Professor Roberta Flowers, co-director of Stetson’s Center for Excellence in Elder Law, is teaching elder law practice and education in the U.S. at the invitation of Israel Doran, chair of the geriatric department at Haifa University in Israel.
Professor Roberta Flowers is teaching elder law in Israel.
“Because elder law is not a specialty in the legal profession in Israel, elder advocates such as Professor Doran see robust elder law clinics at law schools as essential to moving the legal profession toward elder law,” said Professor Flowers. “He invited me to speak at the two public law schools who have newly developed elder law clinics about elder law in U.S.”
While visiting and teaching in Israel in May, Professor Flowers also spoke with the staff at Tel Aviv University about their plans to develop an elder law clinic as a natural extension to their Holocaust survivors clinic.
Stetson University College of Law’s student chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers has been named the 2015 Outstanding Student Chapter.
Stetson’s FAWL executive board 2014-2015 L-R: Katie Salemi, Jessica Ford, Brittany Jones, Courtney Cox, Ellen Fichtelman and Joann Grages Burnett.
FAWL adviser and associate director of career development Joann Grages Burnett was named Student Organization Advisor of the Year and the outgoing Stetson FAWL student president Ellen Fichtelman was named Stetson Student Organization Leader of the Year.
Burnett, who serves as the law school liaison for FAWL, has also been selected for inclusion in the FAWL 2015 Class of Leaders in the Law.
“FAWL always works hard to provide excellent and relevant programming to its members and represents Stetson very well on and off-campus,” said Burnett.
Stetson’s chapter will receive its award during this year’s FAWL Annual Gala during the Florida Bar’s annual convention on June 24 in Boca Raton.
Part-time J.D. student Stephen Lewellyn is not a typical law student in Stetson’s law program. Lewellyn balances law school at Stetson with working at the Maxey Law Offices, PLLC in St. Petersburg, Florida. He has been practicing administrative patent law since 2002, when he was admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Part-time Stetson Law J.D. student Stephen Lewellyn.
“Administrative patent law is a bit of a strange animal in that a law degree is not required to practice. Rather, you must have an engineering or science degree to sit for the Patent Bar Exam,” said Lewellyn. “I took and passed the exam shortly after getting my mechanical engineering degree. And similar to passing a state bar exam, to pass the Patent Bar Exam, you must demonstrate legal skill and knowledge in administrative patent law.”
On May 12, just four days before walking in the College of Law commencement, Lewellyn will be traveling to Alexandria, Virginia, to present as lead counsel before three judges on the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Lewellyn will be going toe-to-toe with credit giant MasterCard for his client, an individual fighting to protect his patents.
“I think one of the biggest challenges during the hearing will be presenting a lot of technical information in a short period of time and in a manner that is straight forward and persuasive,” said Lewellyn.
Lewellyn explained that his client is seeking holds patents on a secure credit card transactions system and method. The patents cover the use of a substitute credit card number used to secure credit card transactions and prevent identity theft. In 2013, Lewellyn’s client filed a patent infringement lawsuit against MasterCard, Discover and Citigroup in Delaware federal court. MasterCard responded by filing challenges to the patents, alleging they are invalid. Lewellyn will be presenting oral arguments to defend his client’s patents during the May 12 hearing.
“I picked Stetson for a few reasons, including its national recognition as a leader in legal advocacy and writing and because of its part-time program,” Lewellyn said. “I think the best advice I could give someone considering the part-time program is to be prepared for the commitment and to discuss this with family and work.”
Student Starcee Brown, a single parent in Stetson University College of Law’s part-time J.D. program, received a scholarship from the law firm of Katz & Phillips, P.A. on March 3.
The essay-based scholarship benefits high-achieving single parents who plan to attend or are currently attending law school.
Student Starcee Brown.
Scholarship applicants were asked to write about how single parenthood has affected their education, an obstacle encountered in pursuing legal education, or how a scholarship assists them and their family as they pursue an education.
