News Archives - Page 22 of 138

Attorney Keith Fountain on How Ranchers can Help Florida’s Environment

Keith Fountain, a premier expert in Florida conservation easements.

With urban sprawl covering so much of Florida’s landscape, it can be easy to forget that farming and ranching were once the state’s biggest industries. Yet even with widespread building on open land, there’s still quite a lot of undeveloped land dedicated to farming, ranching and timber in the Sunshine State.

Attorney Keith Fountain, who spoke as part of Stetson Law’s Edward and Bonnie Foreman Biodiversity Lecture Series on March 1, has been helping protect what remains of these lands through transactions called conservation easements for nearly 30 years.

Professor Royal Gardner stands in front of a screen featuring a herd of cows — Professor Royal Gardner

Professor Royal Gardner, director of Stetson Law’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy, said Fountain is “the expert” in conservation easements in Florida. Fountain also helped facilitate discussions that ultimately resulted in the establishment of the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and led preservation and restoration efforts at the site.

Preserving land through easements

So far, Fountain has worked on 4,300 transactions related to such deals, totaling over $800 million.

That may be a lot of money, but the land’s actual value can be substantially greater, he said, given how they can be the key to ensuring Florida’s most important watersheds and other open lands remain as contiguous and intact as possible.

It’s important to protect critical watersheds in areas like those that make up the Florida Wildlife Corridor – for wildlife conservation as well as protecting the water resources Floridians rely on.

“Many of those lands contain very important environmental attributes,” Fountain said.

A small piece of the puzzle

While conservation lands managed by federal, state, and local authorities cover nearly 11 million acres in Florida, easements are a lot less common. Of Florida’s 34.7 million acres, just 915,000 of them are protected via conservation easements, which are set up through the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program and other methods.

Much of this land is concentrated in Central Florida, where cattle ranchlands still cover the landscape, and the Panhandle, an area where timber is a historically important industry.

Fountain gave a detailed overview of the types of easements available, how their terms can be enforced through courts, some of their limitations, and their place within the context of broader land conservation programs such as Florida Forever and Amendment 1, a land-buying measure on Florida’s ballot in 2014 approved by 75 percent of Florida voters. Funds like those offered through the two latter programs have been subject to the will of lawmakers potentially at odds with their cost to taxpayers or the limits they may place on certain industries.

Conservation easements, on the other hand, aren’t as directly affected by politics. Instead, they’re an agreement between a property owner and the organization that is procuring the easement, which is typically an environmental nonprofit or a government agency.

While every conservation easement is different, they all aim to protect land by barring future development on a property while, in many cases, letting the landowners continue to use the land for their business as long as it does little or no harm to the ecology there. Plus, they can offer generous tax incentives for preserving the land.

“There’s a lot of income tax benefit here available to people,” Fountain said. “Sometimes these are large pieces of property.”

Those properties may be the key to protecting Florida’s natural resources for future generations, Fountain said. That is, if residential development, mining and other demands of an ever-growing population don’t get there first.

“I don’t know how long we’re going to be able to do this stuff at scale in Florida,” said Fountain. “We’re running out of time.”

Learn more about the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy.

Highlights from the Annual Inns of Court Event with Jules Coleman

Dean Michèle Alexandre, Dr. Jules Coleman, and Professor Kristen Adams

The Annual Inns of Court event looked a little different in 2022 than most years, but the spirited hybrid event offered the Stetson Law community compelling conversation, fresh insights, and a few laughs along the way.

The yearly event invites students, faculty, and local Inns of Court chapter members to dine, network, and hear remarks from an esteemed speaker. The evening’s lecture component is named for William Reece Smith, Jr., who was a distinguished professor of law at Stetson.

Introducing the event’s namesake

Event organizer and Professor Kristen Adams, whose full title is William Reece Smith, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law, opened the event, which was headlined by esteemed law and philosophy scholar, Dr. Jules Coleman, who was her professor at Yale Law School.

She opened the event with a video highlighting Smith’s career, and referred to him as “a legal icon, mentor, advisor, teacher, a champion of civil rights and a consummate professional, who upheld the highest of standards.”

“He was also passionate about educating young lawyers,” Adams added of the former Stetson Law adjunct professor, who was inducted into the college’s Hall of Fame in 2004.

Dean Michèle Alexandre then introduced Coleman, with an overview of his storied career, from his extensive work in academia to his current activities as a thought-leader in education.

No stranger to Stetson Law

Before diving into his keynote, Coleman said he’s been to campus before – and joked that he might have enjoyed his being in the room more than others present.

