Overton

Ben F. Overton (JD 52), former Florida Supreme Court Justice, University of Florida Levin College of Law alumnus and adjunct professor died Saturday, Dec. 29, in Gainesville of complications from heart surgery. He was 86 and was Florida’s 62nd justice since statehood.

“Justice Overton was one of the most influential members of the court after the sweeping reforms of the 1970s,” Chief Justice Ricky Polston said. “He will be remembered not only for his far-seeing opinions, but also for his efforts in the 1970s to make the state courts more accessible by allowing cameras into our courtrooms.”

In the mid-1970s, Overton was one of several newly appointed justices who elevated the reputation of the Court after it earlier had become involved in scandal. He was the first justice chosen through a merit selection process created by Gov. Reubin Askew that soon was added to the Florida Constitution by vote of the people.

From his appointment March 27, 1974, until his retirement Jan. 4, 1999, Overton authored more than 1,400 decisions and was a central figure in a vast series of reforms that made his court one of the most respected and accessible in the nation. He served as chief justice from 1976-1978 and chaired the Article V Review Commission in 1984. Following his retirement, Overton was an active adjunct professor of law at UF Law

“He is the profile of what you would expect a judge to be,” UF Law Dean Emeritus Jon Mills told The Gainesville Sun.

“He was smart, fair. He wrote some terrifically important opinions in education, privacy and a broad number of constitutional areas,” said Mills, who is director of UF Law’s Center for Governmental Responsibility. “He was an independent thinker. When he was on the bench, he could look pretty fearful.”

A native of Green Bay, Wis., Overton became a double Gator, earning both his bachelor’s and law degrees from UF. He also earned an LL.M. in jurisprudence from the University of Virginia in 1984. He was honored as a distinguished alumnus of the University of Florida in 2008.

Overton not only helped make Florida one of the first states to allow television coverage of court cases, but was instrumental in making the state supreme court one of the first in the world to have a website. Overton later played a pivotal role in seeing that every Florida Supreme Court case was televised, webcast, and stored in an online archive.

Overton served nearly 10 years on the Pinellas County circuit court and for several years as its chief judge. He was well-known for his work in legal education and dispute resolution and was chairman of the Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association.

“In addition to Justice Overton’s leadership in the judiciary, he was a tremendous supporter of the law school and its students,” said UF Law Dean Robert Jerry. “Beginning in 2001, he taught Florida constitutional law and a Florida Supreme Court seminar as an adjunct faculty member, and his interest in helping prepare our students for the legal profession had no limits. He also served as a member of the Law Center Association Board of Trustees and was a charter member of the Association’s Heritage of Leadership Committee, which selects distinguished alumni for posthumous recognition by the Levin College of Law.”

Predeceased by his wife Marilyn, Overton is survived by his children, Judge William H. Overton and wife, Dolores; Robert M. Overton; and Catherine L. Overton; two grandchildren, William E. and wife Alison; Brian H. and wife Jackie; and one great grandchild, Adelynn.

Interested in learning about the UF Law summer program in France? Attend an information session Monday, Jan. 14, at 1 p.m. in HOL 360. Pizza and drinks will be provided. Students studying in the UF Law France program benefit from a dual focus on comparative and international law. American and French professors examine various aspects of United States and French legal systems and European Union law in classes with U.S. and French students. Students also meet with members of the judiciary and the legal profession. In addition, the program allows you to live in and enjoy the rich French culture.

The first week of the five-week program will be spent in Paris, while the last four weeks will be at the University of Montpellier in Montpellier. Courses offered include European Business Law (Professors Germain & Mousseron), International Sales Law (Professor Dawson) and a third course yet to be announced. Enrollment is limited to 30 U.S. students. In addition, a number of students from the University of Montpellier enroll in one or more of the classes.

France Program dates: Monday, June 24, 2013 to Friday, July 26, 2013

Application deadline: March 15

Interested students may also visit the study abroad website or contact the Program’s Director, Professor George Dawson, or Michelle Ocepek in the Office of Student Affairs.

South Africa 2013 study abroad program interest meeting Jan. 15

On Tuesday, Jan. 15, learn about the South Africa study abroad program at noon in HOL 270. Pizza and drinks will be provided. Students in the South Africa study abroad program at the University of Cape Town benefit from a dual focus on comparative and international law. American and South African professors will draw upon their experiences in their respective systems to highlight the similarities and differences in the administration of justice in the United States and South Africa. Students will gain a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each system. This program, from June 10 – approximately July 12, 2013, allows you to live in and enjoy a rich culture, while studying law amidst the historic legal, political and social changes occurring in South Africa.

