Skip to content
Stetson Law Logo

Daylong symposium at Stetson Law tackles political corruption

More than 80 people attended a daylong symposium on Feb. 28 at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Fla., on the topic of political corruption. Taking Stock of Citizens United: How the Law Has (and Has Not) Changed Four Years Later, drew leading national journalists, legal scholars and public interest advocates to the Stetson law school campus for a series of discussions on the threat of political corruption and the importance of an active citizenship.

Professor Lawrence Lessig addresses the symposium audience at Stetson Law.
Professor Lawrence Lessig addresses the symposium audience at Stetson Law. Photo by Kevin James.

Symposium keynote and Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig presented on the need to address corruption in politics in order to maintain a democracy committed to equality.

He constructed a timeline of some of the battles for equal rights in the U.S., from the historic struggle for the right to vote fought by women and blacks to the present-day threats to democracy from corrupt money in politics.

Speaking on the issue of money in politics, Professor Lessig told the audience of scholars, members of the legal profession, and law students, “I am incredibly optimistic that we have a way to get people to see that there is something they can do.”

Symposium panels addressed “Quantifying the Problem of Money in Politics,” “The Risk of Corruption Collides with Free Speech,” and “Making New Rules that Help Taxpayers, Voters, Investors, Employees and Members.”

The Stetson Law Review, the Corporate Reform Coalition, and the American Constitution Society co-sponsored the event.

Stetson hosts public lecture on improving Florida’s water

Stetson University College of Law invited members of the public to the Gulfport campus in March to learn more about how water quality trading can improve the Florida water supply. The Edward & Bonnie Foreman Biodiversity Lecture Series presented a talk by David E. Bailey of the Electric Power Research Institute on March 6 on Stetson’s Gulfport campus.

David Bailey of the Electric Power Research Institute.
David Bailey of the Electric Power Research Institute. Photo by Kayla Minton.

The free public lecture addressed ways to help improve Florida’s water quality. Water quality trading can result in efficient pollution reduction, by allowing one pollution source such as a utility to pay another source such as a farmer to make pollution reductions.

Bailey explained how creating incentives results in the reduction of pollutants. He described how reducing pollutant output generates credits which may then be sold to power companies.

Bailey pointed to the Ohio River Basin Water Quality Trading Project, potentially one of the world’s largest water quality trading programs, designed to pay farmers for environmental improvements.

Bailey is a senior project manager at the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. EPRI conducts research, development and demonstration relating to the generation, delivery and use of electricity for the benefit of the public.

Stetson’s Edward and Bonnie Foreman Biodiversity Lecture Series brings leading experts to campus to speak on a range of environmental topics. Professor Royal C. Gardner directs the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy at Stetson law school.

To learn more about becoming an environmental advocate at Stetson Law, watch a video interview with faculty and students.

Stetson announces Carmen R. Gillett PLLC Top Grade Award in Family Law

Stetson University College of Law will award the Carmen R. Gillett PLLC Top Grade Award in Family Law to several students in the spring.

The award, named for lifelong Sarasota resident Carmen R. Gillett J.D.’81, recognizes and provides financial support to Stetson Law students who have demonstrated academic excellence by receiving the highest grade in their section of the family law course.

“It is very appropriate that this prestigious award is named for Carmen R. Gillett, one of the College of Law’s most distinguished alumnae, and one of Florida’s top family law attorneys,” said Stetson Law Executive Director for Development and Alumni Relations John Knowles. “Carmen continues to support her alma mater and to represent Stetson’s values as a leader in the profession.”

In 2007, Gillett established her own law firm in Sarasota specializing in marital and family law. She is trained in the collaborative family law process and is certified by the Supreme Court of Florida as a family law mediator. Gillett is a member of the Sarasota County Bar Association, serving as co-chair of the Family Law Section. She is a founding member of the Sarasota Collaborative Family Law Professionals Group, the first group of its kind in Sarasota, made up of attorneys, mental health professionals and financial experts.

Stetson Law part-time student Elisabeth Fontugne honored for excellence in writing

Stetson University College of Law student Elisabeth Fontugne was recently honored with two awards for excellence in writing. Fontugne won the Mollie and Paul Hill Student Writing Competition in Medical-Legal Interprofessional Collaboration, hosted by Florida State University. She took second place in the American College of Legal Medicine Student Writing Competition in Law, Medicine and Bioethics.

Elisabeth Fontugne
Elisabeth Fontugne

Fontugne’s writing addresses the intersection of law and medicine. She is a third-year student in Stetson law school’s part-time program.

The Mollie and Paul Hill Student Writing Competition recognizes outstanding original papers submitted by a law student and a medical student or medical resident in response to a question regarding the collaboration between the medical and legal professions.