“It is not the first time I have been here…But every time I have spoken is a great pleasure to me,” Coleman said. “I can’t swear whether it is a pleasure for anybody else. I hope to make it interesting and enjoyable and that the hour goes reasonably quickly.”

During his 90-minute discussion, which included a question-and-answer session, Coleman spoke off the cuff and his remarks were full of humorous asides – and wisdom for the students and young lawyers in the room.

“I always enjoy being here, and, this time is no exception,” Coleman said. “I think you are all very fortunate to have a wonderful faculty guiding you. And I hope all of you, as you seek a career in law, appreciate that it is a noble profession and that its nobility depends, in part, of your capacity to always be responsive and ensure that it meets its promises to those who are under its authority.”

Comparing law & philosophy

An accomplished scholar in both philosophy and the law, Coleman spent much of his lecture, titled “What Can Be Learned From Thoroughbred Horses and Trolley Cars,” exploring the differences between philosophy and the law, and how theoretical underpinnings of the former can inform practice of the latter.

The two have one key thing in common, though, he said.

“I realized that one of the problems of both law and philosophy was that it was in a language that ordinary people typically have less access to and less comfort with, and that it involved concepts that were not easily accessible to them,” Coleman said. “But that didn’t mean that the problems that ordinary people faced and that ordinary communities faced were not problems that showed up time and time again, both in moral philosophy and moral theory and in legal practice.”

The first portion of his lecture – concerning the thoroughbreds – explored a complex scenario that occurred during the 2019 Kentucky Derby, when the winning horse was disqualified – to the benefit of the runner up – after injuring a horse that was well behind in the running. The case raised questions applicable in the courtroom.

“There is a general question about whether anybody in a case like this has standing or whether you have to be the wronged party to have standing,” Coleman said. “That is, of course, a central question in the law.”

Law & the “trolley problem”

The lecture also explored the trolley problem, its multiple variations, and their applications within the law, such as whether a party should be held liable for actions they take when their life is being threatened. The famous philosophical thought experiment explores ethics via a hypothetical – but utterly unrealistic – scenario, which Coleman joked was a sign that those who study philosophy might want to get out more.

“It just shows how outdated philosophers are, that they talk about trolleys rather than trains,” he said. “Maybe that was the last time anybody rode public transportation who is a philosopher.”

The point of exploring the law through lenses like these, he said, is to understand that legal practice is invariably tied to the real-life situations that are governed by laws, and that the law shouldn’t be studied in a vacuum.

“The law is not isolated…not like Kafka’s picture of it,” Coleman said. “In many ways it is, of course. It is incredibly bureaucratic and mysterious. That is done on purpose so you guys can make money, right? But it is not really. It is designed to help us find ways of living with one another.”

Learn more about Jules Coleman and his visit to Stetson Law.

Stetson Alumni Make Up Half the Board of Florida Bar Chapter for Black Lawyers

By Suzi Morales

Stetson alumni Hershley Oge, Kamilah Perry and Valeria Obi.

Michael T. Davis, Class of 2008, may be a law firm partner now, but he vividly remembers a scene from his early law school days at Stetson. Walking to class one day, he was greeted by alumna Kamilah Perry, Class of 2002. She stopped him and asked, “Are you coming to Virgil Hawkins?”

Though Davis didn’t know what — or who — Virgil Hawkins was, Perry prevailed upon him to attend a meeting of the Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter of the National Bar Association (“VHFCNBA”), which provides professional development and community service opportunities for Black law students and lawyers.

Stetson Law alum Michael Davis, J.D. ’08

“I fell in love with the organization,” Davis recalls more than a decade later.

For the 2021-22 term, four of the eight VHFCNBA board members, including Davis and Perry, are Stetson Law alumni. It’s an impressive showing in a statewide organization with members throughout the Florida bar, and the board members say their presence reflects Stetson’s emphasis on community involvement.

Currently, Davis serves as president and Perry is general counsel. Valeria Obi, Class of 2013, is president-elect and Hershley Ogé, also Class of 2013, serves as secretary. Obi, who works as corporate counsel for WilsonHCG, will take office as president in July.

Organization Founded to Connect Black Lawyers, Serve the Community

VHFCNBA was founded in the 1950s, at a time when Black lawyers were not welcomed in other local bar associations and faced challenges with admission to law schools, including Stetson’s. The organization was later named for Virgil Hawkins, who was refused admission to the University of Florida Law School because of his race and pursued the matter to the United States Supreme Court. Although the Court ordered the law school to admit Hawkins, it continued to refuse admission to Hawkins and other Black students based upon the supposed “great public mischief” that would result. The Florida Bar also refused Hawkins admission, which was finally granted in 1977, when he was nearly 70 years old.

