Additional sponsors include the University of Florida Levin College of Law, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), University of Florida Center for European Studies and the Institute for International Commercial Law (Pace University).

The conference, which takes place Nov. 11-12, will be held at the Hilton-UF Conference Center on Southwest 34th Street. The conference will bring together 35 or so scholars, practitioners, and representatives of international organizations from 20 or so countries to present papers in their areas of expertise.

Claire M. Germain, UF Law associate dean for legal information and Clarence J. TeSelle Professor of Law, will present “Issues of Translation” at the conference. This conference will provide information on multiple levels — understanding the rules of the CISG, the application of the CISG by signatory countries, theoretical insights, and its use by international transactional attorneys.

It will also include a presentation by Luca Castellani, legal officer in the Secretariat of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, on the substance and status of complimentary conventions. Total available CLE credits: 14.5 CLE credits. For more information, visit the webpage. To register, click here.

Many of the law school community know Hodges, who lives in Gainesville. He is a senior judge in the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, a graduate of UF Law, and practiced law in the Tampa area with MacFarlane, Ferguson, Allison, and Kelly before his appointment to the federal bench at 37.

He has served with distinction in the Middle District for 40 years, and has presided over many high profile cases, including the Wesley Snipes tax evasion case.

On Thursday, Nov. 17, the UF Law Costa Rica Program & Conservation Clinic, the Center for Latin American Studies, and Gators for Alternative Dispute Resolution will host Dr. Mario Mancilla, the legal adviser to the Secretariat of Environmental Matters (SEM) of the Dominican Republic – Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). Mancilla will present “Environmental Dispute Resolution under the CAFTA-DR: Obstacles and Opportunities.”

He will describe the difficulties inherent in environmental disputes among the CAFTA countries (including the United States), the role of the SEM in resolving these disputes, and the increasing importance of environmental dispute resolution within trade agreements.

The talk will take place in the Faculty Dining Room and a light lunch will be provided.

Speaking will be P. Christopher Jaensch (JD 95), who also received a UF bachelor’s degree in history in 1992. While at UF, he was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa Society and Florida Blue Key, the oldest and most prestigious leadership honorary in Florida.

Jaensch is a member of The Florida Bar, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the Sarasota Bar Association. He has served as president of the Sarasota-Manatee International Trade Club and serves as regional vice chair, Tampa Bay, in the Central Florida Chapter of AILA. He is active in several local organizations, including the influential Laurel Park Neighborhood Association in downtown Sarasota.

Jaensch has more than 13 years of experience in the field of immigration and nationality law and focuses his practice on four primary categories: 1) investors and entrepreneurs; 2) business executives, managers and professionals; 3) amateur and professional athletes and coaches; and 4) performing artists and immigrants with extraordinary ability.

Austin Nimocks, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, debated Danaya Wright, UF Research Foundation and Clarence J. TeSelle Professor of Law, over the Defense of Marriage Act in a Federalist Society event last month. UF Law Professor Lyrissa Lidsky, right, served as moderator. (Photo by Nicole Safker)

The University of Florida Levin College of Law has welcomed a number of prominent figures to speak on campus, including retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and former Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders Hina Jilani, since the start of the fall semester.

And almost weekly, the UF Law Federalist Society has hosted notable academic and policymakers, enriching campus discussion and debate on controversial issues such as gun rights, affirmative action, same-sex marriage, environmental regulations and racial profiling. Each semester the society puts together a series of speakers that are experts in their field.

It also invites members of the judiciary to offer comments on their role in the judicial system, and two judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, Gerald B. Tjoflat and William H. Pryor Jr., accepted the society’s invitation to meet with UF Law students this semester.

“The large group of speakers we are able to invite represents a broad range of opinions on different issues, opinions that usually stem from a constitutionally or politically conservative or libertarian viewpoint,” said Jordan Pratt (3L), co-president of The UF Federalist Society.

The society is privately funded, which allows it to attract some of the top legal minds in the country in pursuit of its goal to increase discourse on important legal topics.

Pratt added that these speakers supply students with perspectives in addition to the views that are presented in the classroom. All forums are open to student questions.

“Our interests are aligned with those of the university at large,” said Pratt, referencing the society’s goals of fostering an intellectual atmosphere on campus and giving students exposure to distinguished guests.

The final speaker for the fall semester on Wednesday will feature Jeffery Clark, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Washington, D.C. He worked as deputy assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Justice Department and will discuss climate change and trade legislation.

Law students, from left, Wesley Maul (2L), Whitney Smith (2L), and Craig Thompson (3L), hold the top three spots on the Florida Blue Key staff. (Photo by Nicole Safker)

As the University of Florida’s Homecoming events came to a close, Craig Thompson (3L), Whitney Smith (2L), and Wesley Maul (2L) looked back at the hard work and long hours each of them put in to make sure Florida Blue Key’s (FBK) biggest projects went on without a hitch.

Maul handled the budgets and the purchase orders, Smith rallied the organization’s 130 members and Thompson was the leader of leaders and tasked with making the tough decisions.

