News Archives - Page 56 of 138

Kicking off the fall: Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Derrick Brooks headlines event with Stetson Entertainment and Sports Law Society

Pictured (L to R): David Lisko (SBLA President), Yo Murphy (Performance Compound), Samantha Grizzle (Stetson EASL Event Coordinator), Marissa Marchena (Stetson EASL Treasurer), Alexandra Murdocca (Stetson EASL President), Mike Dillon (Reynolds Sports Management), and Justin Moore (SBLA CEO). — (L to R): David Lisko, Yo Murphy, students Samantha Grizzle, Marissa Marchena, Alexandra Murdocca, with Mike Dillon of Reynolds Sports Management, and Justin Moore CEO of SBLA.

By Tyler Rutledge, Second-year student, EASL Communications Chair

The Stetson Entertainment and Sports Law Society kicked off a full year of events with a successful panel discussion on “Agents and Athletes: The Business of Turning Pro.” The event was sponsored by Stetson EASL, the Sports Business and Leadership Association, Shutts & Bowen LLP, and University of Florida EASL and graciously hosted by the Performance Compound in Tampa on Friday, Sept. 18.

Headlined by former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Derrick Brooks, the event’s focus was to expose the crowd of more than 70 students and guests to elite professionals in their respective fields and inform them about different avenues of success. Brooks, a 2014 inductee into the Professional Football Hall of Fame and current president of the Tampa Bay Storm, spoke about his experiences on a variety of topics. His first-hand accounts of hiring his agent, choosing his friends, his transition from the football field into the front office and more had all in attendance captivated.

David Lisko, SBLA president and co-founder, was vital in securing Brooks for the event.

Lisko stated, “I am an NFL agent as well as a lawyer at Holland & Knight, and one of my clients is a friend of Derrick Brooks, who informed him about the Sports Business & Leadership Association and asked him if he would be willing to speak at one of our networking and educational events. I believe that when he found out about the charitable goals of our organization and that he would be speaking to students and young professionals, he was inspired to join the panel.”

Panelists Mike Dillon, Derrick Brooks, and Yo Murphy take a question from a Stetson Law student.

The panel also included guests Mike Dillon and Yo Murphy. Dillon is the executive vice president of Reynolds Sports Management, an agency representing some of Major League Baseball’s top stars. Dillon spoke about his professional evolution from high school teacher to his current position today negotiating contracts and providing marketing services for top athletes. Murphy, who is director of sports performance at the Performance Compound, spoke about his professional football career in both the National Football League and Canadian Football League, which included a Super Bowl appearance with the St. Louis Rams in 2001. Murphy, now working as a trainer for professional baseball and football players, also spoke about the importance of proper training throughout both the season and off-season for professional athletes.

To learn more about Stetson EASL and upcoming events, like the EASL page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/StetsonEASL or e-mail [email protected].

Stetson EASL’s next event is open to Stetson students, faculty and staff will take place Monday, Oct. 12, at 12 p.m. in Stetson’s Great Hall and will feature a luncheon with David Cohen, general counsel of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

RSVP for this event on the EASL HatterSync page at https://orgsync.com/115131/chapter.

Stetson’s bar passage exceeds state average

Stetson University College of Law graduates who took the July bar exam for the first time had a pass rate of 75.1 percent, exceeding the statewide average of 68.9 percent.

This placed Stetson Law six percent above the state average.

Alumni gift professor with the U.S. Constitution for Constitution Day

Longtime constitutional law professor Michael Allen, who also serves as associate dean for academic affairs and director of the Veterans Law Institute at Stetson, was gifted with a reproduction of the U.S. Constitution on Constitution Day, Sept. 17.

Associate Dean Michael Allen accepted the reproduction of the U.S. Constitution for U.S. Constitution Day. — (L-R): John Edward Jones, Jim Vickaryous and Associate Dean Michael Allen.

(L-R): John Edward Jones, Associate Dean Michael Allen and Jim Vickaryous.

Alumni John Edward Jones J.D. ’68 and Jim Vickaryous J.D. ’93, M.B.A. ’98, presented the gift to Allen as a special thank you for a speech he delivered on the topic of the U.S. Constitution and 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta during the Seminole County Bar’s Law Day Dinner.

“It matters what you’re doing here at Stetson and touches the lives of so many,” said Jones, a military veteran who served four years in Vietnam.

A crowd gathered in the Dean Lizabeth A. Moody Seminar Room on the second floor of Stetson’s Dolly and Homer Hand Law Library to celebrate Constitution Day and honor Allen.

