Brauner comes to UF from Arizona State University College of Law, where he has taught since 2004. prior to that, he taught in the Graduate Tax program at Northwestern, as well as New York University, where he spent three years teaching a variety of courses in the international tax program.

Originally from Israel, brauner went to law school at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he earned an LL.b. degree. After receiving his LL.M. from NYU, brauner joined Ernst & Young’s international law practice in New York. He also holds a J.S.D. degree from NYU School of Law. brauner is the author of several tax articles and focuses his scholarship on the merits of international coordination of tax policies.

“How early on in our lives were we asked, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’” Gorenberg asked an audience at the Levin College of Law, Friday, Sept. 1, in a program co-sponsored by Career Services and OUTLAW. “Everybody wants their dream job and nobody wants it taken away from them based on discrimination, barriers to access, and a lack of fairness in the workplace. And that’s the reason that at Lambda Legal we have made this a core mission priority area.”

A native of Gainesville, Gorenberg served as lead counsel in Lambda Legal’s high-impact legal action against Cirque du Soleil on behalf of performer Matthew Cusick, who was fired because he has HIV. The case resulted in the largest award ever for an HIV-discrimination complaint settled with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

In addition to workplace issues, Lambda Legal also focuses its efforts on relationship recognition, parenting rights, transgender rights, foster care, youth and schools, and HIV-related civil rights cases, Gorenberg said.

“I am convinced in doing this work, and I have devoted my career to it, that the issue of the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, and people with HIV is the civil rights issue of this age. I think that young people, including my seven and five-year-old , when they get older and start asking mrie of these questions, they will wonder sometime in the future what  the big deal was and why there was such a problem recognizing equal rights in this area.”

More than 650 of the country’s local and foreign finance officials have attended Calfee’s classes in the International Training Program of the Ministry of Finance, and many of his former students have been promoted to key positions. The ceremony in Taiwan was attended by numerous national tax agency heads and tax officers who have benefited from his lectures.

“We are grateful for Professor Calfee’s continued support and dedication to the training institute, by making time from his busy schedule, traveling over thousands of miles to help the institute on a regular basis,” said Taiwan Minister of Finance Dr. Ho Chih-chin. “We are truly blessed for his willingness and enthusiasm to come to Taipei almost every year since 1986 to provide lectures and seminars on important and timely tax law and tax policy issues to members of this big family, Ministry of Finance, Republic of China. I am also very grateful that Professor Calfee has provided substantial assistance in the design and improvement of the program of the International Taxation Academy, and made great efforts in bringing many leading tax experts around the world to participate in various lectures at the academy.”

Calfee has been teaching at the University of Florida since 1975 in the Graduate Tax Program, which consistently ranks in the nation’s top two in U.S News & World Report’s annual ranking of tax specialty programs. He has also taught as a visiting professor at Leiden University, the Netherlands; Peking University, Beijing, China; Academy of International Tax, Taipei, Taiwan; and University of Montpellier, France. He has published extensively on taxation in tax law journals, particularly on the subject of estate and gift tax, and is a principal author of the book Federal Estate and Gift Taxation, now in its eighth edition, and its supplemental study problem manual. He is a member of the American Bar Association and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

“It is very rewarding to teach students in Taiwan,” said Calfee. “They are very enthusiastic and eager to learn, and work hard to understand and retain everything I present to them.”

Calfee received a Bachelor’s of Business Administration (magna cum laude) in 1968 and J.D. in 1982 from Gonzaga University—which awarded him its Distinguished Alumni Merit Award in 1999—and LL.M. in Taxation from UF in 1975. He clerked for the Washington State Court of Appeals 1972-1974, and was UF Law associate dean 1988-1993.

Networking

Networking is an organized method of making links from the people you know to the people they know. Basically, it means to exchange information, advice, contacts or support. Networking is a process of building relationships that can be crucial to building a career or friendships. Most often it is not only important to know about your career interests, but also to know those who work within your area of specialty. People frequently get jobs through people they know and the connections that they can make. Many people hesitate to contact others for fear of imposing or asking for help. The reality is that most people are happy to do something for someone else, if asked.

