The University of California, Hastings College of Law won the 18th Annual International Environmental Moot Court Competition on April 12 at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Fla.
The University of California, Hastings College of Law team won the IEMCC at Stetson. Pictured with team coaches.
The University of California defeated the National Law University, Jodhpur, India, in the final round for the international championship.
Ateneo de Manila Law School, Philippines, received the best memorial award, and Vinayak Panikkar, National Law University, Jodhpur, India, was named best final-round oralist. Paula Plaza, University of Philippines College of Law, was the best oralist in the preliminary rounds.
The team from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil, was honored by their peers with the Spirit of Stetson Award, recognizing civility, justice and fair play.
Fourteen teams from around the world won the chance to compete at Stetson Law in Gulfport, Fla. Students traveled this year from the Bahamas, Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Ireland, and The Philippines.
The University of California, Hastings team with Professor Royal Gardner, director of Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy.
Stetson University College of Law’s bar passage rate is again number one in the state, with 85 percent of all graduates passing the February bar exam on the first try, far exceeding the statewide average of 72.9 percent.
Stetson Law’s bar passage was also number one in the state on the Florida bar exam in July, with 89.3 percent of Stetson graduates passing.
“I am proud of the great work of our graduates,” said Stetson Law Dean and Professor of Law Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz. “The bar exam is an important milestone and Stetson is dedicated to helping prepare our graduates for the legal profession.”
Stetson’s bar preparation program is designed to help graduates succeed, with bar preparation workshops, an essay-grading program and study plan, and Bar Preparation Services staff members available to guide students through the process of bar admission.
Stetson’s bar passage rate has continued to climb over the past decade.
David Rosenfelt spoke at Stetson Law in Gulfport on April 14.Animal rescue advocates gathered with author David Rosenfelt on Stetson’s Gulfport campus.Rescue dog Ruby attended the lecture by animal advocate, author David Rosenfelt.
The free event drew a standing-room only crowd of animal advocate enthusiasts, law students and professors, members of the local community, as well as rescued Golden Retrievers and their owners.
“It’s always exciting to put on events that relate to the intersection of people’s interests,” said third-year student Lane Cryar, president of Stetson’s Student Animal Legal Defense Fund and executive editor of the Stetson Law Review. “We have a vibrant community here at Stetson with diverse activities and areas of practice, and participating in events like this enables us to converse with fellow dog lovers and animal advocates at Stetson and in our surrounding community.”
Rosenfelt is the Edgar and Shamus Award-nominated author of 16 books including the Andy Carpenter mystery series featuring a litigator who directs a dog rescue organization. An avid animal lover, Rosenfelt created the Tara Foundation, a charitable organization which has rescued more than 4,000 dogs. His most recent book, Dogtripping, tells the story of the author’s adventures moving across the country from California to Maine, while accompanied by 25 rescue dogs in three RVs.
Stetson is one of only a handful of law schools in the U.S. with courses in both animal law and international animal law as well as an established therapy dog program for students during exam-time. Stetson professor Peter Fitzgerald is an expert in international trade and animal law who is an advocate for Golden Retriever rescue and therapy dogs.
The final round of the American Mock Trial Association’s tournament, with 48 teams from undergraduate schools across the nation, will be sponsored by Stetson University College of Law and hosted by the University of Central Florida, April 11-13, in Orlando, Fla.
The 2014 AMTA National Championship Tournament will include four rounds, with each mock trial round consisting of a team representing the prosecution competing against another representing the defense. The two divisions at the national tournament are named for prominent members of the Stetson Law community, including the “Eleazer Division” for Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus William Eleazer and the “Jacob Division” for Dean Emeritus and Professor Bruce R. Jacob.
Each year, American Mock Trial Association hosts 25 regional tournaments and eight opening round championship tournaments leading into the national championship tournament.
The Stetson University College of Law Alternative Dispute Resolution team won the Robert Merhige Jr. National Environmental Negotiation Competition at the University of Richmond Law School in Virginia, March 21-23.
(L-R): Rachel Ellis and Charlyne Topiol.
Stetson sent two teams of students. The Stetson team of Rachel Ellis and Charlyne Topiol beat 19 teams from across the country.
The team of Amber Cain and Aimée Canty also competed successfully in the preliminary rounds.
Professor Lance Long, who teaches environmental advocacy and legal research and writing, coached the Stetson teams.
