Virgil Hawkins, the alter-ego of the popular African-American comic character Static in the regular DC Universe is making his first appearance in the new “Terror Titans” miniseries. Named after Virgil Hawkins, who lead the fight to desegregate the University of Florida College of Law, the character is returning 16 years after he starred in his first solo book, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

Research assistant needed for spring & summer 2009

Research assistant needed for spring and summer 2009, with possibility of continued employment in 2009-2010, to assist Dr. Cliff Jones with preparation of book manuscript concerning private antitrust litigation in the European Union. Approximately 10 to 20 hours per week; prior experience with antitrust law, European Community law, national law of EU member states, and international research materials a plus but not required; Lexis skills required; familiarity with Excel and CaseMap software a plus; facility with one or more EU languages in addition to English also a plus but not required. This position is open until filled, but review of applications will begin Feb. 26, 2009.

Submit hard copy of resume with GPA and application letter describing applicable research or other experience, or electronic versions, to Lenny Kennedy at Center for Governmental Responsibility, 230 Bruton-Geer, or via email to lkennedy@law.ufl.edu. Questions may be addressed to Dr. Jones at jonesca@law.ufl.edu or 352-273-0835.

Space for prayer or privacy

Everyone knows that there are study rooms available for checkout in the library. But did you know that there is one room dedicated to special purposes? The meditation/ lactation room is meant for individuals who need a private space for prayer or meditation, or for lactating mothers who want privacy. The room is available for law student checkout 30 minutes at a time. Inquire at the Circulation Desk to check out the room key or for more information.

Spring Break Library Hours

Friday, March 6: 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday- Sunday, March 7-8: CLOSED
Monday- Friday, March 9-13: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 14: CLOSED
Sunday, March 15: 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. (regular hours resume)

Remember to protect your belongings on campus

Please remember that when you leave your belongings unattended in the library (or anywhere on campus) you run a real risk of theft. Even if you trust your colleagues, consider that savvy thieves from the surrounding area know that students in the library often leave their things for a few minutes, and it takes less than a minute to pick up a bag or a computer and walk away, often completely unnoticed. The library staff encourages you to protect your stuff and don’t leave it unattended.

Levin College of Law Faculty and Student Art Show

Calling all student and faculty artists. We are now accepting artwork in any medium (ie. sculpture, painting, photography) for the fourth annual Levin College of Law Faculty and Student Art Show. Artwork will be displayed in the Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center. Please email digital image submissions with a brief description to Eric Berger at ecburger@gmail.com by Monday, March 16. Students and faculty will be notified if they are selected by late March. If you have any questions please e-mail Eric Berger or Alexis Cooper at lex314@gmail.com.

This is the Unified Family Court (UFC), which places litigants with multiple cases in front of the same judge. Judge James P. Nilon, of Alachua County’s 8th Circuit, spoke Friday about his experience heading the UFC in Alachua County, which he did until recently switching to criminal court.

“The idea is one family, one judge,” Nilon said. “It’s a pretty simple idea, but it’s hard to apply.”

Unified Family Court is required by Florida’s Supreme Court in all 20 of Florida’s judicial circuits, Nilon said. However, there is no standard way UFC is operated because the Supreme Court wanted it to be different depending on the location it serves, Nilon said.

“Why is unified family court important? Probably if you’re going to be in family court, every circuit in the state is supposed to have some form of unified family court,” Nilon said. “The bad news for all of you is no two versions of unified family court will look the same.”

Nilon said UFC should theoretically cover criminal cases as well as the family cases, but logistics usually prevent that from happening. He gave an example of a typical multi-issue UFC case in Alachua County.

“Let’s take a good old-fashioned domestic violence battery – dad is accused of battering mom, he’s been arrested so he has a criminal case, she’s now filed for an injunction, so there’s now an injunction case, and because it’s happened so many times in the past, there’s been a dependency shelter and there’s a dependency case,” Nilon said. “That’s how one incident can lead to all of these things.”

Nilon said the main case in UFC was usually a dependency issue, which he tried to work out first. Nilon often dealt with that first and kept temporary injunctions in place for some time for people to realize how much the cases were going to change their lives before possibly granting permanent injunctions.

Nilon said UFC’s goal is to clear things up for clients who might otherwise be confused if they had separate judges.

“Theoretically, if you have three different judges for all these things, one thing that can really be difficult is you’re going to get three different orders,” Nilon said. “The contact provisions in the three different orders might all be different, so even for me, if I was on the receiving end of this, I’m confused. Which one am I supposed to abide by because they’re all different?”

The lecture titled “The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism is Harming Our Young Men,” was sponsored by the UF Federalist Society.

Christina Hoff Sommers, one of the speakers and a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, a private, nonpartisan, not-for-profit group based in Washington D.C., told the audience that the policies created to help close the educational gap for women is creating an educational chasm for men.

“The good news is we have great information on where girls and boys stand academically,” said Sommers. “The bad news is it’s not good news. If we continue on the present course, education for boys will continue to decline.”

Sommers cited several U.S. Department of Education studies that reveal the disparity between boys and girls in math, science, reading and writing.

“Today, boys are about three months ahead of girls in math and science, but on the average, boys are about 13 to 18 months behind girls in reading and writing,” said Sommers. “This is because there are no educational or social programs aimed to increase these skills for boys.”

