Spring ’23 alumni Sean Caulfield (left) and Samuel Ciulla (right) had two of the highest July 2023 Florida Bar Exam scores.
Like many of his classmates, Spring 2023 Stetson Law graduate Sean Caulfield was in the library nearly seven days a week following commencement.
Though grueling, studying for the July Florida Bar exam got a little easier as the summer went on – especially with support from Stetson Law’s extensive bar prep resources, Professor Ellen Podgor (his bar coach), and Professor Stacey-Rae Simcox (his mentor).
“It was a long and hard process, but as the summer goes on you get into a routine and it becomes a bit more bearable,” Caulfield said.
All that work paid off – and then some. Not only did he pass, but he and classmate Samuel Ciulla were among the top bar exam scorers in the state.
“We are incredibly proud of Samuel and Sean,” said Law Professor Alicia Jackson, Director of Academic Success and Bar Preparation at Stetson Law. “They are a testament to hard work and dedication to their law studies and preparing for the bar exam. Great things are destined for them as we welcome them to the legal profession.”
A rare honor for a job well done
That designation comes with the opportunity to speak at a Florida Bar Association swearing-in ceremony for new members. Caulfield spoke in front of the Florida Supreme Court on behalf of the newly admitted attorneys while Ciulla spoke at Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeals induction ceremony in Tampa.
“It was truly an honor to address my peers at the induction ceremony, as these new attorneys are all incredibly bright individuals who passed one of the hardest exams in the country, so being able to celebrate this momentous occasion with them was certainly rewarding,” Ciulla said.
Caulfield said it was an honor to celebrate the milestone with his peers and his family, who made the trip to Tallahassee for the occasion.
“Everyone who was sworn in that day put in an enormous amount of work over their law school careers to get to that point, and it was an honor to represent Stetson, speak before the justices, and celebrate the accomplishments of his new class of attorneys,” Caulfield said.
Exam day nerves
The day they walked into the exam room in July, both were already accomplished Stetson Law alumni.
Caulfield participated in the Honors Program and Stetson Law Review, graduated with honors, and received Stetson Law’s 2023 Elizabeth M. Leeman Award. Ciulla participated in the Stetson Law Review, graduated with honors, and was Stetson Law’s Spring 2023 valedictorian.
Even so, neither saw passing the bar as a sure thing – let alone being a top scorer.
Caulfield said when he got a phone call regarding his score, he immediately thought there had been a mistake and that his passing score had been rescinded.
“I wanted to hang the phone up right then and there,” he said. “But thankfully I didn’t.”
For Ciulla, who began studying full-time three weeks early so he could take weekends off (thus avoiding burnout), it took a few moments to sink in.
“Getting the call from Chief Judge Daniel Sleet that I achieved one of the higher bar exam scores was unfathomable at the time, but after processing the news, I reflected on all the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice I put in over the summer – it was all worth it,” he said.
Investing in success
College of Law leadership places particular emphasis on equipping students with everything they need to pass the Florida Bar Exam on the first attempt.
Stetson Law Dean D. Benjamin Barros
Stetson Law Dean D. Benjamin Barros, who started in his role in July of 2023, views improving first-time bar exam passage rates as a key priority.
“As an institution, we are committed to doing everything we can to help prepare our graduates for the bar,” Barros said. “At the end of the day, though, passing the bar takes a great deal of diligence from each graduate. We are incredibly proud of Mr. Caulfield, Mr. Ciulla, and all of their peers for doing the hard work necessary to pass the bar.”
Stetson Law had one of the top first-time bar passage rates for the July 2023 exam. This is also not the first time a recent College of Law graduate has achieved one of the highest scores on the exam.
A vibrant reef ecosystem off the coast of Puerto Rico. Photo courtesy of NOAA.
Last week, Stetson’s Jacobs Public Interest Law Clinic for Democracy and the Environment submitted an amicus brief to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals calling on federal officials to halt a project that could be detrimental to a coral reef system off Puerto Rico’s coast.
Filed on behalf of two Ph.D. scientists criticizing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of a dredge project that the scientists fear will harm coral in San Juan Bay, the brief and declaration from Dr. Rachel Silverstein of Miami Waterkeeper documents the federal government’s failure to learn lessons from dredge projects in South Florida that damaged coral.
“The Corps’ failure to learn lessons from the PortMiami dredge is egregious,” said Dr. Rachel Silverstein of Miami Waterkeeper. “In the PortMiami project, dredging likely killed millions of corals and destroyed over 278 acres of reef. Now, the Corps is once again failing to protect corals in Puerto Rico. With devastating coral losses incurred in recent years, it’s an absolute imperative to prevent more damage to corals in San Juan.”
An ecosystem in peril
The proposed project coincides with catastrophic events like coral bleaching, brought on by pollution and a warming climate. The importance of protecting vibrant coral reef ecosystems like that which lies off San Juan Bay goes beyond the intrinsic value of good environmental stewardship. This complex, enchanting seascape is critical to the island’s economy through sustaining countless aquatic species.