This six-credit program includes Comparative Constitutional Law (2 credits, Professor Sharon Rush), The South African Legal System: From Apartheid to Transition to Nation-building (2 credits, UCT Professor Paleker), Crime, Human Rights and the International Criminal Court (1 credit, Professor Kenneth Nunn) and Comparative Alternative Dispute Resolution (1 credit, Associate Dean Rachel Inman).  A number of students from the University of Cape Town enroll in Comparative Constitutional Law.

Questions may be directed to the program’s director Dean Inman and the director of student programs Michelle Ocepek at 273-0620.

Costa Rica 2013 summer abroad informational meeting Jan. 22

Students with an interest in participating in UF Law’s 2013 Costa Rica program are encouraged to attend an informational meeting at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 22in HOL 382.  Faculty and students from the 2011 and 2012 program will be on hand to answer questions and provide their perspective on the program. Pizza will be provided.  Students who attended the fall informational meeting are also encouraged to attend.

The UF Law Costa Rica Program emphasizes interdisciplinary learning that includes skills training in a cross-cultural, practice-oriented environment. The program offers an exposure to international and comparative law through the substantive lens of environmental law, water law and development policy, all from the unique perspective of Latin America and Costa Rica. Issue-oriented field trips and visits to legal institutions are a key component of the program. Students can receive up to 6 credits, and may be able to receive additional credits through summer externships.

Additional information including course descriptions, syllabi, field trips, photos and budgets, etc. can be found on the program website.

29th annual Maguire Appellate Advocacy Competition slated for Jan. 24

The University of Florida Levin College of Law will welcome a distinguished panel of judges for the 28th annual Maguire Appellate Advocacy Competition in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, at 10 a.m. More details to follow.

Nelson Symposium examines conflicts between state and federal laws Feb. 8

Preemption — the subject of the 12th Annual Richard E. Nelson Symposium taking place Feb. 8 at the Hilton Conference Center in Gainesville — is a matter of concern to lawyers in the public and private sectors and to government officials at all levels. UF Law has assembled an outstanding group of national and state experts to examine the serious puzzles posed by federal and state preemption of local regulatory activity in five provocative areas: firearms, hydrofracking, immigration, renewable energy and agriculture.  Clear guidance from state and federal courts is rare in this area, which means that lawyers struggle with locating the legally defensible “comfort zone” for state and local statutes, ordinances, permitting, and regulation.

Speakers are:

John R. Nolon, professor of law, Pace University School of Law
Michael O’Shea, professor of law, Oklahoma City University School of Law
Rick Su, Associate professor, SUNY Buffalo Law School
Hannah Wiseman, assistant professor, Florida State University College of Law
Michael Allan Wolf, Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law

Respondents are:

Evan D. George, Gainesville, Fla.
Amy T. Petrick, senior assistant county attorney, Palm Beach County
Robert N. Hartsell, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Law student presenters are:

Samantha Culp and Eric Fisher

Click here to register for the conference. Click here to download the symposium brochure.

The Communications Office at UF Law seeks a talented writer to assist with covering news, events and feature stories for its weekly publication, FlaLaw Online. Stories may also be considered for publication in UF Law eNews and UF LAW magazine for alumni. Students are welcome to apply for this fun and flexible position. Organization and ability to meet deadlines are a must. Knowledge of AP Style is preferred. Approximately 10-15 hours per week. Send writing samples and resume to FlaLaw Editor Whitney Smith at smithw@law.ufl.edu.

Applications open for 2013 Evan Yegelwel Summer Fellowship

The Evan Yegelwel Summer Fellowship award permits one UF Law student to participate in a paid Summer Fellowship Program at the Anti-Defamation League, Florida Regional Office in Boca Raton. The Yegelwel Summer Fellowship award is $4,000. The deadline has been extended to Jan. 17, 2013. The ADL is a premier national civil rights organization that fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry in the U.S. and abroad, combats international terrorism, probes the roots of hatred, comes to the aid of victims of bigotry, develops educational programs, and serves as a public resource for government, media, law enforcement, all toward the goal of countering and reducing hatred. A generous gift from Evan Yegelwel (JD 80) has made this fellowship possible. Yegelwel is a partner in the Jacksonville law firm of Terrell Hogan Ellis Yegelwel, P.A. Click here for more fellowship and application information.

