“While attending the College of Law, the instruction I received in substantive and procedural law was thorough. I will forever be grateful to professors like Gaylin Soponis who, for example, taught me how to draft compelling legal documents with economy, accuracy and clarity. I was fortunate, too, to have studied under such professors as Claudia Wright and Barbara Woodhouse, who emphasized the importance of embracing humanistic aspects of the law. Thus, the lawyer that I am today, and the lawyer I hope to be in the future, are both built on the foundation of legal scholarship and the appreciation for human dignity that elevates the University of Florida College of Law above many other schools of its kind.”

— Michael J. Meadors (UF JD 03) is an associate with Moody & Salzman, P.A. in Gainesville, where he has been employed since graduating from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he participated in the Pro Bono and Gator TeamChild Juvenile Clinic and earned a Certificate in Family Law. His cases primarily involve family law issues – dissolution of marriage, child support, alimony and child custody – but he also is involved in workers’ compensation cases. A 1978 graduate of Indiana University (B.S. Elementary Education), Meadors was a teacher and administrator for grades 1-12 in public and private schools in Clearwater, New York City, Savannah and Gainesville, where he taught at the Oak Hall School just prior to entering law school. He and his wife, So-Mei, have three children.

The conference, “Shaping Florida’s Future: A Decade of Protecting an Eternity,” featured four sets of concurrent panels. “Florida’s Waters” addressed issues related to potable water availability in the state, while “Land & Development” dealt with population caps and zoning and enforcement issues. “Marine & Coastal” workshops showcased the latest developments in aquaculture and state-initiated coastal management programs. The catch-all series “Cutting Edge” offered workshops on alternative forms of energy, effects of mold in buildings, and global agriculture.

Tulane University Professor of Law Oliver A. Houck opened the event at a reception Feb. 19 at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Houck is former general counsel and vice president, National Wildlife Federation; a director of Defenders of Wildlife and the Environmental Law Institute; and member of the Environmental Defense Fund litigation review board and committees of the National Science Foundation.

Speakers also included Lee Arnold of Colliers- Arnold/Colliers International, chair of the Florida Council of 100 Water Resources Taskforce; Dr. David Guggenheim, conservation policy vice president, Ocean Conservancy; Sonny Vergara, former executive director of SW Florida and St. Johns River Water Management Districts; Dr. Beverly Wright, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice; and attorney Jeanne Zokovitch, Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation.

The most anticipated event of the conference was Friday’s keynote banquet speech by Carl Hiaasen, Miami-Herald columnist and author of nine best-selling novels, who is noted for the strong pro-environmentalist stands reflected through his characters.

Hiaasen encouraged the audience to do what they could to hold politicians — and anyone else with decision- making authority — accountable for what happens to our environment. If nothing else, he said, we can confront the responsible person and make sure he has a horrible day.

Hiaasen said finding political indiscretions to write about is “like shooting fish in a barrel. There’s so much going wrong when it comes to the environment that it’s next to impossible not to find something to look into.”

After nearly an hour of clever stories and zany one-liners, a member of the audience asked Hiassen why he didn’t run for governor.

Laughingly, he responded that he is “morally and psychologically unfit to hold political office.” This reply came on the heels of comments about the relish with which he disposes of the villains in his books (one character is eaten by an alligator).

The UF Environmental and Land Use Law Society organized the event with funding from the law school’s Center for Governmental Responsibility, Florida Bar Environmental & Land Use Law Section, Law College Council, Law Center Association, UF Student Government, Jelks Family Foundation, and law firms of Hopping Green & Sams, P.A., Tallahassee; Lewis Longman and Walker, P.A., Tallahassee/Jacksonville/West Palm Beach; and Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell, Orlando.

PIEC co-chairs Erika Zimmerman and Ryan Osborne have passed the baton to Adam Regar and Ashley Cross-Rappaport, and planning for next year — along with a search for sponsors, speakers and volunteers — is already underway. For information, visit the conference website at http://grove.ufl.edu/~els or e-mail Adam (adamregar@hotmail.com) or Ashley (elusiveash@yahoo.com). And mark the date for next year’s conference, scheduled for Feb. 24-26, 2005.

“The most difficult decisions that lawyers make involve ethical questions: they are the ones that keep you up at night and ultimately define who you are. Students need to be prepared to face these defining moments and to decide in advance that they will choose the right — if not always the easiest — path. “There’s more to life than making money. You spend far too much time in life at work to be unhappy when you’re there. Unfortunately, surveys indicate that a lot of lawyers are unhappy, meaning that they’ve made some wrong choices along the way. I urge students to keep life in perspective as they make professional choices. Family, friends, and dreams are as important as winning the next case or making the next deal.”

Education/Background

J.D., Harvard Law School (magna cum laude): Editor, Harvard Law Review and Harvard Law Record; Mediator, Small Claims Court; Advisor, First Year Ames Moot Court Competition. A.B., Princeton University (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa). Professor Seigel joined UF’s College of Law in 1990. He took a leave of absence from 1995-99 to serve as the First Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa, in Attorney General Janet Reno’s Justice Department. He served as the college’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs 2000-02. Earlier in his career, he served as a Special Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Philadelphia Organized Crime Strike Force; an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; judicial law clerk to the Honorable Edward R. Becker, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; summer law clerk to Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe, San Francisco, and Blank, Rome, Comisky & McCauley, Philadelphia; and intern with Senator Bill Bradley, Washington, D.C.

What You May Not Know

Seigel sang in the Princeton glee club and helped put himself through college by working first as a deli-man, cutting meat behind the counter, and then graduating to short order cook. During a sabbatical in Fall 2003, he finished writing a mystery novel set in a fictitious Tampa law school, in which several literary agents have shown interest. Seigel lives in Tampa and Gainesville. His wife, academic pediatrician Sharon Dabrow, has been his best friend since they were 12-years-old, though they did not date until college. They have two daughters: Nicole, 14, who sings; and Jessica, 11, who studies dance. Recently, he bought a sewing machine to help Jessica learn how to sew and quilt. Seigel volunteers at his children’s schools and plays an active role in his synagogue. He enjoys traveling with his family, and when at home in Tampa, he does the cooking.