The Levin College of Law is holding a free barbecue for all students, faculty and staff Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Marcia Whitney Schott Courtyard. Vegetarian options are also available. The food is from Hill’s Bar-B-Que in Gainesville and the event is sponsored by the Gene K. and Elaine Glasser Endowment. The Glassers, who are both UF alumni, have sponsored the event for the past several years. They hope the annual event will foster a greater sense of community among people at the law school. “The law school education I received at the University of Florida has greatly influenced my professional and personal life, creating lasting memories with my friends,” said Gene Glasser, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who received his juris doctor degree from UF Law in 1972. The event is a great chance for incoming students to get to know one another and feel like a part of the law school community. During the event, the Office of Communications will post photos on the UF Law Facebook page and we invite attendees to submit their comments on the photos to thank the Glassers for their contributions to the law school.

Join UF Friday to honor black leadership

• Leadership and Law: Diverse Perspectives on the Role of Race and Participation in Professional Legal Organizations (CLE Credit Anticipated), 12-2:30 p.m., Friday, Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center. Welcome reception and luncheon noon-1 p.m.; panel presentation 1-2:30 p.m. with leaders from national, state, and local bar associations discussing how race has influenced the past, present, and future of their respective organizations in order to foster a dialogue on avenues for leadership and joint initiatives that transcend racial and other divides. Funded by The Florida Bar in cooperation with the 8th Judicial Circuit Bar Association, the Josiah T. Walls Bar Association and Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations. RSVP for the free event by the end of today here.
• A celebration honoring the 50th Anniversary of the Graduation of the University of Florida and Levin College of Law’s First Black alumnus: W. George Allen, featuring presentations by W. George Allen and other honored guests, 3 to 4:30 p.m., Friday, Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom (HOL 180). Co-sponsored by the University of Florida Alumni Association and Association of Black Alumni, Levin College of Law & Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations. Read more.

Harvard law professor discusses same-sex marriage at Weyrauch Lecture Oct. 18

The Weyrauch Distinguished Lecture in Family Law will feature Harvard Law School Professor Janet Halley on “Traveling Marriage: Why the Campaign for Same Sex Marriage Gets Marriage Wrong,” Thursday, Oct. 18, at noon in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, HOL 180. Hosted by the Center for Children and Families, this lecture was established in honor of Professor Walter O. Weyrauch, internationally known for his work in foreign and family law. Professor Weyrauch joined the UF Law faculty in 1957 as associate professor. He became professor in 1960, was Clarence J. TeSelle Professor 1989-94, and became Stephen C. O’Connell Chair in 1994 and distinguished professor in 1998. A reception will follow the lecture.

Halley is the Royall Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She teaches courses in family law, comparative family law and sexuality, and legal theory. Before teaching at Harvard, she was professor of law at Stanford Law School (1991-2000) and assistant professor of English at Hamilton College (1980-85). She has a Ph.D. in English from UCLA (1980) and a J.D. from Yale Law School (1988).

Her books include After Sex? On Writing Since Queer Theory, co-edited with Andrew Parker (Duke University Press 2011); Split Decisions: How and Why to Take a Break from Feminism (Princeton University Press 2006); Left Legalism/Left Critique, co-edited with Wendy Brown (Duke University Press, 2002); Don’t: A Reader’s Guide to the Military’s Anti-Gay Policy (Duke Univ. Press, 1999); and Seeking the Woman in Late Medieval and Renaissance Literature: Essays in Feminist Contextual Criticism, co-edited with Sheila Fisher (University of Tennessee Press, 1989). Her current projects include a handbook, What’s Not to Like about Sexual Harassment Law; a paper comparing family law systems entitled “Travelling Marriage;” and a critique of the rules about sexual violence in war established by the ad hoc courts convened to adjudicate war crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

Criminal Justice Center, Criminal Law Association hosts criminal video-advocacy competition

The Criminal Justice Center and the Criminal Law Association is pleased to host its inaugural criminal video-advocacy competition this fall. The competition solicits submissions by student teams of an original, creative and educational video portrayal of Fourth Amendment issues geared toward a college-student audience

• Cash prizes will be awarded for first through third places.
• All law students enrolled at the Levin College of Law are eligible to enter.
• Deadline for submissions is Oct. 22. Winners will be announced Nov. 10.
• The submissions will be evaluated by members of a judging panel; criteria include clarity of thought, well-structured argumentation, creative use of videography and liveliness of expression.

