As research assistants for the center, Adrienne Biddings (3L) and Eferiekose Ukala (1L) have the opportunity to work with distinguished faculty, plan engaging events and inform others about the important role of race in society.

Biddings started working at the CSRRR in fall 2008. She became interested in the center’s activities after attending events including race conversations as a first-year law student.

“I liked the events that they held and the opportunities that they gave to the law school community,” Biddings said.

Biddings, who is working towards both a JD and a master’s degree in mass communications, is motivated by a desire to make a difference.

“When you come to your last year you want to get involved in more things you are passionate about and things that give you the opportunity to, at least before you go out there in the real world, give back,” she said.

Some law students get so caught up in their work, that they forget that there is a world outside of law school, Biddings said.

Ukala is looking forward to working with CSRRR Director Katheryn Russell-Brown, who has researched such issues as racial profiling and the effects of the interaction of race and justice.

“I think its going to contribute tremendously to my law school experience because the study of race and race relations is an area I’m really passionate about,” Ukala said.

Ukala has a personal interest in doing this kind of research. She wrote her undergraduate thesis on ethnocide in Nigeria.

“I particularly chose that because it was kind of close and the issue of Nigeria is not one that has been highly publicized,” Ukala said.

Ukala is also interested in studying international law to see how different countries attempt to bring themselves under one regulatory system, she said.

“I like to find answers, although research doesn’t always give you that definite answer, Ukala said. “It sort of points you in the right direction.”

“I chose UF Law because, besides Florida having the beautiful weather, it gave me the opportunity to study under very prominent faculty,” she said.

By serving as research assistants at the CSRRR, both Biddings and Ukala are able to investigate a variety of race-related issues. In fall 2008, Biddings helped Professor Michelle Jacobs coordinate a discussion about the role of race in the 2008 presidential election.

“I worked together with Professor Jacobs to come up with different questions and I interviewed people out in the law school community to get some topic areas,” Biddings said.

Biddings encourages her fellow law students to attend the center’s events and take advantage of its scholarships, oral competitions and writing competitions.

“The more people that know about it, the more willing they will be to give back and spread it around to other people that this is a great center at UF to be involved in,” she said. “I’m graduating soon. The center is going to be here forever.”

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Attention 1Ls: Need help with writing assignments?

Lois Randolph will be available for individual consultation for writing assignments beginning Wednesday, Jan. 21, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Legal Research and Writing offices. Beginning the week of Monday, Jan. 26, she will be available on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.—appointments and walk-ins welcome. For any questions or concerns, contact Assistant Dean of Students Kari Mattox at mattoxk@law.ufl.edu. View the spring 2009 academic success schedule »

Build a stronger community with pro bono work

President Barack Obama has challenged all of us to do what we can to make our communities and our nation a better place. On Sept. 19, 2008, the president and his wife called on all citizens to find a way to serve their communities. In the wake of this historic inauguration and in the spirit of “Yes We Can” and “Change,” the Center for Children and Families and the Center for Career Services encourage you to take advantage of the many pro bono opportunities to help others. Consider becoming a guardian ad litem, volunteering with legal services or participating in any of the available opportunities.

Call for Student Recruitment Team applicants

The Office of Admissions is seeking students, regardless of year, to help bring the nation’s top candidates to the Levin College of Law. Members of the team conduct campus tours, participate in panel discussions, discuss their law school experiences with prospective law students and travel to cities around the state and nationwide for recruitment purposes. As a member of the Student Recruitment Team, you will be trained to answer inquiries from prospective law students in regards to the admissions process as well as UF Law. Two hours per week is the minimum time commitment for the program. If you are interested in becoming part of the Student Recruitment Team, request an application from Noemar Castro, castro@law.ufl.edu. The application deadline is Friday, Jan. 23, and you must be available to attend a training session on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 4 p.m. For more information, contact Noemar Castro at castro@law.ufl.edu.

Adam Losey, a third-year law student, was invited to speak on electronic discovery issues on Feb. 11, in New York City at ARMA International’s education workshop. Losey said that he was very lucky to be given this unique opportunity.

“I was excited about the opportunity,” Losey said when asked about his initial feelings. “I was surprised, and honored to be able to do this. I know it will be a valuable and fun experience for myself and the attendees.”

Losey will speak to attendees – predominantly records managers from large financial, insurance and legal organizations – about how to communicate effectively with counsel who may not have the same level technological sophistication. Losey said he is going to encourage the attendees to become more proactive in communicating with counsel.

“In some cases there isn’t much communication going on between [records managers and counsel], and if there is, it can be garbled. In light of recent case law, this is a problem,” he said.

Losey’s presentation will also cover the basic legal concepts entwined with electronic discovery. Losey, a participant in one of the first electronic discovery classes in the country, said that schools are starting to realize the importance of teaching electronic discovery and thinks that technology-centric classes will begin to pop up at law schools nationwide. With more law firms looking for students with technological sophistication, Losey believes offering these classes are the smart way to go.

“If someone is trained in this and understands it, they are going to have a heck of a better chance getting a job . . . law schools that are looking to best serve their students will adapt their traditional curriculums to meet this demand in the marketplace, as it is a marketplace where law students are otherwise relatively fungible,” he said.

Though Losey said he was lucky to get this opportunity, his resume likely helped him secure the gig. Losey, currently on the Florida Law Review, recently published Clicking Away Confidentiality: Workplace Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege, 60 Fla. L. Rev. 1190 (2008). He is the recipient of the Florida Law Review’s Frank E. Maloney award and received a Goodmark scholarship last semester.

In 2006 he was a law clerk at the Second Judicial Circuit state attorney’s office and a summer associate at Foley & Lardner’s Orlando office in 2008. One of the most valuable experiences he had was serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Chief Judge Patricia C. Fawsett, a UF graduate, of the Middle District of Florida in 2007.

“Having opportunity to clerk for a federal judge while in law school was probably the tipping point in my law-school career”, said Losey, who will working as an associate in the litigation department of Foley & Lardner, LLP, starting Sept. 7, 2009. “Working for a judge is probably the most valuable experience you can get as a law student; you get to see what goes on behind the curtains, and you have the chance to be around an affable group of highly-dedicated and extremely intelligent people whom you can learn from.”

Recently, Losey co-authored an article with Ronald J. Hedges, counsel to Nixon Peabody and retired United States Magistrate Judge, and also with Kenneth N. Rashbaum, director of consulting for Fios, Inc. The article, titled, “Virtual Jurisdiction: Does International Shoe Fit In the Age Of the Internet?,” considers whether jurisdiction can be established through an Internet presence and whether Internet communications can fairly be used to provide notice and exercise jurisdiction over a defendant.