Stetson is listed third among the top 10 law schools across the country producing the most FloridaSuper Lawyers this year, with 278 Stetson law alumni selected for inclusion. Six Stetson alumni, Stephen A. Barnes, Troy J. Crotts, Mark A. Hanley, Steven H. Mezer, Luis Prats and Caroline Black Sikorske, are listed among the Top 50 Tampa Bay Florida Super Lawyers 2013. Super Lawyers is a rating service of lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and evaluations.
Stetson is listed fourth among 116 law schools producing the most lawyers in Florida Trend’sLegal Elite, a special report that recognizes the top attorneys in the state as chosen by their peers. According to Florida Trend, 108 Stetson law alumni are listed in this year’s 10th anniversary edition. Two Stetson alumni, Mark A. Hanley and Rhea F. Law, are listed among Florida Trend’s Legal Elite Hall of Fame.
Stetson University College of Law Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz and Stetson Lawyers Association president Jenay Iurato JD/MBA ’00 presented five annual awards to alumni and friends on June 27 in Boca Raton, in conjunction with the Florida Bar’s annual meeting. View photos here>>
(L-R): Jenay Iurato, Vincent Citro, Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz and Joshua Magidson.
Clara and George Nenezian received the Distinguished Service Award for their significant, meritorious and continuing contributions to Stetson Law. The Nenezians started an endowed scholarship, the Nenezian-Jones Scholarship, in honor of their late son Richard Nenezian JD ’84. For more than a decade, the Nenezians have supported a popular annual event, the Nenezian-Jones Scholarship Softball Classic, bringing together Stetson law alumni and students and encouraging mentorship and character development.
Vincent A. Citro BBA ’98, JD/MBA ’00 received the 2013 Distinguished Alumnus Award for service to the Stetson Law and the legal profession. An assistant U.S. attorney, Citro has successfully convicted many criminals in the state. Citro has served as deputy chief of the Orlando Division of the U.S. Attorney’s office as well as national security cyber specialist and anti-terrorism advisory council coordinator.
Stetson awarded Deborah C. Brown JD ’87 the Paul M. May Meritorious Service Award for continuously supporting Stetson Law and its alumni association. Brown served for six years as the law school’s associate vice president for legal affairs and human resources and for seven years as an adjunct professor. She volunteered as lead facilitator of the Stetson Lawyers Association Tampa Chapter working group and was recognized with Stetson’s Outstanding Alumni Representative Award in 2003. Brown has served as chair of the Florida Bar’s Labor and Employment Law Section, Continuing Legal Education Committee, and Labor and Employment Law Certification Committee.
(L-R): Jenay Iurato, Judge William Raymond Holley, Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz and Marc Levine.
Judge William Raymond Holley BA ’91, JD ’97 received the Outstanding Alumni Representative Award for dedication and service to the Stetson Lawyers Association. Judge Holley is a community leader in Jacksonville who previously served in private practice and as an assistant state attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Judge Holley also serves on the board of the Stetson University Alumni Association.
Joseph J. Reiter JD ’68 received the Ben C. Willard Award for humanitarian achievements bringing distinction to themselves and Stetson Law. Inducted into the Stetson Law Hall of Fame in 2007, Reiter rose from poverty to a stellar legal career as a trial attorney. He has served as president of the Florida Bar, chair of the Judicial Qualifications Committee, treasurer and board member of the Palm Beach County Legal Aid Society, a lecturer on ethics and personal injury law, a member of the College of Law Board of Overseers, and has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America. Reiter served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
(L-R): Jenay Iurato, Joseph J. Reiter and Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz.
Stetson University College of Law 2003 graduate Monica D. Barnes has been named one of the 2013 “40 Lawyers under 40” by the National Bar Association and IMPACT. Barnes will be recognized among the Nation’s Best Advocates during the association’s 88th annual convention on July 27, in Miami.
Assistant City Attorney Monica Barnes.
Barnes is an assistant city attorney for the City of Miami Gardens, Fla. She was recognized in 2008 by the Miami Herald as one of the “10 Rising Voices in the South Florida Black Community.”
This honor recognizes young African-American lawyers age 40 and younger who have achieved professional and philanthropic prominence and distinction. Honorees include solo practitioners, government lawyers, judges, academicians, corporate counsels, elected officials and other lawyers chosen for their achievement, innovation, vision, leadership and community involvement.
The National Bar Association, founded in 1925, is the nation’s oldest and largest national network of predominantly African American attorneys and judges. It represents approximately 44,000 lawyers, judges, law professors and law students and has more than 80 affiliate chapters throughout the U.S. and around the world.
IMPACT is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to engage and build a network of young professionals of color to foster civic engagement, increase knowledge of the political and legislative processes, and enhance economic empowerment opportunities.
Third-year law student Kevin Crews recently won the 2013 Florida Law Student Essay Contest. Crews won a cash award and complimentary registration at the Seventh Annual Solo & Small Firm Conference, and his essay on the topic of maintaining confidentiality with technology was published in the June Florida Bar Journal.