Brown plans to graduate with her J.D. from Stetson Law in 2016. She completed her master’s in criminal justice from the University of Central Florida in only 16 months after finishing a bachelor’s in criminology at Florida State University.
“One piece of advice that I would give another single parent getting ready to start law school is to manage your time so that you can give as much attention to your child as you do to your studies.”
Brown plans to practice as a criminal defense attorney and a family law attorney after graduating from Stetson.
(L-R): Stetson Law students Kelly Green, Rebecca Watts and Tamara Major were honored for their extraordinary pro bono service.
Stetson University College of Law student Rebecca Watts won the Law Student Pro Bono Award and students Tamara Major and Kelly Green received honorable mention from Florida’s Sixth Judicial Circuit for their commitment to creating pro bono service opportunities for students at Stetson. Watts was nominated by the Community Law Program for her extraordinary pro bono service.
The students were honored during the 2015 Sixth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Awards ceremony at the Pinellas County Justice Center on April 17. The Sixth Circuit Pro Bono Committee recognized exemplary attorneys, law firms, paralegals and law students who gave time to serve others in the community.
The awards recognized a Pinellas or West Pasco County lawyer, law firm, paralegal or law student who made significant contributions of pro bono legal services to poor individuals or to charitable organizations who provide non‐legal assistance to the poor.
Created by the Florida Supreme Court, the Sixth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee oversees pro bono service to the poor.
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 donated 31,719 service hours in 2013-14.
Stetson University College of Law students, faculty and staff celebrated Earth Day on April 20 on the Gulfport campus. Live music accompanied gardening tips, electronics recycling, field games and exercise in the lush, Mediterranean courtyard Monday afternoon.
“The event gets better every year, ” said Professor Lance Long, who teaches research and writing and environmental advocacy at Stetson.
Watch this brief video to learn more about environmental advocacy at Stetson:
Stetson celebrated Earth Day on the Gulfport campus.
Ronald Klain speaks at Stetson’s commencement in May.
Former White House Ebola response coordinator Ronald A. Klain will address Stetson University College of Law commencement on May 16 in Gulfport, Florida.
Stetson’s commencement takes place at 8:30 a.m. in the courtyard on the law school’s Gulfport campus, 1401 61st St. S.
Klain was appointed Ebola response coordinator last year by President Barack Obama. He served as chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary and director of the Senate Democratic Leadership Committee. Klain was the chief of staff for two vice presidents, Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Al Gore, and one attorney general, Janet Reno. He served as assistant to the president during the Clinton administration. In 1994, Time Magazine named Klain one of the “50 most promising leaders in America” under the age of 40.
“When our students leave Stetson, they will have an opportunity to make a significant impact throughout their careers not only as lawyers but also as leaders in our communities and beyond,” said Stetson Law Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz. “Commencement speaker Ronald Klain’s notable career demonstrates the extraordinary impact that one person can have in serving as a leader in building our communities and having a voice in influencing the policies of our nation.”
Among the 243 students walking at Stetson Law’s commencement are 164 full-time and 48 part-time J.D. students, four LL.M. in advocacy students, six LL.M. in elder law students, 10 LL.M. in international law students, five J.D./Grado students, and six J.D./M.B.A. students.
The Law Society of Ireland won the 19th Annual International Environmental Moot Court Competition on April 18 at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida. Michelle Ryan of the Law Society of Ireland was named Best Oralist in the Final Round. This is the third time the Law Society of Ireland has won the competition.
The Law Society of Ireland won Stetson’s International Environmental Moot Court Competition.
Thirteen teams from across the U.S., China, India, Ireland and the Philippines traveled to Stetson Law in Gulfport for the annual competition to discuss the legality of shark finning. Bradnee Chambers, the executive secretary of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species headquartered in Bonn, Germany, served as a final round judge.
The Law Society of Ireland defeated the University of the Philippines College of Law in the final round.