“I’m rarely speechless, but thank you,” Allen said.

Domestic violence in America? Student wins first place in national essay contest

Samantha Sobel. — Samantha Sobel won a national essay contest.

Student Samantha R. Sobel won first place in the Yanez & Associates Law Scholarship Essay Contest and Scholarship Program for her paper, “Should parents convicted of domestic violence have their parental rights terminated?”

The essay focused on domestic violence in America with the goal of increasing awareness of the growing issue. Sobel is a student in Stetson’s Social Justice Advocacy Concentration Program.

Yanez & Associates’ national essay contest and scholarship program offered a $2,000 prize to the first place winner and a $1,000 prize to the second place winner. Participants were invited to write 2,500-3,500 words on a topic.

“This was a topic very close to my heart because it combined two areas of law that I have dedicated my law school career to: juvenile dependency and family law,” said Sobel. “I worked very closely with survivors of domestic violence when I was interning with Bay Area Legal Services, as well as volunteering with Community Action Stops Abuse in St. Petersburg, Florida. I have also worked with the Florida Department of Children and Families: Children’s Legal Services, dealing directly with the issue of terminating parental rights and cases involving domestic violence.”

Those experiences prompted Sobel to write her juvenile law seminar paper on the failure to protect laws and childhood exposure to domestic violence.

“I attribute winning first place to my passion and experiences in these areas of law,” said Sobel. “It is truly validating and provides me additional incentive to continue my work in the areas of juvenile dependency and family law after my fast-approaching law school graduation.”

Tampa Bay Lightning exec, former GM presents on team building

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s executive director of community hockey development Jay Feaster spoke with Stetson Law students on Sept. 16. Feaster, who was general manager of the Lightning when they won the Stanley Cup, talked with Stetson Law students about team-building as a pillar of leadership.

The Tampa Bay Lightning's former general manager spoke at Stetson. — (L-R): Genesis Matuté Smith, Erin Brennan, Mitchell Levine, Alexandria Nicodemi, Jay Feaster, Courtney Olivier, Katherine Vinez, and Danielle Breiter. Photo by Kevin James.

Feaster has a law degree from Georgetown University. His presentation was part of the Leadership Certificate program at Stetson.

What’s going on in Syria? U.S. Central Command attorney talks with students

On Sept. 14, students in Professor Luz Nagle’s international law class had an opportunity to talk with U.S. Central Command international law attorney Robin L. Johnson.

Robin L. Johnson, International Law Attorney U.S. Central Command, spoke with student in Professor Luz Nagle's international law class. — Robin L. Johnson, International Law Attorney U.S. Central Command, spoke with students in Professor Luz Nagle’s international law class.

Johnson’s lecture was followed by a Q&A with students about critical international law topics including Syria.

“It is important for our students to hear from such attorneys who have actually practiced in the areas in which we teach, especially with regard to international law, which can seem more abstract to the students than writing up commercial contacts, for instance,” said Professor Nagle.

Johnson retired from the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps following 20 years of active duty service. During her tenure, she served with the Office of General Counsel in the Department of Defense, U.S. Special Operations Command, and in the headquarters of the Department of the Army Office of the Judge Advocate General. She also served on exchange with the British Army Department of Legal Services, and with the Multinational Force and Observers peacekeeping mission in the Sinai Peninsula. Johnson was the first female judge advocate to deploy in a combat operation, Operation JUST CAUSE in Panama in 1989.

Professor Nagle remarked on Johnson’s long, distinguished and fascinating career: “She was able to combine her desire to serve our country with her passion for international law,” said Professor Nagle. “She traveled the world working with U.S. and allied forces to accomplish military goals while adhering to international law frameworks in the context of peacekeeping; national, regional and international security; and preserving the rule of law.”

Stetson community remembers 9/11

Just after dawn on the morning of Sept. 11, members of the Stetson University College of Law community planted 2,977 American flags on Stetson’s law campus in memory of each of the 9/11 victims.

The Stetson Law community commemorated 9/11.

The event was co-sponsored by the Stetson Democrats, Stetson Republicans, and Stetson Student Veterans organizations.

The director of Stetson’s Veteran’s Advocacy Clinic, Associate Professor Stacey-Rae Simcox, was part of the flag planting ceremony and said, “It is important for the Stetson community to come together to remember this day. Not only because 9/11 changed America and brought us together to help one another but also because many of our student veterans served in combat as a direct result of the events that day.”

After planting the flags, students, professors and administrators observed a moment of silence, reflecting on the events of that day 14 years ago.

