The 2023 Educating Advocacy Teachers Conference brough over 100 attendees to Stetson Law.
More than 100 professors, program directors, and coaches from across the country gathered at Stetson Law for the annual Educating Advocacy Teachers (EATS) Conference June 12-14 to collaborate and discuss important issues related to teaching advocacy.
One of Stetson Law’s most important events on the national trial advocacy stage, EATS invited attendees to explore the art of advocacy through a variety of lenses, from pop culture to breakthrough technology. Education professionals passionate about advocacy were invited to talk trade in a collegial setting, with sessions ranging from conversational keynotes to insightful breakout sessions.
Law Professor Elizabeth Boals at the 2023 Educating Advocacy Teachers Conference.
“EATS is all about collaboration and this year’s conference not only brought together many experienced advocacy educators, but also dozens of new advocacy teachers from both established and developing programs all across the country,” said Law Professor Elizabeth Boals, Director of Stetson Law’s Center for Excellence in Advocacy.
From AI to Lessons from Lasso
The event kicked off with a tour of the new Stetson Advocacy Institute, an innovative facility scheduled to open in the fall.
Conference topics included the forthcoming advocacy component of the Nex-Gen Bar Exam; developments in artificial intelligence and their impact how advocacy is taught; utilizing new technology tools to explain and present evidence; model competition rules; effective storytelling and skill-building exercises; and extracurricular and development initiatives. A beloved TV show was even the focus at one point.
University of Texas School of Law Advocacy Center Director Mike Golden gives a keynote address during the 2023 Educating Advocacy Teachers Conference.
During a lunchtime keynote, advocacy skills were explored through key moments from Ted Lasso, a series in which the namesake character’s unflappable optimism collides with a flailing U.K. soccer team. The speaker, University of Texas School of Law Lecturer and Director of Advocacy Mike Golden, used clips from the show to emphasize the importance of shaking off a loss, curiosity over judgment, and being oneself.
While winning competitions is thrilling, he concluded, advocacy coaches and teachers should always be focused on helping students build on their skills.
“Why we do this is not for wins and losses – it’s to make these folks be the best versions of themselves,” he said.
The perfect place to talk shop
Each year, EATS brings the national advocacy community together at a venue famous for its leadership in advocacy. Stetson Law has ranked No. 1 in advocacy by U.S. News and World Report numerous times, including in its most recent rankings cycle.
Welcoming attendees to the 2023 Educating Advocacy Teachers Conference.
Stetson’s advocacy competition teams have won countless awards at the state, regional, national, and international levels, and Stetson annually hosts important tournaments like the National Pretrial Competition and the International Environmental Moot Court Competition. It’s an ideal setting to welcome the tightknit advocacy community to discuss and collaborate on the work about which they are so passionate.
A breakout session during the 2023 Educating Advocacy Teachers Conference.
“Through panel presentations, group discussions, and enthusiastic debates, the conference attendees were able to explore and learn new ways to best teach their students the art of advocacy,” Boals said. “The future of advocacy education is bright, and we are already looking forward to next year!”
FosterPower was designed to be an easy-to-access resource for youth in the foster care system.
What started as a student’s idea for a local print guide to key resources for local youth in foster care has evolved into a multimedia platform available to anyone in the nation currently in the foster system.
As a student within Stetson Law’s Social Justice Advocacy (SJA) Concentration, Taylor Sartor (formerly Greenberg) had an idea she hoped could eventually help empower children in the foster care system. It was a “know-your-rights” guide to help them access mental healthcare, education opportunities, and legal information.
Now an attorney with Bay Area Legal Services, Sartor said she was inspired after feeling helpless watching the needs of local underprivileged youth being overlooked by an overburdened child welfare system. Realizing she was required to complete a Directed Research Project to receive her SJA Certificate of Concentration, Sartor thought carefully about what she could do that would fulfill the project criteria while having an impact.
“I was, at the time, a guardian ad litem volunteer for two teenagers in foster care, and I was frustrated about how I could not easily find information on their rights or on things they were entitled to receive while in foster care without doing a deep dive into the law,” she said. “After some online research, I discovered there were no ‘Know Your Rights’ guides for kids in foster care in Florida, so I decided to create one myself.”
A print version of the guide launched in 2018 with help from grants from American Bar Association and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, which allowed for its distribution in Pinellas, Pasco, Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties.
Over the years, the guide has transformed into a critical digital resource.
Collaborative effort, unique solution
Spearheaded by Sartor, created and managed by Bay Area Legal Services, and funded by the Legal Services Corporation and the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, the FosterPower app and website launched May 3.
Numerous student volunteers enrolled in Stetson Law’s SJA program as well as lawyers from the firm Greenberg Traurig LLC helped evolve the guide into a groundbreaking website and mobile app featuring accessible, easy-to-digest information on critical matters. The project moved forward with help from a 2021 Legal Services Corporation Technology Initiative Grant (TIG) of $274,032.
Those involved with the project hope it will help the more than 20,000 children navigating Florida’s foster care system access benefits and learn more about their rights and protections.
Rachel Friant, a 2023 Stetson Law alumna, helped out on the project in spring and summer 2022 as a way to fulfil her legal pro bono hours requirement. She had always gravitated toward children’s law; her earliest legal experience was volunteering with her local teen court while in high school. She had been working in the Florida Legislature at the time the volunteer opportunity was advertised and thought her statutory research skills would be a good match for the project.
Her work included research on changes to applicable state statutes as well as reformatting and proofing the medical, mental health, education and financial sections of the guide.
“I thought this would be an opportunity to help on a worthwhile project and stay connected to the Stetson community while I was away in Tallahassee for my legislative fellowship,” Friant said. “I am so happy to hear the project has come to fruition and that I was able to be a small part of its journey.”
Of utmost importance was that the content be clear and easy to navigate. To help ensure this, Sartor invited individuals formerly part of the foster system to review it and other experts to help ensure a good user experience.
“I truly spent years editing the flow and language to ensure it was readable for foster youth,” Sartor said. “We also had former foster youth who are a part of the advocacy organization Florida Youth Shine edit content line by line and provide feedback on things they didn’t understand, what was missing, etc. We worked with a web/app developer and also have a full-time digital project manager, Rastko Durika who manages all technical aspects of the project.”