“I could not have been prouder of how our teams prepared, performed and showed professionalism throughout the competition,” said Professor Long.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert R. Merhige Jr., the namesake of the competition, showed a sincere commitment to the environment during his career on the bench, imposing a $13 million fine against Allied Chemical for polluting the James River and Chesapeake Bay. Judge Merhige presided over groundbreaking cases including the desegregation of Virginia schools in 1972 and the admittance of female students to the University of Virginia in 1970.
Stetson University College of Law’s trial team of Ashley Goodman, Khalil Madani and Victoria San Pedro won the National Voir Dire Tournament on April 5 in Kansas City, Mo. The team also won the professionalism award in the competition.
(L-R): University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law professor and advocacy director S. Rafe Foreman, Khalil Madani, Ashley Goodman, and Victoria San Pedro. Photo by University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law visiting professor L. Michaelle Tobin.
Goodman was named Best Advocate and San Pedro was named Best Chair in the competition.
Joseph Murray ’08, Stetson’s advocacy center director Professor Charles Rose and Erika Wilson ’12 coached the winning team.
“Our students were chosen by their peers as the best in professionalism and excellence, two qualities that distinguish advocates as the very best,” said Professor of Excellence in Trial Advocacy Rose.
Sixteen teams from around the country competed.
Stetson’s trial advocacy program is regularly recognized as the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
Dozens of Stetson University College of Law students were joined by Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson on April 4 for a free community bike rally starting in the horseshoe on Stetson’s Gulfport campus.
Bike rally at Stetson Law.
For the second year in a row, Stetson students organized a bike rally to raise awareness about alternative transportation.
“How many of you bike to work or school regularly?” Professor Lance Long asked the crowd. Several hands shot up, including the Gulfport mayor.
Mayor Henderson told the group that the City of Gulfport has approved plans to create a Gulfport loop for bicyclists connecting the Skyway Trail and Pinellas Trail. Bicyclists will have easier access to Clam Bayou, the waterfront, and the shops in downtown Gulfport.
Bike rally participants planned to bike approximately four miles from Stetson’s Gulfport campus to downtown Gulfport.
Former Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California presented the Nichols Foundation Prominent Speaker Lecture at Stetson University College of Law on April 4.
Judge Walker helped strike down California’s ban on same-sex marriage in 2010, the first federal court decision declaring a constitutional right to marry for same-sex couples. He also presided over several notable high-profile cases including a copyright infringement lawsuit between Apple and Microsoft and matters dealing with NSA surveillance.
Judge Vaughn Walker spoke to Stetson students on April 4.
Judge Walker spoke to students about “Social Attitudes and the Law” in the Great Hall at Stetson Law.
“You will learn a few things about how the law works and how it applies,” Judge Walker told the students in the audience preparing to enter the legal field. He discussed how the law changes over time to reflect social change.
“Social change is very slow and in fact quite glacial,” said Judge Walker.
He described how the roles of African Americans in society have changed greatly since the 1700s, from citizens with restricted rights to President of the United States.
Judge Walker described how views of gays and lesbians have also changed in the U.S. and the connection between legal and social changes.
In 1973, the American Psychological Association stated that homosexuality is not a mental disease or defect. Increased prominence of gays and lesbians in the media and public life improved social acceptance, yet the legal landscape did not evolve the same way, Judge Walker said.
Judge Walker explained that the constitutional landscape as late as 1986 was still hostile to gays and lesbians. He described how a pivotal case, Lawrence v. Texas, determined that homosexual relationships had the same rights as heterosexual relationships.
“It was only in 2003 that the dam began to break on the legal front,” Judge Walker said.
The Nichols Foundation Prominent Speaker Series was established in 1995 to enrich academic life at Stetson. The series’ namesake is Perry Nichols, among the nation’s most successful trial lawyers and past president of both the American Trial Lawyers Association and International Trial Lawyers Association. Previous lecturers include prominent business leaders, government officials, legal scholars and practitioners.
Stetson University College of Law was honored in the nation’s capital by the Council on Legal Education Opportunity for helping diversify the legal profession. CLEO honored Stetson during the fall semester among 45 law schools, 45 law firms, corporations, associations and 45 individuals who played a critical role in the financial viability of CLEO since 2000.