How to Begin

The important elements of networking can be summed up in four simple steps: 1.Contact the person, 2. Follow up after your meeting, 3. Take the suggested action steps, 4. Follow up with the contact regularly. If the contact welcomes the initial networking meeting and it goes well, they will want to hear about your progress. Remember that networking is a give-and-take process; offer any contacts you have and back up this offer with action. You are in a great position to network based on the law program that you are in. Alumni like to help students from their program. Even if you don’t work with the alum, they might know someone to match you up with. So don’t hesitate to contact people from your area that might have attended your law program or undergraduate institution.

Professionalism

Robert Ball, the author of Professionalism Is For Everyonel: Five Keys to being a true Professional, says about professionalism that, “When you choose to be professional, you are leaving mediocrity and apathy behind. You are embarking on a lifelong journey of continual growth and the pursuit of excellence.” Poor professionalism can undo all of your networking hard efforts. Additionally, people want to work with co-workers that they are not embarassed to introduce to other businesses. Presented below is a list of do’s and don’ts of professionalism. Remember that you not only represent yorself, but also your school or business when it comes to being a profesional.

Please feel free to stop by my office for more ideas and resources on networking and professionalism. Also, joining clubs and associations within the university and the law school are great ways to kick off your networking and professional skills.

Professionalism and Networking Do’s and Don’ts:

• Don’t talk about inappropriate topics in the office or with staff

• Don’t dress like you are attending a friend’s social event when professionalism is called for

• Don’t overdo it. Be yourself

• Do act like an adult

• Do become interested in topics being discussed

• Do continue to meet people

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions or for help

A state court clerkship is a prestigious, paid position for a law graduate, who is employed by a judge to assist with research, writing, and review of opinions and orders, usually for a one- or two-year period.

At times, the judicial clerk first will have completed a judicial externship for the particular judge, who then hires the law student for the law clerk position upon graduation. A judicial clerkship is a great way to begin your legal career.

In Florida, each supreme court justice employs two elbow clerks. Most often the two clerks serve staggered two-year terms. Florida’s courts of appeal are divided into five districts with one court in each district, and each district has about a dozen judges. State trial courts, the circuit courts, and the county courts, also employ judicial clerks.

State supreme court justices and state appellate court judges typically select their clerks one year in advance. Applications are now being accepted for coveted two- year positions as a judicial law clerk/staff attorney for two Florida Supreme Court Justices, Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis, and Justice Raoul G. Cantero III, beginning August 2007. The primary selection criteria for this opening is class rank; law review or comparable; writing and research experience. To apply, submit a cover letter with a statement of interest, a resume that in- cludes your GPA and class rank, a writing sample, a list of references, and both law school and undergraduate transcripts.

For full details, go to UF Law’s job bank in Symplicity or to the Florida Supreme Court website at www.floridasuprem- ecourt.org/employment/index.shtml.

For information about other states’ courts, check out the Vermont Law School, 2007 Guide to State Judicial Clerkship Procedures at vermontlaw.edu/career. This 130-page directory is available in PDF for download after you contact the CCS for the password.

Pro Bono Focus

The mission of the Eighth Judicial Circuit’s Guardian ad Litem (GAL) Program is to advocate for the best interests of children who are alleged to be abused, neglected or abandoned and who are involved in court proceedings. The Guardian ad Litem Program is a volunteer-based, state program in which volunteers, supervised by GAL staff, represent abused and abandoned children in court, investigate and monitor the child’s situation, and make a report with recommendations to the court as to the best interests of the children.

Approximately 30 hours of training is required before you can become a GAL. The first orientation this fall begins on Sept. 11, and the second will be near the end of October. This program is in great need of student volunteers. To become involved, contact Roxanna Garcia by calling her at (352) 359-2885, or emailing her at roxanna@bbbsmidflorida.org.

The magazine cited the recent expansion and renovation of the law school’s library and classroom facilities in helping to cement its top-tier ranking.

