Stetson Law Welcomes 6 New Faculty for Fall ‘23
Ahead of the start of the Fall 2023 semester, six members have joined Stetson University College of Law’s dynamic faculty and visiting faculty.
Though they come from a wide range of backgrounds, all share a love of teaching and a lengthy list of professional and scholarly achievements.
From an award-winning environmental and legal writing scholar to a seasoned international business law expert, here are Stetson Law’s newest faculty members.
NEW FACULTY
Assistant Professor of Law Erin Okuno – Legal Writing
A familiar face to many at the college of law, Professor Erin Okuno returns to her alma mater with extensive scholarship and teaching experience. The top-achieving 2013 Stetson Law graduate comes to Stetson Law from University of Miami School of Law, where she taught Legal Communication and Research Skills as well as Animal Law.
Here at Stetson Law, she will be teaching Legal Research and Writing.
The 2013 Edward D. Foreman Most Distinguished Student Award was editor-in-chief of the Stetson Law Review, a Biodiversity Fellow for the Institute for Biodiversity Law & Policy, and an advocacy skills trainer, and an adjunct and visiting professor.
Professor Okuno has worked with a small team of attorneys to prepare amici curiae briefs on behalf of scientists and scientific organizations in cases related to the Clean Water Act and its administrative regulations. In 2020, Justice Breyer cited the team’s amici curiae brief in his majority opinion in the U.S. Supreme Court case County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund.
See Professor Okuno’s full bio.
Assistant Professor of Law Anthony Palermo – Commercial Law
Professor Anthony Palermo comes to Stetson Law from prominent Tampa firm Holland & Knight LLP, where he litigated in state and federal courts, including at the trial and appellate level, and advised on regulatory and corporate compliance for clients in the financial sector and other industries. While in this role, Palermo was appointed to the role of Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Michigan, where he helped the state’s Housing Development Authority ensure the agency was complying with consumer protection and lending laws.
Professor Palermo has written on and presented on dozens of legal topics, won multiple awards, and taken part in numerous professional and community activities in the Tampa Bay area and beyond.
A 2012 graduate of Harvard Law, Professor Palermo earned his B.A. in political science with highest distinction, with a minor in philosophy, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
See Professor Palermo’s full bio.
Assistant Professor of Law Em Wright – Legal Research and Writing
Joining Stetson Law from the University of Oregon School of Law, Professor Em Wright, is known as an effective national leader in legal research and writing. They graduated magna cum laude from Mercer University School of Law in Macon, GA. After graduating, they remained on campus as an adjunct professor to teach upper-level students enrolled in the school’s advanced legal writing certificate program as well as bar exam prep.
As a practitioner, Professor Wright has years of professional experience, including as an attorney representing plaintiffs on personal injury matters for Macon-based Adams Law firm. They also served as a pro se law clerk for the United States District Court, Middle District of Georgia. In this role, they led the screening of pro se civil rights and habeas actions filed by Georgia prisoners.
The sole founding member of Wright Source, LLC, Professor Wright tutored law school graduates preparing for the Multistate Bar Exam as well as the Georgia Bar Exam.
See Professor Wright’s full bio.
VISITING FACULTY
Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law Mary Adkins – Legal Research & Writing
Distinguished Visiting Professor Mary Adkins is an expert in the history and evolution of Florida’s constitution at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where she is a highly respected scholar and educator in the areas of legal writing and Florida constitutional law. She is also a member of the executive boards of the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society and the Florida Historical Society.
Her notable achievements include serving as 2020 Chair of the American Association of Law Schools’ (AALS) Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research, receiving the Board of Directors of the Association of Legal Writing Directors’ Outstanding Service Award, and publishing two books on the history of Florida’s constitution: Making Modern Florida: How the Spirit of Reform Shaped a New Constitution (2016) and Chesterfield Smith, America’s Lawyer (2020).
She co-authored the casebook Florida Constitutional Law: Cases in Context, served as an expert witness in cases involving the Florida Constitution, and conducted oral histories of numerous important historical, political, and legal figures.
See Professor Adkins’ full bio.
Visiting Professor of Law Jagdeep S. Bhandari – International Business Law
With a deep background in both scholarship and practice, Visiting Professor Jagdeep S. Bhandari joins Stetson Law from Wake Forest University where he was most recently a Professor of Law as well as a Research Professor of Economics. He will teach International Trade Law, Criminal Procedure, International Business Transactions and International and National Security Law.
He earned his J.D. from Duquesne University, an LL.M. in International Law from Georgetown University, a Ph.D. in Economics from Southern Methodist University, and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Rochester.
Professor Bhandari has taught law as well as business at numerous universities authored six books and been published in over 75 in peer-reviewed journals worldwide over more than three decades.
A certified mediator for Duval County, Florida, he has conducted pro bono work with organizations like Lutheran Social Services and Legal Aid.
See Professor Bandhari’s full bio.
Visiting Professor of Law Mason Clark – Privacy Law
Visiting Assistant Professor Mason Clark has an extensive background in privacy and security law.
As a Global Deputy Privacy Officer for EVERSANA Life Sciences Services, LLC, an industry-leading company in Milwaukee, Professor Clark developed and implemented a global privacy program and led other initiatives related to privacy.
Professor Clark was an associate attorney at Chicago-based Baker & McKenzie LLP, Professor Clark, where he aided international corporations responding to possible data breaches, helped multinational corporations comply with privacy policies, and developed privacy and cybersecurity compliance programs. As an associate attorney with Ice Miller LLP in Indianapolis, Professor Clark specialized in litigation as well as data security and privacy.
As founder and chair of the Indiana State Bar Association’s Data Security & Privacy Section, he developed CLE curriculum and presentations for attorneys and other professionals.
See Professor Clark’s full bio.
Post date: July 10, 2023
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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