New assistant director of alumni services Michael Stewart. Click for high-resolution image.
Michael Stewart is the new assistant director of alumni services in the office of college relations at Stetson University College of Law.
Stewart is responsible for developing alumni chapters throughout the country, planning special alumni events and creating and maintaining online alumni communities.
Prior to his current position in college relations, he worked with the Stetson Law office of admissions and financial planning.
Stewart earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Florida State University and his J.D. degree from Stetson. As a law student, he served as a research assistant, a student assistant and was an active member of the Black Law Students Association.
Stewart’s academic interests focus on the cross-section of law and political science and its impact on national public policy and economics.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
Professor Dorothea Beane and her law class meet at Thurgood Marshall Middle School before the teach-in. Click for high-resolution image.
During the same week that many people visited American grade schools as part of the Great American Teach-In, Stetson University College of Law professor Dorothea Beane and her law class returned to Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School for an annual discussion of human rights issues on Nov. 15.
Child labor, school shortages and the one-child law in China were the topics of discussion for instructor Jessica Salinas’ gifted class of 18 middle schoolers.
“We are presenting our teach-in in the hopes that we can learn from one another,” Professor Beane told the sixth-graders after introducing her class of 10 Stetson Law students.
The law students started the class off with a documentary film about children working in agricultural fields in the U.S. The film interviewed children who worked long, physically exhausting hours while being exposed to pesticides. The sixth-graders then discussed an exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act which allows children to work legally in agriculture in our country.
The students continued their discussion of child labor issues outside the U.S. The middle school class broke into three groups to talk about the dangers of child labor and inadequate access to education in China. One student group cut out a shirt from a paper pattern and assembled it while a stop watch clicked, illustrating the demands placed on Chinese children in clothing factories.
“We think that middle schoolers talk a lot to each other about what’s important to them, and they talk to their families about what’s important to them, and we think that the greatest impediment to spreading human rights is people aren’t talking enough about it,” Professor Beane told the sixth-graders.
“We hope that you will continue the conversation with your friends and with your families because we think it’s important and important enough for us to take a day to spend with you,” Professor Beane told the students.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
ABA president Stephen Zack is this year's J. Ben Watkins Award recipient. Click for high-resolution image.
American Bar Association president Stephen Zack was honored at the annual Law Review banquet at Stetson University College of Law on Nov. 19 in Gulfport. Zack received the J. Ben Watkins Award for Excellence in the Legal Profession.
The Watkins Award is presented annually in honor of J. Ben Watkins, who was instrumental in founding the Stetson Law Review. Five members of the 1970 Stetson Law Review editorial board were also recognized at the event. “Good lawyers make a living. Great lawyers make a difference,” Zack said at the banquet.
Zack is the first Hispanic and Cuban-American president of the American Bar Association, elected in August 2010. As president of the ABA, Zack is working on a range of issues including improving access to justice and funding for the judiciary, increasing civic education in schools, improving Hispanic legal rights and responsibilities, and the ABA’s disaster preparedness plan.
Zack served as the first Hispanic-American and youngest president of the Florida Bar, founding member of the Cuban-American Bar Association, chair of the Florida Ethics Committee, and member of the 11th Circuit Judicial Nominating Committee for the Southern District.
This year, Hispanic Business Magazine included Zack on its list of the 100 Top Influential Hispanics, Florida Trend Magazine named him among Florida’s Legal Elite, and he is listed among the Law Dragon 500. The 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in America lists him in the commercial litigation practice area. Zack is regularly recognized in the Super Lawyers section of the Miami Herald as a Top Florida Lawyer.
Zack is also a partner in the national law firm of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, with offices in Miami. His clients include former Vice President Al Gore in the trial of Bush v. Gore.
The Stetson Law Reviewis the college’s premier academic journal, published three times a year. Each issue addresses contemporary legal topics in a symposium format.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
(L-R): Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Grandy; Assistant U.S. Attorney Josie Thomas; Professor Susan Charles, Hugh Wooding Law School, Principal Mitchell Davies, Cayman Islands Law School; Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Downing; Professor George Belnavis, Norman Manley Law School; Professor Jane Cross, Nova Southeastern Law School; Professor Darryl Wilson, Stetson; Principal Tonya Bastian-Galanis, Eugene Dupuch Law School; Professor Dorothea Beane, Stetson; Professor John Knechtle, Florida Coastal Law School; Carla Card-Stubbs, Eugene Dupuch Law School. Click for high-resolution image.
The American Caribbean Law Initiative and the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida co-sponsored a comparative law clinic at Stetson University College of Law Nov. 8-12.
Stetson hosted students from law schools in the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Florida participating in a comparative law moot exercise as part of the American Caribbean Law Initiative.
Law students participated in a moot court exercise, which tested their legal research and oral presentation skills on a range of civil, criminal and asset forfeiture cases.
