking, and the
impact of social media on professional identity.
4. Each fall, the College of Law partners with the Tallahassee Bar Association
(TBA) to host one of the TBA’s monthly meeting at the Advocacy Center.
The event brings together approximately 100 local judges, attorneys, and law
students.
5. Taking Advantage of Our Location - We continue to take full advantage of
our vibrant location in Tallahassee to connect our students on a daily basis
with a number of professional role models from the legal community. The
opportunities to enrich our students’ professional interactions are abundant.
From law courses taught by Florida Supreme Court Justice Ricky Polston and
Solicitor General Allen Winsor, the current holder of the Richard W. Ervin
Eminent Scholar Chair, to faculty and students helping moot cases for the
Solicitor General and Attorney General, we continue to look for ways to
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expand our students’ professional development and actively engage them
with members of the profession.
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