“We are hopeful that the information we’re submitting to the court will help it understand just how wrong the federal government is on this one,” said Professor Jaclyn Lopez, the director of Stetson’s Jacobs Law Clinic. “These coral are already under so much strain from climate change, we should be doing all we can to protect them from easily preventable harm.”
The scientists brought the amicus brief with community-based environmental groups in Puerto Rico who oppose the project. Those groups are represented by the Vermont Law’s Environmental Justice Clinic.
For the fourth consecutive year, Stetson University College of Law has won INSIGHT Into Diversity‘s Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award, a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.
The 2023 HEED Award recognizes Stetson University as a whole for its diversity initiatives as well as those specific to Stetson Law. This is the first time Stetson University, which is headquartered in DeLand, Florida, has won this award.
A Civil Rights and the Constitution travel course is an immersive experience at Stetson Law.
The winners, announced Oct. 11, underwent a rigorous application process that examined recruitment and retention of students and employees at their institution, as well as supportive leadership for diversity in campus culture.
“Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being done every day across their campus,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.
Years of fostering diversity & inclusion
Stetson Law was recognized for co-founding and co-leading the St. Petersburg Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Center in partnership with Eckerd College, the only entity of its kind in Florida. Stetson Law continues to reinvest in the effort by sharing expertise and resources beyond its Gulfport campus, exploring ways to bring communities together, and training lawyers and future leaders to be part of the work.
Law Professor Judith Scully speaks to students who completed the 2023 Youth Civic Engagement Program.
“The TRHT Center’s ultimate goal is to build the bridges necessary to connect our college campuses to community activists, government officials, and other individuals who are working on making our communities stronger, healthier, and more equitable,” said Law Professor Judith Scully, who led efforts to establish the program. “To be involved in organizing around racial healing and transformation at this moment in time in Florida is a challenging opportunity that the St. Pete TRHT Center is perfectly poised to meet.”
Stetson Law Professor Jaclyn Lopez, Director of the Jacobs Law Clinic
Stetson Law has received the HEED Award every year since 2020 for a range of diversity-related initiatives, including an enlightening Civil Rights & the Law travel course and integrating the role of race in the legal system into course materials for required Criminal Law and Legal Writing & Research courses. This year, it received an honorable mention for creating the Dick & Joan Jacobs Public Interest Law Clinic for Democracy and the Environment.
“The Jacobs Law Clinic prioritizes ensuring our next generation of lawyers has practical opportunities to develop leadership skills like empathy and cultural humility,” said Law Professor Jaclyn Lopez, director of the Jacobs Clinic. “Our law students represent diverse clients with challenging legal issues and leave the clinic prepared to bring change to their communities.”
A unique & welcoming environment
Stetson was one of 108 colleges and universities across America selected for the award, joining Columbia University, Cornell, Johns Hopkins and UC Berkeley. Each school will be featured in the November / December issue of the magazine.
Dean Benjamin Barros commends students who took part in the 2023 Youth Civic Engagement Program.
“Cultivating a law school environment that is welcoming to all is a critical part of our efforts to equip our students to advocate for a more just future,” said College of Law Dean D. Benjamin Barros. “It is an honor to be recognized for the investment – of time, energy, and dollars – in meaningful diversity initiatives. Winning our fourth HEED Award in a row speaks to the wonderfully vibrant community of faculty members, staff, students, and alumni we have at Stetson Law.”
“We are elated to receive the HEED Award, which is a wonderful affirmation of our efforts throughout the university to provide an academic and professional experience that is personable and authentic for community members of all backgrounds and identities,” said Carmen Johnson, JD, Stetson’s Executive Officer for Diversity, Collaboration, and Inclusion and a Stetson Law alumna.
Carmen Johnson, Stetson University’s Executive Officer for Diversity, Collaboration, and Inclusion.
“Stetson provides such a unique and welcoming environment, and this is the result of dedicated administrative, academic, and student leadership throughout our campuses. We celebrate our community and this ongoing work and consider the HEED Award as welcomed motivation to keep going and to keep innovating,” Johnson added.
Progress on the main campus
The publication praised Stetson University for its notable investment in a new Cross-Cultural Center on the DeLand campus for underrepresented students and multicultural student groups. At a time when some colleges are facing challenges in investing in diversity and inclusion programs, Stetson renovated a historic home to create this unique, welcoming space.
“This is an incredible honor for Stetson to receive the national HEED Award and for our College of Law to receive it for the fourth consecutive year,” said Stetson President Christopher F. Roellke, PhD. “It is a reflection of the deep commitment and dedicated work of our students, faculty and staff to create inclusive and vibrant campuses that promote a sense of belonging for all our students.”