Success & recognition
The first program of its kind in the nation, FosterPower has been lauded by members of Congressas an important initiative to help improve the lives of youth living in Florida’s foster care system.
“We have a moral obligation to support these children and give them the best possible start in life,” said U.S. Representative Gus Bilirakis, a Stetson Law alumnus whose district includes parts of the Tampa Bay area, at the time the grant was issued. “Through this grant, BALS will be able to support that goal by offering these children critical guidance about their legal rights. I am thrilled to see expanded availability of these critical services within our community.”
The platform has already seen measurable success. Youth who helped test the app – and who helped review the “Know Your Rights” guide before that – reported calculating hundreds of dollars they were owed in allowance, learning how to reconnect with siblings they hadn’t seen in years, speaking up about harmful side effects of psychotropic medications, and generally feeling like they had a greater a say and that their voice matters for the first time in their lives.
“When youth have access to information on the care they are entitled to receive, outcomes improve and they have safer and better lives,” Sartor said.
Stetson Law graduates Haley Kinart (left) and Skyler Jackle (right), who both won 2023 Florida Bar Association Criminal Law Section awards for their work in the field.
In 2022, the Criminal Law Section of the Florida Bar Association began offering a prestigious annual award to a select few third-year students from accredited Florida law schools. The goal of the scholarships, according to 2021–22 Section Chair Jason B. Blank, was “to have a long-lasting impact on the criminal court system.”
This year, two of the three award recipients are from Stetson Law.
Skyler Jackle and Haley Kinart, both recent Stetson Law graduates who were 3Ls at the time they were nominated, have been named recipients of the $2,500 awards for their demonstrated dedication to the criminal justice system at either the trial or appellate level.
To Jackle, the award will help offset a major challenge that follows law school for many recent grads: having enough time to prepare for the Florida Bar Examination.
“I am so grateful to be a recipient of this award as it will allow me to focus on my bar studies,” Jackle said. “Upon passing the Florida bar, I will be starting as an Assistant State Attorney for Hillsborough County.”
Section leadership members say the opportunity will also motivate current law students focusing on criminal law to excel in their academic performance, pro bono service, clinical work, and other endeavors related to this critical area of law.
“Criminal Law Section members are united by the shared goal of providing a fair, just, and efficient criminal justice system for everyone, and the section’s purpose is to assist all criminal law practitioners in this shared goal,” said 13th Judicial Circuit Judge Samantha L. Ward, the 2022-23 Section Chair. “The awards program is an excellent way to encourage academic achievement, community service, and high standards of ethics and professionalism among law students who are pursuing careers in criminal law.”
A thorough vetting process
The two-step selection process for this award begins with the recommendation of a professor who teaches in the area. At Stetson, all members of the Criminal Law faculty work together to identify the very best candidates for this award: students who truly stand out as leaders in the criminal law arena.
According to the Criminal Law Section of the Florida Bar, winners are chosen based on factors including but not limited to academic achievement, community service, litigation skills or advocacy accomplishments, clinical internships, high standards of ethics and professionalism, letters of recommendation from a law school professor or administrator, as well as one from a judge or practitioner, and one from someone outside the school or legal profession, and the submission of a personal essay.
Law Professor Susan Rozelle said she immediately thought of Kinart, who served as her research assistant, when asked to recommend a student.
“When she spoke in class, she illuminated not only the doctrinal law, but the human impacts of those doctrines,” Rozelle said of Kinart. “She’s wanted to be a prosecutor her entire life; it is her passion to ensure justice for victims and perpetrators alike.”
Law Professor Ellen Podgor nominated Jackle – who had served as her teaching assistant in her criminal law course – for her award.
Active in the classroom and beyond
Kinart held numerous leadership positions on campus: She was a member of Stetson’s Dispute Resolution Board. As the Clinic Fellow for the Office of Clinical and Experiential Learning, she connected students with experiential opportunities that best aligned with their specific interests. Her primary focus was on the State Attorney and Public Defender Clinics, and she participated in many discussions with students and clinic professors about these opportunities.
Kinart graduated with a concentration in Social Justice Advocacy-Criminal Track, writing multiple papers on the subject of survivors of sexual assault and how the criminal legal system should do better to achieve justice for them. As a certified legal intern for the Office of the State Attorney 6th Judicial Circuit, she has tried criminal cases in circuit court under the supervision of an attorney, a role that has built on previous experience as a certified legal intern in the 13th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.
“I am immensely honored to receive the award. In public service work, sometimes, you are not recognized for the time and effort you put into achieving necessary reform,” said Kinart. “And this work is not about the personal recognition, but the result from that effort.”
She added that the award helps her continue her forward momentum despite the rigors of law school.
Jackle, meanwhile, said she has “a passion for criminal law and advocacy.” A former member of Stetson Law Review, she was a Senior Stetson Ambassador, a member of Stetson’s Dispute Resolution Board, and a competitor and national semi-finalist in the ABA Arbitration Competition for 2021-2022 and Regional Semi-finalist in the ABA Arbitration Competition for 2022-2023.
She has worked as a legal intern at the Public Defender’s Office in Pinellas County, where she returned to complete all of her pro bono hours the following year and participated in the federal judicial externship in the fall of her 2L year. This past spring, she was a certified legal intern at the State Attorney’s Office for Hillsborough County.
“Her academic credentials and success speak for themselves but also reveal her commitment to hard work and her natural intelligence,” said Irene M.G. Maslanik, Deputy Chief, Juvenile, 13th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, who is among those who nominated Jackle. “She is passionate about criminal justice and has the skills to go far in our field.”
To the faculty members with whom they worked closely, both were an obvious choice for the award.
“I was not surprised at all to see them both win,” Rozelle said. “Haley and Skyler embody the kind of dedication to the criminal justice system this award was designed for.”
The third recipient of the award, Victoria Thacker, graduated from Florida International University College of Law.
The awardees will be honored during a June 22 reception at the Annual Florida Bar Convention in Boca Raton.
A major national nonprofit has chosen a Stetson Law student as one of just eight recipients of an award honoring law students who excel in their public service endeavors.
A Washington, DC-based nonprofit, Equal Justice Works aims to foster the next generation of legal professionals committed to public service through fellowships and other opportunities. The organization named Stetson Law student Jessica King among the 2023 winners of its Regional Public Interest Award.