Decisions of the judging panel will be final. Complete rules of the competition are available at the CJC website (www.law.ufl.edu/academics/centers/cjc) or can be obtained from Eva Achero in Room 100, Bruton-Geer Hall.

LIC Notes: Supreme Court Case Fisher v. University of Texas Resource Guide

The United States Supreme Court began hearing arguments for cases on Monday at the start of the 2012 October Term. The court currently has 31 cases scheduled to be heard before the end of the calendar year.  On Wednesday, the Court will hear arguments for Fisher v. University of Texas. The question presented in this case is “Whether the University of Texas at Austin’s use of race in undergraduate admissions decisions is lawful under this court’s decisions interpreting the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, including Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003).”

An excellent resource guide http://tarltonguides.law.utexas.edu/fisher-ut provides the text of selected court documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5^th Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. The guide also includes news coverage and law review articles about the Fisher case, and some basic information on UT student body profiles and statistics since 2008.

UF Trial Team congratulates, welcomes new members

The UF Trial Team welcomes Robert Andrade, Kathryn Bennett, Logan Doll, Dane Heptner, Joseph Herro, Daniel Jensen, Insiya Joher, Justin McConnell, Stephanie Moncada, Katrina Self, Brittany Smaridge, Ruby Smith, Kelli Sutton, Michael Tricoli and Nadine Williams. The team and UF Law wish success to the following students in the upcoming Final Four Competition at 1 p.m., Oct. 19, in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center: Katrina Self and Brittany Smaridge representing the State of Sparta and Justin McConnell and Insiya Joher representing Trent Burrows, the defendant. Trial Team thanks all who participated in this year’s UF Trial Team Intramural Competition.

9th Annual Minority Law Student Picnic set for Nov. 10

The 9^th Annual Minority Law Student Picnic will be held on Saturday, Nov. 10, in Hialeah, Fla. In the past, UF Law alumnus Judge Paul Huck has assisted with connecting Florida Law students with a mentor.  If you are interested in having a mentor, complete the student application.  Each year many UF law students attend this picnic by traveling themselves or on the bus provided by the law school. The trip to Hialeah will take approximately five hours, and the bus will depart from Gainesville at approximately 7 a.m. The bus will begin the return trip around 4:15 p.m. If you are interested in attending the picnic and riding on the bus, sign up at the Student Affairs Office front desk by Monday, Oct. 29, at 5 p.m. and complete the release form to ride the bus.

Conservation Clinic students, faculty explore Chasshowitza River

Students and faculty from the Conservation Clinic enjoyed the first taste of fall weather on a field trip down the Chasshowitza River.

The “Chaz,”  as it is known, is one of the most undisturbed rivers on Florida’s Springs Coast. Students received lectures on the unique and compounding issues that spring-fed coastal rivers face from the diversion of freshwater flow for human use and sea level rise.

Pursuant to a state law requiring it to establish “minimum flows and levels,” the Southwest Florida Water Management District is proposing to allow a reduction in the flow in the Chazz by 9 percent.

GreenLaw continues to restore, manage Law School Woods

Students, faculty and friends of UF’s GreenLaw spent last Saturday morning continuing GreenLaw’s commitment to restoring and managing the Law School Woods. GreenLaw will be hosting the Environmental Conference EcoRun in January from the Law School Woods pavilion and is planning another workday in anticipation of that event.

William J. Wilkins, chief counsel of the Internal Revenue Service, will speak on Friday at 11 a.m. at UF Law at the Graduate Tax Program Enrichment Speaker Series. His lecture, “How IRS Lawyers Contribute to Sound Tax Enforcement,” reflects the knowledge he has gained from working in tax law since graduating from Yale University and receiving his J.D. from Harvard Law School. He will speak in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, HOL 180. Wilkins has a wide range of tax practice including counseling nonprofit organizations, investment funds on tax compliance, business transactions and government investigations. Wilkins became staff director and chief counsel of the Senate Committee on Finance in 1987. On April 17, 2009, the White House announced Wilkins’ nomination to become chief counsel for the Internal Revenue Service and an assistant general counsel in the Treasury Department.

