FlaLaw » 2001 » May » 21

International Moot Court Team Competes in Vienna

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 21 May 2001 16:54:55 +0000

A gift from the Miami law firm of Steel, Hector & Davis’ International Commercial Litigation & Arbitration Department enabled an International Commercial Arbitration Moot Team (ICAM) to travel to Vienna, Austria, to participate in the Eighth Annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court in April. This is only the third time a UF team has participated. The team prepared throughout the academic year, writing both a Claimant’s and Respondent’s Memorandum prior to oral arguments that took place over the course of a week in Vienna. The competition topic dealt with International Chamber of Commerce arbitration jurisdiction, contract breach due to intellectual property claims, and the remedies of avoidance and mutual restitution. Team members Nonna Crane, Delsy Perez, Stacy Borisov, Miguel Suau, Heinrich Izaguirre, Richard Mockler and Alberto Acuna contributed to the written memoranda. Crane, Perez, Borisov and Suau performed in the oral arguments. Additional students who contributed to the team in leadership roles were Nicole Sherwood and Stanley Galewski. Professor Winston Nagan and his wife, Judith, attended as arbitrators. Ninety-four teams from 31 countries — including Europe, America, Australia, India and Japan — participated. UF was the only Florida school. Moot arbitrators also represented numerous countries and a variety of legal backgrounds, including many international contract law practitioners and professors. The oral arguments in Vienna consisted of four rounds, with only 16 teams making it past the first. UF competed against participants from Lithuania, Germany, France and Croatia in the four arguments. UF’s final ranking placed them 46th. Team faculty advisor and coach Professor Thomas Hurst was very pleased and noted, “Our team has done better each year thus far and I hope and expect this trend will continue.” Steel, Hector & Davis has supported the ICAM team in the past. The firm’s donation this year, coupled with law school funds, paid for registration fees, costs of mailing the memoranda, plane tickets, hotel and a student per diem stipend. Stacy Borisov, student coach for next year, is working with the student coach of next year’s Jessup team, Brian Koch, to create a new combined International Moot Court Team. The Jessup team participates annually in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and in regional and national competitions in their respective countries. Winners from those competitions advance to international rounds held in Washington, D.C. The proposed International Moot Court would consist of 15-20 student team members, who will participate in four competitions annually — ICAM, Jessup, and two dealing with human rights and environmental law in international contexts. The team will be a co-curricular activity, similar to Trial Team or Law Review, and members chosen on the basis of writing and oral advocacy skills in the context of international legal research and analysis. For information about the ICAM team, next year’s competition, or the International Moot Court plans, contact Borisov at sborisov@ufl.edu.

Top UF Honors for Law Publications

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 21 May 2001 16:46:05 +0000

The Levin College of Law earned two first place honors in the University of Florida’s second annual Golden Gator Awards Program, with results announced in late April. The program recognizes outstanding public relations programs, publications and communication tools by UF colleges, schools and communicators statewide. Judges announced UF’s “Top Book” was the College of Law 2000-2001 Prospectus, and UF’s “Top Brochure” was the Graduate Tax Catalog. Both were produced by Associate Director of Communications Debra Amirin, under direction of Communications Office Director Stan Huguenin, with the Prospectus for use by Assistant Dean for Admissions Michael Patrick, and the Tax Catalog for use by Associate Dean and Graduate Tax Program Director Michael Friel. Other award winners came from the UF Health Science Center, Institute of Food and Agricultual Sciences, Shands and UF’s News & Public Affairs. There were more than 100 total entries, judged by outside experts. The law school also won two first-place awards in last year’s Golden Gators (for weekly FlaLaw newsletter and a student recruitment brochure), and an Award of Distinction for the Environmental & Land Use Law catalog.

Davis, McDonald Named Professor, Student of the Year

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 21 May 2001 16:43:35 +0000

Professor of Law Jeffrey Davis and spring 2001 graduate James McDonald have been named Levin College of Law Professor and Student of the Year, respectively, by the John Marshall Bar Association. Richard Mockler, immediate past JMBA president, reports the winners were elected by vote of the law student body from among five professorial and six student nominees. Professor finalists were Davis, Theresa Rambo, David T. Smith, Mary Twitchell and Winton Williams. Davis was nominated by several students, and was noted for his “commitment to genuinely teaching students both the policy behind the law and application of the law to which no others compare.” Mockler said. “Students love him because he is simply a wonderful teacher.” Student finalists were McDonald, John Gregory, Scott Kees, Brian Koch, Samantha Schosber and Terry Nealy. “I am very pleased to have been selected Student of the Year. All of the candidates were just as deserving,” McDonald said. He was active in many organizations, including JMBA, ABA, Trial Team and the Black Law Students Association. Davis, a member of the faculty since 1981, is an expert on Bankruptcy, teaches Contract Law, and serves on the Executive Council for the Florida Bar Business Law Section and the American Bar Association Committee on Consumer Financial Services. “This means a great deal to me, and I am grateful to the students who nominated me. I love being a professor, and the students are the best part,” Davis said. Professor of the Year selection begins with students nominating professors based on scholarship and publication, teaching and commitment to the student body. Five of those nominated appeared on the JMBA general election ballot. Student of the Year selection is based on five criteria: academics, co-curricular accomplishments, extra-curricular accomplishments, extra-curricular participation, community service, and leadership. Nominations from the entire student body allow everyone the chance to participate. Each nominee was then invited to submit a resume and statement supporting their nomination.

Former Florida Governor and U.S. Special Envoy MacKay (’61) Honored for Contributions to Hemispheric Advancement

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 21 May 2001 16:38:51 +0000

Former Florida governor and special presidential envoy Kenneth H. “Buddy” MacKay recently was honored for contributions made to advancement of Western Hemisphere development and human rights. MacKay’s legal and public service accomplishments at the state and national level were recognized at the second annual Legal & Policy Issues in the Americas Conference sponsored by the College of Law, Warrington College of Business and its Center for International Business Education and Research, and the Florida Journal of International Law. Last year’s honoree was Raul E. Valdes-Fauli, a prominent Cuban-American attorney based in Miami. “As special envoy to the Americas, Buddy MacKay coordinated and formulated hemispheric policy, working closely with the National Security Council, the National Economic Council and the U.S. State Department to promote integration, understanding of trade issues, and the strengthening of democracies, security and human rights within the Western Hemisphere,” said law school Interim Dean Jon Mills. “In addition, he is an exhaustive public servant, having served Florida as governor, lieutenant governor, U.S. representative and state senator and representative — working to build Florida into a true ‘Gateway to the Americas,’” Mills continued. “We are pleased and proud to honor this distinguished UF alumnus, a man of selfless dedication to public service.” MacKay was appointed by former President Bill Clinton as U.S. special envoy to the Americas in March 1999, only the second person to hold the post. During his tenure, he traveled to 27 countries in the Americas and 19 U.S. cities to promote hemispheric integration and to improve understanding of issues such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas and the North American Free Trade Agreement. While serving as lieutenant governor (1990 -1998), MacKay was instrumental in managing Florida’s role in the 1994’s Summit of the Americas. He was sworn in as governor upon the death of incumbent Lawton Chiles and served the remainder of Chiles’ term. MacKay also served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and Drug Oversight Subcommittee. He served in Florida’s Senate from 1974 to 1980, and the Florida House of Representatives from 1968 to 1974. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Florida in 1954, MacKay served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. Upon his discharge, he returned to UF to obtain a law degree, graduating in 1961. A third-generation native of Ocala, MacKay and his wife, Anne Selph MacKay, have four sons.