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Stetson Alumni Serve on Navy Ships

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
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Two Stetson graduates are serving as command judge advocates on the U.S. Navy’s largest ships.

When Lieutenant Commander Brendan Burke ’05 was selected for the Navy’s Law Education Program, he knew the privilege came with a six-year commitment to continue his military service. Then a Navy Lieutenant, Burke had already spent four years flying Seahawk helicopters when he was selected for the program that brought him to Stetson University College of Law. Five years after graduating, Burke is now a command judge advocate stationed on one of the most powerful warships in the world, the USS George H.W. Bush. The ship, a 1,092-foot Navy aircraft carrier, is stationed on the east coast of the U.S.

Lieutenant Commander Davin Rieke '99. Photo courtesy of Rieke. Click for high-resolution image.

At Stetson, Burke concentrated in advocacy and served as editor in chief of the Stetson Law Review. He met his wife Karin, also a graduate, while at Stetson. After graduating in 2005, Burke completed Naval Justice School and progressed through a variety of positions: heading the legal assistance department in Jacksonville, Fla., supervising 10 lawyers in three states and the Caribbean as senior defense counsel, and serving as command judge advocate to the U.S. Naval Station in GuantÃ¡namo Bay, Cuba.

“Within my first days as a Navy judge advocate, I was counseling individual clients with complicated family law and consumer law issues, and drafting estate plans for million-dollar-plus estates,” Burke explained. “Within my first year, I was lead defense counsel for felony-level criminal cases. The practical training at Stetson gave me not just the competence, but more importantly the confidence to effectively represent my client’s interests as a brand-new lawyer.”

In August 2009, Burke joined the USS George H.W. Bush. On board the Navy’s newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Burke is the primary legal adviser to the commanding officer, practicing many different types of law, from military law and admiralty to environmental law and the law of the sea.

Lieutenant Commander Davin Rieke JD ’99 MBA ’99 is stationed on the USS Abraham Lincoln on the west coast of the U.S. “The best thing about this job, aside from not having to figure out what to wear every day, is the variety of issues that come up,” Rieke shared. “On any given day, I will need to advise on military criminal law and procedure, civilian criminal law and procedure, environmental law, use of force rules, ethics and administrative regulations, and/or admiralty law.”

Rieke said his average day on board the ship lasts from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m., and is filled with Navy exercises, meetings, battle drills, flight operations and briefings in addition to legal work. Rieke advises the ship’s commanding officer and executive officer, manages a staff of seven, and handles investigations into misconduct, claims for and against the Navy, and congressional inquiries. He also manages the trial and nonjudicial punishment dockets, administrative separation procedures, and works with NCIS on criminal investigations.

Rieke said that taking trial advocacy at Stetson and interning for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa, under the direction of a retired Army JAG, fostered a love for practicing law. Rieke also did an internship with a federal judge and took a wide range of classes at Stetson. He said the breadth of the education and experience helped him thrive as a Navy JAG, a role he said he relishes.

Rieke shared his appreciation for military leadership. “If there is one unique thing about the military, it is the accountability of its leaders. No matter what happens, no matter where, there is always one man or woman who bears responsibility,” Rieke said. “This is one of the reasons why being an officer is such a great profession. A clear line of responsibility and accountability not only inspires, but requires and demands good leadership.”

Akerman Senterfitt Honors Top Corporate Law Students

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Akerman Senterfitt Honors Top Students — Front row (L-R): Nicholas Popp and Monique Hannah Baros, back row (L-R): Joseph Rugg, Vitauts Gulbis, David Doney '91, Dean Darby Dickerson, Associate Dean Clark Furlow. Click for high-resolution image.

The Akerman Senterfitt law firm has honored two Stetson University College of Law students with the new Corporate Law Award.

Students Monique Hannah Baros and Nicholas G. Popp received their awards on April 26 in Tampa for having the highest grades in Stetson’s Delaware Influence on Corporate Law course, taught by associate dean and professor Clark Furlow and the Honorable Andrew G.T. Moore, a retired justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. Akerman Senterfitt created the award to recognize students who have excelled in an advanced corporate law course.

While on the bench, Justice Moore, who serves as a Distinguished Professorial Lecturer at Stetson, authored many notable corporate-law opinions, including Unocal Corp. v. Mesa Petroleum Co. and Revlon, Inc. v. MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc., which are considered to be among the 10 most important cases in the last 100 years. He has been described as one of the most influential persons in corporate law during the 20th century.

