UF Law eNews - December 2011

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[UF LAW eNews - a publication of the Levin College of Law @ the University of Florida]

Watch your email or the UF Law Facebook page for the first ever UF Law Holiday video, coming soon.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

UF Law invites you to attend:

Feb. 10: 11th Annual Richard E. Nelson Symposium, featuring 12 distinguished national and state experts
Feb. 17: 28th Annual Maguire Appellate Advocacy Competition
Feb. 23-25: Public Interest Environmental Conference (PIEC), featuring Carol Browner, former White House "energy czar" under President Barack Obama
Feb. 28: Fifth Annual Wolf Family Lecture with Vicki Been, faculty director at the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, New York University School of Law
March 16: Spring 2012 Book Awards Ceremony
March 21: CSRRR Spring Lecture featuring Al Brophy of North Carolina Law
March 23: Dunwody Distinguished Lecture in Law featuring Martin Redish of Northwestern University Law
March 30: Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center Dedication
March 30: Bayard Wickliffe Heath Memorial Lecture Series

More details and events will be added to the events page. Check back for descriptions, speakers, locations and times.

UF Law offers resume books

The University of Florida Levin College of Law is now offering resume books to assist employers with hiring law clerks and entry-level attorneys. These books compile resumes of students and/or recent alumni who are seeking employment and fit certain hiring criteria. For example, UF currently offers the following for its 2011 Graduates: Diversity (students who self-select as diverse based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or other similar criteria); Practice Area (students interested in a particular practice area, e.g. litigation); Geographic (for students/alumni interested in working in Miami, Orlando, Washington, D.C., New York City, etc.). The resume books are provided to interested employers at no cost. The books can be sent to you in a paper or electronic format and we can narrow the above parameters to provide you with a more targeted pool of candidates if needed. You can also review multiple books at your leisure on our Symplicity job system and directly contact any candidates you wish to interview. For the latter option you will need a Symplicity password. To request a specific resume book or to receive a Symplicity password, call the Center for Career Development (CCD) at 352-273-0860 or email careers@law.ufl.edu

Carol Browner to speak at 18th PIEC Feb. 23-25

2012 marks the 40th anniversary of both the Florida Water Resources Act and the federal Clean Water Act. In honor of this occasion, the 18th Annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference at the University of Florida Levin College of Law will focus on the evolution of water law and policy over the past four decades. "Fishable, Swimmable? 40 Years of Water Law in Florida and the United States" takes place Feb. 23-25 at UF Law and is expected to be approved for 15 CLER credits. Speakers for this year's conference include: Carol Browner, senior counselor of Albright Stonebridge Group, former EPA Administrator, former director of White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy; Cynthia Barnett, journalist and author of Blue Revolution: Unmaking America's Water Crisis and Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S.; Jonathan Cannon, director of UVA's Environmental and Land Use Law Program, former EPA general counsel and assistant administrator; Justin Bloom, eastern regional director of Waterkeeper Alliance; and Lisa Heinzerling, professor of law at Georgetown University, former senior climate policy counsel to the EPA administrator, former associate administrator of EPA's Office of Policy. Read more.

UF ranks eighth among universities for the number of graduates serving as sitting federal judges

Did you know that UF Law ranks eighth among universities for the number of its graduates serving as sitting federal judges? Here is a ranking of the top 10 law schools based on the number of degrees (J.D., LL.B., LL.M. and one S.J.D.) held by federal judges (both active and senior status, totaling 1,278 judges) as of 2011. The ranking was compiled by Federal Judicial Center's Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, Daniel Holt, assistant historian, in the Federal Judicial History Office: 1. Harvard Law School: 131; 2. University of Virginia School of Law: 73; 3. Yale Law School: 68; 4. Georgetown University Law Center: 46; 5. University of Michigan Law School: 38; 6. University of Texas School of Law: 37; 7. Columbia Law School: 31; 8. University of Florida College of Law: 28; 9. New York University School of Law: 21; 10. University of California, Berkeley, School of Law: 20; 10. George Washington University Law School: 20; 10. University of Pennsylvania Law School: 20.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

We recently passed the 2,000 mark for "likes" on Facebook and we want more! Do you want to stay tuned to UF Law's latest news and events? Make sure to "like" us on our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. We will keep you updated with law school/alumni activities, campus progress and other exciting news such as UF Law students' successful local, national and international competitions and fun facts about our diverse student body. Log on today!

Get featured in FlaLaw Online

Have an interesting legal career path? Did your J.D. lead you to a profession other than law? We want to know your stories for alumni profiles to feature weekly in FlaLaw Online in the spring. If you have a story or would like to nominate yourself or someone else, please contact UF Law eNews and FlaLaw Online Editor Whitney Smith, smithw@law.ufl.edu or call 352-273-0652. Submissions will also be considered for the alumni notes section of UF LAW magazine.

