Prominent Pensacola attorney Charles S. Liberis of the Liberis Law Firm was recently named to the Stetson University College of Law Board of Overseers. The board of overseers advises and counsels the dean of the College of Law and the university president on academic programs and financial matters.
Charles Liberis
The board also includes Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince, Florida Sixth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bernie McCabe, and Florida Bar Association President Gregory Coleman.
“I am delighted that Charles will be joining our board at a time when we continue to modify our legal education program to meet the demands of the legal marketplace, prepare students for the profession, and help them understand their community involvement responsibilities,” said Stetson Law Dean Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz. “Because of his background, Charles will add a strong voice as we think about these important issues.”
The program, scheduled to start in August of 2015, will allow high-performing students to reduce the time they spend earning a law degree, earning both their bachelor’s and juris doctor degrees in six years, rather than the traditional seven years.
The 2014 IEMCC winners: University of California-Hastings team with Professor Royal Gardner, director of Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy.
Ukraine hosted the first Central and Eastern European rounds of the IEMCC in 2010.
“Ukraine has experienced many challenges in the past year, and it is especially important for us to stay connected with our colleagues in the Ukrainian legal community,” said Professor Royal C. Gardner, director of Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy. Prior to joining the Stetson faculty, Gardner participated in negotiations in Kyiv to help facilitate the safe and secure dismantlement of the former Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons.
Law students from Ukraine, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Turkey, the Middle East, as well as West, Central, and South Europe are invited to compete in Kyiv, Ukraine, in January 2015 in the regional rounds of the IEMCC. The regional competition winners will travel to Stetson University College of Law’s Gulfport, Fla., campus for the final rounds of the IEMCC, April 16-18, 2015.
“I am more than excited and looking forward to the event,” said Ielyzaveta Badanova, who is helping coordinate the IEMCC regional rounds in Eastern Europe. Badanova works in the legal unit at the Energy Community Secretariat and as a senior tax and legal consultant at KPMG Ukraine. Professor Maryna Medvedieva, of the Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University Institute of International Relations, is also actively involved in the round preparations. The Institute of International Relations is hosting the competition.
Stetson’s IEMCC, now in its 19th year, provides student advocates with an opportunity to litigate legal environmental issue that cross national borders. Students participating in this year’s competition will address the issue of shark finning and trade restrictions. A team from University of California, Hastings College of Law won the competition in April 2014.
Student teams will participate in regional rounds of Stetson University’s IEMCC around the world in East Asia and Southeast Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, India, Ireland, and Latin and North America.
The Florida Bar recently honored Stetson University College of Law student leaders for their outstanding chapter. Stetson’s chapter of the Young Lawyers Division Law Student Division was named the best in the state during the Florida Bar’s Annual Meeting June 25-26 in Orlando.
Student Anisha Patel (left) accepted Stetson’s best chapter award from the Law Student Division president.
“Our fantastic student leaders Jennifer Tindell, Anisha Patel, Ciara Willis, and Jeffrey Berglund, do an incredible job of representing Stetson within the Florida Bar and on campus,” said Stetson University College of Law Assistant Director of Career Development Joann Grages Burnett. “It is wonderful that they were once again recognized for these contributions.”
Stetson’s chapter won an award last year for best event.
The Florida Bar YLD Law Student Division is governed by a president and board of governors. The Law Student Division’s board is comprised of six elected and/or appointed representatives from each of Florida’s 12 law schools who serve as the liaisons between the Florida Bar and Florida law students.
Stetson University College of Law students Jeremy Bailie, Anisha Patel and Nick Sellars won the best brief award at the Robert Orseck Memorial Moot Court Competition at the Florida Bar conference on June 25-26 in Orlando.
Stetson’s Moot Court team won best brief. (L-R): Gordon Glover (Moot Court Committee member), Katherine Hurst Miller (Stetson alumna and co-chair of the Moot Court Committee), Nick Sellars, Anisha Patel, Jeremy Bailie, Melaine Griffin (President of the Young Lawyers Division), and Andrew Pickett (Chair of the Moot Court Committee).
Stetson’s Moot Court team advanced to the final round of the annual competition, arguing in front of the justices of the Florida Supreme Court.
“Throughout the competition, our team had the opportunity to argue in front of state trial and appellate judges,” said Stetson Law professor Brooke Bowman, who co-coached the team with alumnus Larry Miccolis.
“Participating in this competition is a remarkable experience in real-life oral advocacy. The appellate judges said that our students were professional, poised, and extremely prepared,” said Bowman.
The competition was hosted by the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division and the Appellate Practice Section.
The Stetson Lawyers Association presented awards to eight outstanding alumni and friends of Stetson University College of Law during the Florida Bar Annual Meeting in Orlando on June 26.