Fontugne received second-place in the American College of Legal Medicine competition for her paper, “To Treat or Not to Treat: End of Life Care, Patient Autonomy, and the Responsible Practice of Medicine.”

Fontugne is a graduate of the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine, where she obtained a degree in nautical science. She also received a master’s in library science from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla.

Stetson’s legal writing program has consistently ranked among the top five programs nationwide in U.S. News & World Report. Stetson Law is home to the Institute for Advancement of Legal Communication, launched in the fall of 2013.

Stetson Law announces this year’s William A. Kaplin and Facilitator Award recipients

Stetson University College of Law announced the recipients of this year’s William A. Kaplin Award and Facilitator Award at the National Conference on Law and Higher Education, Feb. 13-19, in Orlando, Fla.

William Thro
William E. Thro. Photo: University of Kentucky.

William E. Thro, constitutional law scholar and general counsel of the University of Kentucky, received the William A. Kaplin Award for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy Scholarship. Thro is an accomplished attorney, academic and appellate advocate. He provides proactive advice on critical legal and policy issues at the University of Kentucky.

The Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson University established the award in honor of Professor William A. Kaplin to recognize scholars who have published works on education law that embrace the intersection of law and policy.

Jen Day Shaw, the Associate Vice President and Dean of Students at the University of Florida, received the Facilitator Award. Dr. Shaw oversees Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, the Disability Resource Center, New Student and Family Programs, and Student Veterans Success Center at the University of Florida. She also provides assistance to students in distress, manages the 24-hour crisis/emergency duty for campus, and serves as chair of the Behavioral Consultation Team, the Crisis Response Team, the Protest Team and the Emergency Deans. Dr. Shaw serves as the Campus Safety Knowledge Community National Chair for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and has been appointed to the national panel of experts for the Virginia Tech Victims Family Foundation. 

Jen Day Shaw
Jen Day Shaw. Photo: University of Florida.

Stetson created the Facilitator Award for educators who embody the values and principles articulated by Professors Peter F. Lake and Robert P. Bickel in their book, The Rights and Responsibilities of the Modern University. The Facilitator Model urges educators to be proactive about safety and risk management and to develop organization environments that are reasonably safe, educationally relevant and developmentally sound.

Stetson’s National Conference on Law and Higher Education, now in its 35th year, is a week-long event designed to provide attendees with the vision, motivation, and intensely practical tools needed to return to campus to meet the dynamic law and policy challenges of the day. The conference features the top thinkers, lawyers, and authors in the field and focuses on some of the biggest challenges in higher education today.

Stetson’s law school hosted panel, film “Defending Gideon”

Members of the public were invited to a panel discussion and showing of the film, “Defending Gideon,” on Feb. 11 at Stetson University College of Law’s Gulfport campus. Approximately 70 people attended the showing of the 30-minute documentary and Q&A discussion about the history and future of public defender work and criminal justice in the U.S.

(L-R): Christopher Durocher, Professor Ellen Podgor, Bob Dillinger and Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law Bruce Jacob.
(L-R): Christopher Durocher, Professor of Law Ellen Podgor, Bob Dillinger ’76 and Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law Bruce Jacob ’59.

Christopher Durocher of the Constitution Project moderated the panel discussion.

“Getting young lawyers to care about these issues is the number one way to see change,” Durocher told the audience of law students, professors and members of the public.

Stetson Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law Bruce Jacob, who presented the historic Gideon case in 1963 before the high court, presented on the panel with Public Defender Bob Dillinger and Professor of Law Ellen Podgor.

The Supreme Court in Gideon v. Wainwright ruled that states are required to provide counsel to defendants who cannot afford representation in criminal cases. The panelists discussed the state of the justice system more than 50 years after Gideon, and described a prison system overcrowded with nonviolent offenders and homeless people.

“We’re the top jailer in the world,” Jacob said. “Defendants are herded through the system–it is assembly line justice.”

Professor Podgor explained that overcriminalization results in the processing of people.”There are more than 4500 criminal statutes,” Professor Podgor said.

“People facing criminal charges can’t take the risk of going to trial,” said Podgor. “It is less time served to plea than to go to trial. These people are being betrayed by the system designed to protect them.”

“The system could be a lot better if we train our young lawyers,” Dillinger told the audience.

Students celebrate World Wetlands Day in the Everglades

First-year students in professors Royal Gardner and Lance Long’s Legal Research and Writing class had an opportunity to study environmental issues up close during a recent trip to the Florida Everglades.

Students in professors Lance Long and Royal Gardner's class visit the Everglades.
Students Alex Nicodemi, Beach Brooks, Tommy Mingledorff, Andrew Long and Professor Royal Gardner visit the Everglades. Photo courtesy Kayli Keough.

