Minority students from all Florida law schools will be gathering for the Third Annual Minority Mentoring Picnic on Saturday, Oct. 21, at noon at Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah. To promote diversity in the legal profession, the law firm of Ruden McClosky has announced that it will sponsor a 55-passenger bus to transport UF Law students to the event. The picnic will feature Caribbean music, a rich selection of food, football, volleyball, and a number of lawyers and judges willing to serve as mentors. Many federal and state judges, including Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince, have already committed to attend this year’s picnic. All lawyers, judges, faculty, and minority law students are encouraged to attend. The picnic is an opportunity for minority law students to be paired with at least one judge or lawyer as a mentor.

“Lawyering, in many significant regards, is based upon relationships,” John Kozyak, the organizer of the event and partner at Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton in Miami, told The Florida Bar News. “This picnic is about promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal marketplace, by making sure minority students are supported early on and given opportunities to create these relationships.”

If you are interested in attending or you have questions, email UF Law School Representative Jessie Howell Wallace at howellje@law.ufl.edu.

When Korb’s wife was asked by a Wall Street Journal reporter how her husband liked his job, she replied: “It’s like he’s 10 years old again and every day’s his birthday.”

“And that’s really the way I feel,” Korb told a packed audience of students in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom on Oct. 5 in the first lecture of the Graduate Tax Enrichment Series. “I’m just so lucky to be here at this point in time.”

Students watched a brief video to give them a sense of what the IRS does, and afterwards Korb discussed his long and interesting career in the hopes of getting the students to think about where they want to go after graduation.

“Tax practitioners really are the first line of defense for the IRS,” said Korb, who became chief counsel in April 2004. “We need to understand that. People got away from that way of thinking in the last 5 or 10 years, and that’s one of the reasons we have the problems we have with these tax shelters.”

This is Korb’s third tour with the IRS. In the 1970s, he worked as an attorney/adviser in the chief counsel’s office, then rejoined the IRS for two years in the mid-1980s as a special assistant to then-Commissioner Roscoe Egger, serving as the overal coordinator of the IRS’ involvement in the legislative process that resulted in the Tax Reform Act of 1986.

• Scott Boyer

• Molly Cox

• Karen Derby

• Frank Gaulden

• Lori Lustrin

• Alicia Phillip

• Justin Stevens

The top four advocates—Scott Boyer, Molly Cox, Frank Gaulden, and Justin Stevens—will be paired against each other in the Final Four competition, which will be held in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom on Friday, Oct. 13, at 11a.m. All members of the Levin College of Law are encouraged to attend. The competition packet is a civil case, Gerry Cook v. Chipper Properties, Inc. The case involves a three-ton jet hoist, a bad industrial accident, and a rabid dog. The Trial Team would like to recognize and thank Paul C. Huck, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, for volunteering his time to serve as the presiding judge, and the Law Firm of Rumberger, Kirk, and Caldwell for sponsoring the competition and providing attorneys to serve as jurors.

As chair for one year, Wright presides at the senate meetings, serves as a member of the University Board of Trustees and the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates (a council made up of all 11 Florida university Senate Chairs), and chairs the Senate Steering Committee. She meets weekly with President Machen and Provost Fouke, and she can ride in the Homecoming Parade (which she declined to do).

Wright spent the summer meeting with every dean, vp, each college cohort of senators, many of the faculties of the 12-month colleges, and the student senate. This fall she is meeting with the 9-month faculty, all aimed at facilitating dialogue between faculty, students, and administration in the restructuring of governance mechanisms within their respective units. She wants every college, department, center, and academic unit to put in place appropriate procedures for insuring that the appropriate voices are all heard when important decisions are being made.

“I think most of the problems in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences could have been avoided if there had been more faculty and student participation in governance in that college,” she says.

Shared governance doesn’t mean faculty get to dictate what will happen. Rather, it recognizes that faculty should have the key voice in developing policies around the academic mission of the university. “It’s my job as faculty representative to remind the Board of Trustees that we should have a say in the long-range plan for this university.”