Spring Semester Foreign Enrichment Course and Spring Break Field Course will feature international development law and policy

The UF Levin College of Law Environmental and Land Use Law Program will offer conservation and development practice related courses for the spring semester. Students are eligible to enroll in either or both:

• Contemporary International Development: Law, Policy and Practice (1 credit) (spring semester on campus)
• Sustainable Development Field Course: Law Policy and Practice (2 credits) (spring break in Belize)

Contemporary International Development: Law, Policy and Practice (1 credit) addresses the international and comparative law framework within which international development is carried out. The course will explore models of international development and development assistance as these have evolved since the Post-WWII Breton Woods accords that created the World Bank Group and regional progeny. Topics that will be addressed include, but are not limited to, free and fair trade, environmental security, human rights and global health. The course will be coordinated by UF Law faculty and taught by law and policy practitioners from Costa Rica, Argentina and Jamaica. Course instructors include Otton Solis, a Costa Rican development economist, former minister of the economy and presidential candidate; Oscar Avalles, an Argentine attorney and World Bank country director for Guatemala; and Danielle Andrade, a Jamaican environmental and human rights attorney with the Jamaica Environment Trust. The one-credit course will meet for one hour on Tuesday and Wednesday at 9 a.m. and conclude on Feb. 27 before spring break.

SPRING BREAK FIELD COURSE IN BELIZE

Sustainable Development Field Course: Law Policy and Practice (2 credits) will provide students with an on-site, interdisciplinary understanding of the law and policy challenges associated with “sustainable development” in a developing country. Students will travel to and within Belize over spring break and delve into international and domestic law issues concerning protected areas, indigenous land rights, intellectual property in biological diversity, water, mining and energy development, fisheries and coral reef conservation – all within the context of national pressures for human development. In addition to domestic Belizean law and international development policy, students will be exposed to the unique legal framework of the commonwealth Caribbean. The course will include skills exercises based around ongoing projects of the UF Law Conservation Clinic. The course includes a program fee that will cover in-country expenses and students must make their own international travel arrangements. Enrollment is capped at 12 students. Preference in given to students enrolled in the college of law’s Environmental and Land Use Law Program, but others may apply on a space-available basis.

Students interested in either course can contact Professors Tom Ankersen (ankersen@law.ufl.edu) Mary Jane Angelo (angelo@law.ufl.edu) or Research Assistant and Joint J.D./M.D.P candidate Gentry Mander (Gentry.Mander@gmail.com )

Steinberg

This past fall, Stacey Steinberg (JD 03) joined the Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy Department after spending almost a decade advocating in the courtroom.

Her experience working with vulnerable individuals will provide students a real life perspective on the practice of law. She hopes to instill in her students an understanding of the importance of legal analysis in the advocacy process.

Upon graduating from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2003, Steinberg joined the 8th Circuit State Attorney’s Office, where she served in the Special Victims Unit and prosecuted crimes against women, children and families. Her responsibilities included advocating for victims and witnesses through trial advocacy. While at the State Attorney’s Office, Steinberg supervised legal interns and taught police officers on criminal procedures.

Steinberg coached the University of Florida Levin College of Law Trial Team in 2004 and 2005. In 2004, her team finished 1st at the Florida Bar Competition. In 2008, Stacey was hired at the Levin College of Law as an adjunct professor in 2009, teaching Juvenile Law and Juvenile Justice Law. That same year, she joined Children’s Legal Services (CLS), the legal advocates for the Florida’s Department of Children and Families, representing the best interests of abused and neglected children.

While in law school, Steinberg was Chief Defense Counsel on the Honor Court, Guardian ad Litem volunteer, and an active member on the Trial Team. She advocated her way to a first place finish at Loyola University’s National Civil Trial Competition, making the University of Florida Trial Team the national champions of trial advocacy in 2002. Steinberg also received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida, where she was a member of Florida Blue Key and received the University of Florida’s Outstanding Female Leader Award at graduation. She looks forward to bringing her advocacy experience to the classroom.

It’s been said that finding a job right out of law school used be a lot like stepping onto an escalator and choosing when to get off.  If this were ever true, the Great Recession certainly changed it. The nation’s weak economy, which since 2008 has been frustratingly persistent, has had a major impact on the legal profession and has made the job market for recent law graduates much more difficult.  UF Law administrators are determined to build on the recent progress in the office that takes the lead in helping students and alumni with their job searches.

A search will move forward during the spring semester to replace Assistant Dean Pascale Bishop, who left the helm of UF Law’s Center for Career Development last month for a position in career services at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago. UF Law Dean Robert Jerry said negotiations to retain a national search firm to work with a college-appointed search committee have been completed, and a national search for a new assistant dean will begin promptly.

