The Office of Admissions is seeking new members for the Student Recruitment Team to help bring the nation’s top undergraduates to the Levin College of Law.  Student Recruitment Team (SRT), a group comprised of 50 current law students, conducts campus tours, discusses their law school experiences with prospective students, and occasionally participates in recruitment events on behalf of UF Law. The members of the team also assist with the campus events like Admitted Students Day and the Road Map programs. In addition, members have the opportunity to travel nationwide to represent UF Law at recruitment events. One hour per week and participation in one of the special events are the minimum commitments for members.

To  learn more about the Student Recruitment Team or for an application, contact Noemar Castro, castro@law.ufl.edu. Selected members are required to attend a training session on Thursday from 4 p.m. to 5:30 pm.

Inn of Court accepting applications

The James C. Adkins, Jr.  Chapter of the American Inns of Court, which meets in Gainesville, is accepting student applications for participation in the esteemed American Inns of Court, a national legal mentoring organization that teams law students (pupils) with new lawyers (associates), seasoned practitioners (barristers), judges, and senior lawyers (Masters of the Bench). The Inn meets six to eight times per year beginning in September.

Selected students participate in regular monthly meetings, at no cost to student members. Meetings include a mixer, dinner, and an educational program. All group members of the Inn prepare and present programs that address issues, techniques, problems, and ethics of the practice of law. Student membership is an excellent opportunity to work with, and observe, outstanding members of the legal profession, while learning trial techniques and other essential legal skills. Applications are available in the Legal Writing office, 213 Martin Levin Advocacy Center. Deadline for applications is Sept. 12. For more information, please contact Senior Legal Skills Professor Diane Tomlinson at tomlinson@law.ufl.edu.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visited UF in 2010, and will be on campus again Sept. 21.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will return to UF Law to deliver this year’s Marshall M. Criser Distinguished Lecture in Law on Friday, Sept. 21, at 10 a.m. in the Marcia Whitney Schott Courtyard.

Like Thomas’ previous visit in 2010, the lecture will be more of a conversation, as he is interviewed by several UF Law students. Further details will be announced as they become available. The event is open to faculty, students and staff but not to the public.

The Marshall M. Criser Distinguished Lecture Series was created in early 2007 by Lewis Schott (B.A. 1943, LL.B. 1946) of Palm Beach, Fla., as a tribute to his fellow UF Law alumnus, former UF President Marshall Criser (JD 51).

The goal of the speaker series is to host prestigious national and international speakers every year on topics of particular interest to law students. Past speakers have included Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens (ret.), Justice Clarence Thomas and former ABA President Stephen Zack (JD 71).

Pedro Malavet

What might a judge in Argentina, a lawyer in Brazil, a legislator in Peru and a law student in Gainesville have in common? UF Law.

The Law & Policy in the Americas Program, sponsored by the Center for Governmental Responsibility, aims to bridge geographical boundaries and often-conflicting bodies of law to foster connections between legal scholars and lawyers in the United States and those in Latin America. Each year, the program holds the Law & Policy in the Americas Conference, alternating its location between Gainesville and a Latin American country each summer. Last summer, the conference was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and by all accounts was a great success. Now in its 13th year, the conference has been held in San Jose, Costa Rica; Lima, Peru; Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba, Brazil; and Montevideo, Uruguay, according to the CGR website.

At first glance, it may not seem clear how UF Law can foster important relationships between countries as vast and varied.

“[The conference] is the perfect example of how we as an institution are developing critical connections with Latin America,” said conference coordinator and UF Law Professor Pedro Malavet, who also serves as director of the LL.M. in Comparative Law Program.

The conference panels are led by UF Law faculty, who seek out colleagues from Latin America to provide the complementary international perspective. Each year, the conference is attended by about 100 lawyers, law students, legislators, journalists and businesspeople from the United States and Latin America.

