GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Although he passed away in 2003 at the age of 85, Chesterfield Smith’s great influence and legacy can be felt daily at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, from which Smith graduated in 1948. From the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom that hosts some of the most prestigious speakers visiting UF Law, to the legislative and legal precedents set by Smith during his lifetime still being studied in its classrooms today, he is very much a part of the ongoing life of UF Law.

And his legacy is still growing, thanks to a bequest from Smith’s wife, Jacqueline Allee Smith (JD 78), of Coral Gables, to establish the Chesterfield Smith Eminent Scholar Chair Fund. Upon Allee Smith’s passing, the $1 million bequest will transition the existing Chesterfield Smith Professorship to the Chesterfield Smith Eminent Scholar Chair.

The Eminent Scholar Chair is the most prestigious academic appointment available to University of Florida professors and UF Law is proud to add the Chesterfield Smith Chair to this distinguished echelon.

“In so many ways, Chesterfield is still alive to and missed by colleagues, friends, and those many he mentored over the years,” Allee Smith said. “I hope his legacy will continue in the future by generations of new lawyers who may want to know more of him.”

The Chesterfield Smith Eminent Scholar Chair Fund will bolster resources available to faculty who hold this position and will enhance UF Law’s research and scholarship opportunities.

“Chesterfield Smith was truly a giant in the legal profession, and his legacy as one of UF’s most prominent and influential alums is forever established,” said UF Law Dean Robert Jerry. 

Allee Smith – who has had a very successful career in her own right as the head of the bankruptcy offices in the Holland & Knight Tampa offices and as dean of St. Thomas University School of Law – said she is pleased to be able to help continue her husband’s legacy at UF Law.

“Chesterfield loved the law and the legal profession. He spent his entire professional life trying to improve both,” she said. “He tirelessly and unceasingly exhorted lawyers to honor their duty, created by the privileges granted to them by the states, to provide services or efforts to make improvements in laws for those who have little or no access to the system of justice.”

She said her husband cared very much for the University of Florida College of Law and was always available for advice and assistance to the university and law school.

“He gave of himself unstintingly,” she said. “The foundation of his care was the recognition of all that both gave him through his education.”

During his professional career, Chesterfield Smith stood as an exemplary lawyer and advocate of the rule of law. Smith’s numerous influential positions included serving as president of The Florida Bar, chair of Florida’s Citizens for Judicial Reform and member of the Federal Commission on Executive, Legislative and Judicial Salaries. Smith was largely responsible for establishing uniform rules of procedure in Florida Courts and is the “father” of the modern Florida Constitution. 

“Chesterfield also early championed the recruitment of minorities and women into the major law firms,” Allee Smith said. “His personal ethic was to do good, work hard, and have fun along the way.” 

Smith is possibly best known for his actions while president of the American Bar Association, a voluntary association of lawyers which sets standards for legal education and ethical codes within the profession. Allee Smith said the ABA is often referred to as “before Chesterfield Smith” and “after Chesterfield Smith.” He was among the first public figures to call for President Richard Nixon’s impeachment and resignation and for the disbarment or other disciplinary actions against lawyers who violated legal codes of ethics in the Watergate scandal. Smith’s statement that “No man is above the law” drew national headlines. 

“His ABA presidency was certainly one of the ABA’s finest hours,” Jerry said. “His messages to law students, such as his famous statement, ‘If you don’t intend to work to improve the quality of justice, then I hope you flunk your exams,’ will be repeated to all generations.” 

U.S. News and World Report listed him among the nation’s 60 most influential people in the 1974 and 1975 articles entitled “Who Runs America.” A Time magazine essay included him in a list of 35 “noncandidates” qualified for the presidency. In his book, The Greatest Generation, Tom Brokaw dedicates a chapter to Smith, calling him “America’s lawyer.” 

Despite his status as a national figure and advocate for justice, Smith always referred to himself as a country lawyer – recalling his early days in Bartow where he joined the three-man firm of Holland, Bevis and McRae. The association would eventually lead him to become a principal architect in establishing the law firm Holland & Knight, which today employs over 1,100 lawyers in the U.S., China, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates. He was named a University of Florida Distinguished Alumnus in 1966. 

Allee Smith established the Chesterfield Smith Collection at University of Florida Smathers Libraries. The collection includes all of his speeches, personal documents and a large collection of oral recollections and audiovisual materials.

