Stetson Law’s Assistant Dean of International Programs JR Swanegan has been selected by a committee of peers as an Association of International Education Administrators Presidential Fellow for the 2017-18 academic year.
The AIEA is a membership organization formed in November 1982, composed of institutional leaders engaged in advancing the international dimensions of higher education.
As an AIEA presidential fellow, Swanegan will be matched with a mentor to provide advice and consultation. He will spend several days during the upcoming fall and spring semesters visiting his mentor’s campus to learn about the policies, politics and procedures of the campus, meeting administrators and faculty, and immersing himself in the day-to-day activities of the institution.
Fellows learn how an experienced senior international officer and their institution address international education challenges and solve problems; participate in a campus site visit at a knowledgeable mentor’s institution; learn how national and international issues impact individual campuses; and become a member of a national network of fellows who serve as career resources.
“I am humbled and excited to spend the next year learning from one of the preeminent leaders in international education,” said Swanegan. “I intend to incorporate practices at Stetson to improve and expand our already outstanding programs.”
Stetson University College of Law Veterans Law Institute director and Professor of Law Michael P. Allen has been selected by President Trump for a federal judgeship on the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims based in Washington, D.C. The appointment is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Professor Allen is a renowned expert on the law of veterans’ benefits, and has testified before Congress and written widely on veterans’ benefits issues. Congress created the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in 1988 to hear appeals from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Before the court was created, veterans who were denied benefits did not have access to judicial review. Today, the court hears an average of between 4,000-5,000 appeals every year. The original seven-member court has expanded to nine.
“I can’t imagine a greater honor than to be able to serve those who gave so much to protect our freedoms,” Professor Allen said. “It is incredibly humbling to be able to live out the exhortation of President Lincoln to care for those who have borne the battle.”
Allen has served in a variety of roles at Stetson since 2001, receiving numerous awards for excellence in scholarship and teaching as a professor for 16 years and as an associate dean for four years, overseeing both academic affairs and faculty and strategic initiatives. Professor Allen also directed Stetson’s internship programs at the Florida Supreme Court, the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. He coached 15 student moot court teams during his time at Stetson. Along with Stetson alumnus Jason Stearns J.D. ’08, Professor Allen coached the Stetson student teams which won the National Veterans Moot Court Competition at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for four of the past eight years.
“Professor Allen has been a leader and a tremendous colleague at Stetson. For over 15 years, he has helped to transform Stetson as a law professor, associate dean, and mentor to so many students,” said Dean and Professor of Law Christopher Pietruszkiewicz. “He launched our Veterans Law Institute, has been a leading advocate for veterans, and I am certain that his work on behalf of veterans will have a profound influence as he joins the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Our entire Stetson family thanks him for his great work and we wish him success in this new role – a role in which he is destined to make great things happen.”
Several Stetson alumni, including Javier Centonzio J.D. ’12, LL.M. ’14, Veterans Law Judge and Board of Veterans’ Appeals member Angel S. Caracciolo J.D. ’03, Brian Redar J.D. ’06, and Daniel Smith J.D. ’08, have served as judicial law clerks with the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The court, based in Washington D.C., travels to law schools across the U.S. to educate people about the role of the court and the expanding area of veterans law. Former Stetson Professor of Law Robert N. Davis is presently serving as chief judge of the court.
Stetson’s Veterans Law Institute, founded in 2012, serves to increase legal services available to the growing population of military members, veterans and their families in the Tampa Bay, Florida, region by bringing together volunteers, faculty, students and other community organizations. Stetson’s Veterans Advocacy Clinic, as part of the Institute, provides representation to Tampa Bay area veterans appealing decisions denying Veterans Administration disability benefits. In the past 10 years, the number of law school clinics across the U.S. helping veterans has expanded, exposing law students to the complex area of veterans law while helping veterans with legal issues.
“Professor Allen has been a tremendous force behind the growth of the Veterans Law Institute at Stetson and is responsible for Stetson’s emergence onto the national stage in the area of veterans law,” said Professor Stacey-Rae Simcox, director of the Veterans Advocacy Clinic at Stetson. “Professor Allen has tirelessly educated veterans, communities, lawyers, judges, and even Capitol Hill on the issues that are important to our veterans. It is wonderful to know that he can continue to teach and mentor students while being a member of the court through clerkships and internships.”