Jon Mills, UF Law professor and CGR director observed that conference participants band together based on their area of interest rather than nationality. Scientists meet other scientists, lawyers with lawyers, legislators with legislators, environmentalists with environmentalists, and so on.

“It’s very rewarding to see,” Mills said. “These relationships in the modern world are easy to sustain,” he added, underscoring the importance of the Internet as a means to keep in touch.

Malavet said a major purpose of the conference is engaging people in legal policy reform. For example, Malavet said, Brazil has recently developed an extensive legal policy regarding environmental regulation and conservation of natural resources, but the country has encountered obstacles when it comes to putting the laws into practice. That’s where the conference comes in – through ties made at the conference, Brazil has been able to call upon other Latin American countries that have already been through the process of implementing and enforcing their environmental regulations.

In addition to fostering relationships among legal practitioners and students in participating countries, the conference promotes UF Law and its academic programs, generating interest among international students and practitioners, especially in the environmental law and land use law LLM programs.

Malavet noted the impact that the rapid economic growth of several Latin American countries has on the Florida legal landscape. There is a large need for legal services on behalf of Latin American investors who forge business partnerships and pursue ventures in the United States. Partnerships between Florida lawyers and their Latin American counterparts serve to bridge the gap between two different legal systems – the common-law system of the United States and the civil law systems predominant in Latin America. But the benefit goes both ways – when United States attorneys help their Latin American counterparts, all parties involved gain a greater perspective and understanding on the role and significance of laws in their own country, Malavet said. This is especially true for the UF Law scholars who participate in the conference, he said.

“I find, ultimately, that looking at other legal systems in detail helps us to understand our own and helps us to produce high-level scholarship here in the United States,” Malavet said.

- Nicole Safker (JD 12)

The award was given in recognition of Marraffino’s significant contributions to the legal profession and his distinguished service to The Florida Bar in the areas of practice management and development.

Marraffino was nominated by his former students at UF Law, whom he taught in his Law Practice Management course, which he continues to teach. One of the nomination letters was read during the award presentation ceremony.

Marraffino practices civil law, including personal injury, foreclosure defense, bankruptcy and family matters law. He is a Florida Bar Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer.

Bruce earned a B.S. in telecommunications at UF before entering into the joint degree program.

During his junior year as an undergraduate, an internship with The McLaughlin Group TV program in Washington, D.C., sparked Bruce’s passion for policy. There, his interests morphed from reporting the news to making it.

After graduating from law school, Bruce began his career at Gray Robinson, P.A. practicing governmental law. Bruce worked his way up to partner, and was then approached to work for Walt Disney World as director of Government Relations.

For three years Bruce helped to keep the Disney spirit alive.

“Disney is a tremendous company,” he said. “It captures the hearts and minds of people of all ages from the young to the young at heart.”

In 2009, Bruce and his partner Tico Perez started Edge Public Affairs, LLC, a public policy consulting firm in Orlando.

Bruce credited his confidence to pursue these diverse paths not only to his degrees, but also, to the work experience he obtained during law school.

“I was definitely prepared, but there’s no level of education that can replace hands-on experience in the field of law. That’s why they call it the practice of law,” Bruce said.

After graduating, Bruce wasn’t sure how he would combine the skills he fostered in both graduate degrees. He worried if he’d made the right decision. It wasn’t until his job at Disney that he was able to successfully use the business skills he acquired from his MBA.

“Don’t be afraid to do something that you didn’t see yourself doing,” Bruce said.

He described the willingness of students to jump in and take the unpaid internship or job in another practice area as an advantage, rather than a setback.

When he’s not working, Bruce enjoys playing golf and spending time with his son. He also enjoys reading biographies and the Bible.

Life may seem like it comes easy to Bruce, but he faces obstacles like the rest of us, namely time management and balancing work and his personal life.

Realizing your priorities and adjusting your time around present demands is the key to maintaining a good life balance, he said.

One of Bruce’s favorite aphorisms illustrates this philosophy: “You can have it all; you just can’t have it all at one time.”

