News Archives - Page 103 of 138

Inaugural Marc L. Levine Award

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2006 Stetson Law graduate Marc L. Levine. Click for high-resolution image.

In May, the first Marc L. Levine Award will be presented to a Stetson University College of Law student who has demonstrated significant professional growth and leadership during his or her time at Stetson.

The award was established by Marc’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. Paul A. Levine, to honor a graduating student who, like Marc, emerged as a campus leader at Stetson.

“I am deeply honored that my parents decided to create an award in my name at Stetson Law,” said Levine, the award’s namesake. “However, I believe that the award is more of an acknowledgement of the amazing experience and education that Stetson Law provides its students than of my individual accomplishments while in law school.”

Levine, an Orlando attorney with GrayRobinson P.A., graduated cum laude in 2006 from Stetson Law; he received the Walter Mann Award for professional leadership and the William F. Blews Pro Bono Award for community service. While a student, he interned for Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and Judge Ralph C. Stoddard of Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit. Levine is a member of the Stetson Lawyers Association Advisory Council.

Stetson Law Excels Nationwide Among Law Schools Graduating Hispanic Students

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(L-R): Stetson HBA president David Fernandez accepts his award from 1985 Stetson Law graduate and former Clearwater Bar Association president Scott Schiltz. Photo courtesy Clearwater Bar. Click for high-resolution image.

Stetson University College of Law has again been listed among the top 25 law schools graduating Hispanics in The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education. The December 2009 Hispanic Outlook listed Stetson Law 15th among law schools across the country graduating the most Hispanic students.

Stetson Law’s Hispanic students have established a strong tradition of community and public service. David Fernandez, president of Stetson’s Hispanic Bar Association and Law and Order, made history on Feb. 11 when he became the first law student to receive the Clearwater Bar Foundation Excellence in Pro Bono Award. Fernandez received the award for his work to provide Spanish-speakers with access to legal documents through a translation project.

Stetson’s HBA was also honored for extraordinary service by the Florida Supreme Court with the Chief Justice’s Voluntary Bar Association Pro Bono Service Award in 2006.

The Hispanic Outlook gathered statistics on the top 25 law schools from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. The magazine reports on the top U.S. law schools for Hispanics every year.

Salcines to Receive Tower Award

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Executive Director of Communications
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Judge E.J. Salcines is this year's Tower Award recipient. Click for high-resolution image.

Judge E.J. Salcines has been selected to receive Stetson University College of Law’s Tower Award on May 1 at TPepin’s Hospitality Centre in Tampa.

Judge Salcines will be presented the award during Stetson’s Second Annual Scholarship Gala, which raises funds for law student scholarships. This year’s gala co-chairs are Stetson Law alumni Meredith Phipps Nutter ’04 and Rick Nutter ’03.

A Tampa native, Judge Salcines was appointed to Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal in 1998, where he served for a decade. Judge Salcines’ legal career spans work as an attorney, federal and state prosecutor, assistant U.S. attorney and judge. He received a J.D. degree from South Texas College of Law, as well as Honorary Doctors of Law Degrees from Stetson University College of Law and Florida Southern College. Judge Salcines has received numerous honors from civic groups and bar organizations for spearheading outstanding legal community service programs. He was awarded the University of South Florida’s President’s Distinguished Citizen Award in 1993 and Distinguished Service Award in 1996. The City of Tampa recognized him as Hispanic Man of the Year in 1993. Born to immigrants of Spain, Judge Salcines became the first Spanish-speaking assistant U.S. attorney in 1964.

Judge Salcines was knighted by King Juan Carlos of Spain, who inducted him into the Royal Order of Queen Isabella in 1979. Judge Salcines is a widely recognized authority on the history of Spanish heritage in Tampa, Cuba’s revolutionary figure JosÃ© Marti and the Spanish-American War.

Last year’s gala honored football legend Lee Roy Selmon with Stetson’s inaugural Tower Award for his years of service to the Tampa Bay community.

Sponsorships and individual tickets are available by calling 727-562-7818 or by visiting http://www.law.stetson.edu/gala.

Free Consumer Protection Expo for Seniors at Stetson Law

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WHO: The public is invited to attend an expo to learn more about how to guard against current financial frauds and scams targeting the elderly and seniors. This free event will be held in the Great Hall on the Stetson University College of Law campus at 1401 61st St. S. in Gulfport.

WHAT: The Bay Area Elder Consumer Protection Expo provides an opportunity to meet with various local and state consumer protection agencies; hear from speakers about the latest financial scams and frauds; and 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.

