“Attorney: 94-year-old lost $55,000 from fake papers for Sam Snead’s Tavern” (Nov. 18, 2012, Naples Daily News)

Davis commented on a case of a shopping center in North Naples demanding more than $55,000 from a 94-year-old Pennsylvania resident because her signature appears on her deceased son’s lease agreement for his former business. She is stating the signature is forged and the witness signatures are not legible or notarized.

From the article:
“If it’s a forged signature, it’s not a valid note,” said Jeffrey Davis, who teaches contract law at the University of Florida’s Fredric G. Levin College of Law. “It comes down to a matter of proof. It’s a question of fact, whether it is her signature or not. They must prove it’s her signature.”

Martin J. McMahon, Jr.
Stephen C. O’Connell Professor of Law

McMahon presented Nov. 16 at the Tennessee Tax Conference in Nashville on “Recent Developments in Federal Income Taxation” jointly with Prof. Ira Shepard.

McMahon presented Nov. 9 at the 28th Annual Arizona Federal Tax Institute in Phoenix on “Recent Developments in Federal Income Taxation.”

Jon Mills
Dean emeritus

Mills was an invited panelist for New England Law Review’s Fall 2012 Symposium “Crisis in the Judiciary” held Nov. 15 in Boston for the panel “State Court Systems in Financial Crisis.” This panel discussed how justice has changed in judicial systems of vastly diminished resources. Other panelists included Hon. Robert J. Cordy, associate justice, Massachusetts Supreme Court; Stewart Aaron, partner, Porter & Arnold, LLP, and president, New York County Lawyers’ Association; Paul T. Dacier, executive vice president and general counsel, EMC Corporation; Professor David A. Hoffman, Harvard Law School; and Harry Spence, court administrator, Massachusetts Trial Courts. New England Law Professor Jordan Singer was the moderator.

“Golden Hills seeking bankruptcy protection” (Feb. 28, 2012, Ocala Star-Banner)

With the Golden Hills Golf and Turf Club filing for bankruptcy in February, this article looks at the causes and implications of the filing. Davis offered insight into what it means for a business to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

From the article:
Chapter 11 bankruptcy isn’t the end for Golden Hills. They can still conduct business, but still owe some of their creditors money.

“Chapter 11 is known as business reorganization,” said Jeffrey Davis, a law professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. “The goal is to arrive at a plan that over time pays the secured creditors and the unsecured creditors under the terms.”

Lyrissa Lidsky
Stephen C. O’Connell Chair & Professor of Law

Lidsky’s article “Incendiary Speech and Social Media,” was just published in Texas Tech Law Review.

Lidsky traveled to Florida Coastal School of Law on March 2 to give a presentation at the Law Review’s Cyber Law Symposium.

Tom C.W. Lin
Assistant Professor of Law

Lin recently published “The Corporate Governance of Iconic Executives” in 87 Notre Dame L. Rev. 351 (2011).

Joseph Little
Professor Emeritus

“KEL law firm sues Better Business Bureau over rating system dispute” (Feb. 21, 2012,Orlando Sentinel)

KEL law firm in Orlando is suing the Better Business Bureau after the organization gave the law firm a rating of “F” because of client complaints. The law firm is claiming the bureau’s rating system is biased and flawed. Little stated that as long as the Better Business Bureau can back up its rating system and claims, its conclusions about businesses are protected speech.

From the article:
Still, a BBB agency can’t just publish information without proper due diligence to verify it, said Joseph W. Little, a professor emeritus at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law. The burden would be on KEL to prove reckless negligence by the BBB, he said.

“The BBB has common law right to express fair comment and honest opinion based on true facts,” Little said. “If it does that, then it is protected speech and opinion, even though it is not the opinion the law firm would want them to have.”

“House passes random drug testing bill” (March 2, 2012, Associated Press)

The article addresses questions raised after the Florida House passed a bill that would allow state employees to submit to random drug tests. Little discussed the constitutionality if the bill were to become a law.

From the article:
For the plan to be constitutional, the state’s interest in testing employees for drugs must outweigh the employees’ right to privacy, said Joseph Little, a professor emeritus of constitutional law at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law.

“There has to be something special about the employment, though, like law enforcement officers or those with a security clearance,” Little said. “But if there’s no special need, you probably can’t do it.”

Jon Mills
Dean Emeritus; Director, Center for Governmental Responsibility

“Justices seek input on how to handle new redistricting rules” (Feb. 29, 2012, The Miami Herald)

The Florida Supreme Court questioned lawyers representing Democrats and Republicans about how to interpret Florida’s new redistricting rules last month. Mills was on-hand to represent the Democrats and was quoted in the article.

From the article:
“You are the ultimate authority,” said Jon Mills, a University of Florida law professor and former House speaker arguing for the Florida Democratic Party. The Legislature’s interpretation “may be interesting but your interpretation is binding.”