“These exceptional law students have demonstrated their commitment to increasing access to justice on their campuses and in their communities,” said Aoife Delargy Lowe, vice president of law school engagement and advocacy at Equal Justice Works, in an announcement.
Advocating for social justice
King’s work on an array of public interest initiatives, which she performs on top of the rigorous demands of law school, is truly extensive.
She is a student within Stetson Law’s Social Justice Advocacy (SJA) concentration, which inspires students to see themselves as effective leaders on campus, in the surrounding community, for the state and nation, and in the world at large. The program connects students with important opportunities to advocate for social justice in concrete ways that give them real-world experience.
The program has helped King harness her passion, drive, and growing legal prowess, which has manifested in her tireless efforts promoting racial justice, disability rights, mental health awareness, and LGBTQIA+ rights on campus and beyond.
Those familiar with King and her work are not surprised she was selected.
“Jessica is a great example of how a student can channel their passion in ways that can be transformative both within the campus community as well as in the world at large,” said Law Professor Judith Scully, King’s faculty mentor and a coordinator of the Social Justice Advocacy concentration. “She is just one of many exceptional SJA students who are poised to make a difference in this world.”
An exceptional level of service
The SJA program has helped connect King with numerous opportunities.
In the last academic year alone, she has been a community associate with the National Alliance for Mental Illness, served as a Racial Justice Fellow with the St. Petersburg/Pinellas Higher Education for Racial Equity (SPHERE), was named chair of the legal redress committee at her local NAACP chapter, and mentored minority undergraduate students at the University of South Florida. The nascent NAMI chapter has tabled bi-weekly and held events like a pottery-painting group and a discussion called “Identity and Law School,” a Diversity Week event that invited students from marginalized backgrounds to speak on their law school experiences.
“I came to law school with a focus on public interest law and my commitment to public interest law has only grown since,” said King.
Promoting accessibility on campus and beyond
A key area of importance for King is promoting accessibility for all.
Her passion for disability rights has inspired her to advocate for more accessible features on campus and serve as a legal intern at Disability Rights Florida, the only statewide designated protection and advocacy system for those with disabilities. She also founded Stetson Law’s first National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
“While at Stetson Law, Jessica has been at the forefront of advocacy for underrepresented groups on campus, including students with disabilities and mental health initiatives,” said Kathryn Pelham, ’06, Associate Director of Accessibility Resources and ADA Coordinator at Stetson Law. “She has brought students, staff, and faculty together for important discussions surrounding the social justice needs of our community. It is fitting that Equal Justice Works chose to honor her tireless work with this award, which I know will only motivate her further.”
For King, the work has only just begun.
“Public interest law is and will be my focus for the rest of my life,” King said. “Serving others is my duty and my passion, and I look forward to a long life of fighting for exactly what I believe in: equal and equitable treatment for all regardless of race, disability, sexual orientation, or gender.”
Left to right: Attorney Alan Gassman, Alumnus Peter Farrell, and Law Professor Appleby.
Thanks to the generosity of prominent Clearwater attorney Alan Gassman and his wife, Marcia, Spring 2023 graduate Peter Farrell will continue his studies as a candidate for an LL.M. in tax law at the University of Florida with help from a new financial award.
The endowed award, which will be given out every year to a graduating Stetson Law student admitted to the tax law LL.M. program at UF, is an opportunity for a student who is passionate about tax law to have a deepened understanding of this critical area with a significantly reduced financial burden. Gassman earned his LL.M. in Taxation from UF in 1983 thanks to its relative affordability, the availability of subsidized housing, and Marcia, who supported him in his final year of advanced legal study. He said a J.D. from Stetson Law combined with an LL.M. from UF will provide unique value for someone who earns them – and, by extension, the financial health of their future clients.
“Stetson has an amazing J.D. tax program and professors, which is a beautiful match for Florida’s well-respected and excellent LL.M. in tax program,” Gassman said. “The opportunity to help and encourage Stetson students to reach forward to get an LL.M degree is very much appreciated.”
It will also be of great benefit to future students, should a recipient of this award pursue a career in education.
A unique combination
While Stetson Law does not currently have an LL.M. program in taxation, many of its law graduates, go on to attend the University of Florida and pursue an LL.M. in Tax Law.
This opportunity can help bolster Stetson Law’s presence within the program – and elevate the greater tax law community (and their clientele) in doing so.
As the first-ever Alan and Marcia Gassman LL.M. Award recipient, Farrell was recognized at Stetson Law’s annual Honors and Awards ceremony.
He was selected due to his demonstrated passion and effort in preparing for a career in tax law, among other factors that Stetson Law’s tax law professors believe make him uniquely equipped to fulfil the promise this award represents.
“UF Law’s highly regarded Graduate Tax Program is an ideal place for Peter and other exceptional students to build on the solid tax law foundation they developed while at Stetson Law,” said Law Professor Andrew Appleby, Stetson Law’s foremost faculty expert in taxation. “I look forward to seeing how this generous award will help these Stetson Law grads grow their careers in this critical, dynamic, and rewarding area of law.” As a student at Stetson Law, Farrell was active on campus as president of the college’s chapter of the Christian Legal Society. As a member of Stetson Law’s Moot Court Board, Ferrell was part of a team that was a top contender in the 2022 edition of the prestigious Hunton Andrews Kurth National Championship.
A legacy of advanced tax law scholarship
A board-certified estate planning and trust lawyer, Alan S. Gassman, J.D., LL.M. practices in Clearwater with the law firm of Gassman, Crotty and Denicolo, P.A., where he is a senior partner. He specializes in the areas of trust and estate planning, taxation, wealth preservation, and the representation of physicians and medical practices.
He has a strong desire to see Stetson Law students flourish as members of the legal profession. Recently, he helped facilitate a groundbreaking new fellowship that aims to foster greater diversity in estate planning.
“One measure of success is to what extent you help others and your profession,” Gassman said. “Our law firm has been greatly enhanced by Stetson graduates who have gone to LL.M. programs, so we are pleased to support all of those who wish to do so, and are very thankful for the opportunity.”