WHEN: Tuesday, April 20, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

WHERE: Great Hall, 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]. You may also learn more about the latest scams and frauds by visiting Stetson’s Elder Consumer Protection Program.

Former Jamaican Attorney General Teaching Human Rights Course

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Former Jamaican Attorney General Arnold J. Nicholson is teaching a course in February at Stetson Law. High-resolution image.

Jamaican senator Arnold J. Nicholson, who served as Jamaica’s attorney general for 12 years, is teaching a course on Human Rights in the Commonwealth Caribbean through Feb. 21 at Stetson University College of Law. Nicholson, who arrived on campus Feb. 7, is a distinguished international fellow at Stetson Law through spring 2012.

“The Distinguished International Fellows program is a splendid opportunity for Stetson Law students to learn from leading legal scholars and judges from around the globe,” said John Cooper, Associate Dean of International and Cooperative Programs at Stetson Law.

Nicholson has been a member of the Jamaican Senate since 1998, and the legal advisor to the People’s National Party since 1996. He was Jamaica’s minister of legal affairs from 1995-1998, and the minister of justice from 2001-2007.

Nicholson joins Canadian Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, who is also currently serving as a distinguished international fellow at Stetson.

Students Help Pinellas Project Homeless Connect

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Heather Cain, a third-year Stetson Law student, offers a pair of shoes to a client at Pinellas Project Homeless Connect. Click for high-resolution image.

On Saturday morning, Jan. 30, a Homeless Court opened for the first time in St. Petersburg, Fla. More than 40 students from Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport volunteered to help staff a legal clinic for Pinellas Project Homeless Connect during the opening of the new court.

Stetson Law students helped pro bono attorneys work with homeless people to resolve legal issues and complete advanced directives like living wills. Students also spearheaded Project Shoe, collecting and donating more than 270 pairs of shoes to the homeless people attending Saturday’s event at the Coliseum in St. Petersburg. Realizing a need for them, the law students also bought and distributed 250 pairs of socks to compliment the shoes.

“Often, Pinellas County’s homeless are treated like they are invisible,” said student volunteer Noah Kores. “But on Saturday, they were catered to and treated with dignity.”

Stephen Lutz (left), a third-year Stetson Law student, discusses living wills with one of the many clients receiving assistance at Pinellas Project Homeless Connect in St. Petersburg on Saturday, Jan. 30. “It’s great to be able to help those who wouldn’t receive help otherwise,” said Lutz. Click for high-resolution image.

Kores, who chaired the legal committee at Project Homeless Connect, said planning for the event began back in August at the start of the fall semester. He approached fellow student Brett Henson about including an Advanced Directives Clinic at Project Homeless Connect.

Henson said the clinic originally began as an initiative to help seniors complete advanced directives like living wills and designation of health care surrogacy. Stetson Law graduate Casey Stoutamire and local elder law attorney Lee Carr launched the initial Elder Law Clinic in 2008 in churches and community centers across Tampa Bay. Student Shanda Moyers began working on the idea of a Homeless Court. Then this past fall, seeing a need for the same services for the homeless, Kores and Henson worked to integrate the Advanced Directives Clinic into the new project.

“I realized that advanced directives are for everyone, not just seniors,” said Henson. “For the clients we worked with at the clinic, we were able to ensure that their wishes regarding end-of-life decisions would be expressed to health care providers.”

Stetson’s American Bar Association Law Student Division, Christian Legal Society and Public Service Fellows pooled resources to host the Advanced Directives Clinic for the homeless at the January opening of the Homeless Court. According to the St. Petersburg Times, the next court date will be Feb. 27 at the Salvation Army Red Shield Lodge in St. Petersburg.

For more information about Pinellas Project Homeless Connect, please visit http://www.pinellasconnect.org/ and for more information about ASAP Homeless Services, please visit http://www.asaphomeless.org/.

International Cooperation: Protecting Wetlands

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Ramsar Secretary General Anada Tiega signed a memorandum of cooperation with Dean Darby Dickerson Feb. 18. Click for high-resolution image.

On Feb. 18, Stetson University College of Law became the first law school in the world to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the Ramsar Secretariat, assisting the international group that works to protect wetlands.

Stetson Law Dean Darby Dickerson signed a historic agreement with Ramsar Secretary General Anada Tiega on Stetson Law’s Gulfport campus at 1401 61st St. S.