UF Law faculty stepped up to the plate and addressed a vast number of issues related to the case: From Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, to race, to ethics, to Twitter – it was all there.

UF Law issued a media tip sheet just as the story was breaking and UF Law faculty got in early on the conversation. Now, they have been positioned as some of the go-to experts on the case, with the media relying on our faculty – as experts in not only criminal law, but in Florida law – to elucidate the sometimes difficult and technical details.

Faculty members have been quoted by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, Reuters, NPR, Time.com, and numerous local and regional publications. Professor Kenneth Nunn offered great commentary on Eliot Spitzer’s “Viewpoint” on Current TV and Professor Michael Seigel chatted with Geraldo. Other faculty commenting on the case include Legal Skills Professor George Dekle, Legal Skills Professor Monique Haughton-Worrell, Professor Michelle Jacobs, Professor Lyrissa Lidsky, Professor Amy Mashburn and Professor Kathryn Russell-Brown.

By the day after a second-degree murder charge was filed against George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot the unarmed 17-year-old, UF Law faculty had been quoted in more than 100 media outlets about the Martin case, and the list continues to grow.

The UF Law Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations also sponsored a two-and-a-half hour discussion open to the public in which professors addressed questions from law students and the Gainesville community about legal issues surrounding the case as it was unfolding.

One of the job descriptions of a UF Law professor is educating the public about how the law is applied in society, and professors are in even more demand in that role than they were during the Casey Anthony trial, which concluded last summer. It can make for a hectic schedule as professors shuffle from teaching to taking a five-minute phone interview, to fielding another media request before the next class. The fact that the media keep coming back to our faculty is a testament to their expertise, insight and articulation of the legal matters imperative to this case and to the rule of law.

Below is a list of stories that UF Law Professors have been quoted in thus far:

Trayvon Martin case media hits, plus syndicated stories as of 4/16/2012

Bob Dekle:

“‘Stand Your Ground’ Under Microscope” (March 21, 2012, WCJB TV-20), http://www.wcjb.com/local-news/2012/03/stand-your-ground-under-microscope

“As Millions Fight for Trayvon Martin, Kill at Will Laws Flourish” (March 29, 2012, Color Lines), http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/03/kill_at_will_laws.html

“Media take on police-like role in Martin case” (April 3, 2012, Associated Press), http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i45K6g4CDB4ka-i53E8MJpxfvfLA?docId=0be05db9515e41a3bbb4c2dd2895f181

http://news.yahoo.com/media-police-role-martin-case-215401404.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/04/02/national/a145337D00.DTL

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-04/D9TTFDV80.htm

http://newsok.com/media-take-on-police-like-role-in-martin-case/article/feed/366690

http://www.abcnews4.com/story/17315282/media-takes-on-police-like-role-in-martin-case

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/04/02/3531200/media-takes-on-police-like-role.html#storylink=rss

http://www.twincities.com/ci_20309371/media-takes-police-like-role-martin-case

http://articles.boston.com/2012-04-02/ae/31276126_1_police-video-police-dispatcher-trayvon-martin-slaying

http://www.statesman.com/news/nation/media-take-on-police-like-role-in-martin-2279231.html

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Media-take-on-police-like-role-in-Martin-case-3453634.php

http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2012/04/02/media-take-on-police-like-investigative-role-in-martin-case/

http://www.katv.com/story/17315282/media-takes-on-police-like-role-in-martin-case

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/moving_america_news/38647

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/avantgo/2017894905.html

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/media-takes-police-role-martin-case-16057868

http://parkscrump.com/trayvon-martin-case-media-take-on-police-like-role/

http://www.wtoc.com/story/17315282/media-takes-on-police-like-role-in-martin-case?clienttype=printable

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120403/NATION/204030342

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-04/D9TTFDV80.htm

http://www.pressherald.com/news/nationworld/media-take-on-police-like-role-in-teens-death_2012-04-03.html

http://www.cnbc.com/id/46938144/Media_take_on_police_like_role_in_Martin_case

“The search for probable cause in Trayvon Martin case” (April 5, 2012, Orlando Sentinel),

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-04-05/news/os-trayvon-martin-probable-cause-20120404_1_special-prosecutor-angela-corey-evidence-standards-arrest

“Trayvon Martin’s killing is now a murder case” (April 12, 2012, USA Today), http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-04-12/george-zimmerman-charges-trayvon-martin-shooting/54191768/1