Read more in the Washington Times: http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/7/donald-trump-nominates-new-slate-federal-judges/
Stetson University College of Law alumni Wendy Fisher J.D. ’14, Giselle Girones J.D. ’16, Barbara Goiran J.D. ’93, Kimberly Hamill J.D./M.B.A. ’13, Melissa Madsen J.D. ’08 and Jennifer Salter J.D. ’10 have been named Florida Bar Leadership Academy fellows. The program aims to broaden diversity among leadership in the legal profession. The first Leadership Academy was started in 2013 and has graduated 211 participants to date, many who have obtained leadership positions in their communities and within the Bar.
Florida Bar President William J. Schifino, Jr., introduced the class, who come from a wide range of backgrounds and serve a variety of clients and communities. Women make up 74 percent of the class.
USF Sarasota-Manatee is unveiling a Direct Admission Program (DAP) this fall that offers qualified USFSM graduates direct entry into Stetson University College of Law.
Under an agreement between the institutions, USFSM students will be assured entry into Stetson after meeting certain prerequisites. Admitted students will also receive a scholarship throughout their studies at Stetson.
“We are thrilled to partner with Stetson College of Law on this opportunity for our students,” said Dr. Terry Osborn, interim regional chancellor for USFSM. “Providing pathways for our students to attend law school locally provides expanded access to potentially high-paying and rewarding careers for students throughout our region.”
“At Stetson, we continue to create innovative ways to create partnerships and assist outstanding students as they prepare for their futures. This new agreement between Stetson and USFSM is a big step in creating a pathway for exceptional students to streamline their legal education,” said Stetson Law Dean Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz.
“USFSM graduates can seamlessly transition to Stetson Law, taking one step closer to successful academic and legal careers,” he said. “Stetson’s nationally top-ranked programs in trial advocacy, moot court, dispute resolution, and legal writing prepare our students with the skills they need to distinguish themselves as graduates. We look forward to working closely with USFSM students to help prepare them to become lawyers and leaders in our communities.”
The agreement, approved late last year, applies to any academic major at USF Sarasota-Manatee. To be accepted into the program, undergraduate students must complete at least 90 semester hours of coursework with at least 30 semester hours completed at USFSM.
Applicants must complete all requirements for a bachelor’s degree and achieve a minimum 3.3 grade point average in courses at USFSM. They must also earn a score on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) of no less than the 50th percentile of the most recent class to matriculate into the College of Law.
Applications will be accepted Oct. 1 through May 1 in the academic year before the student intends to enter Stetson. For more information, contact the Stetson Law Office of Admissions and Student Financial Planning at [email protected].
“This is a great opportunity for USFSM graduates and we look forward to seeing students passionate about a career in the legal profession take advantage of this pathway,” Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Andrew Telatovich.
“With the scholarship component, we are also happy to see that it will help our students save money during law school,” he said. “We look forward to a great partnership and relationship with Stetson Law in the future.”
Dr. Jane Rose, dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, said the college is well-suited to prepare students for post-graduate studies at Stetson.
“I am pleased that our College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences offers four majors that are nationally recognized as top choices for students planning to go to law school: English, History, Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, and Criminology,” she said.
“Since these degrees are designed to enable students to pursue a minor in another field, they are great preparation for the LSAT exam, which requires breadth of knowledge in the liberal arts and social sciences,” Dr. Rose said. “We offer 12 minors for students to pursue, along with one of these majors. Students choosing to pursue a pre-law plan at USFSM will also have access to a staff mentor who is a licensed attorney with a Juris Doctorate degree.”
Stetson University College of Law’s National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law is offering a complimentary two-day training for defense attorneys and prosecutors who try capital cases.
“Capital Litigation Initiative: Crime Scene to Courtroom Forensics Training” is being offered June 12-13 at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix, Arizona, with a grant awarded to the Bureau of Justice Assistance by the U.S. Department of Justice, Capital Litigation Initiative.
The training focuses on issues related to forensic science that defense attorneys and prosecutors encounter including:
Forensic Science 101
Forensic Report Wording and Statistics
Digital Forensic Technologies
Challenging Evidence-Methodologies and Development of Optimal Strategies
Forensic Science Research
Forensics after the NAS Report
Discovery Material
Expert Witness
Preparing for Trial
Travel and lodging and transportation to and from the airport as well as an on-site per diem for attendees is covered by a grant, funded by the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Capital Litigation Initiative: Crime Scene to Courtroom Forensics Training.
