• See full list of winners

Music Night 2010 hosted by Dean Jerry
Got a hidden musical talent? Show it off at the upcoming Music Night 2010, to be held Sunday, April 18, at 7 p.m. at the home of Dean Bob Jerry and his wife Lisa. All students and faculty are invited — but the “ticket” to attend is that you must bring a dessert and agree to perform a musical piece (play an instrument or sing a song). A piano will be available. Each participant can bring one guest. Space is limited, so sign up is on a first-come, first-serve basis. To register, stop by the Dean’s Office and see Doris Perron.

Clinic application deadline March 31
The deadline for clinic applications is March 31. The Florida Bar clearance letters must be attached to the application (except for Mediation Clinic). Conservation Clinic applications are available online and should be submitted directly to Director Tom Ankersen at ankersen@law.ufl.edu. All other clinic applications are submitted to Student Affairs. Offers are based on total credit hours, pre-reqs for some of the clinics, and application submission date/time may also be considered. Also, for the first time this fall, Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation (LAW 6388) will be offered and will be mandatory for civil clinics (except Mediation) beginning with spring 2011 enrollment. The clinics consider the application period a time of “open house” and interested students who are planning ahead or who are applying for summer/fall are encouraged to stop by.

Application deadline for UF’s Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Clinic is March 31
The Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Clinic is the first of its kind in the nation! IPVAC is a partnership between the College of Law, College of Medicine, Shands and Peaceful Paths Domestic Abuse Network. Under the supervision of Director Teresa Drake, students will represent indigent victims of domestic violence in court with a variety of issues. Students will also have the opportunity to work with IPVAC’s interdisciplinary team consisting of social workers, outreach counselors and various medical personnel at Shands and negotiate such legal and ethical issues as HIPPA, confidentiality and client/patient privilege. Applications for IPVAC can be picked up at Student Services. Students should attach their initial clearance letter from the Florida Bar to their application. Students must also speak briefly with Director Teresa Drake (drake@law.ufl.edu) prior to applying.

Environmental & Land Use Law Certificate Program deadline April 2
Students interested in enrolling in the Environmental & Land Use Law Certificate Program this semester are encouraged to do so before Friday, April 2. Through the Environmental and Land Use Law Certificate Program, students can graduate from law school with a valuable credential that indicates both concentration and accomplishment in these two fields. If you have recently enrolled, or plan to do so, please contact Lena Hinson at hinson@law.ufl.edu to set up an appointment with Professor Alyson Flournoy, director of the Environmental & Land Use Law Program, to discuss your course of study for fall 2010. For more information on the ELUL Certificate Program please visit the ELULP Web site. Enrollment forms are available online or in 319 Holland Hall. Students enrolled in the certificate program will receive e-mail notification regarding priority pre-registration for core courses.

Become a Public Interest Law Fellow: Deadline April 5
Make a difference in your community and the world — and get paid for it. The Levin College of Law is currently seeking students for the Public Interest Law Fellows Program for 2010-11, funded by The Florida Bar Foundation. Public Interest Law Fellows are engaged in a number of public service projects in the community, and receive a stipend for their work. Applications are available in the Center for Governmental Responsibility, 230 Bruton-Geer Hall. The application deadline is April 5, at 5 p.m. For more information, e-mail Tim McLendon, mclendon@law.ufl.edu.

APIL fellowship applications due April 5
Need funding for your unpaid summer job? Applications for the APIL summer fellowship 2010 are here. Please download the application form that is available on APIL’s Twen page and submit your application to the Career Development Office by noon on April 5. Download the application »

• “Can health care suit make headway?” (March 23, Florida News Network)
  Baldwin told the Florida News Network that the proposed lawsuit by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is on shaky ground when it comes to the commerce clause in the U.S. Constitution. “The only issue that the court would look at (would be to) see if the Congress has the constitutional authority to enact this legislation,” he said. “And all they would have to look at is Article I, Section 8.”

Land Use Planning and the Environment, designed primarily for the classroom, takes a comprehensive approach to the instruction of planning and zoning law, regulatory takings, and environmental topics. The casebook is authored by Charles M. Haar, Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law, emeritus, Harvard University and visiting member, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University, and Michael Allan Wolf, Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law and general editor of Powell on Real Property, the leading treatise on real property.

