Stetson University College of Law’s Vis International Arbitration Moot team won multiple awards at the 23rd Annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna, Austria, March 18-24. Stetson’s team of Sadiya Hashem, Leon Innerkofler, Taylor Ryan, Brien Squires, Kaelyn Steinkraus and student coach and team member Jonathan Diamond received two Honorable Mention Awards, one for the Respondent’s Memorandum and one for the Best Oralist.
Stetson’s Vis team (L-R): Taylor Ryan, Brien Squires, Leon Innerkofler, Alex Zesch, Associate Dean Stephanie Vaughan, Jonathan Diamond, Kaelyn Steinkraus, Sadiya Hashem.
Ryan placed in the top 50 of nearly two thousand oralists. Stetson was among only six of 49 student teams from the U.S. who advanced to the top 32 teams in the worldwide competition. There were a total of 311 teams competing from 47 countries.
“Our student Vis team demonstrated in Vienna that they are prepared to advocate on the world stage,” said Dean and Professor of Law Christopher Pietruszkiewicz. “Our student and faculty accomplishments in the areas of advocacy, research and writing are remarkable around the world.”
Stetson’s award-winning Vis team in Vienna (L-R): Leon Innerkofler, Jonathan Diamond, Sadiya Hashem, Kaelyn Steinkraus, Taylor Ryan and Brien Squires.
“This accomplishment is truly astounding,” said Associate Dean for Student Engagement and Professor of Legal Skills Stephanie Vaughan. “Stetson’s oral advocacy skills have always been considered among the very top in our country, but we are delighted to show the other universities around the world, represented in Vienna, that our students are just as outstanding in complex research and written expression.”
Vaughan and Stetson Vis alumnus Alex Zesch J.D. ’13 traveled to coach the team in Vienna. Professor Joseph Morrissey also coached the team.
Stetson also won an Honorable Mention Award for Best Oralist in last year’s competition.
Stetson College of Law Dean and Professor of Law Christopher Pietruszkiewicz introduced last year’s Hall of Fame inductees.
Stetson University College of Law is accepting nominations for its Hall of Fame, which recognizes individuals who have reached the pinnacle of their professions and have affected a profound, positive influence on the law school.
The prestigious event is held annually in the fall. The 2015 inductees were Fred Dudley ’68, an acclaimed lawyer who served 16 years in the Florida Legislature, and Fred Schaub ’84, the felony division director at the State Attorney’s Office in Florida’s 6th Judicial Circuit.
For biographies and videos about past winners, please see Stetson’s Hall of Fame website.
To submit a nomination, please use the Hall of Fame Nomination form and return the completed form by May 16 to Mike Casey in the Office of Development & Alumni Relations at Stetson University College of Law, 1401 61st St. S., Gulfport, FL 33707.
Stetson University College of Law professor and Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy director Royal C. Gardner spoke at the United Nations in New York on March 21 on the importance of wetlands as ecosystems supporting global populations. Professor Gardner is chair of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands for 2016-2018 and is an internationally recognized expert on wetland law and policy.
Professor Gardner described the importance of mangroves in the wetland ecosystem.
“Mangroves are incredibly important for people: they provide nursery areas for commercial fisheries species, maintain water quality by filtering pollutants, protect coastal areas against erosion and storms, and sequester approximately 1,000 tons of carbon per hectare,” said Professor Gardner.
Professor Gardner also spoke at a meeting of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation at the United Nations in New York on Nov. 20, 2015.
Stetson University College of Law has selected Joshua Karton for this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching Advocacy and American University Washington College of Law Professor Elizabeth L. Lippy for the Edward D. Ohlbaum Award. Both awards will be presented during the Educating Advocates Teaching Advocacy Skills Conference at Stetson law school in May.
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes people who have fundamentally changed the way in which the world approaches the teaching of advocacy.