Nestor M. de Armas B.B.A. ’73 and Congressman David W. Jolly received the Distinguished Service Award for their significant, meritorious and continuing contributions to Stetson Law.
Former president of the Stetson University Alumni Association, de Armas has served as trustee emeritus, chair and member of Stetson’s Board of Trustees. He and his wife Donna created the Nestor M. and Donna Hunt de Armas Scholarship to assist Stetson University students with financial need.
Congressman David W. Jolly, who represents Florida’s 13th Congressional District, serves on Stetson Law’s Center for Excellence in Elder Law Advisory Board. Jolly also serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and was the former senior advisor and general counsel to the late Congressman Bill Young.
Judge David Demers B.A. ’68, JD ’72 and Judge Irene Sullivan JD ’77 received this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
Demers, elected chief judge of the Pinellas County Circuit Court in 2001, implemented policies and procedures during his six-year tenure that guide the circuit court today. Judge Demers is a 2009 Stetson University College of Law Hall of Fame inductee who has served as an adjunct professor at Stetson, a member of the prestigious Stetson College of Law Skills Training Committee, and a frequent presenter at Stetson University’s Professionalism seminars.
Sullivan is a 2011 Stetson University College of Law Hall of Fame inductee and adjunct professor teaching juvenile law at Stetson. Shepracticed trial law in St. Petersburg for 22 years before she was elected circuit court judge in 1998. Judge Sullivan served on the juvenile and family law bench until 2011 and authored the popular book, Raised by the Courts: One Judge’s Insight into Juvenile Justice.
Lawrence P. Ingram JD ’90 received the Paul M. May Meritorious Service Award for continuously supporting Stetson Law and its alumni association.
Ingram, managing partner of the Tampa office of the international law firm Phelps Dunbar, currently serves as vice chair of the executive committee of the Stetson University College of Law Board of Overseers.
Brian Tannebaum JD ’94 received the Outstanding Alumni Representative Award for dedication and service to the Stetson Lawyers Association.
Tannebaum is an American Bar Association National Trial Champion and a former member of Stetson’s Trial Team. Tannebaum is a member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers where he is one of only two members of the association to have received all three presidential service awards.
Gregory Coleman B.B.A.’85,JD ’89, incoming president of the Florida Bar, received the Ben C. Willard Award for humanitarian achievements bringing distinction to himself and Stetson Law.
Coleman has served on and chaired nearly every significant standing and special committee in the Florida Bar and is an unprecedented three-time winner of the Florida Bar’s prestigious President’s Award of Merit. Coleman is also a member of the House of Delegates for the American Bar Association and a director of the Florida Bar Foundation.
Stetson Lawyers Association president Jenay Iurato JD/MBA ’00 received the President’s Award in recognition of her leadership.
Iurato works with the Tampa Hispanic Bar Association, the Junior League of Tampa, and advocates for ending human trafficking around the world.
Marc Levine JD ’06 was named incoming president of the Stetson Lawyers Association. Stetson University President Wendy Libby, Stetson University College of Law Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz, and Stetson Law alumnus Luis Prats B.A.’78, JD ’81 spoke at the awards program.
Stetson University College of Law will host two open house and information sessions in July and August about the admissions process for part-time law school applicants. Students interested in the full-time program are also invited to attend.
“The part-time program granted me the flexibility to continue to work full-time while attending classes at night,” said part-time Stetson University law student Kevin Lonzo. “This allowed me to gain valuable work experience and build a network of contacts in the Tampa Bay area, while earning my degree.”
“I will be graduating soon and am incredibly grateful for the opportunity the part-time program provided me,” said Stetson Law student Amanda Ortega. “The evening class schedule allowed me to keep working to support my family while still getting a valuable Stetson education.”
Prospective law students interested in attending should RSVP for one of the sessions:
Thursday, July 31, at the Tampa Law Center, 1700 N. Tampa St.
Thursday, Aug. 28, at the Gulfport campus, 1401 61st St. S.
All programs will start at 6:30 p.m. Registration begins at 6 p.m.
When he is not busy commuting from his home in Palm Harbor, Florida, to Stetson Law school or working full-time at his job of 16 years at Nebraska Printing Company, Todd Hoover is a literacy advocate for at-risk youth.
Student Todd Hoover
The 45-year-old third-year student at Stetson University College of Law balances raising a family with a full-time job, part-time law school, and his work with a nonprofit literacy program. Hoover recently created the nonprofit, First 25, Inc., to help boost literacy among underprivileged youth in Pinellas County, Florida.
“The time for ineffective measures and impotent bureaucracies is over,” Hoover said. “We will teach these kids to read child by child, until we have fixed the problem.”
