2011 Peter T. Fay Jurist-in-Residence Program welcomes Judge Susan H. Black (JD 67)
This year’s University of Florida Levin College of Law Peter T. Fay Jurist-in-Residence Program will welcome Judge Susan H. Black (JD 67) of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Feb. 1-3. Black was appointed as a United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida and held that position from 1979 to 1992. In 1992, she was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit by President George H.W. Bush. Black will be participating in a number of activities at the law school and there will be numerous opportunities to meet with her during her visit to UF Law. “This will be a fantastic opportunity for students to participate in activities with a member of the judiciary and to gain insight into a variety of judicial issues,” said UF Law Dean Robert Jerry. The Peter T. Fay Jurist-in-Residence Program was created to bring judges to the college to provide insights to students and faculty on a broad range of issues relating to judicial process, substantive law, trial and appellate advocacy and the day-to-day practice of law. There are a number of excellent events and speakers scheduled for spring semester at UF Law and students are encouraged to take advantage of the great opportunities available. For the most up-to-date information, check our events page.

Annual picnic promotes diversity, leadership
For the past 17 years, John W. Kozyak and his Miami-based firm, Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, have played a major role in promoting minority law students at the University of Miami and other Florida law schools. Over the years, the minority mentoring picnic has expanded from a small gathering in Kozyak’s backyard to a massive annual event held at the Amelia Earhart Park in South Florida every fall. The annual picnic now attracts more than 3,000 students, federal and state judges, and lawyers, including Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince, former Attorney General Janet Reno, and numerous Florida Bar Presidents and other bar and judicial leaders. Many law firms and businesses support and sponsor the picnic and every imaginable bar association is represented at the tables that line the perimeter of the park. Stephen N. Zack (JD 71), president of the American Bar Association, and Daryl Parks, president of the National Bar Association, attended the most recent picnic. On Nov. 13, 2010, 20 students traveled with Dean Kari Mattox to South Florida, where they met several other UF Law graduates. Nearly every student left with a mentor and possible internship opportunities, and Miaya McCray (1L) won a $250 gift card in the raffle. Every year, the Honorable Judge Paul C. Huck (JD 65), a double-Gator, works fervently to ensure that all Gators are paired up with mentors before they leave the picnic. Judge Huck said, “Having an experienced lawyer help an inexperienced law student navigate through the often-difficult waters of law school not only helps the student; it also serves the legal profession … I encourage every UF Law graduate and minority law student to take advantage of the extraordinary opportunity to participate in future minority mentoring picnics. You will never forget the uniquely rewarding experience.” For the latest information on the upcoming Eighth Annual Minority Mentoring Picnic, please visit http://www.kmmfoundation.org.

Refine your conflict resolution skills Monday, Feb. 14
Brush up on your conflict resolution knowledge and skills this Valentine’s Day at the practical presentation, “Why can’t we all just get along? Everything you wanted to know about dispute resolution but were afraid to ask,” by Levin College of Law Professor Robin Davis, Esq., director of the Institute for Dispute Resolution. Her presentation will focus on common dispute resolution processes and help faculty and administrators make more informed decisions, personally and professionally, in choosing an appropriate type for their disputes. She will highlight the application of these processes to academia, with special emphasis on mediation. The presentation will be held 3:30-4:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 14, in the Faculty Dining Room at the Levin College of Law, and is free and open to all. For more information on the program, contact Debra Amirin, amirin@law.ufl.edu or 352-273-0651.

Spend an evening with pioneers of U.S. Civil Rights Movement
The University of Florida Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations (CSRRR) and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (SPOHP)* present “An Evening with the Dues: Pioneers of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement” Wednesday, Feb. 16, from 6-8 p.m. with a reception and book signing followed by lecture in the Buddy and Anne McKay Auditorium of Pugh Hall. The event honors the work and legacy of Patricia Stephens Due and John Due. The Dues will discuss their lives, work, and the future work that needs to be done for social justice. In 1960 Patricia Stephens Due and four other students from Florida A&M University made history when they served 49 days in jail after being arrested for sitting-in at a lunch counter. Ms. Due and her fellow protestors refused to pay a fine and instead chose to go to jail in order to highlight the injustice of legal segregation. This was the first jail-in of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and the beginning of Ms. Dues work fighting for human and civil rights in America. Ms. Due and her husband, civil rights attorney John Due, have fought for human rights since their days on the campus of Florida A&M University. Ms. Due is the recipient of many awards, including the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Outstanding Leadership, the Ghandi Award for Outstanding Work in Human Relations and the NAACP Florida Freedom Award. John Due is a 1963 graduate of the FAMU College of Law. *UF event co-sponsors: African American Studies Program; Bob Graham Center; Center for African Studies; Center for Women’s Studies & Gender Research; Department of Anthropology; George A. Smathers Libraries; History Department; and the Office of the Provost.