Before joining Stetson’s faculty, Furlow practiced corporate law and argued many cases in the Delaware Supreme Court and the Delaware Court of Chancery.

With more than 500 attorneys and government affairs professionals, Akerman Senterfitt is one of the largest firms in Florida and is ranked among the top 100 firms in the U.S. by The National Law Journal in 2009. The firm practices in the areas of antitrust, banking and finance, bankruptcy, construction, corporate, labor and employment, healthcare, immigration, insurance, commercial litigation, real estate, tax and transportation. It is ranked number one by Chambers USA for Corporate/M&A in Florida and recognized by The Legal 500 within the National-Middle Market category.

Professors Survey the Causes of Bankruptcy Among Older Americans

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
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Two Stetson University College of Law professors are surveying thousands of people in an attempt to help pinpoint the leading causes of bankruptcy among older Americans.

Approximately 3,000 people aged 60 or older who filed for bankruptcy in Florida recently received a two-page voluntary survey and letter requesting their participation. The surveys are due next week, and results are expected in late May.

Professors Theresa Pulley Radwan and Boston Asset Management Chair Rebecca Morgan, who directs the Center for Excellence in Elder Law at Stetson, are conducting the study, which could help determine if bankruptcy laws should be changed to protect older Americans.

“Ultimately, we may want to propose changes to the laws regarding bankruptcy for older Americans, and provide their attorneys with additional information to help their older clients avoid bankruptcy,” said Radwan, who is a bankruptcy-law expert.

Credit-card debt, home-insurance costs, medical bills, job loss and mortgage payments are among the reasons surveyed for filing bankruptcy.

“Learning more about the financial situation of this age group and the role that medical debt plays in their financial situation will help when planning for the long term,” said Morgan.

The results of the survey will also be published in an academic article. Information shared by participants will remain anonymous.

For more information, contact Professor Radwan at (727) 562-7361 or [email protected].

Human Rights Teach-In

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
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Thurgood Marshall Middle School Principal Dallas Jackson Ph.D. with Professor Dorothea Beane. Click for high-resolution image.

A few years ago, Stetson Law professor Dorothea Beane stopped by Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School principal Dallas Jackson’s office for a visit. Beane introduced herself, and she and Jackson discussed how they might bring the local academic community together.

Stetson Law’s proximity to Thurgood Marshall Middle School makes the two schools geographical neighbors. Yet the topics taught in law school are a world apart from those taught in middle school. Or are they?

Might human rights be something both law students and middle school students benefit from discussing? The answer seemed simple, and the idea of the human rights teach-in was born.

Stetson Law student Vanita Vishnubhakat talks with middle school students about human rights at the April teach-in. Click for high-resolution image.

Ever since, Beane and her law students have regularly volunteered their time and expertise, creating lesson plans and activities to teach the middle school students at Thurgood Marshall about the importance of defining and protecting human rights.

“This is about service to the community,” Beane said.

During the fall semester, Beane’s international human rights law class worked with a sixth-grade Ancient Civilizations class to learn about mature topics like class discrimination and genocide. This spring, a dozen students from Beane’s law class addressed 278 eighth-graders at middle school assemblies designed to get students thinking about the value of protecting human rights.

Stetson Law student Abigail Pressler shares her human rights law expertise with middle school students at the teach-in. Click for high-resolution image.

Jackson visited Stetson before the teach-in to talk with Beane’s law students about some topics of interest to his middle schoolers. He discussed some issues unique to the computer age.

“These kids are digital natives,” Jackson said. Children use the Internet to post photographs online that become the target of criminals, and download and plagiarize papers that don’t belong to them, he explained. “They don’t always realize the collateral responsibilities.”

“With rights there are responsibilities,” Beane said.

At an April 23 teach-in, Beane’s law students and Jackson’s eighth-graders got a refresher course on what some of those human rights and responsibilities are, and why they are universally important to children as well as adults. A panel of law and middle school students, joined by Jackson and a representative of the Attorney General’s Office, talked about some of the dangers of the digital age in an interview broadcast to students over school-wide television. The panel discussed how sharing pornographic images of friends on social networking sites and across the Internet could be considered a criminal act, and one with long-lasting consequences. Students watching from classrooms had an opportunity to send questions to the panel.