Joshua Karton, president of Communication Arts for the Professional, specializes in teaching how to apply the communication skills of theatre/film/television to the art of trial advocacy. Trained as an actor, Karton’s writing and acting credits range from Forever Fernwood to Beverly Hills 90210 and he has taught at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre and at the University of Southern California’s School of Theatre. He has served on the faculties and developed curriculum for the American Association of Justice’s Ultimate Course, the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyer’s College, the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, the JAG Corps, American Bar Association, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, numerous law schools and criminal defense associations. A 35-year veteran in the field of communication arts, Karton prepared the winning oral argument to the U.S. Supreme Court in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.
Joshua Karton.
“Karton has pioneered teaching communication arts to lawyers, and his work with plaintiff lawyers, criminal defense attorneys and military attorneys is a testament to his dedication and abilities,” said Stetson University Professor of Excellence in Trial Advocacy Charles Rose. “Karton is the quintessential teacher of advocacy and Stetson is excited to honor him this year.”
The Edward D. Ohlbaum Award honors an individual whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession and the rule of law.
Professor Elizabeth Lippy began as the assistant director of the trial advocacy program at the American University Washington College of Law in 2010. She also maintains a private practice as a founding member of the law firm of Fairlie & Lippy, P.C. where she focuses her practice on criminal defense and civil litigation. Professor Lippy attended Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law where she had the honor of working under the tutelage of Eddie Ohlbaum as a competitor on his national trial teams. She coached for Temple’s nationally renowned mock trial teams since graduating from there in 2003 and was also a guest lecturer for the LL.M. in Advocacy at Temple. Professor Lippy currently teaches many different courses at the American University Washington College of Law, working tirelessly with all of the mock trial teams. Lippy is also an instructor for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) and has published a case file through NITA entitled Evans v. Washington State.
Professor Elizabeth Lippy.
“Professor Lippy’s acceptance of this award pays forward the promise to the legal profession that Professor Ohlbaum identified and nourished in her years ago as a young advocate,” said Professor Rose.
Previous recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Terry MacCarthy, Thomas Mauet, Warren Wolfson, Barbara Bergman, James Seckinger, Edward Ohlbaum, Susan Poehls, Bill Eleazer, and Judge David Erickson. Last year’s inaugural recipient of the Edward D. Ohlbaum Professionalism Award was professor Adam Shlahet.
The annual Educating Advocates conference May 23-26 this year on Stetson University’s Gulfport, Florida, campus. Professors, lawyers and legal practitioners from across the country are invited to spend two and one-half intensive days learning the Stetson method of advocacy, developing their teaching skills, and networking with renowned advocacy instructors. The theme of this year’s conference is “Teaching Skills: Building the 21st Century Law School-One Student, One Skill, One Moment at a Time,” and includes a special Teacher Advocacy Training Session on May 26.
Stetson University College of Law’s trial team members were named champions and won three awards at national competitions this past weekend in California and Illinois.
(L-R): Nathan Bruemmer, Dan Kavanaugh, Silvia Amador and Kishantevia Carson.
Stetson’s trial team of Silvia Amador, Nathan Bruemmer, Kishantevia Carson and Dan Kavanaugh won the National Ethics Trial Competition at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California, March 17-19. The team also won the Most Professional Team Award and Kavanaugh won the Best Advocate, Final Round Award. Coaches Judge David Demers and adjunct professor Susan Demers coached the Stetson team with Brandon Blake JD ’13.
Another Stetson trial team of Alexa Cline, Courtney Olivier, Chantay Perry and Alexis Petrosino advanced to the semifinals and won three individual awards at the American Bar Association National Criminal Justice Trial Competition on March 17-19 in Chicago, Illinois. Petrosino won the Best Opening Statement Award and the Best Direct Examination Award and Olivier won the Best Closing Argument Award at the ABA competition. The competition is co-sponsored by the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association and The John Marshall Law School. Laura Rose JD ’12 and Adam Nate JD ’09 co-coached the team.
Stetson’s trial advocacy program is nationally ranked No.1 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Since 1980, Stetson’s advocacy teams have won five international competitions, 65 national championships, and more than 100 awards for best brief, best advocate and most professional.