“Two years ago, the college search committee worked very hard, but its initial effort to find the right person was unsuccessful, so we retained a search firm to help the committee, which led to a successful search,” he said.  “This being an extremely important appointment, this time we will start the process with the help of a search firm.”

Jerry notes that student satisfaction with career development rose dramatically during Bishop’s tenure and under the leadership of Associate Dean for Student Affairs Rachel Inman, to whom the Assistant Dean for Career Development now reports.

Jerry cited the national Law School Survey of Student Engagement that UF Law participates in every other year and to which half the college’s students responded.  Student satisfaction improved significantly for career services from two years earlier. “But we are committed to continuous improvement in all of our services, so there is still more that we will do,” Jerry added.

“We’ve got a great team over there now but we need one more person to serve as their coach and representative, manager and leader,” Jerry said. In the meantime, “we have a plan. Our office will not miss any beats.”

Rob Birrenkott, who has been appointed to serve as interim assistant dean for career development, says the Center for Career Development remains focused on serving students.

Birrenkott

“The roadmap (students) can expect first and foremost is outstanding customer service,” Birrenkott said. “Making sure each student is treated with the utmost respect and courtesy and the time and attention that they deserve is going to be priority No. 1.”

Services that will continue include a jobs database, making electronic resume books available to employers, on-campus interview sessions and individualized counseling with students assigned to their own counselors, all of whom have practiced law.

Career services is also experimenting with residency programs for UF Law graduates that can serve as a bridge for a young lawyer. Hopping, Green & Sams in Tallahassee will provide a year-long postgraduate fellowship to a UF Law graduate who specializes in environmental and land use law. The Center for Career Development has also initiated a Central Florida Law School Consortium that brings together law school representatives with law firms to exchange information about job openings and student recruitment data.

But students can also do much to help themselves. And now is the time to do it.

Birrenkott said 3Ls should engage in planning and effort at the start of the spring semester to improve their chances of securing a job by the time they emerge from the bar exam in the summer. Birrenkott notes that as the semester progresses tests and assignments pile up culminating in finals and then students head straight into preparations for the bar exam during the summer.

He recommends laying out a strategy by determining where you want to practice or what specialty you want to practice. Relaying this information to a career services counselor allows them to recommend mentors, bar associations and employers that fit with career goals. Then students can make the contacts needed to get that first job.

“The earlier you start it the better off you’re going to be. Nobody tries to run a marathon by showing up the day of the race and expects to do well,” he said. “Every student should almost consider themselves to be taking an extra course in this semester, and it’s called their job search. And we’ll be here to help with it.”

“Jordan Davis killed for loud music: mirror image of the Martin case?” (Nov. 30, 2012, Christian Science Monitor)

An unarmed black teenager was killed outside of a convenience store in Jacksonville when he was shot by a man following an argument in which the man said the teenager’s music was too loud. At the time, the shooter claimed Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law as his defense, drawing comparisons to the Trayvon Martin shooting earlier in the year. The man has since been charged with first degree murder to which he pled not guilty.

From the article:
Two weeks ago, a state task force deemed that the stand your ground law is, on the whole, sound and needs no major legislative reform. Florida has seen a growing number of “stand your ground” claims, even in prosecutions with minor injuries, says University of Florida law professor Bob Dekle. Stand your ground claims are successful about 70 percent of the time, according to a recent St. Petersburg Times analysis.

Omri Y. Marian
Assistant Professor of Law

In early December, Marian returned from Beijing where he actively participated in the seventh Sino-U.S. International Tax Forum. As part of the forum he participated in round-table discussions on trends in international taxation at Peking University Law School, Tsinghua University Law School, Renmin University Law School and at the Central University of Finance and Economics, all in Beijing. He also presented his paper, “Jurisdiction to Tax Corporations,” at the China Youth University of Political Science who hosted the forum.

Jon Mills
Dean Emeritus; Director, Center for Governmental Responsibility

“UF launches human rights collaboration in Colombia” (Nov. 28, 2012, Law.com)

UF Law, along with the Center for Latin American Studies and the College of Education, will receive nearly $757,200 from the U.S. Agency for International Development through Higher Education for Development to create the Colombian Caribbean Human Rights Center. Over the next three years, UF will work with two universities in Colombia to enhance the human rights programs at their law schools. Mills quotes from the press release were used in the article.

From the article:
“Respect for the rights of individuals, especially vulnerable populations, is vital to the development of the democracy and economy of a nation,” said Jon Mills, who heads the law school’s Center for Governmental Responsibility and will help direct the new project. “We are honored to have this opportunity to work with two distinguished Colombian universities on such an important priority for the U.S. government.”