Assistant U.S. attorneys from Tampa submitted mock problems and served as a panel of judges. Assistant U.S. Attorney and 2006 Stetson Law alumna Josie Thomas said she was pleased to participate in the project. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Grandy congratulated the faculty and student participants, citing the exceptional quality of the oral submissions.
“The American Caribbean Law Initiative provides students from several law schools with the opportunity to work together to improve their relationships and understanding of their respective legal systems,” said Professor Dorothea Beane, who co-directs the Institute for Caribbean Law and Policy at Stetson.
ACLI board members and law school administrators also met for a two-day collaborative strategic planning session on Stetson Law’s Gulfport and Tampa campuses. The group discussed opportunities for scholarly development in areas such as international comparative law and advocacy.
They discussed teaching and student exchanges; locations and topics for continuing legal education conferences for students, faculty, judges and members of the bar throughout the U.S. and Caribbean; and membership expansion plans through 2015.
The law students hailed from Eugene Dupuch Law School, Hugh Wooding Law School, Norman Manley Law School, Cayman Islands Law School, Florida Coastal School of Law, Nova Southeastern School of Law and Stetson.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
(L-R): Mercer Law Dean Gary J. Simson, Professor Daisy Hurst Floyd, Jessica Flammer, Kaleena Barnes, Jason Lambert, Judge Louis Sands, Judge Danny Craig and Judge Michael J. Moore. Photo courtesy Mercer University. Click for high-resolution image.
Stetson University College of Law’s advocacy teams won two competitions on Nov. 13 and 14.
The Stetson Law Moot Court team won the Legal Ethics and Professionalism Moot Court Competition on Nov. 13 at Mercer University School of Law in Macon, Ga. Two joint advocacy board arbitration teams of Stetson Law students won both first and second place at the American Bar Association Law Student Division Regional Arbitration Competition on Nov. 14 at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Kaleena Barnes, Jessica Flammer and Jason Lambert won the inaugural Legal Ethics and Professionalism Moot Court Competition, competing against 15 teams from around the nation. District and circuit court judges presided over the final rounds of the competition, in which the team argued a moot U.S. Supreme Court case.
Students (L-R): Chris Donegan, Sarah Lord, Angela Meyers and David Jacobs won first-place in the ABA LSD Regional Arbitration Competition. Click for high-resolution image.
The Stetson team of Chris Donegan, David Jacobs, Sarah Lord and Angela Meyers won first place in the ABA LSD Regional Arbitration Competition. The second Stetson team of Rachel Attal, Anne Dryden, Ashley Dusnik and Matthew Futch won second place. It is the fifth time in the regional competition’s history that two Stetson teams have faced each other in the finals. Ten teams competed. Both of Stetson’s teams will advance to the ABA/LSD National Arbitration Competition in Chicago in January.
Students (L-R): Matthew Futch, Anne Dryden, Ashley Dusnik and Rachel Attal won second-place in the ABA LSD Regional Arbitration Competition. Click for high-resolution image.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
The August Vollmer Excellence in Forensic Science Award. Click for high-resolution image.
The National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law at Stetson University College of Law was honored as a forensic technology innovator in October. The NCSTL was presented with the 2010 August Vollmer Excellence in Forensic Science Award in the category of Innovation in Forensic Technology on Oct. 24.
The National Clearinghouse was selected for outstanding achievements on behalf of the law enforcement profession by the International Association of Chiefs of Police Forensic Committee. The award was presented at the IACP’s 117th Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla.
Stetson’s National Clearinghouse provides a unique online resource that concentrates on the nexus of science, technology and the law, educating and sharing information with scientists, legal professionals, law enforcement, academics and the public. The NCSTL forensic research database provides more than 100,000 resources about forensic science and technology, the law of scientific evidence and expert witnesses. The NCSTL offers an innovative one-stop clearinghouse to assist research.
According to TIME magazine, August Vollmer was a self-educated criminologist who started the police force in Berkeley, Calif., in 1905 and pioneered the use of blood, fiber and soil analysis and fingerprint analysis.
To learn more about Stetson’s National Clearinghouse, visit http://www.ncstl.org or call 727-562-7316.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
The student team from the University of Miami won the Region 4 ABA LSD Negotiation Competition. Click for high-resolution image.
Students from the University of Miami School of Law won the Region 4 ABA/LSD Negotiation Competition Nov. 6-7 at Stetson Law in Gulfport, Fla.
Twenty-four teams from 12 law schools across the region competed on the Stetson Law campus, with the top four teams advancing to the finals. One team from the University of Miami, two teams from Stetson Law and one team from Cumberland School of Law competed in the finals.