UF LAW HIGHLIGHTS

Florida Bar president shares advice, insight to legal profession

President of The Florida Bar Scott Hawkins (JD 83) let UF Law students in on a secret. "I have a confession," Hawkins said as he stepped to the lectern in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center courtroom. "I didn't like to go to law school, but I love being a lawyer; I really, really love it." Hawkins spoke Nov. 8 on what it means to be a lawyer and offered advice for law students after they graduate. The event was presented by the UF Chapter of The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division, Law Student Division.
READ MORE»

Symposium analyzes international tax policy debates

The United States' domestic budget problems have been at the forefront of recent national policy debates. However, the challenge of determining who — or what — to tax is not limited to the U.S. government. International tax law also plays a role in shaping what the country will do as the world becomes increasingly globalized, and businesses worldwide look for returns on their investments. On Oct. 7, attendees of the Seventh Annual International Tax Law Symposium held by the University of Florida Levin College of Law's Graduate Tax Program learned about tax policy debates in the European Union and in the United States. An archived video of the event can be viewed here.
READ MORE»

Bishop leads Career Development office into new era

"You don't just go to war, you prepare for it first," said UF Law's new assistant dean of the Center for Career Development. "The job search is the same. There is a lot of preparation and research before you start the application process." And Pascale Bishop — who comes to UF from the Chicago-Kent School of Law — is arming law students and alumni with the necessary tools to find success in today's job market. Bishop acknowledges that the legal job market is tight, owing partly to the soon-to-be-12 law schools in Florida and economic woes throughout the country, but she is working hard to provide the best opportunities for students.
READ MORE»

UF Law Tax Moot Court places 2nd and 3rd in national competition

The University of Florida Levin College of Law Tax Moot Court Team placed in the top three in two different categories at a recent national moot court competition. The Securities Dispute Resolution Triathlon took place at the St. John's School of Law's Manhattan campus last month, where 24 teams from all over the country competed in negotiation, mediation and arbitration. The UF Law team of Kevin Hublou, Kyle Griffin and Scott Hyman placed second in negotiation, while the team of Joe Malca, Sheba Abraham and Sonia Singh placed third in mediation.
READ MORE»

Federal judge shares experience, offers advice as jurist-in-residence

Students and faculty of the University of Florida Levin College of Law welcomed Senior Judge William Terrell Hodges (JD 58) of the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, as the newest Peter T. Fay Jurist-in-Residence. Hodges visited the UF Law campus Nov. 15 and 16 as part of the Jurist-in-Residence program, which brings judges to speak with students and faculty about judicial clerkships, trial advocacy, legal careers and other important issues. "I came here to answer the students' questions," Hodges said, "so that I can help them as they prepare to enter the practice of law."
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Guest lecturer, federal judge offers in-depth look at U.S. Court of International Trade

Due to our increasingly globalized world, those in the international trade community are continually presented with new challenges in aligning international and domestic trade laws, a senior federal judge for the United States Court of International Trade told UF Law students during a visit mid-October. Judith Barzilay delved into the history and jurisprudence of the court and explained specific types of cases the court handles during an open lecture, "X-men and Charming Betsy at the U.S. Court of International Trade: Otherworldly creatures and international law as part of U.S. law," in Professor Berta Hernández-Truyol's International Trade Law class.
READ MORE»

Law professor, legal expert debate DOMA

More than 200 people watched as Danaya Wright, UF Research Foundation and Clarence J. TeSelle Professor of Law, debated with a legal expert from the Alliance Defense Fund over Congress's power to define marriage at UF Law Oct. 19. "The Federal Defense of Marriage Act: Is It Constitutional?" was a debate sponsored by the UF Federalist Society and OUTLaw: UF Law's Gay & Straight Alliance. Students, faculty and others interested in the subject were invited to the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, HOL 180, at the UF Levin College of Law to watch Wright and Austin Nimocks, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, argue the issues behind the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
READ MORE»

Experts honor UF Law professor's book during workshop

Toward the end of her keynote address, a man stood in the back of the crowd and asked internationally renowned feminism legal theorist and family law expert Martha Fineman if she thought her own views were just too good to be true. Before a crowd of about 60 at the Nov. 18 event that brought five legal scholars from across the country to Gainesville to honor UF Law professor Nancy Dowd's book The Man Question, a man asked Fineman, the founder and director of the Feminism Legal Theory Project, if her views on masculinities and manhood were nothing more than wishfully "utopian." And through a near 40-minute discussion on the legal ramifications of defining gender only on the rigid binary system of man and woman and her hopes of changing that system, Fineman would argue that she certainly hoped not.
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Law student takes new strides after life-changing surgery

