Bar Preparation Services shares resources with Stetson’s Academic Success program, directed by Professor of Legal Skills Jeffrey Minneti. Academic Success helps students meet the academic challenges of law school.
Before Stetson students even set foot on campus as first-year students, they are required to read cases and materials in preparation for new student orientation, where they learn the basic components of legal analysis, Minneti explained. During students’ first semester, they may attend an Academic Success Workshop series, which offers instruction on the academic skills needed for success on exams. Students struggling with exams at Stetson Law in their first semester are required to partner with Academic Success faculty and staff to formulate an academic action plan designed to improve exam performance.
Professor Minneti infuses essential skills into the substantive courses he teaches. Students also receive individual attention. There are several courses Stetson students can take in their second year to help improve their academic and exam-taking skills.
“Academic skills work is about teaching students how to learn material, not just assigning them material,” said Minneti, who taught elementary and middle school children before completing his MBA and JD degrees. “Students learn the law, and also how to apply it.”
Fourteen Stetson University College of Law students had an opportunity to test their oral-advocacy skills at the Carlton Fields First-Year Appellate Advocacy Competition last week on the Gulfport campus. The top two oralists from each Research and Writing II class had an opportunity to compete for cash prizes and interview for a position on Stetson’s award-winning Moot Court Board.
Students Sunai J. Edwards and Melaina Tryon won first place, Daniel K. Miles and Madison Elissa Maria Kebler won second place, and Ashley Petefish and Nicholas Castellano won third place in the competition on April 18.
Participating students argued before attorneys from the Carlton Fields law firm. Carlton Fields attorneys Lori Baggett, Erin Banks, Lauren Catoe, Matt Cogburn, Lannie Hough Jr. and Luis Prats volunteered to judge the competition. Carlton Fields has sponsored the annual competition for Stetson students for the past 16 years.
Stetson University College of Law students recently honed their client development writing skills while becoming published authors in a unique class newsletter project for Stetson’s new Advanced Legal Writing: Successful Writing for Law Practicecourse.
(L-R): Professor Kirsten Davis, students Cayelan Loucks, Jennifer Tise, Ashley Rector, Meagan Blackshear, Christine O’Shea, Kelli Ragan, Laura Brenner, DeeAnn Petika, Justin Bennett, Jessica Ronay, Melissa Foss, Kacie Hohnadell, Vanessa Ungvichian, Cheryl Tevlin Mason and Meredith Peck.
The newsletter project gave Stetson Law students the opportunity to learn about writing to retain clients and develop a business while writing articles for the newsletter, Florida Ethics Update.
Stetson Professor of Law Kirsten Davis, Ph.D., director of Legal Research and Writing at Stetson, teaches the course and supervised the project.
“New lawyers are expected to be able to write for client development,” Davis explained. “Writing for the newsletter, the students learned how to provide clients with useful information and demonstrate their legal expertise. Students imagined themselves as attorneys working for clients who have concerns about legal ethics issues in their businesses or practices. Then, the students each wrote about a real-world recent development in Florida legal ethics. The experience helped the students to develop practical skills that will serve them as they develop clients.”
In addition to writing articles for the newsletter, upper-level law students in Stetson’s Advanced Legal Writing course also wrote multiple drafts of law practice documents including complaints, answers, motions, briefs, contracts and business documents.
Stetson University College of Law students in professor Lance Long’s environmental advocacy class organized a bicycle rally with Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson and a two-mile challenge to raise awareness about alternative transportation.
Bicycle rally participants prepare for the ride on Stetson’s Gulfport campus on May 3.
On May 3 at 6 p.m., the students joined the mayor and community members to ride as a group from the Gulfport campus, 1401 61st St. S., to the Gulfport Casino, 5500 Shore Blvd. S.
“I think this will be a great opportunity for Stetson students and the Gulfport community to get excited about bicycle commuting,” said third-year Stetson Law student Elise Pautler. “It is fun, and in a smaller city like Gulfport, it is completely feasible.”