“Florida state attorney known to ‘vigorously’ prosecute cases” (April 12, 2012, USA Today), http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-04-11/corey-florida-prosecutor-trayvon-martin/54189310/1

“George Zimmerman charged in Trayvon Martin case” (April 12, 2012, USA Today) http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-04-11/trayvon-martin-review/54167820/1?csp=hf

“Zimmerman’s lawyers ask judge to recuse herself, records sealed” (April 16, 2012, The Daily Beast), http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/16/zimmerman-s-lawyers-ask-judge-to-recuse-herself-records-sealed.html

Monique Haughton-Worrell:

“Panelists discuss role of race in Trayvon Martin shooting” (March 29, 2012, The Alligator), http://www.alligator.org/news/campus/article_42ee9790-7959-11e1-ac78-0019bb2963f4.html

“Zimmerman charged with murder” (April 12, 2012, On Point with Tom Ashbrook, NPR), http://onpoint.wbur.org/2012/04/12/charges-for-george-zimmerman

Michelle Jacobs:

“Students react to the death of Trayvon Martin” (March 22, 2012, The Alligator), http://www.alligator.org/news/campus/article_fa94ad9c-73d9-11e1-a8bb-0019bb2963f4.html

“Inside the Trayvon Martin Tragedy” (March 28, 2012, Legal Talk Network), http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/lawyer-2-lawyer/2012/03/inside-the-trayvon-martin-tragedy/

http://tunein.com/radio/Lawyer-2-Lawyer-p321267/

http://www.podfeed.net/episode/Inside+the+Trayvon+Martin+Tragedy/3361603

“No grand jury for Trayvon Martin case” (April 10, 2012, WUFT), http://www.wuft.org/news/2012/04/10/no-grand-jury-for-trayvon-martin-case/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=no-grand-jury-for-trayvon-martin-case

“Trayvon Martin’s killing is now a murder case” (April 12, 2012, USA Today), http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-04-12/george-zimmerman-charges-trayvon-martin-shooting/54191768/1

http://tucsoncitizen.com/usa-today-news/2012/04/11/trayvon-martins-killing-is-now-a-murder-case/

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120412/GPG0101/304120035/Zimmerman-charged-Trayvon-Martin-death

“George Zimmerman charged in Trayvon Martin case” (April 12, 2012, USA Today) http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-04-11/trayvon-martin-review/54167820/1?csp=hf

“Trayvon Martin case: George Zimmerman charged with second-degree murder” (April 11, 2012 Time.com), http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/04/11/trayvon-martin-case-george-zimmerman-charged-with-second-degree-murder/?xid=gonewsedit

Lyrissa Lidsky:

“What Trayvon Martin’s tweets say about him” (April 8, 2012, The Miami Herald),

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/08/2738118/what-trayvon-martins-social-media.html

“Hannity could be required to testify about his conversation with George Zimmerman” (April 11, 2012, Think Progress.org), http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/04/11/462513/experts-hannity-testify-conversation-with-george-zimmerman/?mobile=nc

Amy Mashburn:

“Zimmerman ex-lawyers may have violated ethics rules: law profs” (April 11, 2012, Reuters), http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/ViewNews.aspx?id=44570&terms=%40ReutersTopicCodes+CONTAINS+’ANV

Kenneth Nunn:

“Trayvon Martin: Sanford officials, Rep. Corrine Brown, meet with Justice officials in Washington” (March 20, 2012, Orlando Sentinel), http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-20/news/os-trayvon-martin-doj-investigation-20120320_1_shooting-sanford-church-sanford-officials

http://www.wsbt.com/news/os-trayvon-martin-doj-investigation-20120320,0,4710790,full.story

http://www.jdnews.com/news/justice-101937-shooting-department.html

http://www.nejamelaw.com/rick-jancha-in-the-news/trayvon-martin-sanford-officials-meet-with-justice-officials.html

http://www.samachar.com/trayvon-martin-sanford-officials-rep-corrine-brown-meet-with-justice-officials-in-washington-mdvcM6dejfb.html

“Racism Is the Problem Here” (March 21, 2012, The New York Times),

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/03/21/do-stand-your-ground-laws-encourage-vigilantes/racism-is-the-problem-not-the-stand-your-ground-laws