U.S. News & World Report has ranked Stetson University College of Law No. 1 in Trial Advocacy for the 18th time. Stetson ranked third in the nation for Legal Writing in the U.S. News 2017 “Best Grad Schools” issue.
Stetson Law’s beautiful Gulfport campus.
“Stetson’s commitment to excellence in advocacy is exemplified by our graduates,” said Stetson University President Wendy B. Libby, Ph.D. “When Stetson Law graduates walk into a courtroom they are prepared with significant advocacy and communication skills needed to represent their clients professionally and persuasively.”
“Stetson Law’s nationally recognized programs in advocacy and legal writing set our students, our graduates and our faculty apart,” said Dean and Professor of Law Christopher Pietruszkiewicz. “I am proud that our program is recognized for preparing students with the critical communication skills to be effective advocates on behalf of their clients and strong voices in helping our communities.”
Stetson has been recognized as the top law school in the nation for Trial Advocacy 18 times since 1995 and has ranked among the top six legal writing programs since the inception of the Legal Writing rankings.
“We strive every day to produce advocates worthy of the trust their clients place in them,” said Charles H. Rose III, Professor of Excellence in Trial Advocacy and Director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy at Stetson. “The importance of advocacy permeates the legal education experience at Stetson, creating advocates who represent others competently, compassionately and professionally – true Stetson Lawyers.”
“Legal Writing is a distinctive in Stetson’s legal communication curriculum and an important research focus for Institute faculty,” said Kirsten K. Davis, Ph.D., Stetson’s director of the Institute for the Advancement of Legal Communication. “Our mission is to be innovative teachers, productive scholars, and national leaders in legal writing. We are honored to receive our peers’ recognition for this work.”
Retired Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland.
Roderick L. Ireland, the first African-American chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, will deliver Stetson law school’s commencement address at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 14, on Stetson’s Gulfport campus, 1401 61st St. S.
A total of 273 Stetson law school students will celebrate commencement, among them, 70 part-time J.D. students, seven J.D./M.B.A. students, one J.D./M.P.H. student, two J.D./MINTEC students, one J.D./Grado student, 12 LL.M. in Advocacy, four LL.M. in Elder Law and 10 LL.M. in International Law students.
Roderick L. Ireland is a Distinguished Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the College of Social Sciences and Humanities at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. Prior to joining the full-time faculty at Northeastern where he taught as adjunct faculty since 1978, Ireland had been a judge for 37 years, serving in the Boston Juvenile Court from 1977 to 1990, the Massachusetts Appeals Court from 1990 to 1997, and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1997 to 2014.
When he was appointed an associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court in 1997, Ireland became the first African-American to sit on that bench in its over 300-year history. In 2010, Ireland became the Court’s first African-American chief justice.
Chief Justice Ireland received his B.A. from Lincoln University, J.D. from Columbia University Law School, LL.M. from Harvard University Law School, and Ph.D. in Law, Policy and Society from Northeastern University. He began his legal career in 1969 as a Neighborhood Legal Services attorney in Harlem, and then worked as a public defender in Boston with the Roxbury Defenders Committee from 1971 to 1973, becoming its executive director after serving as chief attorney and deputy director. From 1975 to 1977, he served as assistant secretary and chief legal counsel for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Administration and Finance.
As one of the four justices who voted in favor of same-sex marriage in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health (2003), the nation’s very first case in which a state supreme court declared same-sex marriage constitutional, Ireland has spoken frequently on the subject and has written about this experience in a law review article entitled, “In Goodridge’s Wake: Reflections on the Political, Public and Personal Repercussions of the Massachusetts Same-Sex Marriage Cases.” He is also the author of a two-volume treatise on Massachusetts Juvenile Law published by Thomson/Reuters in its Massachusetts Practice Series (1st ed.1993, 2nd ed. 2006).
Chief Justice Ireland has been widely recognized for his community contributions and professional achievements, and has received numerous honors and awards.