Later in the day, Stetson Law professor Royal Gardner and law students attended a celebration with a Ramsar delegation at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, Fla. Two recent Stetson Law graduates worked with the National Audubon Society on the application for the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary to be designated as a Wetland of International Importance, which was awarded in October 2009 by Ramsar. Wilderness artist Clyde Butcher and a National Audubon Society representative attended the invitation-only celebration in Naples.

An Audubon representative takes the Stetson Law students and Ramsar delegation on a tour of the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples on Feb. 18. Click for high-resolution image.

“We are very proud that our students played an important role in the Ramsar designation of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, one of Florida’s great natural resources,” said Gardner, who directs Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy. “Stetson’s agreement with the Ramsar Secretariat ensures that we can continue to collaborate on projects to protect wetlands throughout the world.”

Stetson has actively participated in Ramsar activities and was the first law school to become a member of the U.S. National Ramsar Committee, an organization that supports wetland conservation efforts. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands has named more than 1,800 wetlands of international importance worldwide, including 29 sites in the U.S. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is the largest remaining stand of virgin bald cypress in North America.

Inaugural Carey & Leisure Torts Book Award

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Students Receive Torts Book Award — (L-R): Haley Meher, Patrick McArdle, Katherine C. Neal JD ’04, Thomas Carey, Christian Leger, Chelsea Harrison, Ming Lin. Click for high-resolution image.

First-year Stetson University College of Law students Chelsea C. Harrison, Christian M. Leger, Ming J. Lin, Patrick S. McArdle and Haley R. Meher received the inaugural Carey & Leisure Torts Book Award on Feb. 5 in St. Petersburg.

The award was created this academic year by the Clearwater law firm of Carey & Leisure, which specializes in plaintiff’s personal injury work. The five student winners, who all started law school at Stetson in fall 2009, were selected for the award based on their outstanding final exam grades in torts, a first-semester law course.

The students also attended a dinner hosted by partners in the law firm. The Carey & Leisure law firm, now in its 25th year, has been a leader in jury verdicts, legislative efforts and charitable endeavors, particularly in the fight against drunk driving, setting the jury verdict record multiple times in Pinellas County. Partner Thomas W. Carey has served as an instructor at Stetson, and partners Jodi Leisure JD/MBA ’99 and Katherine C. Neal JD ’04 serve on the Stetson Lawyers Association Advisory Council. Five of the firm’s six attorneys are Stetson Law graduates.

Stetson Educates Advocates

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Stetson University College of Law is offering a three-day conference for lawyers and educators on “Educating Advocates: Teaching Advocacy Skills” May 26-28 in Gulfport, Fla. Stetson Law is home to the top-ranked advocacy program in the nation.

“This program is an experiential learning opportunity designed to increase the knowledge, skills and effectiveness of anyone teaching advocacy,” said Professor Charles H. Rose III, director of Stetson’s Center for Excellence in Advocacy.

A national faculty of experts from renowned programs will discuss skills education, innovations in advocacy teaching, and communication arts.

Participants will attend break-out sessions to learn more about designing courses with skills components, assessing and critiquing student performance, and writing materials for courses, presentations and publications.

The interactive conference program will engage participants in both learning and applying the Stetson method of teaching advocacy and the art of communication. Conference attendees will have access to Stetson’s online Advocacy Resource Center, publications and other materials.

To register or learn more about the conference, visit http://www.law.stetson.edu/conferences/advocacyskills or call 727-562-7312. The deadline for early registration is April 9.

To learn more about the Advocacy Resource Center, visit http://www.law.stetson.edu/ARC.

Justice Thomas Visits Stetson Law

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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas addresses students at Stetson Law on Feb. 2. Click for high-resolution image.

On Feb. 2., U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visited to talk with a crowd of students gathered in the Great Hall at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Fla.

Justice Thomas talked about the importance of the law and of the courts and then engaged in a lively topical discussion with students.

“It’s a humbling job,” Justice Thomas said of his role on the Supreme Court.

“Do not give up,” he urged the law students gathered to hear him talk on Tuesday morning. He said of his own experience as a law student, “One day, years later, everything clicked.”

(L-R): Justice Clarence Thomas with President Wendy Libby and Dean Darby Dickerson. Click for high-resolution image.

Born in the tiny impoverished town of Pin Point, Ga., Justice Thomas grew up in Savannah, Ga., and ultimately graduated with a law degree from Yale.

From 1981-1982, Justice Thomas served as Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office of Civil Rights in the U.S. Dept. of Education and from 1982-1990, was chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

He served on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals before being nominated to fill a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.

“You have to be honest, conscientious and thorough,” Justice Thomas said of being a good lawyer.