“Gainesville funeral service Saturday for former Chief Justice Ben Overton” (Jan. 2, 2013, Gainesville Sun)

This article remembers UF Law graduate, adjunct professor and former Florida Supreme Court Justice Ben Overton, who passed away on Dec. 29.

From the article:
“He is the profile of what you would expect a judge to be. He was smart, fair. He wrote some terrifically important opinions in education, privacy and a broad number of constitutional areas,” said UF Levin College of Law dean emeritus Jon Mills. “He was an independent thinker. When he was on the bench, he could look pretty fearful.”

Mills, also a former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, said he had several cases before Overton when Overton was on the court but got to know him better once he started teaching at UF.

Overton cared deeply about teaching and would take his students to oral arguments at the Supreme Court, Mills said, adding the justices often would have lunch with Overton and the students.

Michael Allan Wolf
Professor of Law; Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law

The Public Trust awards “Halos” and “Horns” each month in its e-newsletter and Wolf was awarded December’s “Halo” for his book, The Supreme Court and the Environment  –The Reluctant Protector.  Wolf has joined a list that includes Bob Graham, Nathaniel Reed, and Robert Kennedy, Jr. Click here for a link to this month’s e-newsletter.

UF will receive nearly $757,200 from the U.S. Agency for International Development through Higher Education for Development to create the Colombian Caribbean Human Rights Center, which will build capacity in human rights among two Colombian Caribbean law schools through rigorous interdisciplinary research, education and community service with emphasis on serving vulnerable populations.

The center will assist regional law schools in training future legal practitioners with knowledge on national and international human rights standards, the skills to support human rights reform in Colombia, and in enhancing outreach initiatives to better serve minorities, displaced persons and other vulnerable populations.

“The faculty at the colleges of law and education, and at the Center for Latin American Studies, possess great depth in international law, human rights and experiential learning,” UF Law Dean Robert Jerry said, “and are very well suited to achieve the goals of this ambitious program.”

Directors of the project are Jon Mills, dean emeritus and director of the Center for Governmental Responsibility at the Levin College of Law; Pilar Mendoza, a native Colombian and assistant professor in higher education administration in the College of Education; Philip Williams, director of the Center for Latin American Studies; and Timothy McLendon, Center for Governmental Responsibility staff attorney.

The UF team will work with the Universidad del Magdalena in Santa Marta, Colombia, and the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia. Both universities offer courses and activities to enhance human rights awareness and education in the region.

“Respect for the rights of individuals, especially vulnerable populations, is vital to the development of the democracy and economy of a nation,” Mills said. “We are honored to have this opportunity to work with two distinguished Colombian universities on such an important priority for the U.S. government. The Levin College of Law is acknowledged for its faculty expertise in human rights.”

The three universities will work toward establishment of the human rights center through enhanced human rights curricula; workshops and training programs in Colombia; educational opportunities at UF for Colombian faculty members and LL.M. students; and collaborative research and scholarship between Florida and Colombian faculty.

The project will include law faculty with expertise in human rights, clinical legal education and comparative law; and education faculty from the Collaborative Assessment and Program Evaluation Services . The award will be managed by the Center for Latin American Studies.

“Given the fundamental importance of enhancing the protection of the human rights for Colombian citizens after years of internal conflict, the Center for Latin American Studies is thrilled to be working alongside the Center for Governmental Responsibility and the College of Education in a project of such national and international significance,” Williams said.

During the first two years of the project, the Center for Governmental Responsibility’s annual Conference on Legal and Policy Issues in the Americas will focus on human rights in Colombia, beginning with a workshop in Gainesville in spring 2013, and a major conference to be held in Colombia in spring, 2014.

Two recent factors have increased U.S. interest in human rights in Colombia – the end of overt civil war and weakening of guerilla movements and the development of free trade agreements.

Colombia also is an important trading partner with the State of Florida, as evidenced by an upcoming trade mission to Colombia, led by Gov. Rick Scott and Enterprise Florida. In announcing the trade mission, the Governor’s Office said Florida trade with Colombia totaled $9 billion last year, noting that Colombia is one of the top five destinations for Florida products, representing nearly $3 billion a year in exports.

“The higher education sector is rapidly developing in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Mendoza said. “The University of Florida is uniquely positioned to take advantage of these developments and engage in these types of collaborations.”

The U.S. Agency for International Development administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide.  For more information, visit www.usaid.gov.

HED mobilizes the expertise and resources of the higher education community to address global development challenges. Higher Education for Development (HED) works closely with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is founded by the nation’s six major higher education associations to support the involvement of higher education in development issues worldwide. For more, visit www.hedprogram.org.