FlaLaw » 2000 » June » 05

Professors Mashburn, Nunn, and Slobogin authors in AALS symposium issue

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 05 Jun 2000 17:18:59 +0000

In the past few years, the legal profession and legal academia have placed increasing emphasis on professional ethics. Representative of that trend, the American Association of Law Schools in January sponsored a special half-day panel discussion on criminal justice ethics involving more than 15 law professors, and Fordham Law Review devoted an entire volume to publication of the resulting papers. Three Levin College of Law faculty members were featured in the April 2000 volume of the Review. Professor Christopher Slobogin participated in the planning of the symposium and, with Professor Amy Mashburn, co-authored “The Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Fiduciary Duty to Clients with Mental Disability.” Using the Unabomber case and other recent cases as springboards, Professors Slobogin and Mashburn explored the difficult ethical dilemmas faced by defense attorneys with mentally ill clients, such as Ted Kaczynski, who refused to go along with his attorneys’ insanity defense strategy even though faced with capital charges stemming from bombs he sent through the mail. An authority on Civil Procedure, Professional Responsibility and Administrative Law, Professor Amy Mashburn joined the UF faculty in 1990. She was formerly an associate with Dean, Mead, Egerton, Bloodworth, Capouano & Bozarth in Orlando. Associate Dean for Law Center Affairs Kenneth Nunn wrote “The ‘Darden Dilemma’: Should African Americans Prosecute Crimes?” in the Review. Nunn is a published author and speaker on Criminal Law and Procedure, Race Relations, Civil Rights, Public Interest Law, Critical Race Theory, Legal Semiotics, Sociology of Law, and Law and Cultural Studies. He has served on the faculty of UF and Washington & Lee University; as an attorney with the D.C. Public Defender Service and the Southern Africa Project of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; and as a Deputy Public Defender, San Francisco. He is working on a chapter for a book on police brutality and an article on racism for the World Book Encyclopedia, and will teach a course this summer on international criminal law for the UF Study Abroad Program at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Professor Christopher Slobogin, who holds the Stephen C. O’Connell Chair and is an Affiliate Professor of Psychiatry, is a prolific writer, frequent speaker at symposiums, universities and other prominent venues in this country and others in the areas of criminal and mental health law, and has been a visiting professor at USC, Virginia and other law schools. Since January, he has published the fourth edition of his treatise with Professor Charles Whitebread, Criminal Procedure, and articles in California Criminal Law Review, Mental and Physical Disability Law Reporter; and a symposium issue of Psychology, Public Policy and Law; and is now working on his book, Minding Justice: Depriving People with Mental Disability of Life and Liberty.

College honors Cuban-American attorney as part of successful Americas conference

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 05 Jun 2000 17:11:09 +0000

The law school honored noted Cuban born fourth generation attorney Raul E. Valdes-Fauli for his professional and public service accomplishments in the field of law in two countries during a May 25 dinner celebration. The dinner was held the night before the college’s conference on “Legal and Policy Issues in the Americas,” coordinated by the Center for Governmental Responsibility. The conference included presentations on trade, judicial reform, and legal education, and featured U.S. Envoy to Latin America Buddy MacKay; Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris; Colombian Ambassador to the U.S. His Excellency Luis Alberto Moreno; and leading faculty and practitioners from U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica and Brazil. Originally limited to 50 participants, nearly 80 attended. Educated in Cuba and at UF, Valdes- Fauli was one of more than 300 former Cuban lawyers forced from their homeland by Fidel Castro who applied in 1973 for a special two-year course of study at UF that qualified them for Florida Bar examinations. Valdes-Fauli was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1975, and is now Of Counsel to the Miami office of Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A. He has practiced civil, corporate and real estate law for more than 20 years, and counsels Latin American clients on the differences in American and Cuban legislation. He is involved in numerous charity, religious and civic activities in Miami-Dade County. His children continue the family’s commitment to community leadership and professional accomplishment: Son Raul J. is an attorney and partner at Steel Hector & Davis in Miami, mayor of Coral Gables, and chairman of Eastern National Bank. Son Gonzalo is CEO, group chief executive for Latin America with Barclays Bank in Miami, and on the boards of Knight-Ridder and University of Miami. Son Jose is president and CEO of
Colonial Bank’s South Florida region, president of the Florida Grand Opera board, and a member of the Mercy Hospital board. Daughter Teresa Valdes-Fauli Weintraub is an attorney, CEO of Fiduciary Trust International in Miami, co-chairs the Miami-Dade County Leave a Legacy Project, and leads or belongs to six other charity groups. There will be a sixth generation of Valdes-Fauli attorneys as well. Raul J.’s daughter and Raul E.’s granddaughter, Mariana Margarita, graduated from the Levin College of Law in May.

Spring Class Placement Nears 80 percent

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 05 Jun 2000 17:03:32 +0000

“At graduation” increase due to student efforts, Career Services programs Placement at graduation for the law school’s Spring 2000 class is 78 percent — the best in many years, and a rate equivalent to other top tier law schools. The number is expected to further increase once remaining job-seekers pass the bar exam.

The law school’s placement “at graduation” rate has steadily increased over the past four years. Students are considered “placed” if they have job offers at graduation, are planning to go on to LL.M. programs, or are not currently seeking employment.

The steady increase in the rate is attributed to a strong job market, student efforts, and strengthened programs from the Center for Career Services under the direction of Assistant Dean Brian Lewis.

“It’s also a testimonial to how much employers value our students and to the strength of a UF law degree,” said Lewis. Associate Dean for Student Affairs Gail Sasnett said, “Our students have worked very hard to improve their marketability and reach out to potential employers. Our Center for Career Services has also stepped up efforts to train students in effective job search techniques, help them gain job experience and develop contacts with law firms and other employers.”

Career Service programs such as the awardwinning Pro Bono Program and externships enable students to gain real-life experience they can put on their resumes, while workshops and seminars offer training in everything from resume writing to interview skills.

Only seven of 218 students in the Spring 2000 class have not been accounted for. It is vital students respond to the Career Services survey after graduation, since placement rates play an important role in law school rankings.

For example, in recent U.S. News & World Report rankings of U.S. law schools, one of the categories shown for UF was a 48 percent placement rate — evidently an averaging by the magazine of Fall ’97, and Spring/Summer ’98 “at graduation” data. As a result, UF ranked 123 nationally in that category. In comparison, UF’s current 78 percent “at graduation” rate would have put us at 32 — well in the top tier of public and private law schools.

And, using the same USN&WR rankings, UF’s 78 percent compared most favorably to UCLA’s 80 percent; Univ. of Iowa, 76; Univ. of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, 74; Univ. of Minnesota – Twin Cities, 73; Univ. of Wisconsin – Madison, 67; Univ. of Kansas, 61; Ohio State Univ., 58; Univ. of Miami, 53; and Florida State Univ., 50.