Competitors from left: Amanda Finley, Alexis Leventhal, Donna-Marie Hayle, Ashlie Tarpley, Amy Levenberg and Josh Bachman.

The Levin College of Law International Commercial Arbitration Moot (ICAM) team tied for first place at the Florida Vis Premoot at the University of Miami Feb. 25, marking the second consecutive first-place finish in this competition.

Seven law schools, including UF, Stetson University, Florida Coastal School of Law, Nova Southeastern University, Florida International University, University of Miami and Loyola University New Orleans, argued against five of the other six schools.

The team’s captain, Donna-Marie Hayle, placed second in the individual oralist competition.

The team will travel to Vienna in late March to participate in the International Vis Moot Competition. Each year, approximately 250 teams from law schools throughout the world compete in Vienna. This year, UF’s first four moots will be against teams from the University of Bern, the University of San Andres, the University of Geneva and the University of Ljubljana. After the first four rounds, the competition is narrowed to the top 64 teams, who then compete to determine the winner of the moot. Last year, UF progressed to the round of 32 before losing to Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

The team is coached by Professors George Dawson and Jeffrey Harrison along with Florida alum Eddie Palmer (JD 85) of Miami. Numerous faculty assist in preparing the team including Professors Steve Powell, Danny Sokol, Jeffrey Davis and Larry DiMatteo.

Federalist Society ranked among top chapters
According to the National Federalist Society, the UF College of Law Chapter is ranked among the top four chapters in the U.S. Please congratulate Professor Steven Willis and Josh Mize, president of the UF chapter, on this well-deserved honor.

ICAM team receives honorable mention in Vienna
At this year’s Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot held in Vienna, Austria, the team from University of Florida received two important recognitions. The team won an honorable mention for its Claimant’s brief, drafted by all members with editing credit to Andres Healy, and Julianne Parker earned an honorable mention for her oral arguments. Law students from around the world compete in the Vis Moot each year, with over 250 schools and over 1,400 students in attendance. The UF team consisted of Joe Wheeler, Anastasia Campbell, Sasha Funk, Andres Healy, Olga Butkevich, Chana Cannon, and Julianne Parker. This is a new high in terms of recognition for the UF team. The team is coached by Professors Dawson and Harrison as well as Miami attorney Eduardo Palmer. Throughout the semester it was benched by Professors Hurst, Davis, Powell, Sokol and Professor Larry DiMatteo from the College of Business. UF’s oral rounds included arguments with the teams from Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, Universidad Panamericana in Mexico, University of Mainz in Germany, and Universite Pantheon-Assas in France.

Congratulations to the UF Jessup International Law Moot Court Team
In February, the Jessup team competed in the 51st annual Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, the world’s largest moot court competition with participants from more than 500 law schools in more than 80 countries. The Jessup team placed sixth out of 24 teams competing in the U.S. Southeast Super Regional round, reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in school history. The participants were 2Ls Matthew Kozyra, Jason Taylor, Steven Blickensderfer, Lindsey Franco, and Jennifer Shepard. The team also took home the title of fifth best brief out of the 24 teams that competed. Individually, Steven Blickensderfer was named 15th best oralist out of all individual oralists at the Southeast Super Regional round. UF Jessup annually competes in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, which focuses on public international law and humanitarian law. For more information about the UF Jessup team, please visit the Jessup Web site at or e-mail Jason Taylor at ufjessupmootcourt@gmail.com.

Environmental and Land Use students, faculty and friends paddle Matanzas River
Faculty and students associated with the Environmental and Land Use Law Program recently took advantage of a Spring Break rain check and fabulous weather to paddle the Matanzas River Estuary on Florida’s Northeast Coast. The kayak trip was originally scheduled as the final field trip for the Program’s Marine and Coastal Law and Policy Field Course but inclement weather dashed any possibilities. The Matanzas River Estuary is currently being considered for designation as an Outstanding Florida Water under Florida law, which imposes a non-degradation standard on designated waters. The Florida Department of Environmental Regulation will hold a hearing on the proposed designation on April 13 in Palm Coast. Following the 3.5 hour long paddle, the paddlers enjoyed the sunset from the back deck of the home of UF Law alumnus and former EPA Region 4 Administrator John Hankinson, whose home overlooks an arm of the estuary and the Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, Conservation Clinic Director Tom Ankersen and CGR Associate in Law Richard Hamann, together with 2009 JD and ELULP program graduates Rachel King and John November and 2010 ELULP LLM candidate Megan Wegerif, recently published a law review article on the regulatory and practical effect of OFW designation in the Sea Grant Law and Policy Journal, based on recent work of the Conservation Clinic.