At the same time, in the middle school multi-purpose room, more than 200 students gathered in groups to talk with law student moderators about the importance of inalienable human rights. Discussion cards touched on human rights violations including child abuse and slavery, children dying in armed conflict, sex trafficking, migrant workers forced into deplorable livable conditions, men executed for protesting a disputed presidential election, and women being forbidden from wearing religious veils. Students had an opportunity to make decisions about what they valued most in the world, and ultimately why human rights are so universally important.

“The teach-in is a reminder that we are not only advocates but educators as well,” third-year Stetson Law student Vanita Vishnubhakat said after the April teach-in. “It was wonderful to see students actively engaged in the learning process; they applied human rights principles and concepts to historical events they had learned about at school. They weren’t just listening; they were making meaningful connections. I think we all left the school feeling as though we had contributed to the students’ understanding and appreciation of human rights.”

Stetson University Named Among Nation’s ‘Green’ Colleges

Contact Cindi Brownfield
Office of Public Relations and Communications
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Stetson University has been named to “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges” – a free online guidebook to U.S. universities and colleges with above average commitment to environmental and sustainability programs.

The guide, based on a survey of hundreds of colleges nationwide, profiles the nation’s most environmentally responsible campuses. It looks at an institution’s commitment to building certification using the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED green building certification program; environmental literacy programs; formal sustainability committees; use of renewable energy resources; recycling and conservation programs, and more.

Stetson, one of six schools in Florida named to the list, had the first LEED-certified green building in Florida – the Lynn Business Center. The guide recognizes Stetson’s commitment to LEED certification for new construction and renovations. The university’s new Rinker Environmental Learning Center, which features a rainwater collection system, recycled metal roofing and a geothermal heating system, is in the process of submitting for LEED certification.

The guide touts Stetson’s Environmental Responsibility Council and six-point plan to achieving the council’s mission “to function as a university in ways that will not compromise the lives of future human generations nor diminish the health of planetary ecosystems.” It highlights the university’s commitment to environmental education, environmentally responsible purchasing, efficient use and conservation of resources, minimization of solid waste and hazardous materials, and promotion of a green campus design that includes a native Florida landscaping policy.

“By landscaping exclusively with native plants, Stetson not only reinforces its natural heritage, but it cuts down on its use of fertilizers and pesticides, since indigenous plants require less maintenance when compared to traditional landscaping plants,” the guide said.

The Princeton Review released the guidebook just before Earth Day 2010 in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council. The free guide can be downloaded at www.princetonreview.com/greenguide and www.usgbc.org/campus.

“Our research has shown that students and their parents are becoming more and more interested in learning about and attending universities and colleges that practice, teach and support environmental responsibility,” said Robert Franek, senior vice president and publisher of The Princeton Review.

Inclusion in the guide was the second major environmental honor for Stetson in a week. On April 16, Stetson placed fifth in the nationwide RecycleMania competition, a 10-week recycling and waste reduction competition.

Environmental Lawyer Discusses Florida’s Fragile Coastline

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
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Tampa environmental lawyer Martha Collins addresses a crowd of students at Stetson Law on Earth Day. Click for high-resolution image.

Martha Collins of the Collins Law Group in Tampa, Fla., addressed a crowd of Stetson Law students gathered in the Mann Lounge on the Gulfport campus on Earth Day, April 22, to hear her speak about the impact of beach erosion issues in Florida. Collins showed a series of slides illustrating Florida’s fragile coastline, and discussed the impact of beach nourishment on the environment and property owners.

Last spring, Collins represented surfers in a lawsuit challenging a Palm Beach nourishment project. The surfers and their supporters said that nourishment could interfere with nesting sea turtles and other small animals and cloud the water, covering underwater coral reefs and rocks that anglers, divers and surfers need to see. The judge barred the project on environmental grounds.

You can learn more about this case by visiting The New York Times article on the subject.

Blume Named Public Service Scholarship Recipient

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Manager of Media Relations
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Michelle Blume, Stetson's Public Service Scholarship Recipient. Photo by Derik Gutowski. Click for high-resolution image.

Stetson University College of Law student Michelle Blume has been selected as next year’s Public Service Scholarship recipient. Blume, selected from a pool of more than two dozen applicants for her dedication to public service, will receive a full-tuition scholarship to Stetson Law for her final year.