A team from the University of Miami and a team from Stetson Law will advance to compete in the ABA/LSD National Negotiation Competition Feb. 11-12, 2011 in Atlanta.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
(L-R): Stetson alumnus and coach Larry Miccolis, team leader Tony Thomas, Greg Ludtka, Sandra Harrell and Derrick Clarke. Click for high-resolution image.
Stetson University College of Law’s Moot Court team won the Best Brief award at the Navy JAG Corps 2010 National Moot Court Competition Oct. 28-30 at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville. A team from the University of Michigan won the overall competition.
Stetson students Derrick Clarke, Sandra Harrell, Greg Ludtka and team leader Tony Thomas competed along with 19 teams from law schools around the nation. Stetson alumnus Larry Miccolis coached the Stetson team that won the Best Brief.
“Moot court competitions involve both a written and oral component, and to bring home the top award for the written submission is amazing,” said Professor Brooke Bowman, Moot Court Advisor.
Stetson’s Moot Court won the Veterans Law Appellate Advocacy Competition in Washington, D.C., for the second year in a row on Oct. 17. Earlier this year, Stetson’s Moot Court won the E. Earle Zehmer Workers’ Compensation Moot Court Competition in August and the Robert Orseck Memorial Moot Court Competition in June.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
On Oct. 7, Stetson University College of Law Professor Luz Nagle was elected by acclamation to the International Bar Association Legal Practice Division Council for a four-year term starting in January 2011.
“I feel honored to have been selected for this important appointment,” Nagle said. “As a member of LPD Council, I am thrilled to have an opportunity to contribute substantively to one of the world’s leading legal organizations.” Her election to the Council caps prior appointments as secretary, vice-chair, and co-chair of the IBA’s criminal law committee, and serving on several IBA task forces on the rule of law and counter-terrorism.
Nagle, an expert in international law and international criminal law who has been published in English and Spanish on four continents, began her legal career in Colombia, where she was a judge in MedellÃn confronting drug lords. At Stetson, she teaches International Law, International Criminal Law, Human Trafficking, and an Advanced Seminar on Terrorism and Global Security. Professor Nagle has been involved in several rule of law, judicial reform, and hemispheric security projects sponsored by USAID and the U.S. Departments of Defense, Justice, and State and has trained government and military officials from more than a dozen nations.
Deeply involved in the international fight against human trafficking and modern day slavery, Nagle serves on the Florida Governor’s Task Force on Human Trafficking, and was honored in 2009 with the Freedom Award given by the Florida Coalition against Human Trafficking. She was also recently honored by the University of Minnesota Law School for her “Outstanding Contributions to the Achievement of Social Justice and Human Rights.”
The IBA, with a membership of more than 40,000 lawyers and 197 bar associations and law societies, spans every continent. It influences the development of international law reform and shapes the future of the legal profession throughout the world.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
Stetson University College of Law invites prospective students to experience campus life during Law Information Day on Nov. 13. The program runs from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Stetson’s Gulfport campus with a required 8:30 a.m. registration.
The day-long program is designed to provide prospective students with a glimpse into the life of a law school student. Attendees will participate in a simulated law class, meet law professors, speak with current law students and learn about the admissions and financial aid process. A campus tour and complimentary lunch will also be provided.
For more information, call the Office of Admissions and Student Financial Planning at 727-562-7802 or e-mail [email protected]. Stetson’s Gulfport campus is located at 1401 61st St. S., Gulfport.
Stetson University College of Law inducted the newest members into its Hall of Fame on Oct. 23 in Gulfport. Stetson Law’s Hall of Fame now includes more than 50 members and six of this year’s inductees are graduates of the law school.
“All of these individuals have reached the pinnacle of their professions and have effected a profound positive influence on Stetson University College of Law,” said Stetson Law Vice President and Dean Darby Dickerson.
Kay Eddy served as assistant to the dean, registrar and director of admissions for almost two decades after the College of Law moved to Gulfport. Students of the era described Eddy as a problem-solver who helped and assisted students. Prior to joining Stetson Law, Eddy owned and operated a business and secretarial college.
Firestone Family
Harvey Firestone III. Click for hi-resolution image.
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Harvey Firestone III ’59 began law school at Stetson in 1955 at the encouragement of his father, Harvey Firestone Jr., then-president and CEO of Firestone Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio. He graduated third in his class, overcoming the physical challenges of cerebral palsy. In 1960, Harvey Firestone III died tragically, falling from a hotel balcony where he was vacationing with friends. His father was a major benefactor of Stetson, transforming the campus with capital improvements including a new classroom, faculty offices, guest suite and a modern courtroom. Thirteen years after his son’s death, Firestone Jr. helped Stetson Law rebuild and expand its recreation facilities, with new tennis courts, a basketball court, workout area and a swimming pool.
Edward BA ’67, JD ’71 and Bonnie BA ’68 Foreman
Bonnie Foreman. Click for hi-resolution image.Edward Foreman. Click for hi-resolution image.