	Watch Video – 1 min: 59 sec

In 2007, My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir, was published about Justice Thomas. The book spans Thomas’s life from early childhood through the present, focusing on his upbringing, struggles against racism, intellectual evolution, self-reliance and conviction, and ultimate confirmation to the Supreme Court. Justice Thomas succeeds Thurgood Marshall as only the second African-American to serve on the high court. His book was number one on the New York Times non-fiction best-seller list.

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Chief Justices Share Wisdom, Elder Law Attorney Honored

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Manager of Media Relations
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State Supreme Court Justices Holder, Hunstein and Quince at Stetson Law's Inns of Court. Click for high-resolution image.

Three female state Supreme Court justices shared their wisdom with Stetson University College of Law students preparing to enter the field of law at the annual Inns of Court Banquet and Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Distinguished Lecture on Jan. 25 in St. Petersburg. Elder law attorney Edwin M. Boyer JD ’77 was presented with this year’s Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Public Service Award.

Chief Justice Janice Holder of the Tennessee Supreme Court, Chief Justice Carol Hunstein JD ’76 of the Supreme Court of Georgia, and Chief Justice Peggy Quince of the Florida Supreme Court addressed a crowd of students and faculty at Stetson’s banquet and lecture. Justice Quince received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Stetson in 1999.

Wm. Reece Smith Jr. with Edwin M. Boyer. Click for high-resolution image.

Each of the justices offered students in the audience career advice. “Don’t let anyone define who you are or what you can or cannot do,” said Justice Holder.Justice Hunstein advised, “Be proud of who you are and what you do. Keep true to yourself.” Each of the justices spoke of the need to provide additional financial support to the judicial branch of the government to help keep pace with the country’s current economic condition.

Boyer, this year’s Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Public Service Award winner, serves on the Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary’s Advisory Council on Adult Protective Services and is a fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Boyer helps educate guardians and caregivers who work with seniors, speaks frequently to community organizations about aging issues, and works to promote public policy protecting our state and nation’s vulnerable aging population.

L-R: Justice Holder, Justice Hunstein, Edwin Boyer, Wm. Reece Smith Jr. and Justice Quince. Click for high-resolution image.

Stetson established the prestigious public service award in 1990 for Wm. Reece Smith Jr., past president of the International, American and Florida Bar Associations and the subject of a new book, A Consummate Lawyer, by Stetson Professor of Law Emeritus Michael I. Swygert. Smith’s relationship with Stetson began in the 1950s, and he has been a distinguished professorial lecturer at the law school since 1991, becoming a member of the Stetson University College of Law Hall of Fame in 2004.

The Annual Inns of Court is an adopted Stetson tradition that brings together prominent lawyers, experienced teachers and law students to exchange ideas, experiences and education. The original Inns of Court has its roots in England.

Wm. Reece Smith Jr.: A Consummate Lawyer

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Professor William Reece Smith Jr. is a distinguished professorial lecturer at Stetson University College of Law. Click for high-resolution image.

A Consummate Lawyer, a new biography by Stetson University College of Law Professor Emeritus Michael Swygert, chronicles the life of legendary Florida lawyer William Reece Smith Jr. from childhood to present-day, describing the character traits and talents needed to be a respected lawyer and community leader along the way.

The book details how Smith, now in his 60th year in the legal profession, continues to be a consummate lawyer, embodying the legal profession’s highest virtues and traditions of service. As former president of numerous organizations including Florida Legal Services Inc., the Hillsborough Bar, Florida Bar, American Bar and International Bar Associations, Smith has worked tirelessly to increase the legal services available to people who cannot afford them.

“By his conspicuous example, he has taught our profession that the practice of law is more than the billable hour, more than a means to wealth –it is a means of gaining great satisfaction is using the privilege we have to practice law to help those in need have access to the legal system,” said Sylvia Hardaway Walbolt, a colleague and attorney at Carlton Fields in Tampa, Fla.

Smith has engaged in both trial and appellate practice throughout his notable career, arguing cases at every level of the state and federal systems, including the U.S. Supreme Court. He has been city attorney of Tampa, chair and trustee of numerous colleges and universities, interim president of the University of South Florida, and board member of countless religious, charitable, civic and professional organizations throughout a lifetime of service to the community and to the legal profession. Smith remains a dedicated advocate and educator today, serving as a distinguished professorial lecturer at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, where he has taught courses for decades. His service to Stetson Law began in the 1950s.

To learn more about or to order A Consummate Lawyer, please visit Carolina Academic Press.