The DeLand campus also was recognized for its “Be Seen” marketing campaign that amplifies concepts of student belonging and students’ need to be their authentic selves as well as efforts on the DeLand campus to support first-generation college students, who made up a quarter of the student body in the Spring 2023 semester.
Stetson Law’s Fall 2023 fountain restoration project.
With help from a Historic Preservation Grant, Stetson Law is in the process of restoring three ornate fountains crafted over a century ago and installed in the Plaza Mayor and the Granary Tower.
Guided by National Park Service Preservation Briefs and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, the process involves, cleaning, documenting, removing, restoring, and re-installing the ornate tiles that constitute the fountains. In the event a tile cannot be preserved, contractor Mizner Industries will replicate it with utmost precision.
The project will also include replacing aging hardware beneath the fountains.
Fountains of Historic Significance
Stetson Law’s beloved “wishing well” fountain was also restored in Fall of 2023.
Designed in the Mediterranean Revival style by architect Richard Kiehnel, the Stetson Law campus was constructed by the George A. Fuller Company of New York City, which also built Manhattan’s Flatiron Building and the Lincoln Memorial.
Prior to serving as the main Stetson Law campus, it was the site of the Florida Military Academy from 1932 to 1951 and the grand Rolyat Hotel prior to that.
Significant people associated with property include sports legends Walter Hagen and “Babe” Ruth; producer Sam Spiegel and actor George Peppard; Florida State Supreme Court Justice and Stetson Law Dean Harold Sebring; William Reece Smith, Jr.; and presidents of three Florida collegiate institutions: Doak Campbell (Florida State University), J. Ollie Edmunds (Stetson), and Hamilton Holt (Rollins).
A beneficial endeavor
The project will initially create about 20 jobs and spur economic development through heritage tourism.
The fountain in Granary Tower, which was restored in 2023, in a photo taken in 1927.
Restoring them to a fully functioning state will enhance the sense of place on campus, which is often cited among the reasons prospective students choose Stetson Law – and is the reason so many choose Stetson Law as a venue for weddings and other milestone events.
The value extends to our classrooms. In Land Use Law courses, faculty discuss the growing importance of historic preservation laws. Like Stetson Law – which was the site of events such as a famous contract signing between Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees during its days as a luxury hotel, many of Florida’s historic structures were built in the 1920s.
The campus, fountains and all, is a striking example of adaptive re-use of old buildings.
When the project is complete, they will add to the beautiful, relaxing atmosphere on the Stetson Law Gulfport campus.
The latest of multiple restorations
The current projects aren’t the first fountain restorations to take place. In 2020, it all began with the fountain in center of the Plaza Mayor courtyard. This seven-month endeavor, an official historic restoration, was no small task.
After months of work, the fountain in the heart of Plaza Mayor was restored to its full glory in 2021.
The images in each quadrant of the fountain were cut out, tiles removed from slab, cleaned, and restored. Other tiles could not to salvaged, so, bisque was imported from Italy and hand painted to match the original tile, baked, and then waterproofed. All the painting was done by the same woman, meaning no two tiles are exactly alike, just as was true of the originals. RLA Conservation of Art & Architecture in Miami, Fla., a state certified tile restoration company, oversaw the work.
The result?
A fully functioning, delightfully ornate centerpiece for all to enjoy.
Clay Henderson is a celebrated environmental advocate who writes extensively about protecting Florida’s wild lands.
In keeping with its tradition of bringing Florida’s best-known environmentalists to campus for enlightening conversations, the first Foreman Biodiversity Lecture of the Fall 2023 semester featured pioneering environmental lawyer Clay Henderson.
On the heels of his 2022 book, Forces of Nature: A History of Florida Land Conservation, Henderson has been touring the state to talk about a cause about which he is most passionate: public policy’s critical role in protecting Florida’s vulnerable natural ecosystems.
Over the decades, Henderson has held various influential positions. He served on the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, the Florida Community Trust, and the Volusia County Council, on which he was elected to serve two terms. An early advocate for land conservation, he has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Nature Conservancy’s National Public Service Award and the Marine Resources Council Florida Trust’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Thinking differently about environmental regulation
Henderson said he considers the genesis of modern environmental regulation in Florida to be the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1971. Advocating for policies that were effective in protecting critical natural lands from overdevelopment – ones developers could not easily outmaneuver – required a lot of trial and error – and a lot of improvisation, he said.
Florida’s critical wetlands cover millions of acres throughout the state.
“We didn’t know what we were doing,” Henderson said of the early years. “We had to make up the rules, make up the procedures, however we were going to do it. So, when the state started embarking on these larger, billion-dollar efforts, (it was) the same thing, we kind of had to make it up along the way.”
One innovative approach that proved effective was using public funds to buy up private land that would be preserved and protected in perpetuity.
“What was critical at the very beginning of Florida’s environmental movement was this recognition… that, if you’re going to regulate people, the concern was that you’re going to take their property,” Henderson said. “Therefore, we needed to have some funds available – so if you really want to conserve that person’s land, you don’t take it, you buy it.”