Stetson Law planted flags to remember 9/11.

A legal legacy: Stetson dedicates seminar room to former dean Lizabeth A. Moody

On a Friday evening in August, the Stetson Law community gathered in the Dolly & Homer Hand Law Library to celebrate the legacy of Dean Emeritus and Distinguished University Professor Lizabeth A. Moody. On Aug. 28, Stetson Law dedicated the Dean Lizabeth A. Moody Seminar Room in the library that Moody helped build. The seminar room was frequently used by Dean Moody for her nonprofit corporations class at Stetson. Moody was one of the first to pioneer teaching law students in small seminar groups, a popular method used in law schools today.

Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law Lizabeth A. Moody spoke wt the dedication of the Dean Lizabeth A. Moody Seminar Room. — Dean Emeritus and Distinguished University Professor Lizabeth A. Moody spoke at the dedication of the Dean Lizabeth A. Moody Seminar Room. (L-R): Dean Moody and Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz.

“This dynamic legal educator, with her driving determination, made this very library possible,” said Dean and Professor of Law Christopher Pietruszkiewicz.

Seventeen years ago during her five-year tenure as dean at Stetson Law, Moody raised the money to build Stetson a beautiful new law library, on par with the quality of a legal education from Stetson. She ensured that the blueprint for Stetson’s new law library would include at least 20 private and group study rooms for students.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a personal friend of Moody, delivered the dedication address at Stetson Law’s library in 1998.

“I think our library is one of the five best law school libraries in the country,” Dean Moody remarked.

Moody, inducted into Stetson’s Hall of Fame in 2009, also helped create Stetson’s part-time law program and international programs.

In January of 2013, the National Jurist Magazine named Dean Moody one of the top 25 most influential people in legal education. The American Bar Association Women Trailblazers in the Law Project selected Moody in 2012 to be included among women who made history in the legal profession.

Before arriving at Stetson, Moody helped advance equality for women in the legal profession. Moody was one of only seven female graduates in her Yale Law class of 160 students. A partner in a prominent Cleveland law firm, Moody was the first female president of the Cleveland Bar Association and one of the first women to receive an AV rating by Martindale Hubbell. The city of Cleveland named the day of May 8, 1990, in honor of Lizabeth A. Moody.

She was dean of two law schools, teaching at several law schools across the country. Moody was also a leader in state, local and national bar associations who received honors including the Ohio State Bar Medal, Josephine Irwin Award, American Bar Association Glass Cutter Award and ABA Author’s Award.

As a member of the Cleveland State University faculty, Moody served as interim dean. As president and CEO of Law School Admissions Services, Moody founded the Access Loan Program.

Moody’s oral history of her extraordinary legal career is housed at the Library of Congress, the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Harvard University, and on the ABA website.

Why study in Ireland and England? Stetson teaches advocacy on the other side of the Atlantic

19742537146_e0a6109bc6_o — Former Crown Prosecutor Gillian More lectured this summer during Stetson’s study abroad in Oxford. Photo courtesy Professor Charles Rose.

This summer, Stetson University College of Law added new program offerings, teaching the top-ranked Stetson method of advocacy to lawyers and law students in England and Ireland.

Stetson’s inaugural summer comparative trial advocacy program in Oxford, England, taught 40 students from eight law schools the Stetson theory of advocacy, from the fundamentals of rhetoric, psychology and storytelling through practice and application.

“The program in Oxford matches Stetson’s unparalleled advocacy program with the education capital of the world,” said JR Swanegan, director of graduate and international programs at Stetson.

“This program is an advocacy retreat in the heart of learning for Western civilization: Oxford, England,” said Professor Charles Rose, director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy at Stetson.

Law students traveled to attend the two-week program at St. Hugh’s College in Oxford, England, from Puerto Rico, India, the U.S. and the U.K. Guest lecturers included attorneys and judges from England, Scotland and Ireland.

“The culmination of the course was a trial, with students trying an American case in an English courtroom,” said Professor Rose, who traveled to England to teach the program along with several guest instructors.

“The comparative trial advocacy course was not just about learning how to work as a professional and cohesive team, how to zealously advocate, or how to break down a case and stand in the well of a courtroom with confidence,” said second-year Stetson Law student Carolina Melinda Suazo. The Stetson Alternative Dispute Resolution Board and Trial Team member remarked that the program helped prepare her for advocacy board tryouts. “The course is about finding your voice and style as an advocate and as a medium for justice,” said Suazo.

Judge Porcelli presented at the destination CLE in Ireland. Photo courtesy Mercy Roberg.