Throughout its history, the VHFCNBA has embraced dual purposes of serving disadvantaged individuals and providing opportunities for Black lawyers. For example, Ogé, who is currently staff counsel at GEICO, says that a recent VHFCNBA seminar featured workshops on everything from taking expert depositions to the high number of Black youths in the juvenile justice system.

Davis speaks enthusiastically about VHFCNBA’s mission of giving back to the community and providing access to justice. He praises the organization’s fellowship program, which provided a thousand pro bono clinic hours in the past fiscal year.

“Our forerunners who formed the organization in the 50s, that’s what they were concerned about and that’s what we continue to be concerned about,” Davis said. “How do we make sure that everyone has the ability to go to court and have legal representation by getting competent counsel?”

Stetson Law Encouraged Community Involvement

It’s no surprise that Stetson Law is so well-represented in the leadership of bar and community service organizations like the VHFCNBA.

“Stetson has this aura about it that always wanted to pull you in to get you involved,” Ogé said. “Every single area of law, they had an organization for you to join and learn more about.”

As students, the current VHFCNBA board members were active members of the Stetson Law community. Ogé says she met Obi through the Stetson Law Chapter of the Black Law Students Association (“BLSA”), which frequently worked with local VHFCNBA affiliates. Davis also credits his longstanding affiliation with VHFCNBA to the presence of an affiliate chapter on Stetson’s campus.

While she was in law school, Perry, the executive director and general counsel of the Florida State Attorney’s Office, served as a tutor, on moot court, and as President of BLSA. She agrees that Stetson Law students have many opportunities to be involved in the community, which can be particularly important to minority students. She first became involved in VHFCNBA because her father, former Florida Supreme Court Justice James E.C. Perry, brought her to meetings, and today she is working with the organization to continue connecting older and younger generations of lawyers.

Davis, now a partner with Kuehne Davis Law, served as president of the Student Bar Association when he was in law school. He continues to serve the Stetson Law community today as a member of the Stetson University Board of Trustees.

“It’s always about paying it forward,” he said. “You can support the institution that supported you.”

Dispute Resolution Board Sweeps Moot Event in Miami

Left to right: Student coach Joseph Kim, Pedro Jimenez Lopez, Taylor Simonds, Jessica Zelitt, Sierra DeMartino.

For the fifth year in a row, Stetson Law’s Dispute Resolution Board won the Florida Bar International Law Section’s Richard DeWitt Memorial Vis Pre-Moot in Miami over the weekend of Feb. 18.

The team did so well, you could even call it a sweep. They took first place overall and team member Taylor Simonds won the award for Best Oralist. In the 17 years the Florida Bar International Law Section has sponsored this competition, Stetson Law has won the competition 13 times; the school has won Best Oralist eight times.

The team, from left to right: Jessica Zelitt, Professor Stephanie Vaughan, Taylor Simonds, Sierra DeMartino, Professor Joe Morrissey, Pedro Jimenez Lopez, Ben Lazarus, Student Coach Joseph Kim and Mario Makram

Though the event had “Florida” in its name, it’s really an international event, with teams from Hong Kong, Brazil, India, Germany, China, Canada competing with teams from throughout the United States.

The team consisted of student coach Joseph Kim and team members Pedro Jimenez Lopez, Sierra DeMartino, Mario Makram, Ben Lazarus, Jessica Zelitt, and Taylor Simonds. All team members were competing for Stetson Law for the first time, which makes their victory all the more remarkable.

Stephanie Vaughan is Stetson's new associate dean for student engagement. — Professor Stephanie Vaughan

Coach Matt Ceriale, along with Professors Stephanie Vaughan, and Joe Morrissey, spent many hours coaching and mentoring these students, offering feedback, guiding them through the memorandum-writing process, and preparing them for the competition.

“Given the countless hours these students dedicated to learning and practicing, it’s no wonder they were so successful,” Vaughan said. “I’m very excited for and proud of them and look forward to even more victories in the future.”

The event will help get the team ready for the 29th annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot and the 19th Vis East Moot, which are both major competitions in which Stetson Law students will face off against hundreds of teams from around the globe. While they normally take place in Vienna and Hong Kong respectively, the teams will be competing virtually.

“These competitions are enormous events on the world stage,” said Professor Kristen Adams, director of the Dispute Resolution Board. “We look forward to cheering the team on for ‘the big show’ in a few short weeks.”