First 25 promotes what Hoover calls racial literary equality. Through First 25, Hoover helped grow a community literacy program in an at-risk area of Largo, Florida, which lead to a pilot program at John Hopkins Middle School in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Hoover is also the author of several children’s and young adult fiction books.
“It started with three writers talking out a concept around the dining room table,” Stetson University College of Law staffer Julie Saffan shared.
Saffan is the co-author of a new play, “Baggage,” with Stetson Law alumna Jaye Ann Terry, and University of Central Florida cinema studies student Amanda Dodge.
The play portrays two women who help their friend to let go of obstacles and adapt to change.
Terry, an attorney who recently moved to Tallahassee, was a longtime resident of St. Petersburg. She coordinated the Journeys in Journalism Program for elementary, middle and high school students in Pinellas County and worked at the Tampa Bay Times.
Saffan, a native New Yorker, has lived in St. Petersburg for two decades and works in Stetson University’s business office on the Gulfport campus.
A total of 103 Stetson University College of Law alumni have been selected for Florida’s Legal Elite in the July 2014 Florida Trend magazine.
Stetson Law graduates walk at a recent commencement.
The Legal Elite Hall of Fame includes two Stetson Law alumni, Mark A. Hanley JD ’80 and Rhea F. Law JD ’79. The Hall of Fame honors attorneys who have consistently ranked in the top tier in Legal Elite voting for several years.
Florida’s Legal Elite, now in its 11th edition, showcases attorneys chosen by their peers who exemplify a standard of excellence in their profession. All in-state members of the Florida Bar are asked to vote. The resulting list of Florida’s Legal Elite represents fewer than 2% of the active Florida Bar members who practice in the state.
Stetson University College of Law alumni again top the list of Florida Super Lawyers. Stetson Law is among the top 10 law schools in the state producing the highest number of Florida Super Lawyers this year.
Graduates walk at Stetson Law commencement.
This year, 298 Stetson Law alumni are among the Florida Super Lawyers and 181 Stetson Law alumni are honored among the Florida Super Lawyers Rising Stars.
Stetson Law alumnus Christian D. Searcy is listed among the Top 10 2014 Florida Super Lawyers. Five Stetson Law alumnae are listed among the Top 50 Women Florida Super Lawyers : Tae Kelley Bronner, Tracy Raffles Gunn, Lorena Hart Ludovici, Marian P. McCulloch, and Lynn Welter Sherman. Five Stetson Law alumni are included in the Top 100 Florida Super Lawyers: Stephen A. Barnes, Stephen D. Busey, Mac Richard McCoy, Luis Prats and Searcy.
Super Lawyers magazine rates lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement through independent research, peer nominations and evaluations.
No more than 5 percent of attorneys in the state are included in the Florida Super Lawyers list and no more than 2.5 percent are named to Rising Stars.
Stetson University College of Law students are participating in a special course from May 27-June 6 to learn about the threats facing endangered sea turtles and the legal and policy initiatives in place to protect them.
Sea turtle experts from Latin America and the Caribbean gathered at Stetson Law in Gulfport.
Students enrolled in the course are invited to join sea turtle experts on campus for the Consultative Committee Meeting of the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles.
Sea turtle experts from Latin America and the Caribbean traveled to Stetson’s Gulfport campus for the meeting.
For more information about Stetson’s new summer course on sea turtles, visit www.stetson.edu/turtles.
The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced a new clemency initiative, designed to prioritize clemency applications for certain non-violent offenders who would likely receive lesser sentences if they were sentenced today. To date, more than 35 Stetson Law students have signed on to assist the Office of the Federal Defender for the Middle District of Florida in identifying former clients who may qualify for the new clemency initiative. The Stetson Law students will help gather information relevant to the clemency criteria as part of a new pro bono project on campus.
“I had heard about this on the news and was ecstatic, but didn’t imagine Stetson students would have the opportunity to help,” said student Kathryn Hamilton, who signed on to assist the pro bono project.
“I am interested in the clemency project because it is such a rare and unique opportunity to apply some of the skills I have learned in law school for a cause that can drastically change people’s lives,” said student Kevin Lonzo.
Donna Elm, the Federal Defender for the Middle District of Florida, stated, “We are delighted to expand our internship program to include students working pro bono on this important project. The students will be instrumental in helping us collect the information we need to assess which former clients may be eligible for relief under the new clemency initiative.”
Stetson Law professors Ellen Podgor, Judith Scully, James Sheehan and Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law Bruce Jacob are spearheading the pro bono project with the Federal Defender’s Office.
“This is an exciting project that will be ongoing, allowing students to learn more about federal criminal law while assisting the Federal Defender’s Office in the Middle District of Florida,” said Professor Podgor, the Gary R. Trombley Family White-Collar Crime Research Professor at Stetson Law.