Inspired by history
For more than a century, advocates for protecting Florida’s natural spaces and the wildlife that inhabits them have included prominent lawyers, writers, and even a president – something Henderson’s book thoughtfully examines.
Among the earliest champions for Florida’s wildlife and their habitat was President Theodore Roosevelt, who, prior to the Spanish-American War (and thus his presidency) visited the Sunshine State as a birder. He was reportedly devastated upon seeing mounds and mounds of dead birds on Florida’s docks being prepared for shipment to New York, where their feathers would be turned into ladies’ hats.
It is estimated that as much as 95 percent of Florida’s wading birds were killed for this purpose at the time, Henderson said.
Years later, as president, Roosevelt signed 10 executive orders conserving over one million acres in Florida, starting with Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge.
At the state level, Florida established its first park, Royal Park Hammock State Park, in 1915; it is now part of Everglades National Park.
Another famous advocate, Marjorie Harris Carr, fought against construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal – a centuries-old idea for bisecting the state via an artificial east-to-west canal, which critics derided as a boondoggle that would be detrimental to surrounding ecosystems. The project was ultimately abandoned and its intended area became the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway.
Henderson offered a litany of more recent examples of meaningful land protections in Florida, including Amendment 1 (supported land-acquisition supported by the document stamp tax, which voters overwhelmingly passed in 2014), the successful completion of the Florida Wildlife Corridor, and the popular Florida Forever program.
Deep Stetson ties
Law Professor Royal Gardner
Though his work sees national recognition, Henderson has long been a member of the Stetson community.
Law Professor Royal Gardner, director of Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy, said he hopes stories like Henderson’s will inspire nascent legal professionals to consider running for office.
“Government service is so important, and we need good people to run for office. So, follow his example, please,” Gardner said. “Think about that. It’s a hard ask, but we need good people running for office.”
It is no secret that Stetson Law is home to a pioneering elder law program that invites students to be a part of a growing area of practice through a certificate of concentration, an LL.M., and pro bono opportunities.
The Center for Elder Justice (formerly the Center for Excellence in Elder Law) is so highly regarded that the annual event it organizes and hosts, the National Conference on Special Needs Planning and Special Needs Trusts (SNT) is poised to celebrate 25 years of inspiring community and collaboration among professionals in the elder and special needs spaces. Taking place every year in the beautiful Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, Autograph Collection in downtown St. Petersburg, it is an event that leaders in the field look forward to every October. (See the SNT 2022 recap.)
Stetson Law’s 24th Annual National Conference on Special Needs Planning and Special Needs Trusts at the Vinoy Resort in downtown St. Petersburg
Stetson Law Professor Rebecca Morgan, Director of the M.J. in Healthcare Compliance law, said she owes the event’s success to a fellow pioneer in the field.
Professor Rebecca Morgan, director of the Center for Excellence in Elder Justice, speaks at SNT in 2015.
“Twenty-six years ago, a friend and leading elder law attorney, Julie Osterhout told me Stetson needed to offer a conference on Special Needs Trusts,” Morgan said. “Twenty-five years later, I’m still grateful for Julie’s suggestion.”
Morgan ran the event for its first 20 years; Law Professor and Director of Stetson Law’s Center for Elder Justice Roberta Flowers took the reins in year 21.
Law Professor Roberta Flowers, Director of the Center for Excellence in Elder Justice
A national professional gathering
Over the decades, SNT has become a premier national event drawing prominent speakers from law firms, academia, government, nonprofits, and beyond – all of whom share their unique insights on special needs trusts and how they are created, planned, administered, and monitored.
Topics range from detailed examinations of changes to federal regulations to managing the rigors of a career that often involves trauma and grief.
As always, dozens of sponsors and vendors line the hall outside of the meeting rooms, and networking over happy hour creates meaningful connections and memories that inspire attendees to return year after year.
What to expect at SNT 2023
Attendees will be wowed by the newly renovated Vinoy Resort (last year’s attendees may recall some construction), which offers new restaurants, a glamorously revamped pool terrace, a new spa, and much more.
Ret. Maj. Gen. Michael Astrue (L) speaks on Social Security Disability at the 2013 Special Needs Trusts-The National Conference.
More excitement awaits inside the ballrooms and breakout spaces.
Stetson’s Special Needs Trusts Conference brought hundreds to the Vinoy.
The National Conference programming begins Thursday, October 19. Presentations include a discussion about confronting ablism and ageism with Dr. Tracey Gendron; one exploring the effects of artificial intelligence on trust planning and special needs trusts with Stetson Bruce R. Jacob Visiting Professor of Law Mason Clark and Janet Lowder; and another navigating potential conflicts of interest with Slade Dukes, Will Lucius, Bridget Swartz, and moderator Stuart Zimring.
Dick Jacobs ’67 looks for the perfect shot in Namibia.