Students camped and hiked through Big Cypress National Preserve in the Western Everglades.

The trip coincided with World Wetlands Day, held annually on Feb. 2, which celebrates the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Professor Gardner, who directs Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law & Policy, is chair of the Ramsar Scientific and Technical Review Panel.

In 2010, Stetson University College of Law became the first law school in the world to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the Ramsar Secretariat, to assist the international group in protecting wetlands. Stetson Law alumni and the National Audubon Society worked together on the application for the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in the Naples area to be designated as a Wetland of International Importance in 2009. Last year, Stetson Law 2012 graduate Marcela Bonells was appointed technical officer with the Ramsar Convention’s Secretariat in Switzerland.

To learn more about researching environmental issues at Stetson, visit the Institute for Biodiversity Law & Policy. >>Watch a short video about environmental advocacy with students and professors here.

Stetson professor honored at annual Inns of Court

Bruce Jacob with Dean Pietruszkiewicz
Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law Bruce Jacob (left) and Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz.

Stetson University Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law Bruce Jacob received this year’s Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Public Service Award on Jan. 28 during the annual Inns of Court Banquet in St. Petersburg.

This year’s lecture and award ceremony took place at the Mirror Lake Lyceum in St. Petersburg.

Jacob J.D. ’59 has twice presented before the U.S. Supreme Court and has dedicated his professional life to improving legal services for the poor. He established the Legal Assistance for Inmates Program at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta and co-founded the Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project for indigent defendants. In 2013, he received the Constitutional Champion award, the NACDL Champion of Indigent Defense Award, and the Delano Stewart Award from the George Edgecomb Bar Association. Jacob also served as vice president of Stetson University and dean of Stetson’s law school from 1981-94, where he presently teaches courses in constitutional law.

_SCL0120[9]
Anna I. Rodriguez, founder and executive director of the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking, presented the Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Distinguished Lecture.
Rodriguez was recognized by former President George W. Bush and former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft for her efforts combating human trafficking, and was inducted into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011. Rodriguez’ organization, the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking, works closely with the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and law enforcement agencies at the local, state, national and international levels.

Stetson established the prestigious public service award for Wm. Reece Smith Jr., past president of the International, American and Florida Bar Associations and a distinguished professorial lecturer and member of the Stetson University College of Law Hall of Fame. The annual Inns of Court brings together prominent lawyers, experienced teachers and law students to exchange ideas, experiences and education. The adopted Stetson Inns of Court tradition has its roots in England.

William Eleazer selected for Stetson’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching Advocacy

Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus William Eleazer will receive Stetson University’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching Advocacy on May 21 on the Gulfport campus.

Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus William Eleazer
Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus William Eleazer

Professor Eleazer will be presented with the lifetime achievement award during Stetson’s annual Educating Advocates: Teaching Advocacy Skills conference, May 20-22 in Gulfport, Fla.

Professor Eleazer helped establish Stetson’s reputation for excellence in ethical and effective trial advocacy, building the law school’s nationally top-ranked trial advocacy program during his tenure on the faculty. Inducted into Stetson University College of Law’s Hall of Fame in 2005, Eleazer is the namesake of Stetson’s Eleazer Courtroom, a state-of-the-art facility designed to be a model for accessibility.

“Bill Eleazer was a ferocious courtroom competitor who coached students with grace, dignity, and the utmost professionalism,” said Stetson University Professor of Excellence in Trial Advocacy Charles Rose. “The ‘colonel,’ as he was known, understood that we all have a duty to share our craft. His professional examples formed the core of what it means to be a Stetson advocate.”

Since the rankings began in 1995, Stetson’s trial advocacy program has been ranked the top school in the nation for advocacy 15 times and has consistently ranked among the top programs for legal writing in U.S. News.

The EATS conference was developed to help law professors and other educators hone their teaching skills and empower their students to become better advocates. Conference attendees learn the nationally renowned Stetson method of advocacy and network with some of the most recognized names in advocacy teaching.

To learn more about the EATS conference and Professor Eleazer’s legacy, please visit: https://www.stetson.edu/law/conferences/eats/.

Amelia Michele Joiner to serve as Stetson University Professor of Legal Skills and Trial Advocacy

Renowned trial team coach Amelia Michele Joiner has accepted the position of Associate Professor of Legal Skills and Trial Advocacy at Stetson University College of Law starting in July of 2014.

Amelia Michele Joiner
Amelia Michele Joiner. Photo courtesy Duquesne University.

Joiner is Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Trial Advocacy Program at Duquesne University School of Law.

She has received numerous awards for outstanding achievement in the area of trial advocacy, and is a member of the Louis L. Manderino Honor Society for Distinguished Achievement in Moot Court Competition.