JMBA hosts student-faculty-alumni softball game and picnic Saturday, Feb. 19
Join local alumni, students and faculty on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 3:30 p.m. at Westside Park, as the the John Marshall Bar Association hosts a picnic and friendly game of softball between students, alumni and faculty. Many local alumni are expected to attend, which will provide a valuable networking opportunity for students, and include local alumni in the UF Law community. Please check back for more details as they become available.

Princeton Review seeks input from law students
The Princeton Review has once again named the University of Florida Levin College of Law one of the best law schools in the nation. Distinguished schools will be profiled in the 2012 edition of Best Law Schools. In order to help them represent UF Law accurately, please fill out the following survey to author a new “Students Say” profile and update our ratings.

Save the date for UF APALSA Annual Conference
The University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Asian Pacific American Law Students Association will host its second annual UF APALSA Conference March 23-26. The forum on Labor Trafficking with keynote speakers and a film will take place March 23-24, a leadership development and philanthrophy fundraising event will be held March 25, and the conference will close March 26 with an outdoor event and Southeast APALSA Mixer. Please visit https://sites.google.com/site/ufapalsa for more information. To volunteer or be part of the program, please contact Thao Tran, president, at Thao.Thanh.Tran@gmail.com or Nguyen Luu, professional development chair, at nguyen1698@gmail.com.

APIL now accepting applications
The Association of Public Interest Law is now accepting applications for the APIL Fellowship. The APIL Fellowship is a stipend of approximately $2,000 that is awarded to students at the Levin College of Law who have accepted unpaid, public-interest summer internships. While the number of fellowships awarded in 2011 will depend on APIL’s continuing fundraising efforts, APIL aims to award at least three fellowships this summer. Last year, the organization was fortunate enough to award four fellowships. For more information, please join the APIL TWEN page and download the fellowship application (Forums > Discussion > Fellowship Application Form 2011). Applications must be submitted to the Office of Student Affairs before the application deadline Friday, March 4, at noon.

Singh (2L) wondered whether she should retrieve a box of Internal Revenue Service papers from her car after meeting with the federal tax collection agency for two hours earlier that day.

For many, the prospect of a two-hour meeting with the IRS might seem distressing. But for Singh, it’s business as usual.

Along with Joe Malca (2L), Singh co-directs the University of Florida College of Law’s chapter of the national organization Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA). It is designed to provide low-income people with free tax returns during tax season from Feb. 1 until April 7.

“I don’t think people realize the effect they’re having when they’re providing well over 600 Gainesville families with free tax returns,” Malca said.

And according to Malca’s own estimates, that number of 600 free returns and an estimated $5.7 million in tax refunds in 2010 is a low estimate. Those numbers could actually climb much higher as the organization continues to grow.

“It’s a good way to give back. We’re usually giving them good news,” Malca said of those whose taxes he prepares for free.

Singh, who graduated with her Master of Accounting from UF in 2009, said VITA is geared toward helping those with low to moderate incomes of up to $49,000 per person, but she said she doesn’t recall a time she or any of the other 100 student volunteers denied someone the free services VITA offers.

Both Singh and Malca stressed that the number of volunteers still has room to grow. Since they have been passing out fliers since October, the number of law-student volunteers has more than doubled from the previous year’s number of 48.

“There are a lot of people that run away when they see the word ‘tax,’ but we try and run after them,” Singh said.

Singh’s acknowledgment of the often-daunting language of taxation, however, was quickly followed with VITA’s baby-steps method of catering to those who know very little about taxes. She said only a few VITA volunteers are interested in tax law.

“You don’t need to know anything before you come in,” Malca said. “We’ll provide you with all the information you need.”

And the IRS is happy to help teach people, Malca said. Volunteers need only pass a basic and an intermediate open-book test to begin volunteering, both of which the IRS sends along with other materials to VITA chapters across the country. To further calm the fears of nervous first-time volunteers, Malca said every return is reviewed by a volunteer who has at least one year of experience with VITA.

“We’re trying to tell them it really is just asking questions,” Singh said. She noted the easy-to-use computer software that calculates each individual tax return. “It’s really not that difficult. People just get really intimidated when they see tax forms.”

For those who can’t overcome their fear of tax forms, Malca noted the importance of volunteering in a different capacity. VITA offers many different administrative tasks all of which count for community service hours toward the pro bono certificate upon graduation, including reading tax forms to international or elderly clients.

“The clients that come here have been coming for years,” Singh said, “and they’re all just so nice.”

Although Singh and Malca both stressed the importance of earning community service hours and gaining valuable experience in the useful field of taxation, the co-directors noted the most rewarding benefit of belonging to VITA is the relationships formed among law students and clients.