The Stetson Law community mourns the passing of alumnus Richard O. “Dick” Jacobs ’67, a champion of the College of Law – and the legal profession itself – whose legacy will not be forgotten.
Driven to succeed and inspire others in his work, Jacobs was generous with his time and support of initiatives that proved transformative at Stetson Law. As a Stetson Law Board of Overseers member, he helped with the land-planning process for the Dolly & Homer Hand Law Library.
“Dick was truly exceptional. He cared deeply about our country and the world that we are leaving for future generations,” said Law Professor Royal Gardner, who is co-director of the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy. “His drive, enthusiasm, and energy to fight for democracy and the environment – into his nineties – was inspiring.”
“Many of our students are here because they want to make a difference. It’s a noble but often challenging path,” said Law Professor Lance Long. “Through helping create opportunities for students to use their legal education to work for a better future, Dick has inspired them to put their passion to work within organizations that advocate on critical environmental and social causes. The future is brighter because of Dick and Joan Jacobs.”
An early love of nature and adventure
Born in Wisconsin in 1931, Jacobs’ upbringing was filled with adventure, conquering adversity, and seeing dreams come true.
When he was eight years old, his mother hung a sign from his neck and put him on a train alone to visit his grandfather in Montana, where he encountered the Blackfoot tribe and fished in the Yellowstone River.
Dick & Joan Jacobs in 2020
Jacobs attended the University of Wisconsin, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in January 1954, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. While a student manager of the snack bar at the university, the Rathskeller, he met his wife-to-be, Joanie Swanson. The two were together ever since and married for 70 years. Dick says she raised not only their two children, but him as well – and credits her with helping him realize his dream of going to law school.
After graduation, Jacobs joined the military before building a highly successful career in the life insurance industry. Despite much success and recognition, law school called.
Coming to Stetson Law
Though he was 33, married with two children, and paying a mortgage, Joan insisted he pursue his dream of becoming a lawyer. He enrolled at Stetson Law – and graduated magna cum laude in 1967, the first in his class, and earning the top score on the Florida Bar Exam.
Jacobs’ early legal career leveraged his insurance business acumen. He worked with Florida Governor Lawton Chiles, then a young lawyer and a member of the Florida Legislature, on a law allowing professionals to incorporate and have retirement plans, which the IRS did not permit at to the time. Dick’s early legal career was as a tax attorney, specializing in organizing professionals’ corporations and retirement plans. He co-founded a law firm that grew to about 100 lawyers, with offices in Tampa, St. Pete and Clearwater, and a satellite office in London. He was Chair of the Tax Section of The Florida Bar.
Facing setbacks, sharing lessons
Dick Jacobs ’67 earned acclaim for a book he wrote on lessons learned from failure.
In the late 1970s, he joined with clients to form Park Bank of Florida. It went public and quickly grew to comprise eight offices and hundreds of employees. When it began to flounder, Dick took a leave of absence from his law firm to help save the bank – but to no avail. In 1986, the bank failed.
Though a crushing blow to him professionally and personally, Jacobs came to see the period as the biggest learning experience of his life, one that made him a stronger lawyer – so much so that it inspired his book Crash Landing: How to Survive a Business Crisis. From the ashes of the experience rose a new passion for life outside the office. At 55 years old, he had a chance to reinvent himself through channeling his energy into passion projects such as venture travel and environmental conservation efforts.
“Wet hands, dirty feet”
His travels began with a trek through the Serengeti with Joan. They carried their own backpacks and slept in tents – a rustic departure from the luxe trappings of travel during his big-law days.
Jacobs would later refer to these adventures as “dirty hands, wet feet” experiences offering profound insights into how other populations live. After trekking all seven continents, he developed a deep appreciation for and understanding of our connectivity with – and responsibility to care for – the Earth.
His 2015 book Wonderlust featured his photography and lessons learned from crisscrossing the globe. He gifted proceeds from the project to charity. He closed Wonderlust with a challenge: that we take responsibility for the wellbeing of the Earth and each other. It led him to call Our Children’s Trust, a public interest law firm that provides legal services helping youth secure legal rights to a sustainable future. He was instrumental in that organization’s 2018 lawsuit on behalf of eight youth plaintiffs arguing the state of Florida is violating their constitutional rights to a healthy environment.
Reconnecting with his alma mater
Through his work on that suit, he began collaborating with Stetson Law Professor Lance Long on a number of meaningful initiatives aimed at inspiring pursuit of careers in environmental law. In 2016, he and Joan created the Dick and Joan Jacobs’ Environmental Law Externship Fund to provide financial assistance for students enrolled in the Environmental Law concentration to pursue experiential opportunities – the dirty hands, wet feet experiences he deemed essential for good lawyering.
Staying involved: Dick Jacobs delivers the Foreman Biodiversity Lecture in 2018. Photo by Sy-Woei Hao.