Sara Phillips is running late for the most important day of the rest of her life. She's putting on makeup for a debut of a different sort. As she dresses for the Oct. 8 University of Florida Levin College of Law GreenLaw annual Eco-Run 5K race in a teal tank top, black Nike running shorts and affixes her shoulder-length black hair in a lime green hair tie, makeup seems out of place. But for Phillips (3L), this is the day in which she'll teach herself how to run again. This is the day she learns how to live again.
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Law grad turned UF journalism professor has passion for First Amendment, family

Sandra Chance (JD 90), whose job is to fight for the right to speak freely, sits silently in her third-floor conference room overlooking Florida Field. She's silent for a solid 45 seconds, trying to think of what she's most proud in her life. For a woman who has filed two amicus briefs to the United States Supreme Court, serves as the executive director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information and was named the Scripps-Howard National Journalism Teacher of the Year in 2005 as well as UF's McClatchy Professor in Freedom of Information, 45 seconds of silence seems almost too soon for an answer. She smiles, her cheeks flush up into her eyes, and the silence comes to an end.
READ MORE»

Law grad embraces heritage in career, children's books

You might say the history and environment of Florida are woven into the very being of Harvey Oyer III (JD 98). Oyer is a direct descendent of the Pierce family, one of the first white families to settle in Southeast Florida immediately following the Seminole Wars and the Civil War. His diverse professions include work as a land-use lawyer, children's book author and archaeologist — always concentrating on the vitality that makes Florida unique. "In South Florida, it is unique to have a family that goes back five generations," he said, "but I take more pride in the role my family played in the development of Florida."
READ MORE»

UF Law students hold top spots on Florida Blue Key

As the University of Florida's Homecoming events came to a close, Craig Thompson (3L), Whitney Smith (2L), and Wesley Maul (2L) looked back at the hard work and long hours each of them put in to make sure Florida Blue Key's (FBK) biggest projects went on without a hitch. Maul handled the budgets and the purchase orders, Smith rallied the organization's 130 members and Thompson was the leader of leaders and tasked with making the tough decisions. The three top officers of FBK, in its 88th year, continue a strong UF Law tradition of service and excellence.
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Students submit article to the White House as part of the 'Champions of Change' event

In early October, the White House and U.S. Department of Justice hosted an event celebrating 16 'champions' of public interest law. The the Florida Bar Foundation Public Interest Law Fellows, the Center for Governmental Responsibility and the Association for Public Interest Law (PIL) co-hosted a viewing of the White House event at UF Law Thursday. The intent of the ceremony was to celebrate those in public service, and to inspire law students with a greater appreciation for public interest law and encourage the incorporation of pro bono work in their law practice. As part of UF's invitation to host a viewing of the ceremony, fellows Dominique McPherson, Nicole Safker & Yvette Sturkes were invited to draft a short blog article for posting on the White House website detailing how the Levin College of Law promotes public service and pro bono work. Click below to read their submission.
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IDR's mediation conference a success

The University of Florida Levin College of Law's Institute for Dispute Resolution hosted a mediation conference that attracted attendees from across north Florida in order to broaden their knowledge on a number of issues in mediation. "Expanding the Horizons of Mediation," was the second CME/CLE fall conference the IDR has hosted in as many years, said IDR Director Robin Davis, and they plan on continuing the new tradition into the foreseeable future.
READ MORE»

FJIL puts on food drive, collects 119 pounds for needy

David Byron (2L) struggled to find room for his textbooks in the backseat of his car with the 119 pounds of canned Bush's baked beans, Campbell's chicken and rice and Nutella overflowing onto the floorboards. Making room between the plastic Publix bags begging to tear from the weight of canned black beans and peanut butter, Byron's car was nearly full with the fruits (and beans) of his labor that began in late August. As editor-at-large of the Florida Journal of International Law, Byron was in charge of bringing the donated food collected as part of the journal's food drive to Gainesville Community Ministry Nov. 16.
READ MORE»

Support UF Law by year-end

Only days remain to join thousands of alumni and friends in supporting the Levin College of Law this year. Your gift will help ensure the future of the college. Consider making a year-end tax-deductible gift today. Click here to donate now. Year-end giving guidelines can be accessed here. We wish you a very happy and healthy 2012! If you have already made your gift, thank you. (Online Gifts must be received by 11:59 P.M. ET on Dec. 31, 2011, to be counted in the 2011 tax year.)

A special thank you to those members who recommitted to the Law Alumni Council by signing a five-year pledge. To date, our total pledge dollars raised is $111,250. We sincerely appreciate you and are grateful for your loyalty and continued support of your law school. Sincerely, Office of Development & Alumni Affairs

Check out the UF Florida Tomorrow capital campaign, view the UF Law campaign video,
and learn how you can help.

December 2011
VOLUME XII, ISSUE 2

Contact Us

UF Law eNews is produced by the Levin College of Law Communications Office.

Send submissions and/or suggestions to eNews editor Whitney Smith at smithw@law.ufl.edu or
352-273-0652.

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