“Trayvon Martin case: Looking ahead to grand jury hearing” (March 29, 2012, Los Angeles Times), http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-trayvon-martin-20120329,0,4927997.story

http://article.wn.com/view/2012/03/29/Trayvon_Martin_case_Looking_ahead_to_grand_jury_hearing_y/

http://timesofnews.co/2012/03/29/trayvon-martin-case-looking-ahead-to-grand-jury-hearing

“What Trayvon Martin’s tweets say about him” (April 8, 2012, The Miami Herald),

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/08/2738118/what-trayvon-martins-social-media.html

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/04/09/2473560/what-trayvon-martins-tweets-say.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2127114/Trayvon-Martin-Twitter-Teen-obsessed-girls-jokes-ghetto-culture.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://newspano.com/news/inside-trayvons-tweets-teen-was-obsessed-with-girls-and-made-jokes-about-ghetto-culture

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/04/09/v-print/144554/what-trayvon-martins-tweets-say.html

“Trayvon Martin case: Special prosecutor will skip the grand jury” (April 9, 2012, The Los Angeles Times), http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-trayvon-martin-case-answers-coming-soon-20120409,0,684632.story

“Trayvon Martin case: Why did Florida prosecutor skip grand jury?” (April 9, 2012, The Los Angeles Times), http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-trayvon-martin-case-what-does-prosecutors-decision-mean-20120409,0,3216534.story

“No Grand Jury in Trayvon Case” (April 9, 2012, Annenberg TV News), http://www.atvn.org/news/2012/04/special-prosecuter-will-not-take-trayvon-case-grand-jury

“Justice for Trayvon? Kenneth Nunn, Jenee Desomnd-Harris on Zimmerman’s second-degree murder charge” (April 11, 2012, Viowpoint with Eliot Spitzer), http://current.com/shows/viewpoint/93738266_justice-for-trayvon-kenneth-nunn-jen-e-desmond-harris-on-zimmermans-second-degree-murder-charge.htm#comments

“George Zimmerman in custody, charged with second-degree murder in Trayvon Martin case” (April 11, 2012, Huffington Post), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/11/george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-charged-second-degree-murder_n_1417198.html

“Hannity could be required to testify about his conversation with George Zimmerman” (April 11, 2012, Think Progress.org), http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/04/11/462513/experts-hannity-testify-conversation-with-george-zimmerman/?mobile=nc

“George Zimmerman appears briefly in court on Trayvon Martin murder charge” (April 12, 2012, The Guardian), http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/12/george-zimmerman-court-trayvon-martin?newsfeed=true

“Trayvon Martin case: Trial is challenge for prosecution, defense” (April 12, 2012, The Los Angeles Times), http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-trayvon-martin-legal-analysis-20120412,0,3927351.story

“George Zimmerman’s notoriety raises concerns for fair trial” (April 13, 2012, Huffington Post), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/13/george-zimmerman-trial-trayvon-martin_n_1423413.html

“George Zimmerman to plead not guilty to murder charge as lawyer seeks bail” (April 12, 2012, The Guardian), http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/12/george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-court-hearing?newsfeed=true

Katheryn Russell-Brown:

“Outrage unites people of all colors, but divide still exists” (March 24, 2012, Orlando Sentinel), http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-24/news/os-trayvon-martin-racial-view-20120325_1_blacks-jennifer-kesse-outrage

http://www.dailypress.com/topic/os-trayvon-martin-racial-view-20120325,0,4424398.story

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/trayvon-martin/os-trayvon-martin-racial-view-20120325,0,148123,full.story

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/newsworldnation/954872-227/outrage-unites-people-of-all-colors-divide.html

“Panelists discuss role of race in Trayvon Martin shooting” (March 29, 2012, The Alligator), http://www.alligator.org/news/campus/article_42ee9790-7959-11e1-ac78-0019bb2963f4.html

Michael Seigel:

“Stand your ground” laws and the Trayvon Martin case” (March 20, 2012, 89.3 KPCC, NPR affiliate in Los Angeles), http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2012/03/20/25683/trayvon-martin

 “UF Professor Breaks Down ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law” (March 21, 2012, GTN News),

http://www.mygtn.tv/story/17214033/uf-professor-breaks-down-stand-your-ground-law