In 2020, Jacobs helped launch The Stetson Environmental Tax Policy Writing Competition: Tax Policy Solutions to Address Sea Level Rise. He believed Stetson Law students could develop innovative tax law policies to fund solutions for sea-level rise – a pressing issue for Florida.
Back into practice
Amid his travel and philanthropy, Jacobs returned to practicing law with Holland & Knight in St. Petersburg, then Trenam Kemker, focusing on health care law. He was editor and prime author of Health Care Law – Mergers and Acquisitions of Physician Practices, a 1,000-page treatise that was core to his new practice. He was named to Best Lawyers in America, as well as a Florida Super Lawyer, in health care law.
In 2011, Jacobs went Of Counsel at Trenam Kemker at the age of 80 before retiring in 2013. At the retirement ceremony, Dick’s son dubbed him a “doer if I ever saw one” who “redefined the word ‘Now.’” Characteristically, Dick’s retirement lasted only two years. In 2015, he reunited with several attorneys from his original firm at Johnson Pope Bokor Ruppel & Burns, LLP, where he remained on staff for several years as Senior Counsel.
His vision for Stetson Law endures with the Dick and Joan Jacobs Clinic for Democracy and the Environment, which gives students opportunities to work on environmental policy and other valuable hands-on experiences.
“The kids have got to become the difference makers,” Dick said of the initiative at the time of its launching. “We just can’t keep repeating the past. That’s why you go to law school – to be a difference maker.”
Those who have worked with him say his legacy will live on through the students whose work he inspired and supported.
“Dick was a force of nature. From his ‘dirty hands, wet feet’ philosophy, to the sense of urgency he brought to all his projects, aspiring lawyers should seek inspiration from his life and deeds,” said Law Professor Jaclyn Lopez. “Dick created opportunities for Stetson’s students to channel their passion into meaningful work and through the creation of the Jacobs Law Clinic, helped ensure that the important work of environmental conservation and the preservation of democracy itself – will endure. We mourn his loss and share our deepest sympathies with his family and close friends, but are energized by and committed to honoring his legacy.”
A rare ghost orchid blooming in Big Cypress National Preserve
Delicate, elusive, and visually striking, the ghost orchid lives deep within southwest Florida’s wetlands.
A rare white flower with two delicate tendrils descending from its center, it draws photographers and nature enthusiasts to trek for hours through dense swampland just for a chance to see it. It’s also on the brink of extinction as habitat destruction, poaching, hurricanes, and other occurrences threaten its habitat in places like Big Cypress National Preserve and Fakahatchee Strand State Park.
With Stetson Law’s Jacobs Law Clinic for Democracy and the Environment as their advocate, environmental groups hope to change that.
Stetson Law Professor Jaclyn Lopez
Environmental conservationists have long been calling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to extend Endangered Species Act protection to the ghost orchid, but they say the agency has been unlawfully delaying that decision. Listing the ghost orchid as endangered would make it easier to hold accountable those who seek to harm the ghost orchid or its habitat.
That is why the Institute for Regional Conservation, Center for Biological Diversity, and the National Parks Conservation Association are demanding immediate action, and why the Jacobs Law Clinic has filed suit on their behalf.
The case was filed September 13 in the U.S. District Court in Southern Florida.
“It is an honor that this coalition of powerful environmental conservation organizations has entrusted the Jacobs Law Clinic with the critical work of advocating for meaningful policy that will protect this iconic flower for future generations,” said Law Professor Jaclyn Lopez, Director of the Jacobs Law Clinic. “Moreover, we are thrilled that we can give our students the chance to channel their passion into such an important cause.”
A unique learning opportunity
With its robust and extensive Clinics and Externships program, Stetson Law is committed to experiential education to ensure students can connect their studies with real-world matters.
For student Stefanie Stockwell, who has spent extensive time diving into the intricate world of environmental litigation, applying her learnings in a manner that may benefit the ghost orchid has been incredibly rewarding.
“The work in preparation for litigation is arduous, marked by countless hours of research, collaboration among passionate organizations and their members, and navigating the procedural matters of the legal system,” Stockwell said. “However, what truly sets this experience apart is the profound love and dedication that everyone involved has for the ghost orchid.”
She added that there’s a greater meaning to this work. “The commitment to this cause goes beyond legal arguments; it’s a heartfelt dedication to the orchid and the ecosystems it inhabits,” Stockwell said. “Through this work, I’ve not only gained a deeper understanding of environmental law, but also witnessed firsthand the unwavering determination of individuals who recognize the importance of protecting and preserving the planet’s treasures.”
A network of passionate advocates
Alumna Elise Bennett ’13
When it comes to the fight to protect the ghost orchid and its habitat, the Stetson Law ties run deep.
Alumna Elise Bennett ’13 is Florida and Caribbean Director at the Center for Biological Diversity. She said it has been a joy to see students from her alma mater sharpen their legal skills while working on unique and meaningful case.