“The class teaches students that environmental advocacy, or any type of advocacy for that matter, is not limited to using legal avenues for addressing problems,” said Long, whose students have recently planted an organic vegetable garden on Stetson’s Gulfport campus. “Sometimes, collaboration is better than litigation.”
(Seated L-R): Stetson University President Wendy Libby signs the new 3 + 3 agreement with University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft. Photo by Aimee Blodgett for the University of South Florida.
Students seeking a JD degree typically complete a four-year undergraduate program followed by three years of law school. The new 3+3 accelerated path allows qualified students to earn both their bachelor’s and JD degrees within six years. Students spend three years at USF and three years at Stetson Law. Students’ first year in the full-time JD program at Stetson also serves as their final year of study at USF. Interested students must enroll in USF’s Honors College and meet the program’s eligibility requirements.
“Through our agreement with the USF Honors College, students can graduate with an undergraduate degree and a law degree in six years, save a year of tuition, and attend the top ranked advocacy program in the country — a program that blends foundational law with the legal skills necessary to succeed in today’s marketplace,” said Stetson Law Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz. “Together, Stetson and USF will help to create not only the next generation of lawyers but also the next generation of leaders.”
The 3+3 program also provides partial scholarship support for students once they start at Stetson. Once admitted into the 3+3 program, students will be paired with a student, graduate, and/or faculty member mentor from the College of Law.
“The partnership between the University of South Florida and Stetson University College of Law is a great opportunity for highly-motivated and focused students to achieve their goals. Our brightest students are eager to take on the challenges of advanced degrees, and we are confident the excellent undergraduate education they received at USF will prepare them for the rigors of Stetson’s exceptional program. These talented students will move more quickly through their education – incurring less debt – and be on their way to reaching their goals,” said USF System President Judy Genshaft.
The agreement between the two institutions was officially signed today during a ceremony attended by Genshaft, Stetson University President Wendy Libby, as well as several other top administrators from each institution.
Stetson University College of Law, Florida’s first law school, has prepared lawyers and leaders since 1900. Today, Stetson leads the nation in blending legal doctrine with practical training, evidenced by its top-ranked programs in advocacy and legal writing. Through its academically rigorous curriculum and commitment to social responsibility, Stetson prepares lawyers as ethical advocates ready to succeed in the legal profession.
The University of South Florida is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF ranks 50th in the nation for federal expenditures in research and total expenditures in research among all U.S. universities, public or private, according to the National Science Foundation. Serving more than 47,000 students, the USF System has an annual budget of $1.5 billion and an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference.
Among first-time takers of the Florida bar exam in February, 93.9 percent of Stetson University College of Law graduates passed. Stetson Law placed second among Florida law schools on the exam, according to the Supreme Court of Florida’s recently released exam scores and statistics.
Only Florida State University had a higher first-time bar passage rate with a total of 96 percent of graduates passing the exam. Among the 819 first-time test takers, 80.2 percent of all candidates passed the exam.
The bar passage rate at Stetson has increased over the past decade. Stetson’s bar preparation program is staffed by a full-time professor and two staff members who provide individual and group counseling and help students build personalized study plans.
Stetson University College of Law is accepting nominations for its Hall of Fame, which recognizes individuals who have reached the pinnacle of their professions and have affected a profound, positive influence on the law school.
The annual event is held each October. The 2012 inductees were law professor Suzanne R. Armstrong, Denis M. deVlaming ’72, John A. Guyton Jr. ’59, former Stetson University College of Law Dean Thomas F. Lambert Jr., Mada Fraser McLendon ’32, and U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore ’77.
For biographies and videos about past winners, please see Stetson’s Hall of Fame website.
To submit a nomination, please use the Hall of Fame Nomination form 2013 (PDF) and send by April 26 to Patricia Toups in the College Relations Office at Stetson University College of Law, 1401 61st St. S., Gulfport, FL 33707. E-mails are also accepted at [email protected].
Homeland security expert and former Pentagon official Michael James Barton presented “@WhiteHouseDrone is Now Following You: A Constitutional Discussion on Modern Warfare” as this year’s Nichols Foundation Prominent Speaker Lecture on April 11 at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Fla.