“I am overjoyed to join Stetson law school’s nationally renowned trial advocacy program,” said Professor Joiner. “I hope to help continue to grow the law school’s reputation for producing top-notch, ethical advocates who serve their communities.”

Professor Joiner has served as the national trial team coach at Duquesne, where she teaches in the areas of trial advocacy and contracts. She also researches and writes in the areas of employment discrimination and adversarial ethics. Joiner has coached champion advocacy teams to victory at the American Association for Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition and National Institute for Trial Advocacy Tournament of Champions Mock Trial Competition.

Professor Joiner was named one of the 2010 New Pittsburgh Courier’s 50 Women of Excellence, which recognizes successful African-American women who have contributed in important ways to the community.

Stetson has ranked first in trial advocacy by U.S. News & World Report 15 times since the ranking began in 1995.

Stetson’s Institute for the Advancement of Legal Communication hosts inaugural Distinguished Speaker

Stetson’s new Institute for the Advancement of Legal Communication hosted Noah Messing of Yale Law School as its first Distinguished Speaker on Jan. 16. Messing is Lecturer in the Practice of Law and Legal Writing at Yale.

(L-R): Professor Catherine Cameron, Professor Royal Gardner, Dr. Kirsten Davis, Professor Noah Messign, Professor Jason Palmer and Professor Linda Anderson.
Stetson professors join Professor Messing for coffee hour to discuss issues of legal communication. (L-R): professors Catherine Cameron, Royal Gardner, Kirsten Davis, Distinguished Speaker Noah Messing, Jason Palmer and Linda Anderson.

While at Stetson, Messing addressed more than 150 first-year law students on the basics of written persuasion. He encouraged Stetson moot court team members and alumni to challenge the “sacred cows” of persuasive legal writing as advanced legal writers. Messing also met with members of Stetson’s legal writing faculty.

“What we know about effective legal communication and persuasion is growing and changing,” said Professor of Law Kirsten Davis, Ph.D., the Institute director. “Speakers like Professor Messing offer Stetson students and alums a new framework for thinking more deeply about their communication practices.”

Professor Messing is the author of The Art of Advocacy: Briefs, Motions, and Writing Strategies of America’s Best Lawyers, the culmination of two years of research on more than 12,000 motions and briefs providing contemporary advice on persuasive legal writing.

Professor Messing and Professor Palmer discuss the qualities of exceptional brief writing.
Professor Messing and Professor Palmer discuss the qualities of exceptional brief writing.

Stetson Professor of Legal Skills Lance Long, who does empirical research into the effectiveness of legal language, added, “a basic understanding of grammar and a familiarity with common legal documents is no longer enough for competency in legal writing. Professor Messing’s extensive research on effective briefs reflects the rigorous research and analysis that will be a focus of the Institute.”

Stetson’s Institute serves as a nexus of research, teaching and service to improve the quality of legal communication, particularly legal writing, among law students, lawyers, members of the judiciary and other professionals.

The Institute supports an active community of legal communication scholars and works to develop innovative and effective legal communication teaching methods, studies contemporary legal communication issues and provides legal communication instruction for judges, lawyers, other professionals, students and the public.

Stetson’s legal writing program consistently ranks among the top five programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

Stetson teams again win first and second place at Chester Bedell Mock Trial Competition

Two teams of Stetson University College of Law students won first and second place at the Florida Bar Chester Bedell Mock Trial Competition on Jan. 17 in Tampa, Fla.

Stetson students L-R: Stanton Fears, Rocky Seay, Vicky San Pedro and Megan Fernandez.
Stetson students L-R: Stanton Fears, Robert Seay, Vicky San Pedro and Megan Fernandez.

Stetson has won the competition more than 20 times in its 31-year history.

Ten Florida law schools sent a total of 20 teams to the prestigious trial advocacy competition. The Stetson teams beat all of the other Florida law school teams to face each other in the final round of competition.

Stetson students Stanton Fears, Megan Fernandez, Vicky San Pedro and Robert Seay won the competition. San Pedro was also named best advocate.

The Stetson team of Shaun Cummings, J.P. Gilbert, Cayelan Loucks and Daniel Miles placed second.

“Stetson’s Trial Team members show themselves to be courtroom-ready as they are ‘judged’ by lawyers from all over Florida,” said law professor and alumnus Lee Coppock, who coached the teams along with fellow alumni Judge David Demers and Matt Easterwood. ”This is especially true when they excel at this particular competition, highly regarded by members of the Florida Bar.”

Learn more about Stetson’s top-ranked trial advocacy program and award-winning teams by visiting the Center for Excellence in Advocacy at www.stetson.edu/law/advocacy.