“Stetson’s Jacobs Law Clinic has given these students a rare opportunity with this case—not only to learn through engaging directly in public interest environmental law work, but also to do the honorable work of defending this incredibly rare flower’s very existence,” said Bennett, who as a law student was invited by Professor Lopez to clerk at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These students will graduate knowing they played an important part in the work to stem the extinction crisis.”
Classes and events are cancelled Thursday, August 31 and Friday, Sept. 1. The Office of the Associate Dean [email protected] will be providing class updates soon.
The Gulfport and Tampa campuses will reopen tomorrow morning, Thursday, August 31.
Dorm residents may return tonight, Wednesday, August 30, starting at 6:00 p.m. The Office of Residential Housing [email protected] will be in touch.
We are thinking of our community and hopeful you and your loved ones are safe and secure from the aftereffects of Hurricane Idalia.
The Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award Trust has chosen Law Professor Judith Scully as one of eight recipients of its prestigious Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award.
Each year, the award aims to honor a teacher or professor who has inspired former students to “create an organization which has demonstrably conferred a benefit on the community at large” or established “on a lasting basis a concept, procedure or movement of comparable benefit to the community at large.”
As founder and co-director of Stetson Law’s Social Justice Advocacy Concentration and a champion of Stetson Law’s robust, pioneering pro bono program, Scully works tirelessly to help turn students’ passion into actionable initiatives capable of creating transformative outcomes. This includes having led the Stetson Law Innocence Initiative and co-chairing the St. Petersburg Higher Education for Racial Equality (SPHERE) Consortium.
Mentee honors mentor
Educators who are honored with this award must be nominated by a former student whose work they inspired.
In Scully’s case, Alumna Taylor Sartor, a graduate of Stetson Law’s Social Justice Advocacy Concentration, nominated her. It was Scully’s guidance in helping her develop and establish what ultimately became FosterPower, a digital platform that empowers youth in the foster care system to advocate for themselves, that compelled Sartor to nominate her.
The platform, which launched in June of 2023, grew out of a know-your-rights guide offering information and resources to youth in the foster system, which Sartor worked on under Scully’s mentorship.
“Professor Scully has inspired so many students to go on and do impactful work with our law degrees, and I am grateful she gave me the tools to be the social justice attorney I am today,” Sartor said. “Professor Scully planted the seed during my time in law school, and in years to come my vision of kids knowing their rights bloomed into a movement that has given youth across the state of Florida access to vital information on their rights.”
FosterPower was designed to be an easy-to-access resource for youth in the foster care system.
To the Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award Advisory Committee, Scully’s guidance on the project reflects the purpose of the award.
In addition to being honored at an October 14, 2023 ceremony in Atlanta, Scully will receive a $25,000 award.
Spotlighting transformative work
Scully said she is profoundly thankful to Sartor for taking the time to nominate her, and that she hopes it will help spread awareness of the Social Justice Advocacy program and the important work of program graduates like Sartor.
“I am deeply honored to be named as an awardee particularly because of the spotlight we can place on both our SJA program and the work that Taylor began several years ago as a student in our program,” Scully said.
The Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award honors Hurlock Beckman’s contributions to the field of psychology. It was established by her daughter, Gail McKnight Beckman in 2008. Though the committee has given the award to more than 20 educators in some years, in 2023, just eight educators received the award, Scully among them.
Director of Admissions Darren Kettles and Assistant Dean for Strategic Enrollment Karla O. Davis Jamison take a selfie in front of the incoming 2023 1Ls
Reflecting a focus on professional development as well as the sense of community on campus, Stetson Law’s brand new orientation format introduced Fall 2023 1Ls to life in law school and beyond.
The dynamic, four-day program invited students to immerse themselves in the fundamentals of both law school and the legal profession itself in preparation for the first day of classes. With smaller groups, interactive sessions, and opportunities to interact with professors, key staff members, and classmates, the new format offered incoming students a holistic experience to equip them for the rigors of law school.
“We really wanted to show incoming students that, while law school is very challenging, there is an entire community here that is committed to helping them succeed – and is passionate about doing so,” said Associate Dean for Assessment and Professional Engagement Anne Mullins. “This year’s Orientation is the result of the very hard work of a large team of people from every campus space, including faculty, staff, and our upper-level students.”
The format
Each student was assigned to one of eight Stetson “Inns” consisting of about 40 1L students, 10 upper-level students serving as “Readers,” and one faculty member serving as their “Bencher.”
The Readers, all members of the Stetson Law Ambassadors, served in a structured mentoring capacity. The Benchers offered leadership, guidance, and support during orientation – and will continue to do so throughout the year. Full-time students arrived on campus each afternoon for refreshments before joining their Inns for a day of compelling programming. In the late afternoon, their part-time counterparts arrived for dinner with their Inns, after which they participated in programming designed with the part-time experience in mind.