Distinguished attorney David W. Rivkin speaks on the role of lawyering skills in pro bono cases

Attorney David A. Rifkin speaks virtually to a Stetson Law class on human trafficking law. — Attorney David Rivkin addresses Professor Nagle’s human trafficking law course

Large law firms value critical practice skills when it comes to the significant pro bono legal assistance programs that aim to help find justice and restitution for victims of horrific crimes.

On Tuesday, February 15, Attorney David W. Rivkin spoke to students in Professor Luz Nagle‘s skills-based Human Trafficking class about the importance of what they’re learning. Such skills include interpreting and understanding domestic and international law, knowing the scope of the problem of human trafficking and the elements that constitute human trafficking crimes, assessing trafficking cases, and learning about the process of adjudication. Mr. Rivkin, a litigation partner in Debevoise and Plimpton’s New York and London offices, spoke on the need for law students to train to be advocates for those who cannot afford legal counsel and that such training is a highly desirable asset to carry into the job market following graduation.

Luz E. Nagle — Stetson Law Professor Luz Nagle

“The students enjoyed the chance to meet a distinguished practitioner with vast international legal experience,” Nagle said of the experience. “Mr. Rivkin’s remarks about the value law firms place on pro bono service gave us all a needed lift, and helped the students appreciate that the practical and analytical skills they are learning in this class will help them greatly in the future.”

Mr. Rivkin is widely recognized as one of the top international dispute resolution practitioners in the United States and globally. He is also a distinguished and passionate human rights advocate and was a principal author of the United Nations UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

In addition to a decades-long distinguished career with Debevoise, Mr. Rivkin is a Past President of the International Bar Association and has held several leadership roles in the IBA and other learned law societies. He has served in an advisory capacity on arbitration and economic policy in the United States and abroad. Mr. Rivkin received his B.A. magna cum laude and his J.D. from Yale University.

Professor Nagle has been teaching about human trafficking to Stetson law students since the early 2000s and has been recognized as one of the first law professors to teach a course on human trafficking in the United States. Her curriculum has been used by Johns Hopkins University as a model for undergraduate and law school courses nationwide.

Florida Law Schools’ Consortium on Racial Justice to Address Myths About Critical Race Theory

The 11 law schools that make up the Florida Law Schools’ Consortium on Racial Justice will hold the consortium’s first event of the year on February 16 to discuss an often-misunderstood topic, critical race theory. This is the second statewide forum since its formation in 2020.

The consortium, which includes all of Florida’s law schools, aims to combat systemic racism through fostering anti-racism in legal education. In 2020, Stetson Law Dean Michèle Alexandre collaborated with the other Florida Law Deans to launch the Consortium’s foundation. Today, the consortium is institutionalized in each Florida law school and is led in collaboration with Professor Judy Scully and Attorney Joann Grages Burnett.

“The work of the FLSCRJ is important because we are focused on the moral responsibility of the legal profession to breathe life into the phrase that is inscribed on the entrance to the United States Supreme Court building – ‘equal justice under law,’” Scully said.

The February 16 forum, titled “Critical Race Theory: Myths and Misrepresentations,” will explore critical race theory as well as correct misconceptions about this historic legal approach. Recently, the term has been usurped and misrepresented in a manner that stokes fear and division. The mischaracterization of CRT has even led to legislation at the state and local level, including in Florida, “banning” it from being taught in public schools – despite the fact that its use has not traditionally extended to K-12 education.

Emory University Law Professor Darren Hutchinson

Consortium leadership hopes to shed light on critical race theory and inspire everyone to learn more about the correct application of this transformative school of thought.

“As educators, we prioritize creating space for deep learning and critical evaluation of assumptions. Part of justice work is to correct misinformation, especially when such misinformation causes harm,” said Alexandre, who will be a panelist at the forum. “I am elated that the Florida Consortium can contribute to this important work and encourage everyone to engage with the esteemed panelists who will take part in the discussion.”

Panelists for the discussion include Dean Michèle Alexandre, Emory University Law Professor Darren Hutchinson, and Amy Donofrio, an educator and Executive Director of the EVAC Movement, a Jacksonville-based organization that aims to transform the lives of youth often considered “at-risk.” The talk will be moderated by Ray Benson and Cassidy Mauth, the FLSCRJ fellows at Florida A&M University College of Law, the institution that is serving as the event’s host.

“Our mission is to serve as a beacon of hope and catalyst for change by providing access to excellent educational training, and this panel offers such an opportunity,” said Deidré Keller, Dean and Professor of Law at Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Law. “We’re proud to host this forum and elated to have two of our talented law students moderate the discussion.”

