On Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Reitz Union Auditorium, come see the new, beautifully cinematic, character-driven documentary “Bully,” directed by Sundance and Emmy-award winning filmmaker, Lee Hirsch. The film opens a window onto the pained and often endangered lives of bullied kids, revealing a problem that transcends geographic, racial, ethnic and economic borders. It documents the responses of teachers and administrators to aggressive behaviors that defy “kids will be kids” clichés, and it captures a growing movement among parents and youths to change how bullying is handled in schools, in communities and in society as a whole.

How does conflict management influence the organizational culture of a large, complex United Nations agency such as the World Health Organization (WHO)? A workshop entitled “So What’s the Problem: Using Collaboration to Change Organizational Culture” explores the challenges of designing and applying conflict management systems that impact the organization as a whole. The workshop takes place from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday in Smathers Library Room 1A and is led by Lin Inlow, founder of the Inlow Group and creator of the model. The audience will have the opportunity to interact with each other and better understand the nature of collaboration.

Virgil Hawkins Civil Clinics present: An Immigration Training

Virgil Hawkins Civil Clinics will host an immigration training with Michelle Ortiz from Americans for Immigrant Justice Friday 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in HOL 270. A working lunch will be provided. Register by Tuesday.

Town Hall meeting Oct. 23 to address ways to affirm values of a diverse community, law school creates resource page

UF Law administrators and the Diversity and Community Relations Committee have been working to identify not just steps to respond to deplorable incidents like the hate crime that occured on campus a few weeks ago, but also ways to affirm the values of a diverse community and to promote an inclusive and tolerant environment.

As part of this process, there will be a town hall meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at noon in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, HOL 180, that will focus on the value and challenges of being a diverse community. This will be an opportunity for those who attend to discuss their concerns and their aspirations for the community, and to share ideas for ways we can promote inclusivity and tolerance.

In addition, the law school has created a webpage offering resources for dealing with academic stress, tolerance issues, anxiety and a variety of other issues. Got a problem? We can help. Contact the Communications Office if you have comments or suggestions for improving the page.

Create a video about Fourth Amendment issues and you could win $500

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. Please note:

• The winner will receive a $500 cash prize and dinner with Professors Haughton and Dekle.  The second place winner will receive a $350 cash price and the third place winner will receive $150. The winning entry will also be shown, along with other honorable mention entries, at a viewing party at the law school. At the discretion of the review committee, the winning entry may be selected to be aired on GatorVision network.
• All law students enrolled at the Levin College of Law are eligible to enter.
• Deadline for submissions has been extended to Oct. 29. 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 on the CJC website (www.law.ufl.edu/academics/centers/cjc) or can be obtained from Eva Achero in Room 100, Bruton-Geer Hall.

UF Trial Team hosts Final Four competition Friday

Join the Trial Team this Friday at 1 p.m. for the Final Four Competition in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center. Katrina Self and Brittany Smaridge will represent the State of Sparta and Justin McConnell and Insiya Joher will represent 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.

LIC Notes: Florida Administrative Regulations ’officially’ say goodbye to print

Effective Oct. 1, 2012, Florida took a digital leap with regards to administrative law.  The Florida Administrative Code and the newly renamed Florida Administrative Register (formerly the Florida Administrative Weekly) are now officially published electronically.  Both publications will be continuously revised and published and made freely available at http://www.flrules.org.  While primary legal materials have been available digitally for many years, they have been deemed unofficial in Florida until now.

To read the complete act, see Laws of Florida 2012-63 (pertinent section codified at Fla. Stat. § 120.55 (2012)).

Law Association for Women hosts social at Corks and Colors

The Law Association for Women had a social Sept. 30 at Corks and Colors, which allowed new members to socialize with upperclassmen and show off their artistic sides.

LAW is UF Law’s oldest women’s organization and has meetings once a month and social events throughout the semester. Anyone interested in getting involved can sign up on TWEN to receive emails about upcoming meetings and events.

UF Trial Team members, from left, Trae Weingardt, Tara Tedrow, Anita McNulty, and Brandon Rose placed second in the 12th Annual National Trial Advocacy Competition at Michigan State University College of Law. (Photo by Nicole Safker)

The UF Trial Team sent third-year law students Tara Tedrow, Anita McNulty, Trae Weingardt and Brandon Rose Sept. 28 to Oct. 2 to the 12th Annual National Trial Advocacy Competition at Michigan State University College of Law. The four students competed as advocates and witnesses, alternating roles depending on which side they were assigned to represent during trial.

Though nearly 55 teams applied to compete, the tournament selected only the top 28 teams from law schools around the nation. After trying two defense cases and one prosecution case during the preliminary rounds, the top eight teams were selected to move on to the quarterfinal round.