Join UF Oct. 12 to honor black leadership and heritage

• Leadership and Law: Diverse Perspectives on the Role of Race and Participation in Professional Legal Organizations (CLE Credit Anticipated), 12-2:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 12, UF Law Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center. Welcome reception and luncheon noon-1 p.m.; panel presentation 1-2:30 p.m. with leaders from national, state, and local bar associations discussing how race has influenced the past, present, and future of their respective organizations in order to foster a dialogue on avenues for leadership and joint initiatives that transcend racial and other divides. Funded by The Florida Bar in cooperation with the Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association, the Josiah T. Walls Bar Association and Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations. RSVP here.
• A celebration honoring the 50th Anniversary of the Graduation of the University of Florida and Levin College of Law’s First Black alumnus: W. George Allen, featuring presentations by W. George Allen (above, right, at the 2011 opening of the Virgil Hawkins display) and other honored guests, 3 to 4:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 12, 2012, Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom (180 HOL). Co-sponsored by the University of Florida Alumni Association and Association of Black Alumni, Levin College of Law & Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations. Read more.

Harvard law professor discusses same-sex marriage at Weyrauch Lecture Oct. 18

The Weyrauch Distinguished Lecture in Family Law will feature Harvard Law School Professor Janet Halley on “Traveling Marriage: Why the Campaign for Same Sex Marriage Gets Marriage Wrong,” Thursday, Oct. 18, at noon in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, HOL 180.  Hosted by the Center for Children and Families, this lecture was established in honor of Professor Walter O. Weyrauch, internationally known for his work in foreign and family law.  Professor Weyrauch joined the UF Law faculty in 1957 as associate professor. He became professor in 1960, was Clarence J. TeSelle Professor 1989-94, and became Stephen C. O’Connell Chair in 1994 and distinguished professor in 1998. A reception will follow the lecture.

Halley is the Royall Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She teaches courses in family law, comparative family law and sexuality, and legal theory.  Before teaching at Harvard, she was professor of law at Stanford Law School (1991-2000) and assistant professor of English at Hamilton College (1980-85). She has a Ph.D. in English from UCLA (1980) and a J.D. from Yale Law School (1988).

Her books include After Sex? On Writing Since Queer Theory, co-edited with Andrew Parker (Duke University Press 2011); Split Decisions: How and Why to Take a Break from Feminism (Princeton University Press 2006); Left Legalism/Left Critique, co-edited with Wendy Brown (Duke University Press, 2002); Don’t: A Reader’s Guide to the Military’s Anti-Gay Policy (Duke Univ. Press, 1999); and Seeking the Woman in Late Medieval and Renaissance Literature: Essays in Feminist Contextual Criticism, co-edited with Sheila Fisher (University of Tennessee Press, 1989). Her current projects include a handbook, What’s Not to Like about Sexual Harassment Law; a paper comparing family law systems entitled “Travelling Marriage;” and a critique of the rules about sexual violence in war established by the ad hoc courts convened to adjudicate war crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

Criminal Justice Center, Criminal Law Association hosts criminal video-advocacy competition

The Criminal Justice Center and the Criminal Law Association is pleased to host its inaugural criminal video-advocacy competition this fall. The competition solicits submissions by student teams of an original, creative and educational video portrayal of Fourth Amendment issues geared toward a college-student audiences

• Cash prizes will be awarded for first through third places.
• All law students enrolled at the Levin College of Law are eligible to enter.
• Deadline for submissions is Oct. 22. Winners will be announced on Nov. 10.
• The submissions will be evaluated by members of a judging panel; criteria include clarity of thought, well-structured argumentation, creative use of videography and liveliness of expression.

Decisions of the judging panel will be final. Complete rules of the competition are available at the CJC website (www.law.ufl.edu/academics/centers/cjc) or can be obtained from Eva Achero in Room 100, Bruton-Geer Hall.

Black Student Association attends inaugural diversity picnic

The Black Student Association traveled to Orlando on Sept. 8 to attend the inaugural Central Florida Diversity Mentor Picnic hosted by FAMU College of Law. The diversity picnic allowed students the opportunity to meet lawyers and judges who practice in the central Florida community.