Participants say conversations like this are vital, given how a distorted version of CRT is now capitalized to influence voters ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

“The recent attacks on Critical Race Theory are part of an organized countermovement to racial justice,” Hutchinson said. “Anti-CRT legislation and restrictions on political activism and voting are designed to impede the attainment of a more just society.”

Educating the public on what critical race theory is – and is not – can help foster more productive conversations about systemic racism and how it affects our legal system, including how we educate lawyers.

Dean Michèle Alexandre

“It is our duty as legal educators and sculptors of the legal profession to ensure that this next generation of lawyers takes this responsibility seriously,” Scully said. “We view this mission not just as a law school effort but as a community-wide effort. And, since the anti-CRT movement has been so vocal in Florida’s legislature, it is a timely topic for all 11 Florida law schools to examine thoroughly.”

The Florida Law Schools Consortium on Racial Justice first convened in the summer of 2020.

The 11 Florida law school deans are:

John Czarnetzky, Chief Executive Officer & Dean, Ave Maria School of Law
Leticia M. Diaz, Dean & Professor, Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law
Deidre A. Keller, Dean, Florida A&M University College of Law
Antony Page, Dean & FIU Foundation Professor, Florida International University College of Law
Erin O’Hara O’Connor, Dean & McKenzie Professor, Florida State U. College of Law
Dean Jose Roberto Juarez, Jr. Dean & Professor, Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law
Tamara F. Lawson, Dean & Professor, St. Thomas University School of Law
Michèle Alexandre, Dean & Professor, Stetson University College of Law
Laura Ann Rosenbury, Dean & Levin, Mabie & Levin Professor, University of Florida Levin College of Law
Nell Jessup Newton, Interim Dean & Visiting Professor, University of Miami School of Law
James McGrath, President & Dean, WMU – Cooley Law School Tampa Bay Campus

The discussion takes place from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Sign up for this virtual event.

Racial Justice Student Fellows Explore the “New Normal” of Post-2020 Life

The virtual panel that participated in SPHERE’s New Normal discussion

Just like the pandemic, the struggle for racial justice hasn’t ended – but it’s evolved in ways nobody expected. Information – and misinformation, much of it harmful and divisive – spreads rapidly as many communities are struggling.

A panel of Racial Justice Student Fellows from Pinellas County higher-learning institutions including Stetson Law examined how to promote racial healing and a greater sense of unity in a virtual talk called “Truth Talk: Creating a New Normal.” The event was part of an ongoing series of conversations organized by St. Pete/Pinellas Higher Education for Race Equity (SPHERE), a consortium formed in 2020.

Panelists sought to uncover new ways to foster a culture on campus that acknowledges the struggles and inequities that have challenged Black students well before Covid-19 and the 2020 uprisings.

“We think this conversation is important,” said DeWayne Anderson, assistant program director for the Office of Multicultural Affairs at University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus. “We think racial healing is important.”

The Ripple Effects of 2020

Stetson Law student and SPHERE fellow Blake Radford moderated the panel. He kicked it off by asking the panelists to reflect on the year 2020, and whether racial injustice intensified.

“I do think that it was kind of revealed and it grew to a fever pitch,” said Stetson Law student Megan Holmes, the other SPHERE fellow from Stetson Law. “Everyone had to pay attention because there was nothing else to do. Because they were at home and their attention was available.”

From that grew conversations about inequities in everyday life, and questions about whether society is truly inclusive. Panelist Na’Keidra Perez, a SPHERE fellow who left the corporate world to attend St. Petersburg College, said it can go as far as one’s identity in professional settings.

“I still can’t go by Na’Keidra at work,” she said, adding that she’s had to go by “Nikki” in corporate settings. “Let alone share my pronouns, I can’t even share my name.”

Healing Through Difficult Conversations

Part of racial healing, she said, is to have open conversations about why the dominant culture isn’t inclusive despite the diversity that constitutes it – and be open to putting in the hard work to change it, regardless of your racial identity.

“Learn how to become an imperfect ally. You may not look like me, but you have a problem that I can help with,” she said. “To me, racial healing is a painful process at which we are [to paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.] continually moving toward the promised land.”

SPHERE is a collaborative undertaking comprising Eckerd College, the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg College, Stetson University College of Law, and USF St. Petersburg. The consortium originated in 2020 as a means of confronting inequalities that exist in Pinellas County. These higher-education institutions serve more than 40,000 students, collectively.

Each year, the consortium selects two fellows from each campus to participate in frequent conversations activities that give them an active role in shaping policies that support systemic change and racial healing. The 2021-2022 Racial Justice Student Fellows were the inaugural students to participate in the program.