“Among the school’s many offerings are a joint J.D./M.A. and an annual conference on legal and policy issues in the Americas,” the magazine reported. “Students can take advantage of numerous social activities—including October Hispanic Awareness Month, SangriaFest, Pig Roast and Race Judicata—through the active Spanish American Law Students Association (SALSA), which provides support, resources, and opportunities to Hispanic UF Law students.

“I definitely think there’s a strong Hispanic presence on this campus,” said UF Law student Mildred Gomez, secretary of SALSA. “It’s a good thing that there is a highly-ranked law school that Hispanic students can attend and a school that provides such a diverse background.”

John H. and Mary Lou Dasburg Professor

• Appointed by the Office of the United States Trade Representative to a three-year term on the NAFTA Chapter 20 dispute panel roster. He continues to serve on the Chapter 19 panel roster.

• Organized two two-hour panels on International Business Transactions and International Foreign Investment for the ABA Section on International Law’s Fall Meeting in Miami in November. The panels will include Professors George Dawson and Steve Powell. Professor Gordon will speak on a third panel on the use of civil law in litigation in U.S. courts.

Richard Hiers

Professor Emeritus

• Presented a paper, “First Amendment Academic Freedom Rights of Universities: Judicial Fabrication of New Clothes for the Emperor,” as a contribution to a symposium focused on “Individual vs. Institutional Academic Freedom” at the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association.

Thomas R. Hurst

Sam T. Dell Research Scholar; Professor

• Published the third edition of Unicorporated Business Associations, Cases and Materials (West).

Winston Nagan

Samuel T. Dell Research Scholar; Director, Institute of Human Rights and Peace Development; Director, Summer Study Abroad Program with Cape town University; Affiliate Professor of Anthropology

• Presented “Justice in Transition – Prosecution and Amnesty in Germany and South Africa,” at Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin.

• Accepted an appointment to the Russian Council of Editors of the Russian journal, Law and Politics.

• Published a chapter in the book, Justice in Transition.

Barbara Bennett Woodhouse

David H. Levin Chair in Family Law; Director, Center on Children and Families

• Presented a talk at City Graduate Center in New York in the series “The Public Square,” sponsored by Princeton University Press, titled “Children’s Rights and American Values.”

• Presented to the Children’s Justice Act Conference of the Children’s Bureau in Washington D.C. on best practices in child advocacy.

• Published “Martyrs, Media and the Web: Examining a Grassroots Children’s Rights Movement through the Lens of Social Movement Theory” in 5 Whittier Journal of Child and Family Advocacy 121 (2005); the chapter  “Cleaning Up Toxic Violence: and Ecogenerist paradigm,” in Dowd et al, Handbook of Children Culture and Violence (2006).  

• Presented at the SEALS Annual Meeting in Palm Beach.

In the News

Lars Noah

Professor

• USA Today, August 23, 2006. Quoted in a story about the barrage of lawsuits involving popular drugs like Ortho Evra and Neurontin. Noah said the pace of lawsuits is not expected to decrease given the large number of people who consume the drugs and the “assembly line approach” lawyers have developed for such cases.

Christopher L. Peterson

Associate Professor

• The State, August 30, 2006. Research on payday lending cited in “Save military, civilians from onslaught of predatory lenders.”

 • ABC World News Tonight, August 22, 2006. Information from his survey on payday lenders was quoted in the story, “Are Predators Ripping Off Our Nations Finest: Top Brass Says These Financial Groups Threaten Military Readiness.” The study backed up the story’s assertion that payday lenders target military personnel.

• Pensacola News Journal, August 9, 2006, Quoted information from payday lending research in the article “Desperate for Money.”

• News Blaze, August 17, 2006. Three-part expose about aimen being taken advantage of by payday lenders cited his payday lending research.

Christopher Slobogin

Stephen C. O’Connell Chair; Affiliate Professor of Psychiatry; Adjunct Professor, University of South Florida Mental Health Institute; Associate Director, Center on Children and Families

• St. Petersburg Times, August 27, 2006. Quoted in a story about inappropriate exchanges between judges and lawyers, especially when factors such as the death penalty are involved.