Mary Ann Clark, Ph.D., the University of Florida College of Education B.O. Smith Research Professor and coordinator of the School Counseling Program, explained that the lack of educational programs aimed at boys coupled with the lack of positive, male role-models contributes to this disparity in education.

“Eighty five percent of single parents are women,” said Clark. “This means most boys are just not being exposed to men who encourage them to succeed or lead by example.”

Luis Ponjuan, Ph.D., a UF College of Education assistant professor of educational administration and policy warned that “males are slipping through the cracks” in regards to education.

“This is a silent crisis,” Ponjuan said. “Funding has been an issue for male programs to address this disparity. We need to challenge our policy makers and students studying to be teachers and administrators to address these inconsistencies and commit to closing the gap between boys and girls.”

Hundreds of people showed up to the Seventh Annual Music Law Conference’s Music Showcase. The showcase featured bands from the Gainesville area.

Superfish, a band that plays funky New Orleans style music, was the second act of the night, after Danny Perez, a hip-hop artist who got the audience pumped up from the beginning. They were the perfect embodiment of the “From the Suits to the Stage” theme of the Music Law Conference – they wore dress shirts and ties.

Superfish brought the funk and the audience loved it. The audience especially love when they played their rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In.” The audience was singing and clapping their hands and having a good time.

Salvatore Picataggio (1L), drummer for Superfish, said that he had a lot of fun performing.

“I’ve been in bands for a long time. Drumming has always been that other thing in my life,” said Picataggio, who was a member of the Music Law Conference. Having this outlet to have something to take my mind off of law school, it’s nice. Without it I would go crazy.”

The next day, the conference featured lawyers from areas around the nation attending to talk with musicians, lawyers and students about the world of entertainment.

The first panel was led by moderator Dean Robert Jerry. He introduced each of the panel members, which included Gary Roth, John Thomas and Mike Wasylik. The panel focused on rights after the death of a musician.

Roth, assistant vice president for BMI, used a diagram to explain the rights that musicians have in the music industry while living. He explained some of the essentials of copyright law and emphasized the importance of contracts.

“A writer (musician) may say that someone can publish something, but it’s not valid unless it’s in writing,” said Roth. “Paper, paper, paper; it’s all about the paper.”

Thomas, a professor of law at the Quinnipiac University School of Law in Connecticut, discussed a case about musician Robert Johnson, who died in 1938.

“Music isn’t worth a nickel until five years after the writer died,” Thomas said.

Thomas said that there were many known talents who made money off of Johnson through listening and learning. Some of these included, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.

The problem was the issue of publishing rights and to this day, this case is still wrapped up in the courts.

Wasylik, discussed the termination right of the copy transfer, which also dealt with rights after death. He said 56 years after the copyright begins, termination can occur, but warned an artist only has a five-year window.

“Make sure that when you do this you know exactly what you’re doing, so you time it right,” said Wasylik.

The second panel was led by Associate Dean Kathie Price. Price led the panel in a discussion about managing artist. The panelist included three entertainment attorneys and a musician.

One of the first questions Price asked the panel was what expectations musicians have of managers.

“Artist most of the time don’t know what they want at first. The expectations of artists will expand as they get out there. As a manager, it’s all about controlling those expectations to an extent,” said David Beame, an entertainment lawyer and a manager.

Before breaking for lunch, keynote speaker Martin Atkins discussed a wide range of topics, including music being given away for free. He asked the audience if it was really a bad thing.

“I don’t think that there is a problem if 20,000 people download your music for free. When 20,000 don’t, then that’s when something is wrong,” he said.

Atkins wanted the audience to know what the meaning of success was.

“If you aim to build that Great Wall of China, all of the steps it’s going to take build, its going to seem meaningless,” said Atkins. “In one month it’s just going to be a pile of useless bricks, but in six months you’ve got something.”

This year’s new addition to the conference, the breakout session, was a huge hit. The breakout sessions were held after lunch and included topics on, IP litigation in the music industry, getting your foot in the door to the entertainment industry, succeeding in the industry and money management for musicians.

Jason Gordon, owner of Dalin Records, said it is a lot harder for new talent to get famous.

“To be able to get noticed now you have to work a lot harder and get creative,” said Gordon.

One of the questions Ravi, a singer-songwriter and guitarist, asked the panel was about the idea of downloading music and artists not receiving compensation for the exposure.

“Bands starting out today should give away their music for free because they don’t have anything to lose,” said Var Thelin, co-owner of No Idea Records in Gainesville. “If you give it all away for free now, you might get your money back later.

The last panel of the day was led by UF Professor Amy Mashburn on the topic of ethics in the music industry. The panel consisted of Kevin Leary, Brain Mencher, and Julee Milham. Mashburn led the discussion through a few hypothetical questions.

One of the hypotheticals discussed was the idea that a lawyer is representing a five person band, three of which are brothers. The lead singer, one of the brothers, gets all of the attention but two of the brothers are the writers and are jealous. Mashburn asked how the panel would you treat this.

Milham went first and said that she would tell them to get separate representation.

“If they are represented as a whole it may sacrifice some of the interest of the writers,” she said.

Mencher, who is the founder of the UF Music Law Conference, said that he would have them make a list of all of their problems and let them work it out.

“If you can, it’s better to represent the band as a whole,” said Mencher.

Leary decided to have a little fun with the audience.

“Every time you say you have a band you are in the process of breaking up,” Leary laughed.