Learn more about the St. Pete/Pinellas Higher Education for Racial Equality consortium student fellowship program. If you are interested in becoming a SPHERE racial justice fellow in the 2022-23 academic year, please contact Professor Judith Scully.

Inaugural Business Law Symposium to Focus on White Collar Crime

From a lawyer who famously represents top rappers to a high-profile fraud case involving Silicon Valley, Stetson Law’s inaugural Business Law Review Symposium will be a day of compelling discussion. Taking place virtually Feb. 25, this year’s event is called “White Collar Crime: A Look into the Past, Present, and Future.”

The event will be a vibrant mix of academics and practitioners, providing a rare opportunity for practicing lawyers, scholars, and students to examine all aspects of law relating to white collar crime, from ethical questions to real-world examples.

“We are excited about the upcoming inaugural symposium of Stetson University College of Law’s Business Law Journal on an important topic in the news, white collar crime,” said Law Professor Ellen Podgor, Stetson’s Gary R. Trombley White Collar Crime Research Professor. “The Symposium provides a mix of presentations on topics for academics, students, and practitioners, in this key area of the law.”

Ellen S. Podgor close-up image — Law Professor Ellen Podgor

Why White Collar Crime?

The term “white collar crime” is said to have been coined by sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines it as “characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust” rather than violence or the threat of physical harm. It’s typically financially motivated – so while a victim might not suffer physical injury or death, they can experience financial ruin by no fault of their own.

“From insider trading to outright fraud, white collar crime costs investors and the markets billions of dollars, yet it is too seldom effectively prosecuted,” said Stetson Law Professor Joe Morrissey, the Business Law Review‘s faculty advisor.

He said one topic that’ll be up for discussion is a recent high-profile example of white collar crime: Elizabeth Holmes and the company she founded on false promises, Theranos. Although Theranos was dissolved in 2018, the Silicon Valley-based startup was once valued at $10 billion.

A Day of Fascinating Discussion

Morrissey will moderate a morning academic panel called “Investigation & Insider Trading.” A second academic panel, “Prosecution & Punishment for Corporate Officers,” will be moderated by visiting Professor Karen Woody.

The afternoon has two practitioner panels that will explore two key aspects of the white collar practice. The first will be a panel on discovery issues that considers recent congressional legislation, the Due Process Protection Act, and issues criminal defense lawyers face with white collar cases.

Unlike street crime, white collar crime investigations are typically document-driven and evidence is largely found in computers or corporate materials. Sifting through and organizing voluminous records can make discovery particularly challenging.

The second panel will examine ethical issues associated with white collar practice. The panel will offer their perspectives on some of the unique ethical landmines presented when representing a client in a corporate setting.

Attorney Marissa Goldberg close-up — Lawyer Marissa Goldberg

High-Profile Defense Attorneys to Speak

The day ends with a spirited conversation with practitioners Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg, who will discuss the pre-trial issues that arise in handling a white collar case.

Findling is a high-profile Atlanta-based lawyer known for representing the likes of rappers Gucci Mane and Cardi B. A past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, his practice, Findling Law Firm, P.C. focuses on state and federal criminal defense.

A partner at Findling Law, Goldberg has successfully represented clients in a range of high-profile and political cases, including a recent case involving Atlanta City Hall.

Organizers say they hope the event will raise interest in the legal dynamics of white-collar crime among the Stetson Law community.

“We hope that the information presented by our distinguished authors and panelists will provide opportunities for growth and inspiration,” said student Omar M. Hussein, editor of Stetson’s Business Law Journal.

See full schedule, speaker bios and more at the Stetson Business Law Review Symposium page.

Register here.

Stetson emerges as top contender in prestigious national moot court championship

The 2022 Hunton Andrews Kurth National Championship | Courtesy of the University of Houston Law Center

Considered by Stetson Law Professor Brooke Bowman as the Super Bowl of moot court competitions, the Hunton Andrews Kurth National Championship invites only the best teams to compete in this annual event. Coming off a stellar 2020–2021 season, Stetson was, naturally, among them in January 2022.

Jessica Merker

The event took place virtually Jan. 27–29 and brought the nation’s 16 best teams together to argue on either side of a problem concerning general versus personal jurisdiction in the context of a class-action suit. The team consisted of students Elizabeth Kellar, Jessica Merker, and Peter Farrell, who had been preparing for this championship since October with coaching from Professor Brooke Bowman and Stetson Alumnus James Nealon and assistance from Professors Louis Virelli and Roberta Flowers and a number of alums who competed on previous teams in this competition.

