News Archives - Page 102 of 138

Salute the Troops BBQ Fundraiser, April 17

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

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
727-562-7889
[email protected]

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
727-562-7381
[email protected]

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.

Stetson Wins National Trial Competition

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

L-R: Trial Team members Brock Johnson, Katelyn Knaak, and Trina Sams. Click for high-resolution image.

Stetson University College of Law won the National Trial Competition, beating Stanford Law School in the final round of competition in Dallas, Texas, on March 27. This is the fifth time Stetson Law has been named the national champion of this prestigious competition.

The Stetson Law team of Brock Johnson, Katelyn Knaak and Trina Sams beat teams from six other law schools, including Northwestern Law, Regent Law and Yale Law School in the preliminary round; Washington University in St. Louis School of Law in the quarter-final round; Chicago-Kent College of Law in the semi-final round; and Stanford in the final round.

“This is the second national mock trial competition Stetson has won during the 2009-2010 academic year. Our students are still setting the standard for excellent advocacy in American law schools,” said Trial Advocacy Fellow and professor Lee Coppock.

Professor Roberta Flowers coached the winning Stetson team with 2008 Stetson Law alumna Petra Justice.

The National Trial Competition, sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Texas Young Lawyers Association, was established in 1975 to encourage and strengthen student advocacy skills. Teams from across the country competed at regional competitions for a chance to participate in the national competition.

The 2010 U.S. News & World Report ranks Stetson Law first in trial advocacy among law schools across the country. U.S. News also ranks Stetson Law fifth for legal writing and 16th for part-time law programs this year. To learn more about Stetson Law’s advocacy programs, visit www.law.stetson.edu/advocacy.

» Watch Video of Trial Team Practice

Stetson M.B.A. Among Top 15 for Finance in U.S.

Contact Office of Public Relations and Communications

386-822-8920

Stetson University’s M.B.A. program has been ranked in the top 15 in the nation for its strength in the area of finance in The Princeton Review’s second annual “Student Opinion Honors for Business Schools.”

M.B.A. students attending 301 business schools profiled in The Princeton Review book, Best 301 Business Schools: 2010 Edition, were surveyed on how their business schools were preparing them for success in the business world. The six categories they were asked to assess were accounting, finance, general management, global management, marketing and operations. The lists will be published in the April issue of Entrepreneur magazine, which hit news stands this week.

Stetson’s graduate business programs within the School of Business Administration and the other business schools appear in alphabetical order on the lists and are not ranked one to 15. Other schools in the finance category are Brandeis University, Brigham Young University, Columbia University, Cornell University, New York University, Rice University, The University of Chicago, The University of Iowa, University of Florida, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, University of Pennsylvania (Wharton Business School), University of Rochester, University of Virginia and Yale University.

“It is truly an honor for Stetson’s graduate business programs to be recognized with the nation’s best M.B.A. programs,” said Dr. Frank DeZoort, senior professor and director of graduate business programs at Stetson. “Most of these schools are much larger than Stetson University, and it is very unique to have such a strong graduate business program attached to a small, student-oriented university such as Stetson. We’re proud of our outstanding M.B.A. program.”

Stetson’s highly regarded M.B.A., which is accredited by AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, requires two courses in finance and offers three additional finance courses as electives. Other disciplines covered by the M.B.A. include accounting, management information systems, marketing, management, and production and operations management.

“The courses in the Stetson M.B.A. are inter-related and linked by design, and all of the courses enhance the success of students in finance, as well as in other areas,” DeZoort said.
The professors teaching in Stetson’s M.B.A. program are highly qualified, well-published and respected in their disciplines. The program is offered at three locations – the historic campus in DeLand, located between Orlando and Daytona Beach; the Stetson University Center at Celebration in the metropolitan Orlando area; and at the College of Law in Gulfport.

The Stetson University College of Law and AACSB-accredited School of Business Administration offer an accelerated course of study leading to the dual Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees. For more information about Stetson’s M.B.A. program, please visit http://www.stetsonumba.com/ .

Legal Writing Expert Visits Tampa Law Center

Contact Brandi Palmer

727-562-7381
[email protected]

Bryan Garner spoke at the Tampa Law Center on March 22-23. Click for high-resolution image.

Bryan Garner, editor in chief of Black’s Law Dictionary and author of The Winning Brief and numerous other legal writing books, visited Stetson University’s Tampa Law Center for two seminars on March 22-23.

Garner is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on legal writing and English usage and has presented seminars for more than 100,000 lawyers and judges across the country and abroad.

Garner and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia co-authored Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges, and are working together on a new book about statutory interpretation. Garner will be the Stetson University College of Law commencement speaker on May 15.

Team Wins Best Memorandum in Hong Kong

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

L-R: Anna Liu, Sandra Harrell, Sarah Cohen and Luis Santos practice at Stetson Law for Hong Kong. Click for high-resolution image.