UF progressed to the quarterfinals, where the prosecution, represented by Anita McNulty and Trae Weingardt, won the trial and the team moved on to the semifinals. The defense, represented by Tara Tedrow and Brandon Rose, won the semifinal round, pushing the team to the national finals, narrowly missing first place in a split decision.

On Oct. 14 at UF Law in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center Courtroom, the Trial Team invites the law school community as it celebrates the addition of 15 new members and recognizes the outstanding performance of its Final Four Competitors for an exhibition at 1 p.m. Arguing for the prosecution will be Benjamin Baird and Zachary Jellson, and for the defense, Stephanie Koffler and Katie Thomason.

The Trial Team is honored to announce the presiding judge, Judge Jonathan Gerber (JD 93), of the 4th District Court of Appeal. Judge Gerber is former Trial Team president at UF Law who has generously provided his support to the Trial Team over the years.

The Trial Team is grateful to its esteemed jury panel and sponsoring law firm of Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell for their continuing and generous support of the Final Four Competition. A panel of attorneys from Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell will determine the award recipients and verdict, and will provide advice to the competitors.

Christina Vilaseca and Frank Fischer represented the prosecution team at the Trial Team Final Four on Oct. 15. (Photo by Andres Farfan)

While most of campus was on holiday for Homecoming, Tiana Beaudouin, Frank Fischer, Tara Tedrow and Christina Vilaseca were competing in the Trial Team Final Four on Friday, Oct. 15, in front of a judge, jury and other guests and Trial Team members.

The students, all 2Ls, argued the case, which involved criminal charges of embezzlement, use of a computer to commit a crime, and exceeding valid computer authorization, before the Honorable Charlene Honeywell, United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida. J. Scott Kirk, LaShawnda K. Jackson and Mary A. Cox, attorneys from Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell, P.A., comprised the jury.

The jury returned a verdict for the defendant, represented by Tara Tedrow and Tiana Beaudouin, finding him not guilty on all charges. Tedrow and Beaudouin won the Best Team Award. Tedrow also received the Best Advocate Award.

“Participating in the competition was a great experience,” Tedrow said. She believes the Trial Team is one of the greatest opportunities at the law school to prepare for future practice.

“Even if full trials are rare, the communication, persuasion and writing skills necessary to succeed will benefit you outside of the courtroom. Interacting with clients, other attorneys and judges at pre-trial hearings, mediations and depositions all require the skills that Trial Team will instill.”

Florida Moot Court Team excels in Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition
The Florida Moot Court Team competed last semester in the Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Miami. Team members Rob Davis (3L) and C. Andrew Roy (2L) advanced to the semi-final round after achieving the highest overall score in the preliminary rounds, beating out 10 other teams including teams from the University of Oklahoma, University of Miami, and Emory University. In addition, Roy received the Best Oralist award for the regional competition. Encompassing both First Amendment freedom of speech issues as well Fourteenth Amendment equal protection issues, the competition problem involved a public defender whose employment contract was not renewed following several presentations at CLE seminars regarding the lack of funding for certain minority, indigent clients. The Florida Moot Court Team is UF’s premiere competitive moot court team and is governed by the Justice Campbell Thornal Executive Board.

Tax Moot Court Team places second in national competition
Congratulations to Tax Moot Court Team Captain Joshua Landsman (3L) and James Baley (2L) on their second place finish in the recent National Tax Moot Court Competition. Congratulations also to Chris Pavilonis (JD 09, LLM 10) and Professor Steven Willis, who co-coached the team. The competition included teams from Oregon, New York, Wisconsin, Ohio, Massachusetts, Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida and other states. The Levin College of Law team placed second for the second consecutive year. The UF Tax Law Society sponsored the team for this competition as well as another team for the upcoming Tax Moot Court competition in Buffalo. In addition, the UF Tax Law Society sponsors a team for the National Securities Dispute Resolution Competition in New York. Last year the UF Law team placed first in securities mediation in that event. On behalf of the UF Tax Law Society, the team would like to thank the Law College Council, The Florida Moot Court Team, and the Student Government Association for financial contributions that partially funded the team’s participation this year. In addition, the team would like to thank the Levin College of Law and also Jason Yoepp for his assistance and contributions. (Photo from left to right: James Baley, Joshua Landsman and Chris Pavilonis)

Earn extern credits with UF Law Costa Rica Program
Got Spanish? The UF Law Costa Rica Program enjoys a unique relationship with the Inter-American Institute for Human Rights, the research organ of the Inter-American Court for Human Rights in San Jose, Costa Rica. As a result, a qualified UF Law student enrolled in the program can extern with the institute for three credits during the summer program. For students with an interest in international human rights, Latin America and in developing their ability to write and speak in professional Spanish this is a unique opportunity. For more information contact Costa Rica Program Director Tom Ankersen or Michelle Ocepek. Those wishing to get a student’s perspective on the experience should feel free to speak with Miredys Gonzalez, last year’s extern at the Institute.