Peter Farrell

The work paid off: the team won a semifinalist award—and Merker was awarded third-best oralist. The team contended with the likes of NYU, William & Mary, GW, and Seton Hall before besting Texas Tech in the quarterfinal round. In a nail-biter of a semifinal round, Stetson lost by just 0.18—less than a quarter of a point—to Chicago-Kent, the finalist in this year’s championship.

Elizabeth Kellar

The event marks the tenth time Stetson has taken part in this rigorous competition. Stetson has made it to the elimination rounds six times, including four times as semifinalists, one time as finalists, and one time as the national champions (in 2015). A Stetson advocate has also been recognized as one of the top oralists four times—two best oralist awards, one second-best oralist award, and one third-best oralist award. And Stetson teams have won two best brief awards.

Among the competition’s judges were U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kim Wardlaw and U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jennifer Elrod. See the full rankings and scoring methodology.

Learn more about Stetson Law’s Moot Court Board.

Environmental activist discusses how to fight harmful bacteria in Florida waters

Cyanobacteria may not be a household name like red tide, but its effects on Florida waterways can be similarly dire, environmentalists say. That’s why renowned environmentalist Maggy Hurchalla wants to raise awareness of these pollutants – and is calling for stronger laws to curb their proliferation.

As part of the Edward & Bonnie Foreman Biodiversity Lecture Series, Hurchalla spoke at a hybrid event on the Stetson University College of Law campus Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022, on the eve of World Wetlands Day. Hurchalla’s lecture focused on waterways in and around Lake Okeechobee, including the Everglades, the threat cyanobacteria overgrowth poses public health, and what she sees as lagging public policy when it comes to water resources.

The lecture was titled “Old Laws and New Health Threats.” Cyanobacteria blooms are associated with wastewater runoff from mass-scale agricultural operations, water laden with nutrients that feed the blooms. Volumes of this polluted water are stored in Lake Okeechobee and are periodically released into the waters off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

“Our natural systems are hurting,” she said. “They are suffering because of over-allocation of our water resources. We have given away more water than we have.”

A longtime activist who was an early advocate for Everglades restoration, Hurchalla was a Martin County Commissioner from 1974 to 1994. Her sister was former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. She said the consequences of cyanobacteria outbreaks can be dire for families living along affected waterways as well as businesses that rely on clean water, like boat charters.

Foreman Biodiversity Fellow Katherine Pratt; Environmental activist Maggy Hurchalla; and Law Professor and Director of the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy Royal Gardner in the Banyan Courtyard on the Stetson Law campus.

Cyanobacteria in and of itself is not the problem, she said.

“They are one of the oldest life forms on earth. They are approximately 3.5 billion years old. Without them, we wouldn’t exist.”

For example, spirulina, a popular dietary supplement, is a cyanobacteria, as are countless other microorganisms. Many occur naturally in Florida waterways – Hurchalla said the overgrowths seen in Lake Okeechobee would not occur in a pristine environment – but climate change, industrial agriculture and the destruction of mangrove ecosystems create a perfect storm for harmful overgrowths.

“Massive cyanobacteria blooms are not natural,” she said.

People living near the outbreak have seen an increase in rashes, nausea and respiratory problems, she said, adding that she worries about children living along Lake Okeechobee’s shores, and how the blooms might affect their long-term health.

“They swim in it, they eat the fish, and they breathe [near it],” she said

Despite the potentially detrimental impacts, Hurchalla says, policies at the local and state level surrounding cyanobacteria and water management are utterly lacking.

The event included a question and answer session in which students and other guests asked questions about Florida’s water policies.

The event gave students and others in attendance an opportunity to learn about a real-world example of the intersection between law and the environment.

“I hope that students better understand the threats to Florida’s water quality, and I am certain that they will be inspired by Maggy’s example,” said Professor Royal Gardner, Director for the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy at Stetson Law.

For Hurchalla, the event was an opportunity to inspire action through direct involvement and engaging local and state officials on the issue.

“There’s something more important you can do about water resources,” she said. “Vote, vote, vote.”

The Everglades are a body of water recognized as a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental treaty that aims to encourage responsible wetlands management and the entity behind World Wetlands Day. Hurchalla’s lecture was recognized as a World Wetlands Day event.

Esteemed legal scholar Jules Coleman to speak at Feb. 17 Inns of Court lecture

Dr. Jules Coleman

As part of a monthlong visit to the Stetson University College of Law campus, author, scholar of law, and Yale University Professor of Philosophy Jules Coleman will give the Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Distinguished Lecture at the College’s Annual Inns of Court event.