Gassman is also currently an adjunct professor at Stetson Law. He has authored many books and was inducted into the National Association of Estate Planning Counsel’s Hall of Fame in 2021.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (left) and Dean Emerita Lizabeth A. Moody (right) at the 1998 dedication of the Dolly & Homer Hand Law Library.
As the Stetson Law community mourns the loss of former Dean Lizabeth A. Moody, who passed away on May 19, former colleagues say her impact on the College of Law – and the legal profession itself – was nothing short of transformative.
Moody, who was the school’s first female dean, served in that role from 1994 through 1999. Thereafter, she was named Dean Emeritus and remained involved at the College of Law. She was inducted into the Stetson Law Hall of Fame in 2009. During her deanship, Moody championed advocacy education initiatives, was critical in the planning of and fundraising for the Dolly & Homer Hand Law Library, and supported growth in International Programs and Elder Law.
“Stetson Law is a better place because of Dean Lizabeth Moody – as is the world,” said Stetson Law Interim Dean Theresa Pulley Radwan. “She didn’t just shatter a glass ceiling by being the first woman to serve as dean. She inspired and encouraged other women lawyers to lead – and she saw Stetson Law’s potential as a national leader in multiple areas. We are all saddened by the loss of such an important changemaker, and we invite our community to learn about Dean Moody and celebrate her legacy.”
A celebration of her life is currently being planned, the details of which will be made public when they are available.
A lifelong love of law
Born in Johnson City, Tennessee, Moody knew her path very early in life.
When she was six, she asked her father if she could be a lawyer – he said “yes.” By the time she was in the seventh grade, Moody had a large collection of law school catalogues. Her family moved to Ohio, where she was valedictorian of her high school class. Thanks to a Junior Achievement Scholarship, she attended Columbia University.
Stetson Law Dean Emeritus Lizabeth A. Moody
Moody then attended law school at Yale, where she was one of just seven women out of her 1959 graduating class of 160.
She continued to break the glass ceiling when she became a member of a major Cleveland law firm, was one of the first women to obtain an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and was the first female president of the Cleveland Bar Association.
Giving back through service to the profession
In 1971, she left private practice to teach at Cleveland State University College of Law, but remained tirelessly active within the greater legal community.
While serving on the Women’s Law Fund together in the 1970s, Moody befriended Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who ultimately became a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. After working on a case challenging the Cleveland Public Schools’ policy regarding pregnant people, the two friends stayed in touch.
In 1990, Moody signed on as president and CEO of Law School Admissions Services, the organization behind the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). She was instrumental in developing the Law Access Loan Program, which made billions of dollars available to students pursuing law.
Breaking barriers at Stetson Law
In 1994, she joined Stetson Law as Vice President and Dean. She was the first woman to serve in this role at the college. Over her five years as dean, she helped grow Stetson Law’s national presence through substantive initiatives.
“Dean Moody played a pivotal role in the College of Law’s emergence into national prominence in the 1990s,” said Law Professor Peter Lake, Director of Stetson Law’s Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy. “Our first female law dean recognized Stetson’s distinctive prowess in Trial Advocacy, and created the foundation for extraordinary success and recognition in training great trial lawyers.”
Under her leadership, the College of Law broke the U.S. News and World Report barrier and was ranked in the top 100 law schools in the nation. She helped plan and fundraise for a new law library, which is now the Dolly & Homer Hand Law Library. Her friend, Justice Ginsburg, spoke at the library’s opening ceremony.
In 2015, Stetson Law dedicated a seminar room to her on the second floor of the law library. It was the room where she taught her nonprofit corporations class. She was an early champion of the now-popular practice of teaching class in small seminar groups.
Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law Lizabeth A. Moody spoke at the dedication of the Dean Lizabeth A. Moody Seminar Room.
Moody was also instrumental in helping establish Stetson Law as a national leader in the area of elder law.
“Dean Moody understood the importance of elder law,” said Law Professor Rebecca Morgan, who pioneered Stetson Law’s elder law program. “The Elder Law Center, the first Center for Excellence at the College of Law, was established during her deanship. Additionally, she was active in the ABA Senior Lawyers Division, serving as Vice-Chair.”
Moody also helped lay the foundation for the college’s part-time and international programs – and encouraged Stetson Law’s moot teams to compete on the international level.
“Dean Emeritus Liz Moody and her loving husband Alan Buchman were instrumental in promoting and encouraging Stetson Law to become involved in the Willem C. Vis International Arbitration Moot, which began Stetson’s 20-year successful run in the competition,” said Law Professor Stephanie Vaughan, who has co-coached Stetson Law’s championship-winning teams for the prestigious annual moot in Vienna, Austria, and Hong Kong. “Dean Moody understood the importance of advocacy and international law, and her commitment to both put us on the global map. She was a dear friend and will be truly missed.”
Slideshow:Dean Emerita Lizabeth A. Moody
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A nationally recognized legal professional
She won dozens of awards over the course of her career, including the Ohio State Bar Association’s Bar Medal, the highest award for unusually meritorious service to the community, the profession, and humanity. In 1997, the American Bar Association gave her the Glass Cutter Award for her tireless work helping other women in the legal profession. She received the ABA Business Law Section’s Author Award for her work on the revised Model Nonprofit Corporation Act and Martindale-Hubbell’s Highest Rating in Legal Ability & Ethical Standards.
The city of Cleveland declared May 8, 1990 as Lizabeth A. Moody Day.
In 2012, the ABA included Moody as part of its Women Trailblazers Law Project, which featured her oral history of her career at Library of Congress and the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Harvard University.
She was heavily involved in the ABA, the American Law Institute (which named her a Life Member, a prestigious designation), and the American Association of Law Schools and served her community through philanthropic efforts and by serving on nonprofit boards like those of Tampa General Hospital and Academy Prep.
Through the years, she set standards not just for women lawyers, but for the legal community to follow. The Stetson Law will continue to celebrate Moody’s legacy. Many of her awards are on display in the Dean Lizbeth A. Moody Seminar Room on the second floor of the Dolly & Homer Hand Law Library.
Left: Chriseanna Mitchell. Right Jeffrey Southerland. Both students are the inaugural Diversity Estate Planning Fellows.
With help from a key community partner, Stetson Law is now offering an opportunity for students from underrepresented populations to gain critical experience in elder law and estate planning.