For the third year in a row, Stetson’s chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers has been honored as Student Chapter of the Year by FAWL.
(L-R): Kaitlyn Konecny (Stetson FAWL 2017-2018 president, 2016-2017 vice president); Chloe Wells ’17 (Stetson FAWL 2016-2017 president); Casey Burns (Stetson FAWL secretary); Julia Alley (Stetson FAWL treasurer); Natalie Yello ’17 Ms. JD Fellow. FAWLS partnered with Ms. JD and Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Law Student Division- Stetson Chapter for Women’s Week.
This year, FAWL spearheaded Stetson’s first Women’s Week which featured several programs focused on promoting and celebrating women on and off campus.
Stetson’s FAWL student president Chloe Wells also received the National Association of Women Lawyers award at Stetson law school’s Honors and Awards program on May12. She was named Student Organization Leader of the Year this year during the Student Organization Awards.
“This group continues to impress me with their collaboration, creative programming, and commitment to FAWL’s mission of promoting gender equality,” said Office of Career Development Associate Director Joann Grages Burnett, FAWL adviser at Stetson. “I am thrilled that they are once again recognized for their contributions to Stetson and the legal profession.”
Stetson’s chapter will receive its award during the summer FAWL Annual Gala at the Florida Bar’s annual convention on June 22 in Boca Raton.
Established in 2014, the award is presented annually to the FAWL student chapter that has most effectively created new programs, events, or services and/or expanded on traditional programs, events or services that further FAWL’s mission; provided programs, events or services that encourage and assist members to become leaders in the law school and in the community; sought and gained exposure and recognition in both the law school community and the community as a whole; promoted diversity in law school and/or in the community; successfully recruited new members; and consistently participated in the state FAWL organization by paying dues in a timely manner, having an active chapter representative, attending meetings and functions, encouraging volunteers for committees and offices, working well with other local chapters, and assisting with FAWL projects.
Student Kiera Forlenza is a social justice advocate focused on helping children.
Student Kiera Forlenza is a social justice advocate focused on helping children.
Second-year law student Kiera Forlenza admits that she wasn’t sure law school was for her during her first year of studying the fundamentals, buried in books. Forlenza came to law school with the purpose of becoming an advocate for children. It was not until she delved into coursework in Stetson’s Social Justice Advocacy (SJA) Concentration Program under the mentorship of Professor Judith Scully that Forlenza began to define herself as an advocate in law school.
Today, Forlenza is student president of the Dream Defenders organization. The busy mother and law student is a Guardian ad Litem and volunteers as a classroom assistant in Sarasota, where she plans to work with the Public Defender’s Office this summer. Forlenza says that Stetson’s SJA concentration program transformed her opinion of law school.
“The program is trying to instill a different type of lawyering,” says Forlenza. “Students learn how to think outside the box to effect change.”
Stetson’s first full graduating class in the Social Justice Advocacy Concentration Program was in 2014. Professor Scully explains that the program appeals to any student interested in civil rights, human rights, criminal law, or any aspect of the law that needs to be reformed, embellished, or abolished in order to achieve equity and/or justice.
Forlenza is currently wrapping up the first semester of her second year at Stetson. She has already completed more than 200 pro bono hours. She says she is enrolled in SJA electives that are helping her hone her voice as an advocate.
Forlenza explains that the program is directing her passion for juvenile justice through careful course selection, independent study, colleagueship with other SJA students and mentoring.
“Juveniles are the most defenseless of our population,” says Forlenza. “They can easily get lost in the system.”
Many juveniles are transferred into the adult court system by prosecutors using their direct file powers. This prosecutorial power is currently being challenged by proposed legislation in Florida because in the past 6 years nearly 10,000 juveniles are transferred in to the adult criminal legal system, the highest number of juvenile transfers reported by any state. Florida is one of the only states that uses direct file as its primary tool of prosecuting juveniles as adults. If convicted as adults, juveniles are branded as felons for life which greatly impacts their ability to obtain employment, housing and even financial aid for higher education, says Forlenza.