“We’re almost a family,” Singh said. “We all know each other. We have a real connection with the community.”

Singh recalled one female client in particular who, according to Singh, has been coming to the law school for a free tax return for the last five years and is now so familiar with the volunteers at VITA, she asks for people by name. It’s clear, as Malca nodded his head in agreement, VITA is not short on commitment.

Instead, the organization is struggling to pay its own bills. Fueled largely by generous donations from professors, the United Way and a few other sources, the organization has to conjure creative ways every night to feed its volunteers who work through dinnertime, they said.

“It’s a lot of pizza,” Malca said. “We’ve worked out a lot of deals with Domino’s.”

As Malca, Singh and the 100 or so other volunteers prepare for the next tax season in the coming days, both co-directors noted the passion for what they’re doing even amid their hectic final examinations.

“I always felt like this was more important than studying because I felt so good every time I left,” Malca said.

VITA prepares taxes every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening from 5-9 p.m. until April 7. Volunteers are asked to help four hours per week and to bring their laptops. Those who want to get more involved with VITA should contact Joe Malca or Sonia Singh at UFVITA@gmail.com.

He’s a full-time attorney specializing in elder law, has a resume of community service that could make even the most seasoned volunteer proud and he’s the father of three children and four step-children.

And somehow, Boles (JD 84) finds time to serve the nation’s oldest city during his third term as mayor of St. Augustine.

“It’s not so much politics as much as it is community service,” Boles said of his job as mayor, “and that’s what makes it fun.”

Boles said much of what he owes to being able to serve the 13,992 residents of St. Augustine comes from the small-town feel of the notable city 75 miles northeast of Gainesville.

And for Boles — who doesn’t have an official office at city hall and instead operates out of his own law office — a small-town feel is “just fine” with him.

“People can just come to my office,” he said. “You can even park at my office if you want.”

Being the mayor of a smaller city, however, doesn’t matter much when that city is also the oldest city in the country. Being the mayor of a city preparing to celebrate its 450th anniversary carries special privileges and responsibilities normal small-town mayors just don’t have — like supervising the city archaeologist, for example.

“When you’re the mayor of the oldest city in our nation’s history, you have the responsibility of being a steward of all these historic resources,” Boles said. “We’ve got to do all the basics-plus, which is what makes it fun.”

This small-town feel is appropriate for Boles, who describes much of his time at UF Levin College of Law during the early 1980s the same way.

“It’s kind of like a small town there too,” Boles said with his signature North Carolina-native chuckle. “It’s like a community in and of itself.”

Stressing the diversity and close-knit atmosphere UF Law is known for, Boles noted even he might have been a little different than the average law student, since he was was 30 years old while in school. Boles, who majored in design at UF, decided to take the Law School Admissions Test only after a college roommate convinced him of law school’s merits. Saying he did “pretty good” on the test, Boles wasted no time in becoming involved on campus after being accepted to UF’s College of Law.

Boles ran successfully for president of the John Marshall Bar Association during his second year, which Boles said jumpstarted his career of public service.

“You’ll meet some of the finest, brightest people in the world (at UF Law). And I found that to be true,” he said.

And the fact that UF Law graduates serve as mayors of cities across Florida, including Coral Gables, Parkland and Orlando, may support Boles’ assertion.

“I’ve got to assume being a graduate of the premier law school in Florida helps us hold our heads high on the campaign trail,” Boles said. And he didn’t hesitate to talk about his fondest memories in Gainesville.

“The social aspects at the law school were all such great fun,” he said, adding the study group he joined helped to form some of the best friendships he’s ever had.

He was first elected to the St. Augustine City Commission in 2004, two decades after graduating law school.

And he was quick to offer some simple advice to current law students hoping to pursue a career in politics: The basics are the most important.

“The basics are what’s going to get you places,” he said. “You might think criminal law is what you want to do because it’s what you see on TV, but explore family law, try international law,”

As Boles continues his community work as president of the St. Johns County Council on Aging as well as his work as the vice president of the St. Johns County Welfare Federation, Boles also wants current law students to know the importance of community service.

“The best way to build your practice is to give yourself away,” he said. “That’s where you find out people are in need of your services.”

Describing his law degree as his most useful life tool, Boles added a career in law gives anyone confidence. And Boles — whose first job as a teenager was to dress as Ponce de Leon and ride horses down St. Augustine’s famed St. George Street — knows a lot about confidence.

Looking to the future, Boles happily lists a series of celebrations he’s looking forward to sharing with the people of the city he serves, including the city’s three-year-long celebration of its 450-year anniversary.

“When you’re (mayor of) the nation’s oldest city, you get to celebrate everything,” Boles said.