“The casebook does an impressive job of exploring the evolving, broad, and nuanced landscape of land use law,” said Tony Arnold, Boehl Chair in Property and Land Use, University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law. Arnold also served as a visiting professor at UF College of Law last fall. “It will be quite useful in educating the thoughtful and versatile land use lawyer of today and the future because of its rich and balanced approach. It will also be quite accessible to planning students and other non-law students taking a course in land use law.”

A judicial 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.

Many times, the judicial clerk will have first 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 a legal career and opens many employment doors upon completion. Judicial clerkships are available in both the federal and state courts.

Congratulations to the following May 2010/2011 graduates who will begin their legal careers as federal and Florida Supreme Court judicial law clerks:

• Ryan Eastmoore, Senior Judge Susan Bucklew, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
• Jeffrey Fabian, Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Jenkins, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
• Andres Healy, Circuit Judge Richard Tallman, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
• Anne McAdams, Chief Judge Anne C. Conway, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
• Jon Philipson, Chief Judge Anne C. Conway, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
• Jessica Swann, Senior Judge G. Kendall Sharp, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
• Erica Tate, Judge Charles R. Wilson, Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
• Jay Yagoda, Justice Barbara J. Pariente, Florida Supreme Court

Make plans to attend the two upcoming judicial clerkship programs: March 30 at noon in HOL 345 to learn about the process from obtaining letters of recommendation to applying to accepting an offer and on April 6 at noon in room TBA to gain perspective from federal judicial law clerks. Please be aware that the judicial application process typically is accomplished over one year in advance, so don’t miss out on great opportunities by missing critical deadlines. 2L’s apply during summer 2010 for positions beginning fall 2011.

On Mar. 26, the Levin College of Law hosted a professionalism seminar co-sponsored by the Levin College of Law, The Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association, and David B. Mishael, P.A., for practicing legal professionals to convene and discuss the state of professionalism in the practice of law.

“There is no topic that we discuss at any of these conferences that is more important than what we will talk about today,” said Levin College of Law Dean Robert Jerry in his welcoming comments. Jerry referred to professionalism as “the essence of who we are as lawyers.”

Judge Martha Lott also offered introductory remarks and praised her fellow judges and practicing attorneys in the Eighth Judicial Circuit for upholding the highest standards of professionalism and ethical practice. Her colleague Senior Judge Stan R. Morris presented the keynote presentation titled, “Professionalism: the Path to the Independence of Lawyers & the Judicial Branch.”

Morris discussed the vital role of professionalism in order to rebuild a positive public image of attorneys. He conversely discussed the way in which a lack of professionalism has led to negative stereotypes of lawyers. Morris pinpointed these negative stereotypes as responsible for the legislature’s growing power over how the judiciary functions, as well as the reason for only a dwindling number of attorneys serving as elected representatives in the legislature.

Morris warned that if the reputation of the legal profession continues to decline, the judicial branch’s independence will be further eroded by legislation that dictates court procedures and even outcomes. Lamenting that “[lawyers] are shown to do anything to get clients and win cases…and routinely portrayed as lying,” Morris emphasized that “our profession needs to rebuild to maintain the respect of the American people.”

Reminding the audience members of their promise, made under oath, to uphold the values of professionalism and ethical practice, Morris challenged them to reaffirm their ethical commitment to the practice of law, and to practice in a manner throughout their careers such that they are able to look back at the end of their legal practice and know that they kept their promise. Morris further extolled the virtues of practicing honorably and ethically, for both the benefit of an attorney’s individual practice and the greater implications of how professionalism among attorneys collectively impacts the judicial branch of government.

“We must be professional because we must maintain the trust of the people and maintain our country’s belief in the underlying rule of the law,” Morris urged.

The seminar concluded with attendees splitting into smaller discussion groups, each led by a judge, a Levin College of Law faculty member, and an attorney. The discussion groups focused on professionalism in the areas of criminal law, estates & trusts, family and domestic relations, personal injury and insurance, and transactional and commercial law. Faculty discussion leaders were Professor Jennifer Zedalis, Professor Danaya Wright, Professor Jeff Grater, Professor Joe Little, and Professor Jeffrey Davis, respectively.