With its first two recipients set to start the program in the fall of 2023, the Estate Planning Council Diversity Fellowship and Award is a combination of learning, mentorship, and real-world experience earned while helping underserved community members access critical legal services. The program offers each fellow a $1,500 award per semester. The two Stetson Law students to participate in the program’s inaugural year are Chriseanna Mitchell and Jeffrey Southerland.
Mitchell said she looks forward to helping underrepresented communities access critical legal services to help families financially prepare for loss of a loved one so that money challenges don’t overwhelm them during the grieving process.
“I want to help families prepare so that bridge will not be as stressful when it’s time to cross it,” Mitchell said. “Communities of color are often discouraged by the price tag attached to legal services so I’m excited about the pro bono aspects. The program itself will be an opportunity to explain different hypothetical situations to clients and find solutions to problems they did not even know where there. My hope is that this experience will further emphasize the importance of estate-planning within the community.”
A community collaboration
Created from a contribution from Gassman, Crotty & Denicolo, P.A., and the efforts of the Suncoast and Pinellas County Estate Planning Councils, the program’s purpose is two-fold. It aims to introduce estate planning and elder law as a viable career opportunity for students of color, who have historically been underrepresented in these areas. In turn, the fellowship will directly serve communities of color, which have been underserved in the areas of elder law and estate planning.
Clearwater attorney and Stetson Law adjunct professor Alan Gassman
Clearwater attorney and Stetson Law adjunct professor Alan Gassman said he hopes the program will be a win-win for the fellows as well as those they serve.
“I have had a deep-seated desire to do something for diversity that can impact both the lives of the minority participant and the lives of those who offer to help,” Gassman said. “In thinking this through, I came across the idea of helping law students acclimate to being professionals and networking by participation in an actual estate planning council.”
How it works
As members of one of the local Estate Planning Councils, fellows will attend their respective group’s monthly breakfast or lunch meetings. They will be assigned two mentors active in the estate planning community, who will help them create an educational presentation on estate planning and end-of-life documents to be presented in community centers and churches within communities of color.
The fellows will meet, shadow, and work with lawyer members of Estate Planning Councils to improve their communication skills, network with the community, and learn about estate planning and elder law as a career.
“This will provide them with mentorship, a network of friends in a community, job opportunities, education, and the opportunity to show leadership and develop confidence and presentation skills and experience,” Gassman said.
The program also aims to connect the fellows with employment opportunities and the opportunity to take part in paid clerking positions with Council members.
“The monetary fellowship award, clerking opportunities and the ability to apply time spent towards pro bono hours are icing on the cake,” Gassman said. “The reaction that we have had from students, law professors, and members of estate planning counsels has been very gratifying.”
Southerland said he hopes this work will have a direct impact on local families and help make the field of estate-planning more equitable – and he’s thankful to Gassman for the opportunity to do so.
“I am so grateful to have been selected for the Estate Planning Council Diversity Fellowship,” Southerland said. “Over the next year, I hope to grow as an advocate for my community and help increase representation in this area of practice.”
The Spring 2023 Commencement in Stetson Law’s Plaza Mayor
During a beautiful morning ceremony in Stetson Law’s scenic Plaza Mayor, 302 students celebrated their successful completion of law school. They were surrounded by faculty, Stetson Law staff, family, friends, and others who supported them through a uniquely challenging journey. (See full video below.)
The event began with a processional featuring bagpipe players, marshals, graduating students, legacies, faculty, and members of this year’s platform party, who represented campus and university leadership, faculty, alumni, and the Student Bar Association.
When everyone was seated, Dr. Noel Painter, a long-time faculty member at Stetson and the university’s Executive Vice President and Provost, greeted those gathered.He commended the class – which consisted of May 2023 graduating students, December 2022 graduates, and students intending to graduate in August of 2023 – for completing over 20,000 hours of pro bono service,advocating for others through clinics and externships, championship-level moot competition performance, and succeeding despite unprecedented challenges.
“All in all, you are well prepared for whatever may be next for you in life, and you have much to look forward to,” Painter said.
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President Roellke’s Remarks
Noting how the graduating class was the first to enter law school amid a global pandemic and all of the challenges it presented, Stetson University President Christopher Roellke urged the graduating students to value empathy and kindness alongside the practical knowledge and skills they learned at Stetson Law.
“Here at Stetson, you have learned the law and the skills required to apply it to legal practice with integrity and professionalism,” Roellke said. “Moving forward, I ask that you also bring kindness and empathy to all that you do. As you grow and thrive, I challenge you to help those around to thrive, to offer small acts of kindness and empathy to your clients, partners, institutions and organizations. By practicing these two things, kindness and empathy, you will, indeed, do your part in making the world a better place.”
More words of encouragement from leaders
Kind words followed from Stetson University Board of Trustees Chair Elect Steve Alexander, who told the graduates they are now lifelong members of the Stetson community and urged them to stay connected.
“As a graduate of this university you join a community of alumni that is more than one hundred years old, large, and well established. So stay connected to your Stetson classmates and reach out to your new Stetson colleagues,” he said. “If I have learned anything from my time with Stetson it is the ready-made network out there that can advise and assist.”
On behalf of more than 11,000 Stetson Law alumni, Stetson Lawyers Alumni Association President Mitchell Schermer said while law school was no doubt challenging – full of “sleepless nights, endless studying and preparation, and even a global pandemic” – the students showed resiliency and grit. There was fun sprinkled in, he said with “networking events, social events, and probably too many nights out at O’Maddy’s,” he said, referring to a popular bar and grill nearby in downtown Gulfport. All of these experiences, he said, have helped shaped them into the kind of professional often referred to on campus and beyond as Stetson Lawyers.
“As many of you have undoubtedly heard, there is the concept of what it means to be a Stetson Lawyer,” he said. “To be a Stetson Lawyer means that you will always strive to demonstrate integrity, ethics, competency, and an unwavering commitment to representing the interests of your client. It means to be professional and cordial in the face of those who act otherwise, and to never forget that you are an advocate who represents real people, who come to you with real problems, in their time of greatest need.”
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Addressing his classmates, Student Bar Association President Blake Radford remarked on how the Class of 2023 boldly faced the rigors of law school despite unprecedented challenges affecting society at large. As incoming 1Ls, they attended orientation wearing masks. They figured out how to network and gain critical experience while respecting social distancing guidelines. In their final year, as the pandemic waned, he said, they had to deal with two hurricanes.