The Ateneo de Manila Law School, Philippines, received the Best Memorial Award,
Sagnik Das of the National Law University, Jodhpur, India, was named Top Oralist in the Preliminary Rounds.
The University of Jammu, India, received the Spirit of Stetson Award, recognizing civility, justice and fair play.
Stetson University College of Law won the American Association for Justice National Student Trial Advocacy Competition on April 19. Stetson’s team of Brooke Batton Charlan, Stanton Fears, Phylicia Pearson and Kyle Ross beat George Mason University in the final round of the national competition.
Stetson’s trial team L-R: Kyle Ross, Phylicia Pearson, Brooke Batton Charlan and Stanton Fears.
The AAJ is one of the two largest mock trial competitions in the U.S. More than 200 teams competed around the country for a chance at the championship. Fourteen teams competed in the finals, held at the City-County Building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
“We are incredibly proud that Stetson’s students were named best in the nation in this competition,” said Associate Professor Michele Joiner, trial advocacy coordinator and trial team adviser at Stetson. “At Stetson, we are dedicated to training the whole advocate, and it is an honor to be recognized for our commitment to the fine art of trial advocacy.”
Professor Joiner and alumnus Shaun Cummings ’14 coached the Stetson team.
Robert Peirce & Associates and the American Association for Justice hosted the competition.
Stetson University College of Law has ranked number one in trial advocacy 17 times since U.S. News & World Report began rankings in 1995.
On April 16, Bradnee Chambers, executive secretary of the United Nations Environment Programme Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, delivered the Edward and Bonnie Foreman Biodiversity Lecture at Stetson.
Bradnee Chambers spoke at Stetson.
Chambers spoke to law students at Stetson and student teams who traveled from around the world to attend the 19th International Environmental Moot Court Competition at Stetson Law in Gulfport.
Chambers was also a final round judge of the competition.
This year’s moot court competition focused on shark finning and trade restrictions. Topics are designed to prepare law students from around the world to present on environmental issues that cross national boundaries.
Stetson University College of Law is partnering with the Law Society of Ireland to offer a continuing legal education program (CLE) for U.S. lawyers and legal practitioners July 13-15 in Ireland.
The two-and-a-half-day, 14-credit CLE, “Technology in Litigation in the Silicon Valley of Europe,” is being offered in the destination city of Dublin, Ireland, an international hub for business, law and technology.
Topics cover the benefits and impacts of technology on litigation and evolving developments in technology and the law including:
Possible use of video surveillance, police cameras and cellphone video as evidence
Internet searches and privacy issues
Social media’s impact on impartial jurors and the discovery phase
Technology in the courtroom
For more information, call Stetson’s Office of Professional Education at 727-562-7940 or email [email protected].
Take immediate action to conserve and restore the world’s wetlands, the director of Stetson University’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy, professor Royal Gardner, urges in a briefing note he recently co-authored with scientists from around the world.
Professor Royal Gardner directs the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy at Stetson.
The global extent of wetlands is estimated to have declined 64-71% in the 20th century, and loss and degradation continues
People are deprived of ecosystem services provided by wetlands, resulting in more than $20 trillion annually in losses of ecosystem services
Populations of wetland species in Ramsar Sites are decreasing in the tropics
There is a negative trend and negative impacts on biodiversity and other ecosystem services
Policymakers have sufficient information to understand the urgent need to take appropriate actions to conserve wetlands and their services to people
Scientists from the United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the Tour du Valat Research Centre for the Conservation of Mediterranean Wetlands in France, and the Ramsar Scientific and Technical Review Panel contributed to the briefing note.
Stetson’s Professor Gardner chairs the STRP, which is the scientific advisory body for the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental treaty with 168 countries.
The briefing note, published in three languages, will be made available to all countries that are member states to the Ramsar Convention at the upcoming Ramsar Conference of the Parties, which will be held in Uruguay in June.