Stetson was included in the inaugural group of William A. Blakey Diversity Pipeline Architects named in honor of CLEO’s esteemed late Council Chairman Emeritus William A. “Buddy” Blakey, who dedicated much of his professional life to ensuring that the educational “pipeline” was readily accessible to all promising students.
Professor Darryl C. Wilson accepted the honor on Sept. 26 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. during CLEO’s 45th anniversary celebration.
CLEO is a nonprofit entity of the American Bar Association whose mission is to diversify the legal profession. Established in 1968, CLEO has been at the forefront of helping minority, low-income and disadvantaged students gain access to law school, successfully matriculate and pass the bar exam.
Among Stetson Law’s entering 2013 J.D. class, 20% of students were minorities and 53.5% were female.
Stetson University has named Jeffrey A. Ulmer vice president for development and alumni engagement. Ulmer joins Stetson from the University of Central Florida where he serves as assistant vice president overseeing fundraising at multiple academic colleges. Prior to that Ulmer was responsible for setting the strategic direction for UCF’s Athletic Development Program.
Jeffrey A. Ulmer, vice president for development and alumni engagement at Stetson
“I am excited to join the distinguished community of faculty, staff and students at Stetson,” said Ulmer. “I look forward to working with President Wendy Libby and Stetson’s vibrant alumni community to advance the national and international prominence of this great university.”
Ulmer was selected following a national search. As vice president for development and alumni engagement, Ulmer will provide strategic vision, focus and direction for Stetson’s development and alumni relations efforts. He will also provide innovative leadership in annual and comprehensive campaigns, corporation and foundation relations, planned giving, major gifts, donor relations and stewardship, and prospect research and management.
“Jeff is coming to Stetson at an important time because of the rapid, positive trajectory the university is on,” said Stetson President Wendy B. Libby, Ph.D. “We were attracted by Jeff’s strong track record in relationship building with alumni, donors and friends, as well as his team-building capabilities.
“We are thrilled to have Jeff join our staff, and we are confident that he is the right person to lead the Development Office during this exciting time,” said Libby. “It is a real plus that he knows Central Florida and the greater Orlando business community. His varied experience in academics and athletics will serve us well.”
Prior to working with UCF, Ulmer was president of the University of Mississippi Athletics Association Foundation, executive director of development for athletics and the National Commodore Club at Vanderbilt University, and assistant dean for development and alumni relations at Vanderbilt University Law School. He also worked in development for the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business, Fredric G. Levin College of Law, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. A 1985 graduate of the University of Florida, Ulmer is a former assistant strength and conditioning coach for the National Football League’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Ulmer begins his new position on April 28. He is replacing Vice President for University Relations Carol Julian, who is retiring.
Stetson University College of Law is bringing sea turtle conservation experts to the Gulfport campus in April and adding a new summer course for law students on sea turtle protection in May and June.
The new summer course runs May 27-June 6 for law students interested in learning about the threats to endangered sea turtles and legal and policy framework to protect them. Students enrolled in the course are invited to join sea turtle experts from Latin America and the Caribbean for the Consultative Committee Meeting of the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles, held on Stetson Law’s Gulfport campus.
Stetson will also host the Stetson Law Sea Turtle Symposium on April 10 between 1:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. Members of the public are invited to learn about the threats facing endangered sea turtles and join the dialogue about protecting the species.
The symposium is free and open to the public and takes place in the Great Hall at Stetson Law, 1401 61st St. S., Gulfport.
Stetson University College of Law’s trial team of Will Casey, Jean-Pierre Gilbert, Daniel Miles and Lisa Ungerbuehler won the American Association for Justice southeast regional mock trial competition in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on March 23. The team will advance to compete in the AAJ national championship competition in Santa Monica, Calif., on April 10.
(L-R): Will Casey, Elizabeth Finizio, Daniel Miles, Judge Gary Farmer Sr., Lisa Ungerbuehler, Jean-Pierre Gilbert and Gabriel F. Zambrano.
Stetson sent two teams to the regional competition.
The Stetson student team of Shaun Cummings, Chad Florin, Cayelan Loucks and Christina Vicari won second place in the final round against the winning Stetson team.
“This victory reinforces Stetson’s commitment to being the best law school in advocacy in the country,” said Professor Lee Coppock, who coached the Stetson teams. “Both of our student teams were exceptionally prepared and swept the competition.”
More than 200 law schools from around the country are invited to compete in 14 regional mock trial competitions for the chance to advance to the national championship.