“I believe that the Oxford program gave me an opportunity to see who I am as an advocate and future lawyer, and I absolutely believe that it was beneficial for my career goals,” said second-year student Alexis L. Petrosino, who attended Stetson’s summer Oxford program. “I would absolutely recommend this program, especially to students who are interested in litigation and advocacy.”

Next year’s comparative trial advocacy program is scheduled for July 31-August 13, 2016, in Oxford, England. Professor Rose offered a sneak peek at next year’s program, in which students will immerse themselves in a tour of London and then follow the footsteps of the infamous Jack the Ripper, discussing various scenarios pieced together from evidence. Professor Rose will join six guest instructors to teach the two-week program.

This summer, for the second year in a row, Stetson offered its popular advocacy skills course in Dublin, Ireland. Eighty-four students, including lawyers and law students, learned the Stetson method of advocacy in Ireland. The students attended plenary sessions and worked on their advocacy skills to present a case. Five professors taught the compressed continuing legal education program.

“We are looking at more opportunities to expand the program in Ireland and beyond,” said Professor Rose. “We are offering a CLE for U.S. attorneys in Cuba in April of 2016.”

This July, Stetson also offered a destination CLE in Ireland on Technology in Litigation in the Silicon Valley of Europe. The international CLE program was offered in Dublin, home to industry giants like Twitter, Google and Intel and an international hub for business, law and technology. Stetson partnered with the Law Society of Ireland to offer the two-and-a-half day, 14-credit CLE program.

“The program benefits any attorney interested in how technology is impacting their practice,” said Mercy Roberg, director of the Office of Professional Education at Stetson Law.

“Being a highly adaptable problem-solver is critical to any attorney,” said Swanegan. “Studying abroad also gives students an opportunity to build an international network and make friends and contacts in other countries.”

Stetson continues to offer a fall semester abroad program on international comparative law in London, England.

Stetson Law offers summer study abroad opportunities for students in England, the Netherlands, Spain and fall intercession and spring break programs in the Cayman Islands and Cuba. Stetson is also developing a study abroad program in Korea.

Visit the study abroad page to learn more.

Florida’s wild places: photojournalist Carlton Ward Jr. delivers Stetson’s biodiversity lecture

Carlton Ward Jr. delivered the Sept. 3 biodiversity lecture. Photo by SeanCarlo Lopez.

“What I really want to share with the students here today is that Florida is still a wild place, and we have a chance to keep it that way,” Carlton Ward Jr. told an audience gathered to hear him speak on Thursday afternoon on Stetson’s Gulfport campus.

Ward addressed students, faculty, staff and members of the community at Stetson Law’s first Edward and Bonnie Foreman Biodiversity Lecture of the fall semester.

Ward is an environmental photojournalist from Clearwater, Florida, who uses his photography to promote conservation of natural environments and cultural legacies.

Ward’s book, “Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition,” documents Ward’s 1,000-mile journey in 2012 from the Everglades National Park in Florida to the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia in 100 days. The journey continued in 2015 with a 70-day, 1,000-mile trek from the Everglades headwaters near Orlando to Gulf Islands National Seashore near Pensacola, bringing new attention to a statewide vision to keep Florida wild.

Stetson’s biodiversity lecture series brings leading experts to campus to speak on a range of environmental topics. The lecture series is co-sponsored by Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy.

The next lecture in the biodiversity lecture series is scheduled for 12 p.m. on Sept. 29 in the Great Hall on the Gulfport campus with Mike Walker, a senior enforcement attorney at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Five days in Cuba: Students, faculty describe the experience

On March 15, more than a dozen students and two professors loaded onto an airplane in Tampa, Florida, for what was to become Stetson Law’s first study abroad program in Cuba. The trip was preceded by a course taught by Professor of Law Candace Zierdt that examined current perspectives on the Cuban Legal System and Society. Stetson’s class took place at perhaps no more pivotal time in Cuba’s history, as attitudes towards long-held sanctions began to relax. For the first time in decades, a field trip from the U.S. to Cuba had become a reality.

Students from Stetson Law took a trip to Cuba during spring break.

Professor Zierdt described how taking her class to Cuba became an incredibly moving and transformative experience, different for each of the students traveling with her on the trip.

“I don’t think you can do a class like this without understanding the culture,” said Professor Zierdt.

During a walking tour of Old Havana, Professor Zierdt described how many of the topics her students reviewed in class became real.

“All the things we saw there were things we had studied,” she said.

The class explored the roles of lawyers in Cuba, as well as the history of business, education, healthcare, human rights, even sports.