The three top officers of FBK, in its 88th year, continue a strong UF Law tradition of service and excellence. As law students, Thompson, president, Smith, vice president of membership, and Maul, treasurer, know the importance of responsibility, time management and practicality in achieving their goals.

“It makes for a stronger executive board when it includes law students because we can understand the big picture from what we were taught during our first year of law school,” Maul said.

FBK is responsible for organizing such University of Florida traditions as Gator Growl, the Homecoming Pageant, the Homecoming Parade, and the Florida Blue Key Speech and Debate Tournament, as well as year-round alumni events. Members are tapped for initiation based on their leadership roles in other student organizations and their dedication to UF.

“We work with a lot of great people that may get overwhelmed with the details,” Thompson said, “so we teach them to take a step back and look at the big picture.”

Thompson holds a position once held by Stephen N. Zack (JD 71), immediate past-president of the American Bar Association, and former UF presidents Marshall M. Criser (JD 51) and Stephen C. O’Connell (LLB 40). More than 85 percent of FBK’s presidents were students at UF Law during or after their election.

“An FBK event like Gator Growl comes with a lot of issues over contracts and liabilities,” Thompson said, “and being able to recognize and analyze those issues before they arise has proven very valuable.”

Thompson is in his eighth year at UF, where he has earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. As an undergraduate, he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, president of the Interfraternity Council, a Reitz Scholar, and a member of the UF Hall of Fame. He was tapped for membership in FBK during his third year at UF and is currently in his second term as the organization’s president.

Thompson enjoys the alumni events that FBK holds in Florida and the traditions of the organization. As the 45th member of his family to attend UF, he is able to trade stories with alumni about the university’s history.

“A lot of what I heard about the university growing up is being shaped by what I hear from alumni that I’ll meet on the road,” he said.

Thompson previously interned with the UF Office of the Vice President and General Counsel and will begin working at the Miami office of law firm Berger Singerman after graduating in 2012. He hopes to remain dedicated to UF after he graduates.

“The reason you have so many buildings on campus named after FBK alumni is because they loved this university and continued to give back after they graduate,” Thompson said.

Smith attended her first Gator Growl when she was 8 years old. Her father was an FBK member when he attended UF and has remained active in the organization as an alumni.

When she transferred to UF from Wake Forest University in the third year of her undergraduate courses, she wrote a 112-page coffee table book on the history of FBK.

“It’s hard not to love the university because one of the major tenants for membership is service to the university,” Smith said. “I think the selfless membership comes early and continues the rest of our lives.”

As vice president of membership, Smith manages initiation banquets and the admittance of new members. She also assists Thompson in his responsibilities as president.

“I want to be a person that others look at and say ‘she did everything in her power to do good for the university,’” Smith said, “and that’s what FBK is supposed to do.”

Maul was tapped for FBK membership during his junior year as an undergraduate. He previously held leadership positions in his fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega, the Interfraternity Council and ACCENT Speakers Bureau.

As treasurer, Maul is required to evaluate budgets, file corporate paperwork and handle tax issues. He finds one of the biggest benefits to his position is the relationships he’s developed with his fellow FBK officers and members and FBK alumni.

“As much as it may be a second job,” he said, “it’s a lot of fun. It’s a lighter atmosphere where you get to be with your friends.”

Thompson, Smith and Maul agree that the level of understanding they have for each other’s responsibilities in and out of the classroom helped them become a stronger executive board.

“I think our main goal is to leave things better off than when we took office,” Maul said, “and for the past years we have been doing that.”

Scott G. Hawkins, President of The Florida Bar

The president of The Florida Bar and active alumnus at the University of Florida, Scott Hawkins, will speak at UF’s Levin College of Law tomorrow at 3 p.m. in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center courtroom. “A Discussion with Scott G. Hawkins, President of The Florida Bar,” is presented by the UF Chapter of The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Law Student Division, and is free to the UF Law community.

Hawkins’ topic will be “The Great Privilege of Being a Lawyer and Getting Started in the Legal Profession.” Twenty minutes will be available for questions, and a 25-minute meet-and-greet will follow. Refreshments will be served after the presentation.

Hawkins is vice chair of Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs, P.A. in West Palm Beach and is board certified with The Florida Bar in business litigation. He is past president for the Palm Beach County Bar and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. District Court for northern, middle, and southern districts of Florida, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Hawkins’ expertise includes intellectual property, trade secret disputes, software litigation, commercial litigation, utility contracts, environmental and land use law, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), health care disability and administrative litigation. Hawkins is also a Martindale-Hubbell AV rated attorney for maintaining high ethical standards.

The event was made possible by The Florida Bar YLD Law Student Division, which is comprised of law students around the state. The division works on creating a smooth transition between law school and practicing law. The group works with The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division, local bar associations and practicing lawyers to provide opportunities for networking, mentoring, legal education and community service opportunities for members.

UF representatives of The Florida Bar YLD Law Student Division include Ryan Gilbert (2L), Margaret Good (3L), Allie Menegakis (2L and division secretary) and Laura Thayer (3L).

All students are encouraged to apply for membership. For more information about the division, visit http://www.flayld.org/students/signup.php or contact Allie Menegakis at allieem@ufl.edu.