- Lindsey Tercilla
Student writer

The UF Law Externship Program offers students the opportunity to earn academic credit while working in a variety of legal settings. Externships are offered in Florida and throughout the United States and include placements such as government agencies; state and federal courts, non-profit organizations, and corporations. Externships are offered in areas such as family law, criminal law, health care, local government, and higher education law, just to name  a few.

Today at 5 p.m. in HOL 345, learn about the externship program requirements, the application process for Spring externships, deadlines for applications, required documentation and much more. If you are interested in applying for these valuable opportunities, it is very important that you attend this meeting.

Legal Careers with the Navy JAG Corps

Thursday from 1 to 1:50 p.m. in HOL 285D.

Join Naval JAG Officer Matt Kozyra to learn about:

• The Benefits of Navy JAG Legal Careers
• The Commissioning Process
• Internship Opportunities\

Gerald T. Bennett American Inn of Court

The Gerald T. Bennett American Inn of Court is accepting applications from second- and third-year law students.  The Bennett Inn, co-sponsored by the University of Florida Levin College of Law, is dedicated to improving the skills, professionalism and ethics of the bench and bar through the assessment of cutting edge legal trends, innovation and technology.  Last year’s meeting topics included “Presenting Your Online Self:  Safely and Ethically Using Online Advertising and Social Media,” “E-Discovery Practice,” “Using Social Media in Litigation,” and “Use of Technology in Trial Preparation and Presentation.”

The Bennett Inn will host a champagne and cupcake reception Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in HOL 180 or the Courtyard (depending on weather). All are welcome to come and learn about the Bennett Inn and meet current members. The student application for membership can be found at Bennettinn.org. Applications are due by 9/18 to Membership Chair Mary K. Wimsett, mkwimsett@adoptionlawfl.com.  You may also direct any questions about the reception to her, or to your 2012 Board Members, Bryan Griffin  bryandgriffin@gmail.com or Michael Hacker mike814@ufl.edu.

The Bennett Inn is a chartered member of the American Inns of Court, America’s oldest, largest and fastest growing legal mentoring organization.  The Bennett Inn is a cooperative learning Inn, which distinguishes it from other Inns in Florida because student members sit on the Executive board and each group has a student leader coupled with a master/barrister to engage in true cooperative learning with a strong mentoring component. Members join with local judges and lawyers dedicated to restoring the nobility and ideals of the legal profession in a hands-on, practical way.  The Bennett Inn meets approximately once a month during both semesters on Tuesday evenings from 5:30 to 7:30 in the Faculty Dining Room.

Constitution Day at UF

The University of Florida celebrates this year’s Constitution Day with “The Affordable Care Act: The U.S. Constitution Meets Health Care Reform,” featuring talks and a discussion from UF Law Professor Steven Willis and Associate General Counsel at Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinics, Inc., Andrei Boyarshinov. The discussion will be Sept. 17 at 10 a.m. in the Advocacy Center courtroom. For complete details, read the press release here: http://www.law.ufl.edu/news/2012/09/04/constitution-day-celebration-examines-health-care-reform/.

‘Women, Work, and Family in the 2012 Presidential Campaign’ roundtable Sept. 19 at UF Law

The Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research and the League of Women Voters of Alachua County will present Sept. 19 a roundtable to discuss “Women, Work and Family in the 2012 Presidential Campaign” at 6:30 p.m. in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, HOL 180.

This discussion and community event will feature Lynn Leverty, UF Department of Political Science; UF Law Professor Shani King; state Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston; state Sen. Evelynn Lynn, R-Daytona; with moderator Pegeen Hanrahan, former mayor of Gainesville. The panelists will focus on representations of gender and sexuality during this electoral season.

The event is presented with support from the Levin College of Law, the Bob Graham Center for Public Service and Association for Academic Women.