Sam Warfield selected for Law Student Award
Second-year law student Sam Warfield has been selected as the recipient of the Law Student Award by the Executive Council for the Florida Bar City, County and Local Government Section. He will be presented with a cash award and plaque at the section’s annual awards luncheon for his outstanding academic performance in Professor Wolf’s course on local government law.

Participate in the 2010 law school student survey
UF Law has agreed to participate in the 2010 Vault Law School Student Survey. The information from this survey may be included in the 7th edition of the Vault Law School Buzz Book and will appear on the Vault.com Web site. Your participation will help countless prospective students make key choices during the law school application process. In completing this survey, we encourage you to be candid as your identity will remain anonymous. During the course of the survey, you will be asked for certain information that you may feel makes you identifiable to your school. However, any responses we quote will not be paired with any information that will allow your school to identify the quoted student. Please complete the survey by Friday, May 14, 2010.
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UF Federalist Society sends delegation to national student symposium
A delegation from the UF Federalist Society represented UF at the 2010 Federalist Society National Student Symposium, an annual gathering of conservative and libertarian students, lawyers, and law professors from around the nation. The symposium was held Feb. 26 & 27, at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in Philadelphia. The theme was “Originalism 2.0.” Members of the UF delegation included, Federalist Society President Joshua Mize, Nakku Chung, Eugenia Fischer, Jason Yoepp, Christine Pratt, Michael Kelley, and Jordan Pratt. At the symposium, law professors and judges conducted panel discussions and debates on topics such as “Originalism: A Rationalization for Conservatism or a Principled Theory of Interpretation?,” “Originalism and Construction: Does Originalism Always Provide the Answer?,” and “Originalism, Precedent and Judicial Restraint.” Panelists included, Yale Law Professor Jack Balkin of the legal blog “Balkanization,” Professor Richard Fallon of Harvard Law School, former U.S. Solicitor General Greg Garre, Judge A. Raymond Randolph of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Judge Diane Sykes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and Professor Jeffrey Rosen of George Washington University School of Law. The keynote speaker was Dr. Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard.

Congratulations to the UF Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Team
Over the weekend, the Vis team travelled to the University of Miami campus to compete in the Florida scrimmage competition hosted by The Florida Bar. The participants were Olga Butkevich, Chana Cannon, Sasha Funk, Anastasia Campbell, Julianne Parker and Andres Healy. Campbell received the highest score awarded in UF’s match-up against the University of Versaille, Healy received the highest score awarded in UF’s match-up against Florida Coastal, and Parker received the highest score awarded in UF’s match-up against Stetson University. Additionally, Healy was one of three students recognized for “Top Oralist” honors. Thanks to the generous donation from adjunct coach Eduardo Palmer (JD 85) the team will travel to the competition in Vienna from March 26 through April 1. For more information please visit http://www.cisg.law.pace.edu/vis.html. Tryouts for UF’s team are held each fall.

Congratulations to the 2010-2011 JMBA Executive Board
President: Joe Joyce; Vice President Student Services: Laurie Tyler Yonge; Vice President Social: Ashley Johnson; Secretary: Katie Kellam; Treasurer: Justin Pacific. General Board: Jenny Albano, Sarah Casey, Jessica Couvertier, Amber Curtis, Martin Holland, Brian Johnson, Joe Kovecses, Dan Lazaro, Jay Levin, Vincent Massaro, Matt Michel, Sarah Moore, Katie Moum, Josh Nemser, Moish Peltz, Sal Picataggio, Megan Policastro, Lindsay Powell, Christina Russo, Bethany Turner, Genevieve Turner, and Chase Wiley.

2010 Census Information
This March, the 2010 Census will arrive in every Gainesville resident’s mailbox. The responses will directly affect the distribution of more than $400 billion in federal funding for education, healthcare, transportation and the environment. Off-campus students must fill out the form with their housemates and return it by mail before April 1. It is important that everyone in Gainesville fill out the census form to ensure funding that will help keep The Gator Nation great.