He urged his fellow graduates to never lose their “fire” or the indomitable spirit that got them through law school despite unprecedented challenges – to bring it with them to professional life.
“Show them what I’ve had the honor of seeing all these years,” Radford said. “That maybe out of all the years prior, this is the class that’s going to change the world. And we’ll change it by working together. By being there for one another. And by never letting anything stop us. Because so long as we have each other, nothing can.”
Wisdom from a seasoned professional
Before the students walked across the stage, they heard from one last speaker, Leslie Caldwell, who delivered the event’s commencement address.
A seasoned white-collar law professional known for leading the federal investigation into Enron and other high-profile cases, Caldwell used her own experience with a shifting career pathway to illustrate the many directions in which one can take a legal career. She, after all, went from working in a large firm to a small firm to a U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn before Robert Mueller – who had just been appointed U.S. Attorney in San Francisco – recruited her to a management position in his office.
“You already have and will continue to develop a body of knowledge and a way of thinking that is mysterious and foreign, and even scary, to most people. And it is those people – many of whom will be perfect strangers – who will be putting their trust in you, putting their most important interests – including sometimes their very futures and lives-squarely into your hands,” Caldwell said. “And that will be the case no matter what area or areas of the law you choose to start off or end up in.”
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She concluded her remarks by elaborating on the quote by philosopher John Locke, “Where law ends, tyranny begins,” telling the graduating students that, as lawyers, they are a firewall against tyranny.
“In that role, you are assuming an obligation to do your part to maintain the integrity of our laws, and to protect the rights that the Constitution and other laws at least promise to all of us,” she said. “A big part of that obligation is that we must practice ethically, and operate with honesty and integrity, with our clients, with the courts, and even with our adversaries… If the legal profession were to lose sight of the need for candor and integrity, if the courts were to become or even be seen as advocates for specific agendas, the public rightly would lose confidence in our system. Law would end, and tyranny could begin.”
The students were then called to walk across the stage, one, by one, to accept their diplomas as the exuberant crowd cheered for each new Stetson Lawyer.
Reflecting a spirit of service and commitment to enter the legal profession with robust experience, members of Stetson Law’s 2023 graduating class were recognized for their exceptional work.
Held yearly on the eve of Spring Commencement, the Honors and Awards Ceremony lauds those who have gone above and beyond Stetson Law’s rigorous curriculum and pro bono requirements. This includes participation in a Stetson Law legal journal, going well above the College of Law’s pro bono requirement, honors program participation, advocacy board membership, superior academic performance, and earning a certificate of concentration. (See full video below.)
Outstanding students were also given awards named for key members of the Stetson Law community.
College of Law faculty and leadership commended the graduating students and invited them to remain involved as they build their careers.
“It is my hope that you will remain committed to improving your community, wherever you might be,” said Stetson Law Interim Dean Theresa Pulley Radwan. “Law school not only teaches you to be a lawyer — it also teaches you to be a leader. You defined yourselves as leaders who are dedicated to justice and public service, you have also defined yourselves as leaders with stellar academic achievements.”
Unique challenges, indomitable spirit
Noting that most members of the 2023 graduating class started their law school journey in 2020 – squarely within the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic – Stetson Law Board of Overseers member Tracy Raffles Gunn, who earned her J.D. from Stetson Law in 1993, said it was evident early on that this class shared a common characteristic: “fierce.”
Students challenged themselves and others, she said, and took ownership of their time at Stetson Law in ways that will benefit them as lawyers.
“Please know that the Board and the school are extremely proud of your class and that we are committed to continuing to support you as Stetson Alumni,” Gunn said. “I hope that you will consider your Board of Overseers and your Law Alumni groups to be a resource for you.”
Noting their next set of challenges, passing the bar and launching their careers, she encouraged them to keep in touch with their alma mater.
“We want you to stay involved with the school. I hope you will share your knowledge and experience with the Stetson students who come after you in whatever way fits your time and passions,” Gunn said. “It’s going to be your turn to be the mentors, coaches, guest speakers and competition judges. You have a lot to offer.”
In Photos: Honors & Awards 2023
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Prestigious awards bestowed
At the ceremony’s culmination, the focus turned toward three students whose activity and performance were so exceptional that they were recognized with the three most prestigious named awards: The Walter Mann Award, The Dean’s Excellence Award, and The Edward D. Foreman Most Distinguished Student Award.
The Walter Mann Award, which recognizes a student who has shown the greatest promise of becoming an outstanding leader in the legal profession, was given to Nancy Eriksen, a student veteran whose past recognition includes a national award for women in the white collar field. The Dean’s Excellence Award, which honors a graduating student who has given extraordinary service to Stetson University College of Law, was given to Student Bar Association President Blake Radford.
At the request of the Foreman family, special guest Kathryn Christian, a 2006 graduate and past recipient of the Edward D. Foreman Most Distinguished Student Award, presented that award to Kathryn Alkire. Heavily involved on campus, Alkire served as the Stetson Law Revieweditor-in-chief for the 2022-2023 academic year. As the award’s recipient, her name has been cast in bronze and is being secured to the plaque outside of the Great Hall. She will also be given a $5,000 check as part of the award.
Alkire said she was “honored and humbled” to receive the award, adding that she and her classmates now have a “tremendous opportunity” to have a positive impact – just as the award’s namesake and his wife, Bonnie Foreman, had over their lifetimes.
As the event drew to a close, Interim Dean Radwan once again commended the graduated students for their exemplary commitment to the values at the core of Stetson Law’s mission.
“Stetson Law is a remarkable law school filled with dedicated individuals with one, unified goal — to prepare our students to be change agents who make significant contributions to our communities and to society,” she said. “I think you saw today that we have a new group of graduates who are going to do just that.”
Stetson University College of Law’s Tower building, as viewed from Plaza Mayor.
The annual U.S. News & World Report results have been announced for 2024.
This year, the publication has once again ranked Stetson Law the No. 1 law school for Trial Advocacy and the No. 3 destination for Legal Writing. Stetson is the only law school to consistently rank among the top schools in the nation in both Advocacy and Legal Writing year after year. Stetson Law’s Dispute Resolution rank continues its upward trajectory, climbing from No. 72 in 2021 to No. 18 in 2024 – a truly impressive increase. These three programs showcase Stetson Law’s commitment to rigorous and holistic training.