“Attorneys in Cuba in a socialist society see their role very differently than in the U.S.,” said Professor Zierdt. “They see themselves as representing the good of the country. Part of their role is to support socialist government while still trying to help their clients.”

Student Meagan Salisbury described how visiting Cuba differed from her expectations. “Culture isn’t black and white,” she said. A third-year student at Stetson focused on election law, Salisbury is a political consultant focused on human rights.

“I thought we would meet people less friendly towards Americans,” Salisbury said. “People were far less critical than I expected, and very excited about the chances of the blockade being lifted.”

In Cuba, Salisbury researched the prison system, a system which is free of violence and drugs according to a local law professor. Salisbury was skeptical. Having spent time everywhere from Kenya to Spain to Tanzania, Salisbury is a veteran world traveler who has met people all over the globe.

Stetson Law students learned about the culture, government, and legal system during a spring break immersion in Cuba.

“Seeing how other people live gives you more of an open mind,” said Salisbury.

Part-time law student Roger Klaffka is a 25-year veteran of the Air Force who has traveled around the world. He saw visiting Cuba as an opportunity to travel to a historically inaccessible country.

“There was an undercurrent of excitement among people for things to change,” said Klaffka. “It was the best educational travel experience I had,” said Klaffka.

Student Tommy Mingledorff described visiting Cuba as following in his families’ footsteps.

“My parents visited on mission trips to Cuba,” Mingledorff explained. His grandmother won a beauty contest and traveled to Cuba as a young woman.

“Seeing people who don’t have the privileges we have: you can go to another country and meet someone who would trade anything to come to the U.S., even to be the poorest person in the U.S.,” said Mingledorff.

Historic connections between Florida and Cuba go back hundreds of years and Florida and Cuba are inextricably linked, Professor Zierdt explained.

“Opportunities for businesses and lawyers from Florida are phenomenal,” she said. “Cuba has just started to allow entrepreneurs to open their own businesses.”

A total of 20 Stetson Law students will be selected to participate in the next Spring Break study abroad program in Cuba. The class will be held in the spring semester once per week, culminating in the eight-day, seven-night trip to Havana, Cuba, from March 5-12, 2016. One additional class meeting will be held after returning from Cuba, and a reflection paper will be required to earn credit for this course.

“My students have said this was one of the biggest highlights of their educational career,” said Zierdt.

The upcoming Spring Break 2016 course will be taught on Stetson’s Gulfport campus by Professor of Law Kristen Adams. The application deadline is Oct. 15. Please see the program website for the online application.

Welcome back: BLSA backyard summer barbeque tradition kicks off the fall

Professor Darryl C. Wilson, the adviser for the Black Law Students Association at Stetson, hosted a weekend backyard barbeque on Sunday, Aug. 23, at his home to welcome new and returning BLSA students. The annual event, approaching its 15th year, punctuated the end of summer as the rigor of fall classes began for students at Stetson University College of Law.

The Black Law Students Association at Stetson gathered at the home of adviser Professor Darryl C. Wilson for a summer welcome back barbeque. Photo by Starcee Brown.

The BLSA barbeque also featured a book bank of text book rentals and study guides for students as well as an opportunity for mentoring and exchanging stories and information.

The Stetson BLSA maintains a proud tradition of service and assistance that spans more than 20 years at Stetson University College of Law. Stetson’s BLSA is a student organization committed to supporting African-Americans and the broader community throughout law school and within the legal profession.

Editor’s Note: Group photo caption: (Front Row): Brynson Brown, Kou Sua, Ashleigh Brooks, Teiharhah Howell, Jazzmine Jenkins, Charis Campbell, Annette Collins. (Middle Row): Melissa Caines, Chantay Perry, Nathan Howell, Ja’keria McCowan, Cindy Innocent, Alexis Turner Garris, Justin Scott, Tamara Williams, Taofikat Ninalowo, Bridgette Lester, Professor Judith Scully, Diriki Geuka. (Back Row): Jounice Nealy-Brown, Lindsey Askew, Starcee Brown, Adriana Foreman, Chizom Okebugwu, Kishantavia Carson, Professor Dorthea Bean, Alexander Howell, Professor Darryl Wilson, Dara Wilson, Carmen Johnson.

BLSA students enjoyed a barbeque at Professor Darryl C. Wilson's home to kick off the semester. — BLSA students Christie Alisca and Edna Pierre enjoyed a barbeque at Professor Darryl C. Wilson’s home to kick off the semester. Photo by Starcee Brown.