Stetson University College of Law’s moot court teams competed over the weekend to win a regional tournament of the American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition and win the Best Oralist Award at the South Regional of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.
A Stetson Law moot court team advanced to the National Finals of the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition after being named co-champions at a regional tournament in Boston, March 4-6.
The team of Darnesha Carter, Evan Dix and Jessica Ford defeated teams from Northeastern University, Quinnipiac University, Southern Methodist University, South Texas College of Law and Texas Tech University to be named one of the four co-champions. The team’s success marks the third time in the last five years that Stetson has advanced to the National Finals.
“Advocacy competitions require strong educational backgrounds, extensive preparation, professionalism, and the ability to perform under pressure. These skills are required in the legal profession on a daily basis. And once again, our students have demonstrated these skills on a national platform,” said Stetson Professor of Legal Skills, Associate Director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy and Moot Court Advisor Brooke Bowman.
Associate Dean Michael Allen and alumnus Jason Stearns, J.D. ’08, coached the team.
More than 190 schools competed during a three-week period in six regional rounds of the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition. A total of 24 teams were invited to compete in the National Finals in Chicago, April 7–9.
Another Stetson moot court team competed in New Orleans at the South Regional of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition on March 5-6. Students Lauren Eliopoulos, Anna Kirkpatrick, Nicole Santamaria, Chloe Wells and Julius Matusewicz advanced to the semifinals. For the first time in Stetson history, a Stetson advocate — Lauren Eliopoulos — won the Best Oralist Award.
Stetson University in Florida and Chatham University in Pennsylvania and have partnered to offer students an accelerated program to earn a law degree.
The 3+3 program, starting in fall of 2016, allows eligible Chatham University undergraduates to apply to law school at Stetson University in their junior year. Students admitted to the program fulfill their senior year of undergraduate credits through the successful completion of their first year of law school courses.
High-performing Chatham students will earn their bachelor’s and juris doctor (J.D.) degrees in six years, rather than the traditional seven years. Students will spend three years at Chatham and three years at Stetson law school.
“This partnership builds on Chatham’s pre-law foundation by helping Chatham students save time and money with the accelerated 3+3 path to their undergraduate and graduate degree,” said Chatham University President Esther L. Barazzone, Ph.D. “And, as a recognized leader in sustainability, Chatham is also thrilled by the opportunity this presents for our students wishing to pursue environmental law and policy.”
“Stetson University is pleased to partner with Chatham to offer a quality legal education to students who are high achievers,” said Stetson University President Wendy B. Libby, Ph.D. “President Barazzone and I started talking about this in October of last year, and I am so pleased that our institutions have been able to work through the details in such a timely fashion. Creating the next generation of leaders in the legal profession is our mission and our privilege.”
“Stetson leads the way in designing partner programs to help outstanding students accelerate their quest to launch a legal career,” said Stetson law school Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz. “This latest agreement reaffirms Stetson’s commitment to the success of our students.”
Stetson Law offers an accelerated 3+3 program with the University of South Florida, as well as a 3+3 and a Direct Admissions program with the University of West Florida and Stetson University. Other partner arrangements are planned for the future.
Stetson offers certificates of concentration for J.D. students in the areas of advocacy, elder law, environmental law, international law and social justice advocacy.
(L-R): Front row — Brien V. Squires, Leon J. Innerkofler, Kaelyn Steinkraus, Sadiya Hashem, Jonathan Diamond, Taylor Ryan, alumnus Tom Yaegers J.D./M.B.A. ’05; Back row — Elizabeth Buchwalter, Associate Dean Stephanie Vaughan, alumnus Alex Zesch and Reshma Pharsi.
Stetson University College of Law’s Vis International Commercial Arbitration team is heading to Vienna in March after placing first in the pre-moot in Miami, Florida, on Feb. 27. Stetson’s team will compete with more than 300 teams from around the world in the international competition in Austria.