A team of four Stetson University College of Law students competed with students from 75 law schools in 20 countries to win the Best Respondent’s Memorandum Award at a moot court competition in Hong Kong.

Students Sarah Cohen, Sandra Harrell, Anna Liu, and Luis Santos won the award at the 2010 Willem C. Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot on March 21.

Santos, a third-year student, also received an Honorable Mention Best Oralist Award for his outstanding performance in the preliminary rounds.

Team member Luis Santos (shown here practicing at Stetson Law) received an Honorable Mention Best Oralist Award in preliminary rounds of competition. Click for high-resolution image.

The first Vis Moot began 17 years ago in Vienna, Austria, to promote international commercial arbitration. The Vis East Moot Competition began seven years ago to encourage participation from more schools around the globe. Another team of Stetson students will compete in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna, Austria, starting this weekend.

Stetson Law graduate Thomas Yaegers, a member of Stetson’s 2005 world champion Vis team, coached the team along with professors Joseph Morrissey, Stephanie Vaughan, Marco Jimenez and Robert Batey, and student coach Erik Detlefsen.

L-R: Erik Detlefsen, Sarah Cohen, Luis Santos, Anna Liu, Sandra Harrell and Thomas Yaegers at the Vis East in Hong Kong. Click for high-resolution image.

Presidential Inauguration

Contact Office of Public Relations and Communications

386-822-8920

Wendy B. Libby, Ph.D., receives university charter. Click for high-resolution image.

Stetson University’s ninth president, Dr. Wendy B. Libby, was inaugurated Saturday, March 20, in a ceremony marked by the colorful traditions of academia and the promise of a bright future for Stetson as “a university of significance.”

In her Inaugural Address, Libby celebrated Stetson’s 126-year-old commitment to integrating the pursuit of education and truth with the search for meaning in one’s personal faith quest and spiritual life. She vowed that Stetson would not rest on its laurels in challenging times, but would embrace a broad vision to assure the university emerges stronger and well-positioned for the future.

President Libby, left, walking in processional through Woodland Blvd. Click for high-resolution image.

Libby issued a challenge to a “greater purpose” to the hundreds of alumni, students, faculty, staff and supporters at the Inauguration in the university’s Edmunds Center. Faculty represented each of the university’s colleges and schools – the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Business Administration, the College of Law and the School of Music – and each of the university’s four locations: the historic campus in DeLand, the law campus in Gulfport/St. Petersburg, the Tampa Law Center, and the Stetson University Center at Celebration in the metropolitan Orlando area.

“I challenge and invite each of you to join me in embracing this vision for Stetson University that is enriched and informed by history and tradition, but requires our courage and determination to always seek the higher good, the deeper commitment, the brighter future – to be a university of significance,” she said.

More than 170 professors and delegates marched in the processional. Click for high-resolution image.

Inauguration morning started with a procession of about 130 Stetson faculty members, administrators and trustees and about 40 delegates representing colleges and universities across the United States, led by a bagpiper, from Stetson’s main gates north on Woodland Boulevard (U.S. 17-92) to the Edmunds Center. Students and members of the community lined the roadway, some with congratulatory banners.

Libby became Stetson’s ninth president in July 2009, succeeding Dr. H. Douglas Lee, who has since passed away. Libby has had a broad career in higher education and private industry, most recently serving as president of Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., from 2003 to 2009. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., she earned her doctorate in Educational Administration from the University of Connecticut.

University of Maryland Wins Stetson’s IEMCC

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

L-R): Professor Royal Gardner in background, University of Maryland Law students William Tilburg, April Morton, Best Oralist Molly Knoll, and Stetson Law Dean Darby Dickerson. Click for high-resolution image.

A team of students from the University of Maryland’s School of Law won the 14th Annual International Environmental Moot Court Competition at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Fla., on March 14. The other finalist was from the Law Society of Ireland, Cork.

Student teams from Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Ireland, the Philippines, Vietnam, Ukraine and the United States prepared written submissions and delivered oral arguments in a case involving the impact of ocean noise on marine mammals. This is the first year a team from Africa participated in the competition. Molly Knoll of the University of Maryland was named Best Oralist, and Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines won the Best Memorial Award. Students from the Faculty of International Law at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam received this year’s Spirit of Stetson Award.

Final round judges included Dr. Wil Burns, editor in chief of the Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy, and professors John Bonine and Svitlana Kravchenko of the University of Oregon School of Law.

“We are so proud to host this competition,” said Royal C. Gardner, professor and director of the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy at Stetson. “The moot gives students from all over the world an opportunity to hone their advocacy skills while learning about global environmental issues.”

This year’s competition coincided with the two-day 12th International Wildlife Law Conference on March 12-13. Distinguished international scholars from around the world discussed topics including marine animal welfare issues, wildlife as food, procedural mechanisms to protect wildlife, and international trade of endangered species.