ELULP hosts potluck reception Sept. 20

A potluck reception for all students and faculty with an interest in environmental and land use law will be held at the home of Professor Mary Jane Angelo on Thursday, Sept. 20,at 6 p.m. Bring your favorite dish and get to know some students and faculty who share your interests.

RSVP to Lenny Kennedy at lkennedy@law.ufl.edu and let her know if you need directions to Professor Angelo’s home.

Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations (CSRRR) hosts open house

The CSRRR will host an open house Wednesday, Oct. 3, from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. in the CSRRR meeting room, HOL 370D.

Driving to his LSAT in Gainesville, Johnson realized that his tires needed to be replaced, but he shrugged it off. This was the most important exam he’d ever take, and the tires could wait until afterward.

But on his way home to Tampa after the test, Johnson’s car hydroplaned into a guardrail. His left leg was instantly severed and his right leg was damaged beyond repair.

“I put the exam before my own safety,” he said. “I thought I was invincible.”

As Johnson sat in his car losing massive amounts of blood, a truck driver named Don called for help. Brad remained calm and gave Don his parents’, a family friend’s and his roommate’s contact numbers.

In the next few precious moments, Johnson said a 14-year-old girl with an “angelic voice” grasped his hand and asked him if he wanted to pray with her. Together, they recited the Lord’s Prayer.

Not long after, he found himself lying in a hospital bed, contemplating what the future would be like.

“I had accepted my new physical state,” he concluded.

“Accepted” might be an understatement. Johnson is now a sole practitioner in Fort Lauderdale, and he competes at the elite level of international athletics in the Paralympic Games. Last week, he competed in his third Paralympics. Johnson’s three-man sailing team raced in London where they had qualified for the United States. Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour on the English Channel were the venues for 80 athletes in the Paralympic sailing events.

Johnson competed in the 2000 Paralympics in sitting volleyball. The game has the same rules as regular volleyball but the net is lowered, he said.

That same year Johnson was introduced to sailing. Paralympic sailing differs from Olympic sailing in that the Sonar (a 26-foot keelboat) that he crews has three crewmembers instead of four.

Johnson and his sailing team won the bronze medal in Greece in 2004. His teams won both events in the U.S. qualifiers, but he chose to compete in sailing that year.

“Sailing offers a different challenge,” he said. “It’s intellectual as well as physical.”

Johnson trains for a minimum of four hours a day, three to four times a week in addition to the five to six times a week he exercises at the gym.

The International Paralympic Committee says the Paralympic movement evolved in Britain after World War II to give war-veteran athletes and others injured in the conflict a forum to compete internationally. The Paralympic Games are for people with any disability, and are held a few weeks after the Olympics in the same city.

Following his 1993 accident, Johnson spent six weeks in the hospital. He looked forward to getting prosthetics and starting his new life. He retook the LSAT and started at UF Law in 1994.

That year he met UF Law Professor Sharon Rush.

“He made such an impression on me,” Rush said. “He had insight beyond his years.”

Rush said that what stood out to her the most about Johnson was his ability to put others first.

“He told me that when he got in the accident his first concern was that his mother would have to fly to see him and she was afraid to fly,” Rush said.

This quality, Rush believes, has contributed to Johnson’s success.

“Who wouldn’t want an attorney who was that focused on you and your case?” she said. “He can see the good in whatever the situation is and I imagine his clients really like that.”

Johnson returns the compliment about his education. “The training I received at UF Law was bar-none stellar,” Johnson said. “It’s helped me analytically in sports and law.”

Johnson works as a general practitioner of personal injury law as well as civil rights with an emphasis on disability, and personal injury law. He said running his own firm allows him to manage his own time to compete in sailing.

Johnson does not look at the accident that set his life on this path as a tragedy. Instead, he attributes much of his success to it.

Rush sees a lesson in Johnson’s experience.

“I think all of us can learn from Brad to be grateful for the present moment and to be grateful for the opportunities ahead, even though there is uncertainty,” Rush said.

