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Nelson Symposium offers CLEs, solutions and resources for local government, real estate, land use planning and environmental attorneys

by Scott Emerson
Senior Writer

The University of Florida Levin College of Law will host the Eighth Annual Nelson Symposium Friday Feb. 13 at the UF Hilton Conference Center.

The symposium invites attorneys specializing in local government, real estate, land-use planning, environmental law and others interested in those topics to attend, and will offer insights on how local governments can address the profound legal, financial and political changes affecting today’s economy.

Presented by the UF Levin College of Law and co-sponsored by The Florida Bar Environmental and Land Use Law Section and The Florida Bar City, County and Local Government Section, this one-day conference titled, “The Squeeze on Local Governments,” will explore pressing questions affecting local governments and identify solutions to help leverage governmental resources. Attendees can earn six general Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits, and will interact with leading state and national experts in local government, the environment, property, land-use, and redevelopment law.

“These are perilous times for local government officials who find themselves on the front lines of the struggle to contend with the financial and housing meltdown and other serious challenges,” said Michael Allan Wolf, Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, UF Levin College of Law, and organizer of the symposium. “Pressured by court decisions, diminishing property tax revenues, and new legislation that threatens their existing regulatory tools, attorneys representing and working closely with cities and towns need to be well-informed regarding new problems and new government assistance programs.”

Symposium topics slated for discussion include, “State and Local Responses to the Housing/Financial Crisis,” the “Neighborhood Stabilization program,” “Experiences with State Regulatory Takings,” and “Post-Kelo Eminent Domain Reforms.”

“Our nation’s economic crisis is taking its toll on state and local governments,” said Deborah Cupples, a board member of the Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association. “To deal with these issues effectively requires attorneys specializing in local government, real estate, land-use planning and environmental law to keep up with the evolving challenges and proposed solutions. Attending the Nelson Symposium is a great way to plug into resources and get advice from the experts.”

Presenters include Frank S. Alexander, professor of law, Emory Law School; John D. Echeverria, executive director, Georgetown Environmental Law & Policy Institute, and professor of law, Vermont Law School; James W. Ely, Milton R. Underwood Chair in Free Enterprise, Vanderbilt University Law School; Robert Guthrie, esq., senior assistant county attorney, Orange County, Fla.; D. Kent Safriet, esq., Hopping Green & Sams, Tallahassee, Fla.; Gregory T. Stewart, esq., Nabors Giblin & Nickerson, Tallahassee, Fla; and Andrea Becker and Tara Nelson, J.D. candidates, University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Symposium registration is free for faculty and students and includes CLEs, all program activities, reception, continental breakfast, breaks and lunch. Visit www.law.ufl.edu/news/events/ to view the symposium brochure, which includes registration and accommodation information.