The Journal of Technology Law and Policy introduces new Web site
The Journal of Technology Law and Policy presents their new and improved Web site, with information on how to contribute, subscribe, and find out more information about the journal and its members. Special thanks to Web site Executive Miriam Cortes and Assistant Editor-in-Chief Jared Beckerman for their outstanding contributions to the site. Interested students should check the site later this semester for updated information about our next write-on/grade-on competition. Visit http://jtlp.org for more information.

Ankersen and Hamann attend international wetlands symposium
Tom Ankersen, director of UF Law Conservation Clinic, and Richard Hamann, associate in law at the UF Law Center for Governmental Responsibility, along with UF PhD students and faculty affiliated with the National Science Foundation’s Integrated Graduate Research, Education and Training Program in Water, Wetlands and Watersheds presented their research at the international symposium “Wetlands in a Flood Pulsing Environment: Effects and Responses in Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning and Human Society” in Maun, Botswana, the gateway to Southern Africa’s storied Okavango Delta. Hosted by the Henry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Center at the University of Botswana, the week long symposium was attended by leading researchers representing some of the world’s most significant wetland environments, including the Okavango, the Pantanal and Amazon flooded forests of Brazil, Florida’s Everglades and the Mississippi River Delta, the TonLe Sap Great Lake wetlands of Cambodia, and the famed marshes of the Tigris & Euphrates River Valley of Southern Iraq – among many others.

Trial Team travels to National Trial Competition
Congratulations to 3L’s Kali Feinman and Aaron Kelley and 2L’s Jennifer Leitner and Brian Wolf, who travelled through the snow to Jackson, Mississippi this weekend to compete in the National Trial Competition. The competition capped nearly two months of diligent preparation and resulted in each team trying the case three times over two days. In addition to handling motions and evidentiary issues, this competition requires all advocates to have both sides of the case prepared and to try either side with very little notice. The team’s next competition will be the American Association for Justice competition held in Atlanta, Feb. 25-28.

Members of the winning team include Dana DiSano (awarded Best Advocate), Dan Hogan, Kevin Sharbaugh and Melissa Welch. Also competing from the team were Wayne Atkinson, Allison Kirkwood, Jamie Stephens and Kara Wick. Others integral to the team’s success were James Baley, Rhett Parker, Tania Alavi and Nick Zissimopulos.

“This truly was a team effort,” DiSano said. “Since late October, we spent nearly every free moment preparing for this competition. Throughout the process, everyone on the team was focused, determined and selfless. We all appreciate the dedication of our two coaches, Nick Zissimopulos and Tania Alavi, who spent countless hours helping us improve our advocacy skills in the months leading up to this competition.”

Over 100 competitors began the tryout process early this fall semester. After an arduous 4-week tryout process, the following members were selected for their outstanding trial advocacy skills: Kendell Ali, Wayne Atkinson, Adam Darrow, Dana DiSano, Danae Dunkley, Kali Feinman, Aaron Kelley, Allison Kirkwood, Joel Medgebow, Gabriel Munoz-Calene, Kevin Sharbaugh, Jamie Stephens and Melissa Welsh.

The four highest scoring advocates from round three advance to the Final Four Competition and are placed into two teams to present a complete trial to the law school community. The Trial Team would like to congratulate the fall 2008 Final Four competitors Amanda Brus, Katrina Gavette, Joshua Lukman and Kara Wick.

Based on the cumulative scoring of the judges evaluating round three of the tryout process, top competitors are invited to join the team. Gavette and Lukman will be representing Susan Smith, plaintiff, and Wick and Brus will be representing Lighter Corporation, defendant.

Judge Stephen Mickle, the first African-American judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida and UF Law alumnus, will serve as the presiding judge at the event. The two teams compete for the title of “Best Overall Team” and one member is awarded “Best Overall Advocate” of the intramural competition.

Please show your support by coming to the Final Four Competition on Friday, Oct. 3 to watch these competitors in action. First year law students are strongly encouraged to attend this event. If you have any questions regarding the Final Four Competition, contact Nicole Webb at nwebb@ufl.edu.

Final Four Competitors

Katrina Gavette, Plaintiff

Joshua Lukman, Plaintiff

Kara Wick, Defendant

Amanda Brus, Defendant