- Lindsey Tercilla
Student writer

Shalini Ray has joined the Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy Department as a Legal Skills Professor.  Ray graduated from Stanford University and Harvard Law School. 

Before joining the Levin College of Law, Ray served as a staff attorney at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, a judicial clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Anita B. Brody, and a litigation associate at a large law firm in San Francisco.

In addition to Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy, Ray has taught Asylum & Refugee Law at the Levin College of Law.

Womble has served as an adjunct professor since 2005, teaching Negotiation and Mediation, Mediation Advocacy, Mediation Skills; and Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation. She received her JD from UF Law in 2003 and has previously worked at Florida Power & Light as an engineer. Most recently, Womble served as the chief negotiator for the City of Gainesville and Gainesville Regional Utilities on large construction projects and labor agreements, as well as doing consulting work for the city’s pension plan bargaining.

Womble is excited about her new position teaching full-time at UF Law.

“I love law students, and feel that I have been successful in my career, so I want to give back to the students here,” she said.

From left, Judge Stephanie Ray, Judge Stephan Mickle, and Judge Kent Wetherell sit with the final four competitors and alternate of the Moot Court competition. From left to right, Megan Coughlin, Cullen Boggus, Nathan Diehl (alternate), Ian Dankelman, and Blake Neumann. The 27th Annual Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe Moot Court competition was held in the Advocacy Center.

Students, faculty and alumni filled the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center Aug. 31 to watch four of the Florida Moot Court team’s top competitors argue about changing laws regarding cellphone privacy. Every seat was taken for the 27^th annual Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe Moot Court Final Four competition which allows some of the UF Levin College of Law’s elite oralists to put their skills and hard work to the test.

Every summer, second-year law students have the opportunity to try out to become members of the Florida Moot Court Team. The top five then move on to the competition: two petitioners, two respondents and an alternate. All five students receive scholarships funded by the Justice Campbell Thornal Endowment for outstanding performances in the intramural tryouts. Additional scholarships are awarded to the winners of the competition.

Ian Dankelman and Blake Neumann represented the petitioners, the U.S. government. Cullen Boggus and Megan Coughlin represented the respondent, Jack Fritz. Nathan Diehl, the alternate, acted as master of ceremonies and bailiff. This year’s issue concerned cellphone privacy under the Fourth Amendment and a minor’s right to counsel under the Fifth Amendment. The bench composed of Judge Stephan P. Mickle, Judge Stephanie W. Ray and Judge T. Kent Wetherell, II. The arguments were displayed via video in Holland Hall and online.

“Over the number of years I’ve been at these competitions, these were some of the best arguments I have ever seen,” Judge Mickle said.

After an hour of intense oral argument, the judges announced the winners. Best brief went to Nathan Diehl, best overall went to Blake Neumann, best oralist went to Megan Coughlin and best team went to Ian Dankelman and Blake Neumann.

“They did much better than I could have done as a young law student,” Judge Ray said before complimenting each student on the strength of their argument and skills as an oralist. “I truly can’t wait to see where you all end up.”

The Florida Moot Court Competition is sponsored by Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe, P.A. and Lorrie Bearden. Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe is recognized as one of the largest law firms in central Florida and has been sponsoring the competition for 27 consecutive years.

“It’s somewhat bittersweet for me as a Seminole,” said Judge Wetherell. “I was partially hoping I would come down here and find that you could not speak and didn’t understand the law but that obviously is not the case. I thought all of you did exceptionally well.”

First-year students who watched the competition and are curious about the Moot Court team are encouraged to attend any of the information sessions this spring. Students may also stop by the Moot Court table in the courtyard throughout the year where they can speak with team members who will be discussing their current competitions and their perspective on appellate advocacy. A replay of the competition is available at http://mediasite.video.ufl.edu/Mediasite/Play/cf497b23132d471096761dc5c34c2c871d.

- Francie Weinberg
Student Writer

(Robert O’Linn (3L) contributed to this article)