FlaLaw » 2002 » April » 15

Record Number Apply to UF College of Law

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 15 Apr 2002 20:19:39 +0000

Despite a record 2,550 applicants to the Levin College of Law for the Fall 2002 entering class, neither the process of review nor the number of spaces available changed. That’s the report from Assistant Dean for Admissions Michael Patrick, who notes the review process concluded last week when his department finished sending letters of acceptance to more than 450 candidates for the fall class. Patrick said the extra applications gave his office the “same amount of work, but it is taking a little longer… We weren’t going to do a lesser job because of more files. Plus, every file must be reviewed by the faculty Admissions Committee, since our admissions are not based simply on LSAT scores or grade point averages.” Patrick attributes the record number of applicants — a 30 percent increase over Fall 2001 applications and highest number ever in law school history (previous high was 1992, when 2,164 were received) — to the recent general U.S. economic situation. He called the upswing in applications a national trend, saying applications were up about 28 percent across the country, but he does not yet have comparable data for all U.S. law schools. “Those who are accepted for fall admission should take great pleasure in knowing there were more than 12 applicants for each of their seats,” Patrick said.

In the spotlight: Cotter

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 15 Apr 2002 20:13:17 +0000

Intellectual Property Law Program Director/UF Research Foundation Professor Thomas Cotter speaks today (April 15) at a Cardozo Law School symposium, and will publish an article, “Accommodating the Unauthorized Use of Copyrighted Works for Religious Purposes Under the Fair Use Doctrine and Copyright Act Section 110(3),” in a Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal devoted to the symposium. He recently completed an article (coauthored with Roger Blair), “Are Settlements of Pharmaceutical Patent Disputes Illegal Per Se?,” to be published in the Antitrust Bulletin sometime this summer, and in March 2003 will publish “Gutenberg’s Legacy: Copyright, Censorship, and Religious Pluralism” in California Law Review.

UF Trial Team Dominates Country’s Mock Trial Courtrooms

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 15 Apr 2002 19:58:13 +0000

“The UF Trial Team this spring has dominated on state, regional and national levels, and attained a level of success unprecedented in law school history,” reports Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Patrick Shannon. In the latest Trial Team triumph at the ABA national competition in Austin, Texas, last weekend, both UF Teams (Millicent Daniels, Kim Madison, Jose Izquierdo and Nick Zissimopulos) advanced to the final-eight round. Daniels and Madison went on to compete in the Final Four before losing to Northwestern and tying for third in the nation. In January, Trial Team members won The Florida Bar Chester Bedell Memorial Trial Competition — a state-level tournament — for the second year in a row. In February, members won both top spots in the American Bar Association (ABA) Regional Competition. In March, members competed in the Academy of Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA) regional competition in Jacksonville, sweeping the competition 5-0 and winning regionals before going on to win third in the national ATLA competition. “These teams have done an outrageous job this semester,” said Team President Michael Pike. “They have sacrificed to place UF in the national spotlight, while simultaneously eliminating Stetson as the #1 advocacy school. Having two teams representing UF in the final-eight round and one team advancing to the Final Four definitely says something about our program and the advocates. They are awesome and among the ‘best of the best.’” The ABA and ATLA national competitions are the nation’s premier trial competitions. Of the more than 400 teams — representing nearly every law school in the nation — which compete for the crown in the events, only the University of Florida had teams in two Final Fours. “In simple terms, the UF Trial Team has dominated the country’s mock trial courtrooms this spring,” said Shannon. “Congratulations to members, coaches and sponsors.”