Professor Scully describes how the Social Justice Advocacy and the Law course, offered for the first time at Stetson in the spring 2017 semester, helps students understand the wide variety of ways that they can use their legal skills to empower their clients and serve their communities. Through this course, students are introduced to different forms of lawyering other than the traditional “one client, one lawyer” model. In the SJA and the Law course, students learn how lawyers can work in tandem with policymakers; as rebellious lawyers who collaborate with their clients; and as holistic lawyers who work as a team with social workers, immigration lawyers, civil rights lawyers, housing and social security lawyers to ensure the success of their clients not just in their cases but in their lives. Some SJA lawyers also facilitate leadership of community members so that they can solve their own problems in the future. The semester ends with a focus on self-care so that students are prepared to manage the second-hand trauma that lawyers often face when dealing with people in extreme crisis.
“Students learn how to effectuate change not just in the courtroom but also in the community,” says Professor Scully, who introduces students to models of holistic lawyering being developed around the country by non-traditional lawyers with the National Conference of Black Lawyers and the National Lawyers Guild, lawyers working in nonprofit organizations and law school clinics, and with the public defender’s office in the Bronx, New York. A series of ten practicing attorneys joined the SJA and the Law course this semester through video Skyping, allowing students to hear a wide variety of SJA voices and perspectives.
“It is my hope that students will leave this course knowing that one lawyer empowering others can make fundamental change in the legal system and that a small group of determined lawyers working in the community can change the course of history “ says Scully.
She is proud of Stetson’s Social Justice Advocacy Concentration Program alumni who are working in immigration law, veterans law, juvenile law, with public defender offices and with policymakers in the legislature. “Our students are making an impact in Florida, New York, Texas and Georgia. A decade from now SJA alumni from Stetson will be leaders all across this nation.”
As an undergraduate, Forlenza says she focused on paralegal studies and wanted to work in the education field. Her goal evolved into a desire to create change in the education system. As a law student in the SJA program at Stetson, Forlenza says she still wants to make a difference in the lives of children as a social justice lawyer, and now she sees some different paths to that goal. She says that the program has helped her develop professionally, discovering where she personally wants to be and how to get there.
“Social justice advocates are not just litigators strictly working in courtrooms,” says Forlenza. “They are in the community doing all types of work that will legally empower and assist their clients in economically, politically, and socially developing their communities .”
She says her goal is to work in juvenile criminal defense, and to be an advocate with a holistic focus on her clients.
“Our job as future attorneys is to help our clients get what they need,” Forlenza says.
Stetson University College of Law hosts the inaugural Legal Technology continuing legal education program on June 9 on the Gulfport campus, 1401 61st St S.
The daylong CLE program for lawyers and legal practitioners covers topics ranging from cyber security in the law firm to courtroom technology to using social media in advertising.
Presentations include “Cyber Security and Your Law Firm: Protect Yourself,” “Courtroom Technology,” “E-discovery,” “Integrating Technology into Practice,” “Social Media, Advertising Rules, Tech & Ethics,” and “Cybersecurity and Your Clients: The Need for Due Diligence.”
The CLE begins with registration at 8:30 a.m. and wraps up at 4 p.m.
General, Technology and Ethics CLE credits are pending.
To learn more about the CLE, or to register, visitStetson Law. For more information, contact Stetson’s Office of Professional Education at [email protected] or call 727-562-7898.
Matthew Ceriale, third from left, is a first-year student at Stetson law school.
First-year law student Matthew Ceriale has been awarded the inaugural Shumaker Diversity Scholarship from the Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick LLP law firm. Ceriale will join Shumaker’s Tampa office as a summer associate.
The Shumaker Diversity Scholarship is available to students who are members of minority groups. Applicants must have outstanding undergraduate and law school academic credentials, exhibit leadership abilities and community involvement and demonstrate a commitment to practice law after graduation in the geographic area of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick’s offices. The law firm has offices located in Sarasota and Tampa, Florida, Toledo and Columbus, Ohio, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Ceriale said he was motivated to come to law school because it opened up pathways to solving peoples’ problems.
“I knew to be able to honestly help other people I had to start with myself. I knew that I couldn’t help anyone if I didn’t have the skills, knowledge, or experiences,” said Ceriale. “For that reason, law school was my frying pan, my plunge.”
“Law school seems to put everything else on hold while we go through our coursework, but every now and again I’ll run into someone or get a phone call and be reminded that there are still people counting on me, still people who are in need of help – it’s part of what keeps me driven,” said Ceriale. “Every day is a test or new challenge and I love it.”