Stetson’s team of Jonathan Diamond, Sadiya Hashem, Leon J. Innerkofler, Taylor R. Ryan, Brien V. Squires and Kaelyn Steinkraus, and shadow team members Elizabeth Buchwalter and Reshma Pharsi, competed against the top teams from across the state of Florida. The team argued a case dealing with international commercial arbitration, attorney’s fees, and the right to discovery.
Stetson law school professor Joseph Morrissey, associate dean Stephanie Vaughan and alumnus Alex Zesch J.D. ’13 co-coached the team. The pre-moot competition was sponsored by the International Law Section of the Florida Bar.
Last year, Stetson won an Honorable Mention Best Oralist Award in Vienna, Austria. Stetson’s team was named World Champion and won several Honorable Mention Best Oralist awards at the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Competition in 2005 in Vienna.
Stetson University Professor of Law Tim Kaye has reinvented the law book in the form of an interactive website. This month, Kaye publicly launched his Law of Torts book on the Webby Books website that he designed to bridge the gap between traditional law books and modern legal research.
Dr. Timothy Kaye.
Kaye’s Webby Books is a responsive website where law students and professors may interact with law books published online. Dissatisfied with restrictions from publishers, Kaye created the Webby Books website to encourage class discussion directly within the text, as well as free online scholarly research.
“I want people to think that online books are more than just an electronic version of a hard copy text,” said Kaye.
Kaye’s Law of Torts on the Webby Books website features live forums for interactive class discussion, a method on each page for students to add notes and highlight text, hypotheticals and multiple choice quizzes for every book chapter, hyperlinks to Google Scholar and free legal research, a searchable glossary with pronunciation and definition of terms, and expandable diagrams.
Kaye developed the website over a two-year period, and used Webby Books to teach the Law of Torts to three of his classes. Kaye said that a colleague has also used the book to teach two of his classes.
“I initially had reservations about using an online textbook. I even printed out the first two chapters in an attempt to cling to what was comfortable,” said Stetson law student Hannah Ibañez. “However, after my first year of law school, it is my opinion that Dr. Kaye’s book is the best textbook I have used for any course in law school so far.”
“Hopefully, other professors will want to use this method,” said Kaye.
Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida, presented Judith Areen with this year’s William A. Kaplin Award. Cynthia Love was presented with the Facilitators Award. Both awards were presented during the 37th annual National Conference on Law and Higher Education on Feb. 11-15 at the Hilton Orlando Resort.
Judith Areen.
Judith Areen is the executive director of the Association of American Law Schools. The Kaplin Award recognizes scholars who have published works on education law that embrace the intersection of law and policy.
Areen’s second edition casebook on Higher Education and the Law exemplifies this intersection of law and policy. Areen served as executive vice president for law affairs of Georgetown University and as dean of the Law Center for 15 years. She has served as director of the Legal Representation Project, was general counsel to President Carter’s Reorganization Project, and served as special counsel to the White House Task Force on Regulatory Reform.
Cynthia “Cyndi” Love is executive director of the American College Personnel Association- College Student Educators International. The Facilitator Award honors educators who are proactive about safety and risk management and develop organization environments that are reasonably safe, educationally relevant and developmentally sound.
Cynthia Love.
Love consults on developing advocacy cultures on campuses. She was recognized by three U.S. presidents for her advocacy work with underrepresented populations and is a member of the Working Advisory Group to the U.S. Secretary of State on Religion & Foreign Policy. Love also serves as one of 92 content experts from around the world with the Diversity Collegium Global Diversity & Inclusion Benchmarks project. She spoke at the United Nations UUO Compass Coalition for LGBT Human Rights and has served as a thematic country specialist for LGBT human rights with Amnesty International.
Stetson’s five-day national conference, now approaching its 40th year, provides sessions for college attorneys, in house and private counsel, and higher education administrators, provosts and presidents.
Visit the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson for more information about the Center’s work to advance the field of higher education law and policy at https://www.stetson.edu/law/academics/highered/home/.