Dr. Jules Coleman is a prolific author who has written a dozen books and over 100 scholarly articles and peer-reviewed essays, including The Practice of Principle: In Defense of a Pragmatist Approach to Legal Theory, based on his Inaugural Clarendon Lectures in Law at Oxford (published in 2001 by Oxford University Press). A former Wesley Newcomb Hohfield Professor of Jurisprudence at Yale University and Senior Vice Provost and Professor of Philosophy at NYU, Dr. Coleman is a thought leader in Higher Education committed to projects designed to reduce the disparity between the distribution of talent on the one hand and opportunity on the other.

A Compelling Discussion

His Inns of Court address, which he will deliver at a hybrid event Feb. 17 from 5:00-6:00 p.m., is titled “What Can be Learned from Thoroughbred Horses & Trolley Carts.” It explores the intersection of the law and everyday ethical issues using examples taken from the Kentucky Derby and the storied “Trolley Problem” thought experiment.

“I strongly believe that many of the issues the law addresses occur in different forms in our ordinary experiences, and that the law stands to learn a good deal from the ways in which we have come to resolve these issues in non-legal contexts,” Coleman said.

Students, staff and faculty will be invited to attend the lecture in-person in the Great Hall (which is at limited capacity due to COVID-19 precautions), while others are invited to attend the event virtually.

Inspiring Faculty & Students

As part of his visit to campus, Coleman will offer one-on-one scholarship mentoring to faculty and aims to inspire students to look to jurisprudence as a fundamental aspect of their future work.

Professor Marco Jimenez

“I hope to spend significant amounts of time with the faculty to help them work through their current research projects, identify new projects and help them develop a strategy and a practice for completing research projects,” Coleman said. “I hope to meet with students and help them identify areas of the law they wish to study and in which they practice; and to help them learn the lesson that legal theory is a central element of first-rate legal practice.”

Given Coleman’s international reputation and his engaging speaking style, College of Law faculty members look forward to his visit, which will be the second time he has visited the campus.

“Dr. Jules Coleman’s visit should prove invigorating to faculty and students alike,” said Stetson Law Professor Marco Jimenez. “I, for one, am incredibly excited to welcome one of our nation’s premier legal scholars on our beautiful Stetson campus for the second time! “ During his visit, Coleman will also speak at the 43^rd Annual National Conference on Law & Higher Education, which takes place March 2-7 at the Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach (see details and register).

Dean Michele Alexandre Selected for Exclusive HBCU Fellowship Program

Stetson University College of Law Dean Michele Alexandre

After an intensive selection process, Stetson College of Law Dean Michele Alexandre has been selected to participate in the HBCU Executive Leadership Institute at Clark Atlanta University’s 2022 Community of Fellows. The program seeks to cultivate future senior leadership for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) throughout the U.S.

Dean Alexandre is one of 22 to be selected for the program out of a field of over 100 candidates who were thoroughly vetted in a rigorous selection process. Applicants came from a range of backgrounds, from academia to finance.

With both virtual and in-person sessions, the program’s competency-based curriculum will equip fellows to serve in critical leadership roles at HBCUs in capacities ranging from fundraising and development to board governance and human resource management.

The fellowship is now in its second year, and organizers say this year’s program will build on last year’s success in meaningful ways.

“We’re just beginning. Our first cohort of fellows led the charge to help ensure the legacy of HBCUs remains intact,” said Dr. George T. French Jr., President of Clark Atlanta University, said in a written statement. “On the heels of our inaugural success, this new community of fellows has big shoes to fill. I’m confident that they will help us elevate ELI and take this innovative initiative to the next level as we continue to build the next generation of HBCU leaders.”

On average, HBCU presidents’ tenure is just 3.3 years – less than half of the seven-year average across all four-year higher education institutions, according to research that examined the role’s turnover from 2010 through 2014. This is likely due to the unique challenges many HBCUs face, from lagging technological infrastructure to the relative lack of endowment funding for scholarships.

This program aims to change that by working to grow the candidate pool for presidencies and other executive roles within the 100 HBCUs in the U.S. The program is akin to an incubator for senior leadership, one that aims for “knowledge delivery, hands-on skills, and intuition based on know-how.”

Program leadership believes the unique program will greatly benefit HBCUs in the future.

“The first community of fellows learned and connected in a manner that is unprecedented for executive programs, largely in part to the work of our amazing leadership team,” said Dr. Phyllis Worthy Dawkins, former President of Bennett College and Executive Director of the HBCU ELI at CAU. “This unique curriculum was designed specifically for HBCUs and we look forward to seeing the fruits of our labor. HBCUs matter today – now more than ever.”

The program is supported by entities including the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, ECMC Foundation, Microsoft, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Toyota, and The Rich Foundation, Inc.