The Faculty Senate is the legislative body for the university, and as such it makes decisions regarding a wide range of issues. “We can’t hire and fire the president, but we can certainly make his life miserable if we feel we are being directed down the wrong path. At the same time, when we all work toward the same goal there is really no stopping us,” she says.

When she’s not busy telling the president how to run the university, she is teaching, writing, serving on student committees, and fulfilling the rest of her law school duties. “The workload is phenomenal,” she said. “Fortunately, Dean Jerry was the chair of his Faculty Senate at the University of Kansas, so he understands and has given me a lighter teaching load this year.”

Specializing in property law, Wright teaches classes in Property, Estates and Trusts, History of Women and the Law, and English Legal History. Wright is also a strong advocate for Rails to Trail Conservancy, a group dedicated to converting abandoned railroad corridors into recreational trails, and her research on property law has been cited in numerous cases involving rail corridor conversion.

Professor, James J. Freeland Eminent Scholar in Taxation

• Published “The Charitable Contributions Deduction (Revisited)” in 59 SMU L. Rev. 773.

• Participated in the International Fiscal Association Congress in Amsterdam, during which he hosted a reception for participants from several countries to discuss UF’s International Tax Program.

William H. Page

Marshall M. Criser Professor, Eminent Scholar in Electronic Communications and Administrative Law

• Presented “Communication and Concerted Action” as a principal paper at the conference “Matsushita at 20: Proof of Conspiracy, Summary Judgment, and the Role of the Economist in Price Fixing Litigation.”

Juan F. Perea

Cone Wagner Nugent Johnson, Hazouri and Roth Professor

• Published the chapter “Mi Profundo Azul; Why Latinos Have a Right to Sing the Blues” in the recently published book Colored  Men and Hombres Aqui: Hernandez v. Texas and the Emergence of Mexican-American Lawyering .

Elizabeth A. Rowe

Associate Professor

• Presented at a symposium at Maine Law School regarding patenting of university research. She forecasted an increase in intellectual property related employment disputes at universities.

In The News

Fletcher N. Baldwin, Jr.

Chesterfield Smith Professor, Director of UF Center for International Financial Crimes

•Orlando Sentionel, Sept. 21. Quoted in article sparked by Clarence Hill’s execution and questioning the death penalty and last minute stall tactics used by attorneys.

Jerold H. Israel

Ed Rood Eminent Scholar in Trial Advocacy and Procedure

• The Montgomery Advertiser, Oct. 2. Commented on the possibility of a retrial based on jury misconduct for former Alabama governor Don Siegelman, who was convicted of bribery.

Joseph W. Little

Professor, Alumni Research Scholar

• The Gainesville Sun, Sept. 22, Quoted in an article concerning the September 21 CLAS protest. He defended the recognition of a need for better fiscal management, but but condemned Machen for being “too deferential.”

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

• The Gainesville Sun, September 16. Quoted in a story about the death penalty. He said, “The death penalty process diverts resources from the rest of the system and undermines its ability to function.”

• Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 21. As chairman of the Florida Death Penalty Assessment Team, he was quoted in an article about convicted killers Troy Victorino and Jerome Hunter. The article explored possible death penalty changes such as a unanimous vote for the death penalty.

•St. Petersburg Times, Sept. 24. Wrote an article on the need for a death penalty “fairness an accuracy goal.” It included findings from the Florida Death Penalty Assessment Team that he chaired.

• Fort Pierce Tribune, Oct. 3. Interviewed about what an attorney like Robert Udell must prove to get his client Eugene McWatters, the “Salerno Strangler, a life sentence instead of the death penalty.

Rivlin, who is in Gainesville with his wife Hanna, filled a vacancy on the court created by the retirement of Justice Mishael Cheshin in February. He was sworn in by President Moshe Katsav on Sept. 28.