The College of Law’s overall ranking also climbed nearly 30 spots to No. 84 from its 2023 ranking of 111. This year, the rankings were redesigned to place more emphasis on successful student outcomes, and they now better reflect Stetson’s continued dedication to producing practice-ready legal professionals. Stetson Law is now proudly within the top 100 law schools in the U.S.
Community-wide collaboration
From championship-winning competition performance to advocating for the community through pro bono work, students have gone above and beyond as advocates. Faculty have inspired them to dig deeper into the true meaning of advocacy while helping connect students with real-life experience. Across numerous departments, the staff strives to support student and faculty achievement as well as the prestigious national and international competitions and conferences the College of Law hosts.
Alumni have been ardent supporters of advocacy at Stetson Law in countless ways, from coaching competition teams to giving generously so that Stetson Law can build upon its legacy as the top law school for trial advocacy through the Advocacy Institute, which will open its doors later this year. The innovative facility will help Stetson Law remain a trial advocacy leader in perpetuity – and will help the College of Law grow its reputation as a leading U.S. law school.
Law Professor Elizabeth Boals, Director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy at Stetson Law.
“Preparing our students to be competent and professional advocates after graduation is our primary goal,” said Law Professor Elizabeth Boals, Director of Stetson Law’s Center for Excellence in Advocacy. “That objective requires us to focus on the students’ advocacy education by selecting excellent professors and competition team coaches; offering an array of advocacy courses that allow students to hone their skills; and by connecting students with alumni and practitioners that support their career development. The entire school is behind this mission. We are proud because we are Stetson.”
Stetson Law’s celebrated Legal Writing program remaining at No. 3 reflects a passionate commitment to bettering our understanding of legal communication, which is something that is fundamental to the study, practice, and evolution of American jurisprudence. Through proven methods of improving legal communication skills, thoughtful analysis of emerging issues related to the field, cutting-edge scholarship, and innovative programming, Stetson Law is driven to lead the way in this critical area.
“Being a national leader in trial advocacy and legal writing is about more than accolades and trophies – it represents our commitment to the legal profession and its critical role in promoting justice for all,” said Stetson Law Interim Dean Theresa Pulley Radwan. “We congratulate every member of the Stetson Law community for remaining committed to educating ethical professionals who will leave our campuses with the legal acumen, real-world skills, and empathy they need to succeed as Stetson Lawyers.”
A bright future for Stetson Law
With thoughtful planning and execution, Stetson Law will continue to make long-term investments that will further elevate our national reputation in all areas.
Interim Dean and Law Professor Theresa Pulley Radwan
These include investments in our enrollment strategy, Academic Success and Bar Preparation that starts with 1L students, career services, and student support that aim to educate ethical professionals who will leave our campuses with the legal acumen, real-world skills, and empathy they need to succeed as Stetson Lawyers.
Stetson Law invites students to hone their legal knowledge and skills through the lens of their choosing – all while making lifelong connections with leaders in their chosen area of practice.
Students will find adjustable lighting, aromatherapy, yoga mats, and other features to help them destress in Stetson Law’s meditation rooms.
Reflecting Stetson Law’s commitment to mental health and wellness, faculty, staff, and students celebrated the opening of two thoughtfully appointed student meditation rooms on campus.
Members of the Office of Student Affairs, the Office of the Dean, the Student Bar Association Health & Wellness Committee, and other groups gathered April 28 to mark the occasion, which is the culmination of a collaboration among students, staff, and administration officials. The rooms, located in the Dolly and Homer Hand Law Library and the Office of Student Affairs, aim to help students balance the challenges they face with mindfulness practices, de-stress, and build resilience, be it through yoga, talking through issues, journaling, prayer, or meditation.
“Students need a place to just quietly relax – or maybe sometimes quietly scream,” said Blake Radford, who is president of Stetson Law’s Calvin Kuenzel Student Bar Association. “It makes campus a safer place to be – not just a place where you’re studying and you’re panicking… It’s a place you can relax.”
Balancing the rigors of law student life
Daily life for law students can feel nonstop as they strive not only to succeed, but to stand out.
Law school is often so focused on competition and other intensive activities, said Associate Dean for Assessment and Professional Engagement Anne Mullins, that wellness can often be an afterthought.
“We don’t always celebrate just being. And as lawyers, that’s really important for us,” Mullins said. “We’re kind of set to go and do – and the be part gets kind of underattended.”
Multifaceted meditation rooms
The two mediation rooms are located in strategic spots on campus.
The library meditation room is located in room 233 on the south side of the building’s second floor and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Items for the room were made possible by the SBA, as well as the library’s Waters Wellness Fund, a donation-based fund dedicated to wellness programming for students.
The other meditation room is currently located in the Office of Student Affairs. This space will operate from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Items for the room, including an accessible yoga mat were made possible by the SBA, along with a donation from the Office of Student Affairs.
Dominique Alford-Raymond, right, shows students, faculty, and staff some features of a meditation room at Stetson Law.
The rooms’ ADA-friendly lighting can be adjusted by touch and changed to different colors. They also feature comfortable seating, salt lamps, a notebook for students to write down their thoughts or share inspirational messages, aromatherapy, an ambient sound machine with 50 different relaxing noise options, and more.
Dominique Alford-Raymond, chair of the SBA’s Student Health and Wellness committee, helped lead the initiative. She said the rooms were appointed to help students achieve comfort amid their most stressful moments.
“Mental health and wellness is very complex,” she said. “Just like everything else in law school, the solution to mental health is, “It Depends”. So while some may see an empty set of rooms with a couple of chairs and a salt lamp; it is actually solving a complex set of issues in a few ways.”
These include dimmable lights, aromatherapy, a calming atmosphere, ADA-compliant accessibility measures, and materials like cushioned yoga and prayer mats that vary in size, length, and texture. Such items, she said, can help deescalate anxiety or panic attacks.
“If you don’t feel comfortable, you’re not going to calm down. If you’re not at peace, your mind won’t stop racing,” Alford-Raymond, a 2L enrolled in Stetson Law’s part-time J.D. program, said.