Leonard Riskin
Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law

During the fall semester of 2011, Riskin was a visiting professor at Northwestern University School of Law. While there, he received a Dean’s Teaching Award for 2011-2012 (awarded by the dean, based on student evaluations).

In October, he gave two plenary presentations on “Managing and Connecting Inner and Outer Conflict: Integration of IFS and Conflict Resolution Theory and Practice,” at the international Conference of the Center for Self-Leadership in Boston and the Pre-Conference Workshop.

He also moderated a panel presentation on The Chicago Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program, sponsored by the Northwestern Law Hispanic Student’s Association and the John Marshall Law School Mediation Program.

Daniel Sokol
Associate Professor of Law

Sokol presented his early work “A Transaction Cost Economics Explanation of Law and Entrepreneurship Vertical Contracting” at IU Bloomington Mauer School of Law.

Jeff Wade
Director of Environmental Division, Center for Governmental Responsibility

On Feb. 17-18, Wade participated in a conference as part of the run-up to the UN Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, scheduled for June of this year. The conference, titled “Contribution of International Environmental Law to Sustainable Development: Global and National Perspectives,” was held at the University of Delhi Faculty of Law in New Delhi, India. Wade presented a paper, “Coastal Development in an Unstable Climate: Precaution, Adaptation and Resilience,” and moderated a panel on marine pollution and coastal regulation.

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

Wolf made a presentation on judicial takings with Bill Treanor (Georgetown) at the Third Annual Meeting of the Association for Law, Property and Society, at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., on March 2.

Nancy Dowd
David H. Levin Chair in Family Law and Director, Center on Children & Families “Rick Scott dodges answers by invoking Fifth Amendment, Democrats claim in ad” (Oct. 12, 2010, PolitiFact Florida)

A new ad from Alex Sink’s gubernatorial campaign points out that GOP candidate Rick Scott invoked his Fifth Amendment right 75 times in a deposition regarding fraud allegations aimed at his hospital chain, Columbia/HCA.

From the article:
“The Fifth Amendment is not a shield against fishing expeditions,” said Nancy Dowd, a UF Levin College of Law professor. “If you want to cloak yourself in the protection of the Fifth Amendment, it has to be for the reason that your answer could result in criminal liability.”

Teresa Drake
Director, Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Clinic (IPVAC)
TV interview – “Family Spotlight” on IPVAC Clinic (Oct. 7, 2010, WCJB-TV 20)

Drake discussed intimate partner violence crimes as well as the new Intimate Partner Violence Asisstance Clinic – of which she is the director – in this TV 20 spotlight.

Thomas Hurst
Professor Emeritus and Sam T. Dell Research ScholarHurst presented a paper entitled “The Use of Clawbacks to Recoup Excessive Executive Compensation After the Worldwide Financial Crisis” at the Cambridge Symposium on Economic Crime at Jesus College, Cambridge University in September.

Clifford Jones
Associate In Law and Lecturer “Ambler’s suit to knock Norman off ballot goes to trial Tuesday” (Oct. 11, 2010, The Tampa Tribune)

State Rep. Kevin Ambler filed a lawsuit seeking to disqualify Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman for running for state senate and remove him from the November ballot. The lawsuit claims Norman failed to report a house in Arkansas owned by his wife, mostly paid for by a former friend and political supporter.

From the article:
State law says disqualification is an appropriate penalty if a candidate deliberately fails to list assets on state financial disclosure forms, said Clifford Alan Jones, a professor at the University of Florida law school.

“But it is not clear to me if a court would order (disqualification) prior to completion of an Ethics Commission hearing,” Jones said.

Diane Mazur
Professor “Congress, not courts, may have final word on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’” (Oct. 11, 2010, Law.com)

Mazur commented on the recent federal court rulings regarding the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and the previous court cases they cited in their decisions.

From the article:
“Although these Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell cases are not criminal prosecutions, not sodomy prosecutions, the courts in both Witt and Log Cabin said, ‘We’re still talking about the same constitutional liberty,’ ” said Diane Mazur, a professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and legal co-director of the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, which focuses on military issues including Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Judge orders ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ injunction” (Oct. 12, 2010, Associated Press)

Last week a federal judge issued an injunction to stop the enforcement of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, to be effective immediately. Mazur commented on the president’s position on the issue.

From the article:
“The president has taken a very consistent position here, and that is: ‘Look, I will not use my discretion in any way that will step on Congress’ ability to be the sole decider about this policy here,’ ” said Diane H. Mazur, legal co-director of the Palm Center, a think tank at the University of California at Santa Barbara that supports a repeal.

The article ran in a number of media outlets, including The New York Times.

Mazur was quoted in AP’s “Quotations of the day.” ”The whole thing has become a giant game of hot potato. There isn’t anyone who wants to be responsible, it seems, for actually ending this policy. The potato has been passed around so many times that I think the grown-up in the room is going to be the federal courts.” – Diane H. Mazur, a legal expert at a think tank at the University of California at Santa Barbara in comments after a federal judge ordered the military to immediately stop enforcing its ban on openly gay troops.