Rivlin, 64, married and a father of four, is a seventh-generation Israeli. After graduating from Hebrew University with a bachelor’s degree in law, he worked as a lawyer in Be’er Sheva.

Thirty years ago, he was appointed a traffic court judge, and later served as a magistrate’s court judge in Kiryat Gat, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Dimona and Be’er Sheva, then moved up to the district courts, and in 1999 was appointed a Supreme Court justice.

Rivlin has a master’s degree in law from Tel Aviv University and specializes in torts, constitutional law, economic law and freedom of expression.

Thank You Letters

• Send thank you letters IMMEDIATELY (no later than a week) after an interview or contact.

• Send them to each person with whom you spent a considerable amount of time. If your visit was arranged by a recruiting coordinator who you met and talked with, it is wise to send that individual a thank you letter as well. If you met with an interview panel, you could send one letter to the lead person or most senior person and include a sentence asking that they please convey your appreciation to the others on the panel.

• You also should send a thank you letter to someone who referred you to an employer, as well as the person who has provided a letter of recommendation for you.

• Thank you letters, besides thanking someone for taking the time to meet with you, are a good time to clarify something from your interview and to reiterate your qualifications and commitment to working with that employer. Be sure to include specific reference to the conversa- tion to assist the interviewer in recalling who you are and demonstrating that it was a meaningful experience.

• Highlight something that went par- ticularly well in the interview (“I really enjoyed our conversation about”), or add something that you forgot to mention (“After the interview I realized that I failed to mention a research project that I am working on that you may find interesting . . .”).

• A thank you letter is generally short, perhaps only two paragraphs.

• Employers differ on whether typed, handwritten, or email thank yous are preferred. For something like OCI where call back decisions might be made quickly, send a quick email, but it can never hurt to also send a formal, written thank you.

Acceptance Letters

When accepting a position, confirm the details such as a start date, salary, benefits, any other conditions in writing, even if you have already accepted the offer verbally.

• This correspondence need only be sent to one individual at the organization, but others can be copied (cc:) if you deem that appropriate.

• You may want to write a second letter to an individual who was particularly influential in your decision to accept a position, and acknowledge their impact in your decision, as that person may become a future mentor or friend.

Declination Letters

• If you wish to decline an offer that has been extended to you, send a letter to the person conveying the offer. Thank the interviewer for his/her time and let the individual know that you valued the opportunity to meet with them. In declining you may wish to note that the decision was a difficult one to reach and that you hope to work with them in the future. Letters to Withdraw from Consideration

• Send a letter to an employer stating that you wish to withdraw from consideration for the position. Thank the interviewer for his/her time and let the individual know that you valued the opportunity to meet with them.

• If you wish to leave the door open for future possibilities, you may wish to let them know that you accepted another offer and with whom.

• If you are under consideration for a judicial clerkship, it is imperative that you immediately send a letter withdrawing from consideration as soon as you have accepted another offer or know that you are not interested in clerking for that particular judge.

New Titles in the CCS Library

• The FBI Career Guide: Inside Information on Getting Chosen for and Succeeding in One of the Toughest, Most Prestigious Jobs in the World

• How to Build and Manage an Entertainment Law Practice The Career Education Institute has recently released the following publications in their Internship Series:

• Internships with America’s Top Companies 2007

• The Sports Internship Book 2007

• Legal Services Internships 2007

• Human Rights Internship Book

• Fedlaw-Internships with Federal Legal Agencies 2007

Check Out These Websites

Non-Traditional Legal Careers Report:

UF Law now subscribes to an online  publication that is released about the first and fifteenth of each month. The Oct. 1 issue lists positions for 38 states for law clerk positions with entry-level as well as lateral openings advertised. The focus is on non-law firm postings in business, education, government, legal publishing, legislative and policy, public interest and international law. To access, contact CCS for the password and user id and then go to http://www.nontradlegal.com/.

ABA Career Counsel Website at http://www.abanet.org/careercounsel. The site offers job search Q&A and over 300 pro-files of attorneys in 57 practice areas and alternative careers.