Stetson’s Public Service Scholarship encourages students to work full-time in the public service field for at least three years following graduation. A part-time student, Blume is ranked 10th in her class, serves as a Public Service Fellow, and helped found the Innocence Project Student Group at Stetson. She also works as the pastor of an urban church in Tampa, and at the same time holds down jobs at a pharmaceutical consulting group and working as a faculty research assistant.

At Stetson, Blume has volunteered at the Attorney General’s Office in the Children’s Legal Services Bureau, served in the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program and as a Guardian ad Litem, and clerked for Judge Tracy Sheehan of Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit. Blume started a food-pantry ministry and has led various youth mentoring programs; she also regularly visits the the sick and needy and leads worship-services at her church.

While at Duke Divinity School, Blume was awarded the Upcoming Leader Scholarship and co-founded the Young Adult Seminarians Network. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida, where she graduated magna cum laude and received the Honors Program Scholarship and Bright Futures Scholarship. She has also received the Roger P. Fairs Award for leadership from the United Methodist Church.

Stetson Graduate Inducted as President of International Academy of Trial Lawyers

Contact Derede McAlpin

202-973-1314
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Christian Searcy, International Academy of Trial Lawyers president. Click for hi-res image.

South Florida law firm Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley P.A. is pleased to announce that Christian Searcy has recently been inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers as president. The announcement took place at the IATL’s annual meeting in Phoenix, Ariz.

The International Academy of Trial Lawyers is an invitation only organization limited to just 500 attorneys in the United States and 100 fellows from the rest of the world. Inductees must undergo a rigorous membership evaluation process that encompasses legal skills, character, integrity and trial record.

Searcy previously served as vice president of the IATL. He is named in the Best Lawyers in America, which is an independent study by Harvard trained attorneys. He is also recognized in Florida Super Lawyers and is named as one of the top lawyers in the South Florida Legal Guide.

“My induction into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers is quite an honor,” said Searcy. “The organization exemplifies my personal philosophy of advocacy, which is a quest for justice to protect standards of fairness on behalf of people whose rights have been violated.”

Searcy is also a past president of the Florida Justice Association. He currently serves as a diplomat of the American Association for Justice and is a member of the International Society of Barristers. He is an advocate of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a member of the Board of Directors of the College Foundation of the University of Virginia, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society and is Board Certified in Civil Litigation by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification, formerly known as the National Board of Trial Advocacy and by The Florida Bar Association.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia and received his Juris Doctor degree from Stetson University College of Law, graduating in the top ten percent of his class.

Searcy writes and lectures extensively about civil trial practice, personal injury and wrongful death.

About the International Academy of Trial Lawyers: The International Academy of Trial Lawyers, founded in 1954, aims to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reforms in the law; facilitate the administration of justice; elevate the standards of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession and cherish the spirit of brotherhood among members.

About Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, P.A.: A nationally recognized trial law firm, Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley P.A. is committed to protecting and vindicating the rights of people injured through negligence, deceit and abuse of power. Over the past 30 years, the firm has represented clients in courtrooms throughout Florida and across the nation.

Elder Consumer Protection Expo, April 20

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
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[email protected]

WHO: The public is invited to attend an expo on the Stetson University College of Law Gulfport campus to learn about financial frauds and scams, especially those targeting the elderly and seniors. ABC Action News’ Jackie Callaway, St. Petersburg Times’ Ivan Penn and Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Agency’s Kevin Jackson are scheduled to facilitate a town hall discussion about the latest scams.

WHAT: The Bay Area Elder Consumer Protection Expo provides attendees an opportunity to take advantage of identity theft protection services, including on-site document shredders, Do-Not-Call/Opt-Out registration, and credit reporting services. Expo attendees also will be treated to a continental breakfast and door prizes, as well as a tour of Stetson’s elder-friendly Eleazer Courtroom, the first of its kind in the country.

WHEN: Tuesday, April 20, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Town hall discussion 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

WHERE: Great Hall and Mann Lounge, Stetson University College of Law, 1401 61st St. S., Gulfport.

For more information, please call Elder Consumer Protection Fellow Slade V. Dukes of Stetson’s Financial Scam & Fraud Awareness Project at 727-562-7888 or e-mail [email protected].