»» View 2010 IEMCC photos on Flickr

Colleges Need to Look Beyond Discipline, Says Book

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

Stetson University College of Law professor Peter Lake says most colleges and universities have a one-size-fits-all approach to a range of student discipline issues including sexual assault, violence, binge drinking, suicide, drug use and cheating. His latest book, Beyond Discipline – Managing the Modern Higher Education Environment, suggests an alternative.

Beyond Discipline argues for an education-based, student-centered process, which is not overly legalistic.

The book addresses several discipline-related topics including sexual assault and rape on college campuses. Lake argues that it is imperative to identify and remove sexual predators from campuses quickly.

“It is time to completely rethink our approaches to creating safe and responsible campuses,” said Lake, who is the director of the Center for Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson Law. “What we are doing now does not work. There are too many lawyers and legalistic discipline systems; and not enough of what colleges do best –education. Sometimes we are so obsessed with being ‘fair’ with wrongdoers that we unintentionally cheat our good students.”

“Lake challenges those of us in higher education to ‘recognize an appropriate role for law and legalisms,’ developing a unique system that ensures the student’s education, development, and personal growth remain central,” said Gwendolyn Jordan Dungy, executive director of NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

Professor Lake often writes for and is quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education and was recently interviewed by National Public Radio on the campus rape issue.

To order Beyond Discipline, please visit http://www.hierophantenterprises.com/page1.php. To learn more about higher education law and policy at Stetson, please visit http://www.law.stetson.edu/highered/.

Stetson to Host Wildlife Law Experts

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

»» View Webcast of Final Round (available on Sunday, March 14, at 12:30 p.m.)

This month, the 12th International Wildlife Law Conference will be held in conjunction with the international finals of the International Environmental Moot Court Competition on Stetson University College of Law’s Gulfport campus.

A diverse range of speakers from around the world will present on international law, international environmental law and animal issues at the conference March 12-13.

Speakers include:

Azrina Abdullah, Centre for Malaysian Indigenous Studies (Malaysia)
Professor Jerry L. Anderson, Drake University School of Law
Professor John Bonine, University of Oregon School of Law
Dr. Veronica Frank, International Fund for Animal Welfare (Belgium)
Professor Svitlana Kravchenko, University of Oregon School of Law
Dr. Naomi A. Rose, Humane Society International
Professor Tushar Kanti Saha, National University of Lesotho

Sessions will focus on marine animal welfare issues, wildlife as food, procedural mechanisms to protect wildlife, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Conference attendees may also attend the international finals of the 14th Annual International Environmental Moot Court Competition at Stetson Law March 12-14. Teams of students are traveling from Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Ireland, the Philippines, Vietnam, Ukraine and across the United States to tackle problems involving ocean noise impact on marine mammals. This is the first year a team from Africa will be participating in the prestigious competition. Final rounds judges include Dr. Wil Burns, editor in chief of the Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy, and professors John Bonine and Svitlana Kravchenko of the University of Oregon School of Law.

The conference program is approved for 9.5 hours of general CLE credits with the Florida Bar. Registration is available online at www.law.stetson.edu/conferences/wildlife2010. The registration rate is $200. The non-Stetson student rate is $35. Stetson students, faculty and staff may attend for free.

For more information, please contact Stetson Law professor Royal Gardner at [email protected].

Advocacy Teams Win Competitions

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

Students Meg Martin and Joseph Herbert won awards for best oralists Feb. 27 in Miami. Click for high-resolution image.

Advocacy teams from Stetson University College of Law won competitions Feb. 27 in Miami, Fla., and Feb. 28 in Kansas City, Mo. Another team took home best individual awards on Feb. 27 in Albany, N.Y.

On Feb. 27 in Miami, a Stetson team won the 2010 Florida pre-competition for the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. Stetson won the competition for the fifth consecutive year. Students Amanda Adams, Joseph Herbert, Jenna Jordan, Jackson Martin and Meg Martin won best overall team. Herbert also won best overall oralist in addition to best oralist in rounds three and four; Meg Martin won best oralist in the first round. For the first time, the competition included a European university, the University of Versailles. Professors Joseph Morrissey, Marco Jimenez, professor and Moot Court Advisor Stephanie Vaughan, and student Joseph Etter coached the winning Stetson team, which next heads to Vienna, Austria, to compete in the prestigious Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot.

On Feb. 28 in Kansas City, Stetson won the regional competition of the American Association for Justice National Student Trial Advocacy Competition. The team included Olesea Collins, Cornelius Demps, Renee Faired and Colby Hearn. Demps also received the award for best advocate. Stetson Law professor Lee Coppock, Assistant Director of Student Life Callie Cowan JD ’08 and Nathan Hatcher JD ’08 coached the winning team. The team’s next stop will be New Orleans, La., where students will compete in the national AAJ competition.

On Feb. 27 in Albany, Stetson students took home high individual honors from the 22nd Annual Domenick L. Gabrielli National Family Law Moot Court Competition. Students Amy Burns and Ryan Schmidt won the best brief award at the competition, and Burns was also named best oralist. Professor Linda Anderson coached the team.