Newly selected members of Florida Blue Key stand in the Advocacy Center courtroom with current Blue Key President Dana Somerstein, third from right. From left are Ryan Gilbert (3L), Dane Ullian (2L), Allie Menegakis (3L), Somerstein, J. Wes Stephens (3L) and Brock Hankins (2L), the incoming Florida Blue Key president. (Photo by Haley Stracher)

By Jenna Box
Student writer

University of Florida Levin College of Law students continue to lead the Florida Blue Key.

The fall president-elect is Brock Hankins (2L), who succeeds current FBK President Dana Somerstein (3L).

On April 7, five UF Law students were tapped as members into the prestigious organization, and Hankins was tapped as president-elect of FBK effective fall 2013. On April 27, they will be officially inducted along with Honorary Tapping Class 2013 members Rachel Inman, UF Law associate dean for student affairs, Glenn J. Waldman (JD 83) and Gwynne Young (JD 74).

UF Law’s 2013 spring FBK inductees are: Chelsey Clements (2L), Ryan Gilbert (3L), Allie Menegakis (3L), J. Wes Stephens (3L) and Dane Ullian (2L).

FBK was founded in 1923 at the University of Florida with the mission to unite leaders across campus and generations. Membership offers the chance to serve the community and the university while also providing personal enhancement and growth. The network of FBK includes many UF Law alumni who have gone on to become great leaders, such as Stephen C. O’Connell (JD 40), a Florida Supreme Court justice and president of the University of Florida, and Stephen N. Zack (JD 71), president of the American Bar Association from 2010 to 2011.

“I am honored to induct these wonderful leaders into the Florida Blue Key organization,” Somerstein said. “They are all incredibly hard workers and great representatives of the law school community. I cannot wait to see how they will represent Florida Blue Key as they continue their involvement and servant leadership in the future.”

William Reece Smith Jr., a powerful force in the legal world and one of five University of Florida Law graduates to serve as president of the American Bar Association, died Jan. 11. He was 87.

Smith (JD 49) – whose legal career covered six decades – also served as president of The Florida Bar and was the first American to be elected president of the International Bar Association. He was attorney for the city of Tampa and president of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

“That Reece Smith is a graduate of UF Law is something in which all of us take great pride,” UF Law Dean Robert Jerry said. “His impeccable leadership skills, community service record and enduring quest for social justice set an example for all of us to follow.”

Smith decided to attend law school at UF Law under the G.I. Bill in 1946 after a stint in the Navy. While in law school he served as president of the Student Bar Association and was a member of Florida Blue Key. After earning his JD, Smith was selected as a Rhodes Scholar and would become a member of the UF Law faculty upon his return from studying at Oxford.

“His passion for professionalism was profound, and he certainly modeled that throughout his legal career,” Jerry said. “The lawyers whom he mentored, and there were a great many through the years, know this very well.”

In 1953, Smith went to work for the Carlton Fields law firm in Tampa where he would join the American Bar Association the following year. Smith visited his office daily until just recently.

A socially conscious lawyer, Smith always strived to help those in less fortunate positions. During his term as ABA president, Smith successfully led opposition to a proposal to eliminate the Legal Services Corporation, which provides legal services to the poor across the country. He has also been an influential advocate of pro bono work over the years. While ABA president, Smith established the ABA Pro Bono Center, which helped increase voluntary projects from 50 to 1,000 over a 10-year period. He also played a key role in establishing Florida Legal Services, Inc. – a nonprofit that provides civil legal assistance to those who would not otherwise be able to afford legal representation.

“If not for William Reece Smith, legal services to the poor would probably not exist in this country,” Dick Woltman, president and CEO of Bay Area Legal Services, told The Tampa Tribune. “Reese was one of the great supporters of legal services for the poor both nationally and locally.”

Shortly before his death, he was honored with the Florida Supreme Court’s Lifetime Achievement Award. A biography of his life and career entitled, “A Consummate Lawyer,” by Stetson Law Professor Emeritus Michael Swygert, was published in 2010.

Smith was born Sept. 19, 1925, in Athens, Tenn., and grew up in Plant City, Fla. He is survived by his son, William Reece Smith III; daughter-in-law, Rachel-Anne Winter Smith; his grandson, William Reece Smith IV, (Liam); his cousins, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Lee Smith of Marietta, Ga. and their children and grandchildren; a number of cousins, who are descendants of his mother’s oldest brother, Thomas Edwin Moody of Plant City; and his dear friend and former wife, Marlene Medina Smith. The family expresses its gratitude to the caregivers at Senior Solutions, who lovingly cared for Smith in his final days. Besides his family, Smith is also survived by millions of people in this country and across the world who have benefited from the pro bono services they received as a result of his efforts.

View or share his In Memoriam page.

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 first at The Florida Bar Competition. In 2008, Steinberg 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 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.

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.”