Jon Mills
Dean Emeritus Director, Center for Governmental Responsibility
Animal activists mount protests of UF researcher” (Oct. 8, 2010, Gainesville Sun)

A UF researcher has been the target of animal rights activists because of a connection to research done relating to experimentation on primates. A website has been created with the researcher’s address and a picture of his home on it and protests have been planned in Gainesville and in the researcher’s neighborhood in the future. The approach indicates a shift in animal rights activists’ tactics, focusing on individuals involved or related to research rather than the larger entities who sponsor it. Currently the situation appears to be a protest rather than a threat, according to UF police.

From the article:
The courts typically have given wide latitude to free-speech rights in such cases, said UF law professor Jon Mills, who wrote a recent book on privacy. But he said a civil case is possible if someone is being slandered with false information, and other legal action also could be taken in the case of a threat. “People can say a lot of things online if it falls short of actual slander, but one thing that the courts get nervous about is if they say or imply actual threats,” he said.

“Summary of 6 statewide constitutional amendments and one nonbinding referendum” (Oct. 12, 2010, Gainesville Sun)

With six proposed changes in the Florida Constitution on the November ballot, Mills addressed the issue of Florida Supreme Court’s language standards that can sometimes make the wording of amendments confusing to some voters.

From the article:
“The language has to be less than 75 words and explanatory of everything (the amendment) does and be approved by the Supreme Court,” said Jon Mills, a University of Florida law professor. If it’s not in the title, “it would be considered deceptive. The Supreme Court has taken several initiatives off the ballot for being misleading,” he said. Nonetheless, initiatives and constitutional amendments are one of the people’s rights and one that should be taken seriously, Mills said. “They are there permanently,” Mills said. “Putting something in the constitution is hard, and getting it out is even harder.”

• “Experts differ on merits, political impact of McCollum’s health care lawsuit” (March 26, Tampa Tribune)
  Baldwin commented on Florida AG Bill McCollum’s suit challenging the constitutionality of the new Health Care Act. “As far as I can tell the commerce clause has been treated as providing a very, very wide range of powers,” he said. Court rulings have given Congress ability to regulate even such seemingly private matters as how much grain farmers grow on their own land for their own personal use, he noted. “I think the suit is really nothing more than a political ploy to keep the argument alive and convince people … that their rights are being trampled,” Baldwin said.

Professor Jeffrey Davis (left), who led the college's recent strategic planning effor, Dean Jon Mills and Professor and Self-Study Committee Chair Alyson Flournoy spoke with Dean Nell Newton and other site visit team members last week.

Months of planning and concentrated and concerted efforts by College of Law faculty, alumni and others culminated last week in a site visit from American Bar Association (ABA) and Association of American Law Schools (AALS) representatives.

A Sabbatical Site Visit Team led by W.H. “Joe” Knight, dean of the University of Washington School of Law, visited classes, met with UF and law school administrators and spoke with students, staff, alumni and members of the bench and bar as part of the ABA accreditation process and AALS review for conformity. Also on the team were Fordham University Law Professor James A. Cohen, University of Alabama Law Professor Bryan Fair, A.H. Gaede, Jr. of Bradley, Arant, Rose & White, University of Connecticut Law Dean Nell Jessup Newton, Wake Forest University School of Law Professor Marian Parker and University of Kentucky Medical School Dean David S. Watt.

I was pleased I could inform them of significant progress since the last site visit seven years ago.

Thanks to the generosity and dedication of our alumni, we begin construction this year on a new academic building and library, and continue to renovate and modernize existing facilities. As demonstrated in their response to our requests for support during the building campaign, our relationship with our graduates has improved, and members of our Board of Trustees and Law Center Association are increasingly active participants in fundraising. And the proactive participation of the central UF administration in finding funds for new and expanded facilities at the law school is tangible proof of our now solid relationship with main campus.

We reported a 25-1 student-faculty ratio in the last visit. It is now 16-1, an astonishing improvement. We have hired a nearly unprecedented number of new faculty, bringing richness and depth to our academic programs.

Thanks to the leadership of former and current associate deans Mike Seigel and Michael Friel, we now have and are following a carefully formulated administrative budget. In addition, we have developed a Strategic Plan designed to bring our college into the ranks of the nation’s top 10 public law schools.

We have paid particular attention to listening and responding to student concerns. Our Center for Career Services, for example, has worked hard to help students find fulfilling jobs, which has paid off in a dramatically improved employment rate nine months after graduation of 97 percent.

There is much more good news we were able to share with the ABA/AALS team. All of it is due to you — every member of the UF law family — who cared and worked hard to make a difference in this school and the future of those who pass through here.

The team was very impressed with our students, faculty and staff. Thanks to each of you for your efforts. — Dean Jon Mills