A space for staff
Stetson Law leadership is also creating a space for staff members to relax during the workweek. The Human Resources department has outfitted a room in the Tower building with similar wellness accoutrements.
It will be located on the second-floor dorm hall (D203) and will feature a comfortable sitting area, yoga mats, coloring books, space for a new parent to breastfeed/care for a child, softer lighting, a television for streaming music or meditation videos, and more.
“It was important for us to set aside a space within our community with our employees’ well-being in mind, promoting both physical and mental wellness,” said Stetson Law Director of Human Resources Pamela Skoularakos. “We hope the room will help employees in need of a boost of energy or just a quiet space to get away from their workload for a few minutes of peace.”
She said staff should keep an eye out for a launch in the near future.
Reflecting a cultural shift
Having space where students (and staff) can relax and unwind reflects the College of Law’s commitment to inclusive excellence, said Carmen Johnson, Stetson University’s Executive Officer of Diversity, Collaboration, and Inclusion. It also invites students to process their experience at Stetson Law (and in life, in general) in a manner unique to them.
“This is really thinking about how we create spaces to be our authentic selves in multiple mediums. Whether it’s through advocacy; whether it’s through faith, prayer, meditation, and mindfulness,” Johnson said. “Everyone works collaboratively to make these kinds of spaces happen.”
These spaces also reflect an evolution in the way many individuals choose to approach professional life.
“These days, there is a lot more talk about self-care, mindfulness, and practices that offset the stresses of daily life,” said Interim Dean Theresa Pulley Radwan. “As one of the most challenging – and rewarding – pursuits one can take on, law school should be no different.”
As future lawyers whose work can be transformative for the lives of others, focusing on wellness is paramount.
“It is my hope that the self-care practices our students adopt here at Stetson Law will stay with them as they embark on their careers,” Pulley Radwan said. “You can’t take care of your clients if you don’t take care of yourself first.”
Clockwise from top left: Ed Gardner speaks on overfishing & piracy; teams gather for a round; Erin Okuno as the shark at the center of the IEMCC problem; Professor Royal Gardner announcing competition results.
The final rounds of this international event, now in its 27th year, brought teams of law students to Stetson Law’s Gulfport Campus from Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Ireland, Korea, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States. The two U.S. teams that made it to this round were from the University of Miami School of Law and William and Mary Law School.
The teams argued on either side of a fictional case involving parties from two (also fictional) nations, a state-run deep-sea mining operation for minerals used in electric-vehicle batteries, and a species of shark once believed extinct. A fresh specimen of the shark had been found in a net near the mining site and an environmental group sought to halt mining in the area.
In the end, the team from West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences in Kolkata, India emerged as this year’s champion. They bested the Law Society of Ireland team in the final round on Saturday, April 15. (See more results below.)
An update from team Ukraine
As the event kicked off, Kateryna Skichko, a coach for the team that traveled from the Educational and Scientific Institute of Law, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, gave an update on the environmental impacts of the war in Ukraine. It will be a long time before the world will know the extent of it both on Ukraine’s environment and the world in general, she said, given the climate impacts of modern warfare.
“When we speak about armed conflicts, they impact all the world when we speak about climate change,” she said. “The war is ongoing and we cannot assess the level of harm that has already been inflicted, or will be inflicted in years’ time.”
This year, the team was able to participate in person.
Unsustainable fishing & piracy: a deadly connection
Skichko’s update preceded an insightful conversation with Foreman Biodiversity Lecturer Ed Gardner, a retired Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) special agent whose work involved extensive enforcement of anti-piracy measures; he is also the brother of Law Professor and Director of Stetson Law’s Institute for Diversity Law and Policy Royal Gardner.
He focused on the connection between unsustainable, habitat-destroying, often illegal fishing practices like high bycatch, bottom-trawling, and blast-fishing and rises in piracy in proximal areas where these practices may be taking place, such as Somalia.
These practices, he said, are in fact a root cause of piracy, a costly problem with a grave economic and human toll as local fishers whose yields are negatively affected by Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing operations turn to extreme measures to feed their families.
“The argument was, you take away their fish, and they’re going to turn to piracy, or they’re going to turn to criminals to protect their fishing, and the criminals themselves become pirates,” Gardner said.
And while fighting piracy across the globe can be a bit like a game of whack-a-mole, Gardner said getting to the root of the problem by fighting IUU could drastically reduce a problem that can cost the economy $16 billion annually in ransoms, property theft, insurance, enforcement, alternative shipping routes, private security, and transportation fees – not to mention the trauma inflicted on piracy victims and their families.
A major source of these overfishing operations are tied to big corporations or national governments, he said.
“The vast majority of illegal fishing is conducted by corporations or state-sponsored fishers,” Gardner said. “That’s going to be the people who have the economic ability to have a refrigerated vessel out at sea, send a trawler out, pack the fish, bring them back to one location, dump them, keep dumping them, and stay out for a year at a time.”
Looking out into a room full of law students from around the globe, he said he is hopeful that they can take this information and help shape policy to fight IUU – and, by extension, piracy – in the future.
“You are in a unique position,” Gardner told his audience. “When you leave and go back and actually become lawyers in your home countries, you’ll have the opportunity to influence legislation, and law, and practice of that law.”
A successful competition
Since 2020, the IEMCC has either been held online or – as was the case in 2022 – affected by COVID-19 travel visa restrictions. This year’s competition was the first in years to see little to no effect from the global pandemic.
The event’s successful run stems from months of planning, namely by Foreman Biodiversity Fellow Katherine Pratt, Law Professor Royal Gardner, Miami Law Professor Erin Okuno and others involved in the Biodiversity Institute.
“It was incredible to see this all come together, and to once again experience Stetson Law’s global connection,” Professor Gardner said. “We expect that the competition’s participants will use what they’ve learned to promote and advocate for policies that help nations ensure sustainability for generations to come.”
More IEMCC 2023 results
International Finals Champion: West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, India
Runner-up: Law Society of Ireland
Best Oralist in the Final Round: Sanyam Jha – West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, India
Semifinalists:
University of San Agustin, Philippines
University of the Philippines College of Law
Memorial Awards:
Best Memorial: Soongsil University
Runner-up Best Memorial: Singapore Management University