“This scholarship is one example of how Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick seeks candidates who demonstrate personal and professional excellence and who bring diverse life experiences to our team,” said real estate attorney C. Graham Carothers, Jr., a partner and the Shumaker Diversity and Inclusion Committee co-chair. “We are very excited about this new program and are confident that it will result in an even stronger, better and more effective team of professionals at Shumaker.”
“Diversity is extremely important to Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick and to our clients,” said Shumaker Diversity and Inclusion Committee co-chair Sharon M. Fulop, a partner and real estate attorney at the full-service firm. “Keeping with our commitment to this initiative, we wanted to take the next logical step in recruiting underrepresented law students. With this scholarship, we provide funds to help offset the cost of law school as well as a position in our firm’s summer associate class. It’s a win-win opportunity for everyone.”
Shumaker’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee is made up of partners, associates and administrative personnel that are dedicated to establishing and implementing a variety of diversity and inclusion measures.
LL.M. in International Law student Riya Khan has been accepted into the United Nations Graduate Study Programme starting this summer. The program provides an opportunity for outstanding graduate and postgraduate students from around the world to deepen their understanding of the principles, purposes and activities of the U.N. and its related agencies through first-hand observation and study at the U.N. Office in Geneva, Switzerland.
“It’s a two-week program where you take classes at the U.N. in Geneva working with post-graduate students from around the world,” said Khan.
Selected students will work on this year’s theme of “Climate Change, Migration, Violent Extremism: The United Nations’ Role in Preventing Conflicts Spurred by the Challenges of Our Time.” Students will also hear lectures by senior members of the U.N. and the Geneva-based specialized agencies. Classes and lectures are held at the U.N. Geneva where actual sessions take place.
Between 50-70 students are selected from around the world. Last year, 70 were selected. The program, July 3-14 at the U.N. Office in Geneva, is free but selected students must pay the cost of travel and living expenses for two weeks.
(L-R): Chief Judge Anthony Rodolino, Taylor Greenberg and Judge Susan St. Peters.
Student Taylor Greenberg received the 2017 Pro Bono Service Award for Outstanding Service by a Law Student from the Sixth Judicial Circuit at the Pinellas County Justice Center in Clearwater on April 21. Stetson Law students Haley Coet and Reshma Pharsi won honorable mention awards for pro bono service.
Greenberg was honored for her dedication to the cause of pro bono service and commitment to helping the community. Greenberg has served as a Guardian Ad Litem for close to 20 children and teens since 2013, and is active in the 18th and Sixth Judicial Circuit. Greenberg launched Child Advocates of Stetson Law, a student organization on Stetson’s Gulfport campus that connects and recruits Guardian ad Litem volunteers.
“Pro bono work has been the most rewarding aspect of law school for me,” said Greenberg. “Pro bono work offers law students a real opportunity to make a measurable impact to those in need of legal services. It is a privilege to advocate for teens in the court system who have no one else to be a voice for them.”
A second-year student in the Social Justice Advocacy Concentration Program at Stetson law school, Greenberg was also honored for outstanding volunteer service at a special program recognizing the top candidates in the Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Pro Bono competition at Stetson in the fall.
Coet received placed first in Stetson law school’s inaugural Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Pro Bono competition this semester, and was honored for her outstanding volunteer service along with Greenberg and student Melody Jacquay.
Stetson was the first law school in the state to require pro bono service of its students and faculty and one of the first law schools in the country to establish a pro bono service requirement for graduation. Stetson Law students donate an average of 30,000 public service hours every year.
Centonzio addressed a crowd gathered for the dedication of Stetson’s Veterans Law Institute in 2012.
By Brandi Palmer
Stetson University College of Law alumnus Javier Centonzio J.D. ’12, LL.M. ’14 is coordinating the third annual Sgt. Jessie Davila Memorial Classic Golf Tournament on May 6 to benefit a scholarship for veterans and the St. Petersburg Vet Center.
The golf tournament begins at 11 a.m. the Belleview Biltmore Golf Club, 1501 Indian Rocks Rd. in Belleair, Florida.
Centonzio established the Sgt. Jessie Davila Memorial Scholarship Fund to honor his friend Jessie Davila, a U.S. Marine who was killed while deployed with the National Guard in Iraq. The scholarship is for veterans who want to pursue a law degree but have exhausted all of their educational benefits in pursuing an undergraduate degree. All proceeds from the golf tournament support the scholarship.
