Thomas T. Ankersen
Legal Skills Professor

• The Office of the Provost announced Ankersen will be the Faculty Fellow in Sustainability beginning in the Spring 2008 semester. As the fellowship awardee, Ankersen will pursue a one to two year project to develop an interdisciplinary certificate/minor in sustainability and will be responsible for the following: Researching best practices at universities for integrating sustainability into academics, which may include the existing frameworks for certificates and minor and major courses of study; collaborating with UF faculty on incorporation of sustainability into academics at UF and promoting such incorporation; working with the Sustainability Committee to develop the best model (including structure and format) for academic offerings in sustainability at UF; developing an implementation plan for adaptation of the best model.

UF Law Faculty in the News

Diane H. Mazur
Professor

• Gulf Defender Tyndall AFB, Panama City, FL), Oct. 26. Quoted on the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act. The USFSPA affects the treatment of military retirement pay in divorce settlements and is an emotional issue for career military families. Because they are unlikely to be long-term homeowners, this pension may be the only asset of significant financial value.

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

• Miami Herald, Oct. 30. A televised American Bar Association panel, on which UF Law Professor Chris Slobogin participated, discussed why the nation’s death penalty system “falls short” in providing defendants with “fair and accurate” treatment. Slobogin, who chaired the team that assessed Florida’s system, told the Miami Herald that a “significant majority” of the group voted for a moratorium. The panel’s presentation appeared on C-Span, and excerpts appeared in other media outlets.
• WCSH6.com (Portland, Oregon), Oct. 29. Quoted in an article discussing the American Bar Association’s recent call for a nationwide moratorium on executions. The move comes after a study by the lawyer’s group found significant problems in death penalty prosecutions in eight states including Florida. Slobogin stated that there had been over 20 exonerations of peopleon Florida’s death row in recent years. He said he was concerned both about “people who are factually innocent, who are nonetheless convicted and sentenced to death [and] people who may have committed the crime but should not have been sentenced to death because they’re not the worst or the worst.”

Lee-ford Tritt
Assistant Professor; Director of Center for Estate and Elder Law Planning and Estates and Trusts Practice Certificate Program; Associate Director, Center on Children and Families

• Orlando Sentinel, Oct. 31. Interviewed for an article discussing a murder case presented to a court that says it does not exist in Sarasota. Steve Esdale, the son of Murray Cohen, began a four-day effort to convince a probate judge that Maria Cohen killed her husband. Under Florida’s “slayer statute,” that would forbid her from serving as Cohen’s executor or receiving anything from his estate. “I’ve never heard of this before,” Tritt said. “This is fascinating.”

During her presidency, Hernandez hopes to “expand on the basic premise that motivates the organization, which is to complete diversity in all of its firms, not just at the bottom, but at the board level as well.” The group provides yearly scholarships to all Florida law schools and runs a pro bono clinic providing free legal services to hundreds of qualified low income minorities.

Hernandez has served as chief legal officer for the City of Coral Gables for more than 10 years, during which time she has tackled more than a few hurdles.

“My most challenging role is to be able to ignore the political storms of a given moment and persevere in advising and representing my clients in the appropriate manner. Sometimes the negativity that motivates a reporter or malcontent permeates the atmosphere, and we need to rise above personal attacks to properly advise and represent our client,” she said.

Even with her demanding job as city attorney, Hernandez said she stays active in organizations such as CABA because of the opportunities to mentor young attorneys and encourage them to become active in public service.

“I am very fortunate in that my job is my passion.”