Stetson Law student Kevin Crews.
Crews’ essay outlined how Florida lawyers can develop best practices to protect client confidentiality when working with e-documents. He outlined potential risks to client confidentiality that might be encountered over the Internet and offered some solutions. He explained how using public Wi-Fi and email, for example, might put client confidentiality at risk.
“Technology has the potential for destroying confidentiality, particularly if lawyers do not know the risks. Lawyers must use technology smartly; being moderately ‘tech-savvy’ is a de facto job requirement for today’s lawyers,” wrote Crews. “The best way to use technology properly is to understand it, which will allow lawyers to create thoughtful — and effective — policies and operating procedures to manage electronic files and messages.”
Crews said that he learned of the essay contest and became interested in the topic in Stetson adjunct professor Jim Martin’s class on Law Practice Management. He said clerking at the Spinks Law Firm in Tampa sparked his interest in the topic of technology use in everyday legal practice.
Editor’s Update: Crews also won the Florida Law Student Essay contest again in 2014.
The Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers awarded Stetson University College of Law first-year student Phylicia Pearson a scholarship during their May 8 luncheon at the University Club of Tampa. Pearson was one of five students selected from the Tampa Bay area for the scholarship.
Student Phylicia Pearson received the HAWL scholarship on May 8. Photo by Laura Zuppo.
She explained that she is passionate about social justice and encouraging other women to achieve their goals.
“My commitment to social justice is the reason that I want to be a lawyer,” Pearson explained. “Social justice teaches that every person should be valued, nurtured and informed. Women in this country fought for years to be appreciated as valued members of society with voting rights and property rights. Even today, women are earning 77 percent of what their male counterparts are garnering. Therefore, women’s rights are intertwined with the concept of informing and nurturing people. To battle these ongoing issues, society must be informed of the oppression women are still facing and women must be empowered to stand up for themselves.”
Visit HAWL for more information about the scholarship program.
Stetson University Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law Bruce Jacob ’59 received the Delano S. Stewart Diversity Award on April 29 in Tampa, Fla. Stetson Law graduate George Hunter ’99 presented Jacob the award during the George Edgecomb Bar Association 30th Annual Scholarship Banquet.
He has taught more than 20 different law courses since beginning his teaching career in 1965, and he continues to teach courses on constitutional law, administrative law, criminal law and criminal procedure at Stetson.
Jacob began his career in 1960 as an assistant state attorney general for the state of Florida. He represented the respondent in the landmark Supreme Court case of Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963. He founded the Legal Assistance for Inmates program in Atlanta and the Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project. In 2006, the members of the American Inn of Court in Tampa named their inn the Bruce R. Jacob Criminal Appellate Inn of Court.
The bar association’s namesake, Judge George E. Edgecomb, became the first African-American judge in Hillsborough County in 1973. Judge Glenda A. Hatchett, recognized as one of the “100 Best and Brightest Women in Corporate America” by Ebony magazine, presented the keynote address at the banquet.
Bar Preparation Services shares resources with Stetson’s Academic Success program, directed by Professor of Legal Skills Jeffrey Minneti. Academic Success helps students meet the academic challenges of law school.
Before Stetson students even set foot on campus as first-year students, they are required to read cases and materials in preparation for new student orientation, where they learn the basic components of legal analysis, Minneti explained. During students’ first semester, they may attend an Academic Success Workshop series, which offers instruction on the academic skills needed for success on exams. Students struggling with exams at Stetson Law in their first semester are required to partner with Academic Success faculty and staff to formulate an academic action plan designed to improve exam performance.
Professor Minneti infuses essential skills into the substantive courses he teaches. Students also receive individual attention. There are several courses Stetson students can take in their second year to help improve their academic and exam-taking skills.
“Academic skills work is about teaching students how to learn material, not just assigning them material,” said Minneti, who taught elementary and middle school children before completing his MBA and JD degrees. “Students learn the law, and also how to apply it.”
Fourteen Stetson University College of Law students had an opportunity to test their oral-advocacy skills at the Carlton Fields First-Year Appellate Advocacy Competition last week on the Gulfport campus. The top two oralists from each Research and Writing II class had an opportunity to compete for cash prizes and interview for a position on Stetson’s award-winning Moot Court Board.
Students Sunai J. Edwards and Melaina Tryon won first place, Daniel K. Miles and Madison Elissa Maria Kebler won second place, and Ashley Petefish and Nicholas Castellano won third place in the competition on April 18.
Participating students argued before attorneys from the Carlton Fields law firm. Carlton Fields attorneys Lori Baggett, Erin Banks, Lauren Catoe, Matt Cogburn, Lannie Hough Jr. and Luis Prats volunteered to judge the competition. Carlton Fields has sponsored the annual competition for Stetson students for the past 16 years.
Stetson University College of Law students recently honed their client development writing skills while becoming published authors in a unique class newsletter project for Stetson’s new Advanced Legal Writing: Successful Writing for Law Practicecourse.