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Bonnie Brown and Edward Foreman met at a festival on Stetson University’s DeLand campus and married in October 1967. Their partnership continued through Edward’s law school and legal career, while Bonnie guided young people as a school teacher. Four decades of community contributions from the couple continued until Edward died in 2004. In May 2004, Bonnie Foreman created the Edward D. Foreman Most Distinguished Student Award, the most prestigious award given at Stetson Law’s graduation. The award honors the “best all-around student” for both passion for the legal profession and commitment to community service. Bonnie has served on the College of Law Board of Overseers and University Board of Trustees. Her philanthropic work includes academic scholarships and a new SPCA Adoption Center, which bears Edward Foreman’s name and honors his love of animals and wildlife.
Ruthann Robson has taught at the City University of New York School of Law since 1990 in the areas of constitutional law and sexuality and the law. She has made academic presentations throughout the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Professor Robson has been called a pioneering legal theorist in the field of lesbian jurisprudence. She is also an award-winning novelist, accomplished poet, essayist, and dedicated mentor and teacher. In 2007, Robson was named a Distinguished Professor. Robson received her J.D. degree from Stetson and an LL.M. from the University of California at Berkeley. She clerked for Senior U.S. District Judge William Castagna of the Middle District of Florida and U.S. Circuit Judge Peter T. Fay of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
� Jim Shore BA ’76, JD ’80
Jim Shore. Click for hi-resolution image.
Ruthann Robson. Click for hi-res image.
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Jim Shore was born blind in one eye and lost his remaining vision in an automobile accident in 1970. He became the first person in the Seminole Tribe to graduate from law school. After finishing law school, Shore became the deputy counsel, and later became general counsel, of the 3,000-member Seminole Tribe of Florida. He helped form the Seminole Police Department and advocated in several land and water use challenges with state and local governments. Shore’s negotiations made the 2007 Seminole Tribe gaming agreement with the State of Florida possible. He negotiated the Tribe’s acquisition of the Hard Rock hotel, restaurant and casino operations with 168 venues in 52 countries. Shore also volunteers with a variety of non-profit civil organizations.
Gary Trombley ’73
Gary Trombley. Click for hi-resolution image.
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Gary Trombley is the principal attorney of Trombley & Hanes, P.A., and has concentrated in federal and state criminal investigations, trials and complex civil litigation for the past 25 years. A highly awarded attorney, Trombley has been named among Florida Trend‘s Legal Elite and the Best Lawyers of America. While attending Stetson Law, Trombley was a member of the Stetson Law Review and Phi Delta Phi. From 1973 to 1977, he served as Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Florida, where he prosecuted complex criminal cases and received the Attorney General’s “Outstanding Performance in Trial Practice Award.” Active in community and educational organizations, Trombley served as president of the Stetson Lawyers Association and as a member of the College of Law’s Board of Overseers. He received the Paul M. May Meritorious Service Award for continuous support of the College of Law in 2004.
Dan Warren ’52
Dan Warren. Click for hi-resolution image.
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Dan Warren has served as a Daytona Beach municipal judge, justice of the peace and city commissioner. In the 1960s, he served as special counsel and state attorney working on the St. Augustine civil rights crisis. He chronicled the experience in the book, If It Takes All Summer: Martin Luther King, the KKK, and State’s Rights in St. Augustine, 1964. Warren ordered the desegregation of St. Augustine public beaches and had members of the KKK arrested and prosecuted for violence. He met privately with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to reach a peaceful settlement, and empanelled a grand jury to appoint a bi-racial committee to stop the violence. Since 1968, Warren has spent his legal career defending the constitutional rights of others, especially minorities.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
(L-R): Stetson coach Professor Michael Allen, Will Hurter, U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Judge Lawrence Hagel, Judge William Greene, Judge Mary Schoelen and Erin Isdell. Click for high-resolution image.
Stetson University College of Law students Will Hurter and Erin Isdell won the Veterans Law Appellate Advocacy Competition in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 17. This is the second year in a row that Stetson Law has won the competition, which started last year.
Hurter also won the Best Advocate Award, the highest individual award in the competition. The Stetson team also won two out of three awards in the competition, sponsored by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Bar Association.
“We could not be prouder of our students,” said Stetson Law Moot Court Advisor and professor Brooke Bowman. “Hurter and Isdell have helped Stetson win its third moot court competition in the past five months. It is an extraordinary start to the school year.”
Students competed at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in the semifinal and final rounds, beating a team from George Washington University Law School in the finals. Twelve teams from eight different law schools competed. Stetson Law professor Michael Allen coached the winning Stetson team.
Earlier this semester, Stetson’s Moot Court won the Robert Orseck Memorial Moot Court Competition in June and the E. Earle Zehmer Workers’ Compensation Moot Court Competition in August.