Salute the Troops BBQ Fundraiser, April 17

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
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WHO: The public is invited to attend a barbeque fundraiser sponsored by Stetson University College of Law’s student organization Law and Order, the City of Gulfport, and the Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. law firm.

WHERE: Gulfport Recreation Center, 5730 Shore Blvd. S.

WHEN: Saturday, April 17, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

WHAT: The annual Salute the Troops B-B-Q fundraiser will help purchase care packages for members of the military stationed overseas, and encourage veterans to learn more about benefits. The family-oriented event includes free food, games, music and prizes.

#1 in Trial Advocacy, #3 in Legal Writing

Contact Frank Klim
Executive Director of Communications
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The 2011 U.S. News & World Report has again ranked Stetson University College of Law first in the nation among law schools for its outstanding trial advocacy program. U.S. News also ranked Stetson Law third out of 200 law schools for legal writing.

Stetson has consistently ranked at the top for its trial advocacy program since the U.S. News rankings began in 1995. Since the legal writing ranking started, Stetson has always placed among the top six programs in the country.

“When you ask attorneys what they value in law graduates —and what skills attorneys need to serve clients effectively —the ability to communicate well both orally and in writing are almost always at the top of the list,” said law dean Darby Dickerson. “This is one reason I am proud that Stetson emphasizes skills training and has been recognized for excellence in that area.”

“Stetson stands for the idea that advocacy is taught in law school every day, in every class, in every question posed and answer given,” said Professor Charles H. Rose III, director of Stetson’s Center for Excellence in Advocacy. “The accomplishments of our advocacy programs, and more importantly, of our students, reflect our commitment to not only teaching knowledge of the law, but the ability to use it on behalf of others. This commitment resides at the core of what it means to be a Stetson advocate — competent, compassionate and professional.”

Stetson Law students most recently won the National Trial Competition in March. Next month, Stetson Law teaches its Method of Advocacy at the Educating Advocates: Teaching Advocacy Skills program for law practitioners and professors May 26 –28 in Gulfport, Fla. Stetson also provides a free online Advocacy Resource Center as a resource for public service attorneys and other attorneys who work on behalf of the public good. To access Stetson’s Advocacy Resource Center, visit http://www.law.stetson.edu/ARC/.

“These rankings reflect the dedication of our professors to preparing our students to be excellent legal communicators and thinkers and to developing the legal writing discipline,” said Professor Kirsten K. Davis, Director of Legal Research and Writing. In the legal writing field, Stetson sponsors regular webinars on legal writing topics for professors who teach in that area. “We’ve engaged over 150 faculty from around the country in discussions about important issues in legal writing, including upper-level writing courses and legal writing scholarship. We look forward to serving the national legal writing community by hosting future webinars,” Davis said.

Dean Dickerson: Business Woman of the Year

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
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Darby Dickerson, Vice President and Dean of Stetson University College of Law, is the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce 2010 Business Woman of the Year.

Dean Dickerson was selected on March 26 from a pool of 21 candidates and 16 finalists who were chosen for demonstrating outstanding professional accomplishments in either the private or public sector and serving as role models and mentors for younger women. A panel of community leaders chose the finalists.

Under Dean Dickerson’s leadership during the past seven years, Stetson Law has increased nationally recognized academic offerings and student diversity, accelerated student community service and pro bono work, and opened Stetson’s Tampa Law Center.

Dean Dickerson has served the greater Tampa Bay community in countless ways. She is past chair and a current board member of Tampa Bay Chapter of the American Red Cross and has served on the boards of both the Tampa Chamber of Commerce and the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. On Jan. 13, Dean Dickerson received the 2009 Chief Judge’s Award from Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit for her outstanding efforts and commitment to the court.

In January, the American Association of Law Schools elected Dean Dickerson to serve on the Executive Committees of both the Deans Section and the Section on Part-time Division Programs. The Deans Section includes law deans of ABA-approved law schools from across the country. The Section on Part-time Division Programs, of which Dean Dickerson was a founding member, focuses on issues unique to law schools with both full-time and part-time J.D. programs.

Dean Dickerson was the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Business Woman of the Year in the non-profit/social services category in 2005. She was named a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 2006, elected to the American Law Institute in 2007, and honored with the George Carr Memorial Award for Distinguished Service to Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association in 2008.

Dickerson is also a nationally renowned expert in cyberbullying, legal citation, and higher education law and policy.