(L-R): Professor Kirsten Davis, students Cayelan Loucks, Jennifer Tise, Ashley Rector, Meagan Blackshear, Christine O’Shea, Kelli Ragan, Laura Brenner, DeeAnn Petika, Justin Bennett, Jessica Ronay, Melissa Foss, Kacie Hohnadell, Vanessa Ungvichian, Cheryl Tevlin Mason and Meredith Peck.
The newsletter project gave Stetson Law students the opportunity to learn about writing to retain clients and develop a business while writing articles for the newsletter, Florida Ethics Update.
Stetson Professor of Law Kirsten Davis, Ph.D., director of Legal Research and Writing at Stetson, teaches the course and supervised the project.
“New lawyers are expected to be able to write for client development,” Davis explained. “Writing for the newsletter, the students learned how to provide clients with useful information and demonstrate their legal expertise. Students imagined themselves as attorneys working for clients who have concerns about legal ethics issues in their businesses or practices. Then, the students each wrote about a real-world recent development in Florida legal ethics. The experience helped the students to develop practical skills that will serve them as they develop clients.”
In addition to writing articles for the newsletter, upper-level law students in Stetson’s Advanced Legal Writing course also wrote multiple drafts of law practice documents including complaints, answers, motions, briefs, contracts and business documents.
Stetson University College of Law students in professor Lance Long’s environmental advocacy class organized a bicycle rally with Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson and a two-mile challenge to raise awareness about alternative transportation.
Bicycle rally participants prepare for the ride on Stetson’s Gulfport campus on May 3.
On May 3 at 6 p.m., the students joined the mayor and community members to ride as a group from the Gulfport campus, 1401 61st St. S., to the Gulfport Casino, 5500 Shore Blvd. S.
“I think this will be a great opportunity for Stetson students and the Gulfport community to get excited about bicycle commuting,” said third-year Stetson Law student Elise Pautler. “It is fun, and in a smaller city like Gulfport, it is completely feasible.”
“The class teaches students that environmental advocacy, or any type of advocacy for that matter, is not limited to using legal avenues for addressing problems,” said Long, whose students have recently planted an organic vegetable garden on Stetson’s Gulfport campus. “Sometimes, collaboration is better than litigation.”
(Seated L-R): Stetson University President Wendy Libby signs the new 3 + 3 agreement with University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft. Photo by Aimee Blodgett for the University of South Florida.
Students seeking a JD degree typically complete a four-year undergraduate program followed by three years of law school. The new 3+3 accelerated path allows qualified students to earn both their bachelor’s and JD degrees within six years. Students spend three years at USF and three years at Stetson Law. Students’ first year in the full-time JD program at Stetson also serves as their final year of study at USF. Interested students must enroll in USF’s Honors College and meet the program’s eligibility requirements.
“Through our agreement with the USF Honors College, students can graduate with an undergraduate degree and a law degree in six years, save a year of tuition, and attend the top ranked advocacy program in the country — a program that blends foundational law with the legal skills necessary to succeed in today’s marketplace,” said Stetson Law Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz. “Together, Stetson and USF will help to create not only the next generation of lawyers but also the next generation of leaders.”
The 3+3 program also provides partial scholarship support for students once they start at Stetson. Once admitted into the 3+3 program, students will be paired with a student, graduate, and/or faculty member mentor from the College of Law.
“The partnership between the University of South Florida and Stetson University College of Law is a great opportunity for highly-motivated and focused students to achieve their goals. Our brightest students are eager to take on the challenges of advanced degrees, and we are confident the excellent undergraduate education they received at USF will prepare them for the rigors of Stetson’s exceptional program. These talented students will move more quickly through their education – incurring less debt – and be on their way to reaching their goals,” said USF System President Judy Genshaft.
The agreement between the two institutions was officially signed today during a ceremony attended by Genshaft, Stetson University President Wendy Libby, as well as several other top administrators from each institution.
Stetson University College of Law, Florida’s first law school, has prepared lawyers and leaders since 1900. Today, Stetson leads the nation in blending legal doctrine with practical training, evidenced by its top-ranked programs in advocacy and legal writing. Through its academically rigorous curriculum and commitment to social responsibility, Stetson prepares lawyers as ethical advocates ready to succeed in the legal profession.
The University of South Florida is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF ranks 50th in the nation for federal expenditures in research and total expenditures in research among all U.S. universities, public or private, according to the National Science Foundation. Serving more than 47,000 students, the USF System has an annual budget of $1.5 billion and an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference.
Among first-time takers of the Florida bar exam in February, 93.9 percent of Stetson University College of Law graduates passed. Stetson Law placed second among Florida law schools on the exam, according to the Supreme Court of Florida’s recently released exam scores and statistics.
Only Florida State University had a higher first-time bar passage rate with a total of 96 percent of graduates passing the exam. Among the 819 first-time test takers, 80.2 percent of all candidates passed the exam.
The bar passage rate at Stetson has increased over the past decade. Stetson’s bar preparation program is staffed by a full-time professor and two staff members who provide individual and group counseling and help students build personalized study plans.