Before Day One
Students got to experience the legal profession before even coming to campus.
They completed the Lawyering Fundamentals course online. Associate Professor of Law and Director of Academic Success and Bar Prep Alicia Jackson suggested the BarBri-designed course; Professor Brooke Bowman served as the on-campus professor. The interactive course gave students over 40 hours of experience reading and briefing cases as well as other work they can expect to do in law school and beyond. Assistant Professor Grant Christensen, who meets individually with each of his Civil Procedure students before the semester begins, said the course was “the talk of the 1L class.”
Then, the Inns were divided into smaller groups called “Tables,” and with a dedicated Reader serving as a mentor. The Tables met to talk about what they expect of each other.
The day closed with an hour spent identifying, prioritizing, and reflecting on their values as they enter law school, and visualizing how they plan to live those values in the coming months.
Day 2: Briefing on life as a 1L
Each section met Dean Benjamin Barros, who talked about what to expect of one another as a learning community, especially when encountering controversial topics. Associate Dean Jason Palmer and other professors then spoke about the 1L academic experience, and Bowman debriefed them on Lawyering Fundamentals.
Over dinner, Readers led conversations about timely topics from generative AI and its impact on the profession to popular culture depictions of lawyers and their work.
Day 3: Exploring, bias, resilience, & more
The third day of orientation was an introduction to the core values of the profession.
Students watched an ABA Chair Chat with Sarah Redfield, author of Extending Justice: Strategies to Increase Inclusion and Reduce Bias. It was their first opportunity to explore issues of cultural competence, inclusion, and implicit bias in their role as law students.
They then had an in-depth look at cultural competence with Dean Palmer, explored the philosophy of law with Dr. Tim Kaye, and took part in a conversation about the skills of self-assessment, adaptability, and resilience with alumna Ashley Ward Singleton and Assistant Dean for Career and Professional Development Cathy Martin.
Days 4 & 5: Celebrating a new beginning
Full time students began the day reflecting on what they’re nervous about in law school – and many found that they are not alone – before identifying something they’re looking forward to doing this semester and making a commitment to follow through and do that thing for themselves.
They also explored ethical and cultural challenges they might face in law school and how to resolve them, had a lesson in networking, and took an oath of professionalism inspired by the oath that Florida lawyers take.
A reception welcoming them and celebrating the students’ entry into the profession followed.
Shorter programming on the fifth and final day of orientation included a tour of the Dolly & Homer Hand Law Library and meetings to plan a volunteer service opportunity.
A Stetson “Double-Hatter” (someone who holds a B.A. from Stetson University and a J.D. from Stetson Law) now leads the Florida Bar Foundation, a nonprofit that fosters access to justice for those of limited means.
Murray Silverstein B.A. ’80, J.D. ‘82, took office as president of the foundation on July 1, 2023, and will lead the organization in its efforts to fund legal services, develop innovative tools and programs, and support providers of legal aid as well as the courts through pro bono initiatives and other projects. Through its support of Florida organizations that provide legal services, the 501(c)(3) has recently helped find permanent homes for children in Florida’s foster system, helped hundreds of Central Florida residents remain in their homes, and assisted organizations that advocate for children with disabilities.
Silverstein is partner in a national law firm, Stinson LLP Silverstein, which recently opened the Tampa office where he works. His practice areas include intellectual property, trade secrets, unfair competition, health care litigation, contract claims, and restrictive covenants.
Bettering the legal system & profession
His extensive involvement with the Florida Bar Foundation and other legal professional organizations includes eight years of service on the Florida Bar Board of Governors, which regulates over 110,000 members of the Florida Bar Association, as well as service on multiple Florida Bar committees.
Silverstein also chaired the Florida Bar Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration Committee.
Outside of his Florida Bar-related activity, he served and led committees of the Florida Courts Technology Commission, which advised the Florida Supreme Court on how to improve technology in the state’s courthouses. Silverstein was also past president and on the board St. Petersburg’s Community Law Program, which provides free civil legal aid services to eligible individuals and nonprofits throughout Pinellas County.
In 2006, Stetson Law honored him with that year’s William Reece Smith Jr. Public Service Award. Other honors he earned include The Florida Bar President’s Award of Merit in 2010 and The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award in 2011.
A Florida Bar Foundation Fellow, Silverstein is also a member of its Silver Lifetime Giving Society.
A legacy of alumni leaders
Stetson Law alumni have a longstanding tradition of leading organizations that aim to improve the legal system and the legal profession itself.
Another Double Hatter, Gregory Coleman B.B.A. ‘85, J.D. ’89, is past president of the Florida Bar Association (2014-2015), a role that was the culmination of decades of service on local and state bar organizations and committees and other organizations. He was inducted in the Stetson Law Hall of Fame in 2022 and serves on the Stetson University Board of Trustees.
In June, alumna Anisha Patel ’15 was sworn in as president of the Florida Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.