Michael James Barton spoke at Stetson on April 11.
More than 100 members of the Stetson community attended Barton’s topical discussion.
Barton spoke about the use of drones in times of war and the policies surrounding their use.
“In wartime, we need to be focused on these policy arguments,” said Barton.
Barton is director of energy and natural resources at ARTIS Research, former deputy director of the Middle East Policy Office for the Secretary of Defense, and former member of the Homeland Security Council staff at the White House.
The Nichols Foundation Prominent Speakers Series was established at Stetson in 1995. The series’ namesake is Perry Nichols, among the nation’s most successful trial lawyers and past president of both the American Trial Lawyers Association and the International Trial Lawyers Association.
Florida’s first female attorney general, Pam Bondi, presented the commencement speech at Stetson University College of Law at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 18. Commencement took place in the courtyard on Stetson’s Gulfport campus. See more of the commencement experience.
Pam Bondi, Florida’s first female attorney general, gave commencement address.
Bondi received her law degree from Stetson University in 1990 and a bachelor’s in criminal justice from the University of Florida in 1987. Watch the commencement video.
“As Florida’s first female attorney general, I’m here to tell you that you can do anything you want to do, and don’t let anyone stand in your way,” said Bondi.
A Tampa native and fourth generation Floridian, Bondi worked as a prosecutor in the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office for 18 years before being elected in November 2010 to serve as Florida’s 37th attorney general.
Bondi is a member of the State Board of Administration and the Florida Cabinet, is vice chair of the southern region of the National Association of Attorneys General, and serves on Florida’s Special Olympics board of directors. She was recognized by the Tampa Bay Review as a “Lawyer of Distinction” and received the “Women of Excellence in Government” award.
“You never know what’s around the corner,” Bondi told the graduates. “It’s only important that you take it.”
This year’s graduating class included:
Jamie Combee and Erik Johanson, both co-editors of Stetson’s new Journal of Advocacy and the Law and members of the Moot Court Board. Combee is also a member of Stetson’s Trial Team.
Caitlein Jammo, president of the American Constitution Society, editor-in-chief of the Journal of International Aging, Law & Policy, Stetson Law Review editor and Moot Court Board member.
Frank Leung, representative to the Florida Bar YLD–Law Student Division board of governors, deputy chief student ambassador, national law student liaison to the ABA Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law, editor of the Journal of International Aging Law & Policy, and Alternative Dispute Resolution board member.
Nicole Martingano, a member of Stetson’s Alternative Dispute Resolution board and future prosecutor who turned a near-fatal car accident into determination to help victims.
Erin Okuno, a Biodiversity Fellow, president of the Environmental Law Society, Stetson Law Review editor-in-chief, Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy editor, and member of Stetson’s Moot Court Board.
Stetson University College of Law students Paul Crochet, Meagan Foley and Alexander Zesch all received Honorable Mention Best Oral Advocate Awards at the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna, Austria. The Stetson students were among a group of 40 advocates selected for the awards. More than 1800 students from 67 countries competed.
Stetson’s Vis team (L-R): Michael Rothfeldt, Paul Crochet, Meagan Foley, Alex Zesch and Lisa Tanaka.
Stetson’s team of Crochet, Foley, Michael Rothfeldt, Lisa Tanaka and Zesch competed against students from Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Germany, the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates and the United States during the five-day competition, March 23-28, in Vienna.
The Vis Moot was started by the United Nations Trade Commission 20 years ago as a global educational initiative in international commercial law and dispute resolution.
This year, 296 teams from around the world competed. Forty-nine of the teams competing this year in Vienna were from highly ranked U.S. law schools.
The Stetson team was one of only two U.S. law schools to advance to finish in the quarterfinals of the competition. City University of Hong Kong won first place overall.
Professors Joseph Morrissey and Interim Director for International Programs Stephanie Vaughan coached the Stetson students.
Stetson’s Center for Excellence in International Law is the nexus of international advocacy at Stetson, housing academic programs, the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy and the Institute for Caribbean Law and Policy, hosting international advocacy competitions and offering study abroad opportunities around the world.