 “‘Stand Your Ground Law’ at center of Fla. Shooting” (March 22, 2006, Associated Press), http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jGvt4B1k3oYa22McRcMZW59i8b0w?docId=c220cf9300364978aaf2b5e9ed3ca1b4

http://articles.boston.com/2012-03-22/news/31226014_1_deadly-force-shooting-death-police-officers

http://www.timesnews.net/article/9044107/39stand-your-ground-law39-at-center-of-fla-shooting

http://m2.tbo.com/content/2012/mar/22/220754/stand-your-ground-law-at-center-of-sanford-teen-sh/news-breaking/

http://www.delawareonline.com/viewart/20120322/NEWS/120322033/Stand-Your-Ground-Law-center-Fla-shooting?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CHome

http://online.worldmag.com/2012/03/22/stand-your-ground-law-at-center-of-fla-shooting/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46818374

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/stand-your-ground-law-1394199.html

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/22/stand-your-ground-law-at-center-florida-shooting/?page=all

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2017811122_apusneighborhoodwatchstandyourground.html?syndication=rss

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/trayvon-martin-case-stand_n_1372105.html

http://www.northjersey.com/wires/143771726__Stand_Your_Ground_Law__at_center_of_Fla__shooting.html

http://gma.yahoo.com/stand-ground-law-center-fla-shooting-070551429.html

http://www.twincities.com/ci_20229475/stand-your-ground-law-at-center-fla-shooting

http://abcnews.go.com/US/stand-ground-law-center-fla-shooting/comments?type=story&id=15976334

http://www.vosizneias.com/103587/2012/03/26/florida-us-could-bring-hate-charge-in-trayvon-martin-shooting/

http://www.policeone.com/patrol-issues/articles/5321748-Stand-Your-Ground-law-at-center-of-Fla-shooting/

“A fine line keeps Jacksonville teen jailed despite ‘Stand Your Ground’ law” (April 2, 2012, The Florida Times-Union), http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-03-31/story/fine-line-keeps-jacksonville-teen-jailed-despite-stand-your-ground-law

“What if Trayvon Martin had killed George Zimmerman?” (Aprial 2, 2012, Yahoo.com), http://news.yahoo.com/trayvon-martin-had-killed-george-zimmerman-145100777.html

“Zimmerman to be charged by Florida special prosecutor” (April 11, 2012, 89.3 KPCC radio), http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2012/04/11/25987/breaking-zimmerman-to-be-charged-by-florida-specia

“George Zimmerman prosecutor, Angela Corey, has a reputation of being tough, determined and fair” (April 12, 2012, ABC News.com), http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/crime/george-zimmerman–prosecutor-has-a-reputation-of-being-tough-determined-and-fair

“Murder charge brought in Trayvon Martin case” (April 4, 2012, The Associated Press), http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hWuYZ3pneIkUVNAg9O6sA8NflTcw?docId=17867965914947b0837b3f673530dd3b

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20120411/NEWS04/120411029/After-public-pressure-protests-murder-charge-filed-Trayvon-Martin-killing?odyssey=nav%7Chead

http://www.minnpost.com/christian-science-monitor/2012/04/trayvon-martin-murder-case-next-legal-steps-george-zimmerman

http://www.examiner.com/ex-offender-re-entry-in-washington-dc/martin-s-family-makes-an-appearance-at-nan

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/04/prosecuting_trayvon_martins_ki.html

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/04/12/convicting-george-zimmerman-2nd-degree-murder-wont-be-easy-experts-say/

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/04/11/3877229/florida-teens-killer-faces-charge.html

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120411/news/704119829/print/

http://articles.boston.com/2012-04-12/nation/31323339_1_murder-charge-first-degree-murder-second-degree-murder

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/12/prosecutors-face-hurdles-in-trayvon-martin-case/?print&page=all

http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/prosecutors-face-hurdles-in-trayvon-martin-case/3478dc00dece49b284c142cdaa7be9d2

http://www.telegram.com/article/20120412/NEWS/104129915/1052

http://www.kvue.com/news/147173175.html

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/prosecutors-face-hurdles-charging-zimmerman-murder

http://www.thegrio.com/specials/trayvon-martin/george-zimmerman-makes-first-appearance-in-florida-court.php#47031723

http://www.krgv.com/news/prosecutors-face-hurdles-in-trayvon-martin-case-103563

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/trayvon-martin-zimmerman-case/2012/04/12/id/435616

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Prosecutors-face-hurdles-in-Trayvon-Martin-case-.html

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-04-12/story/trayvon-martins-mother-i-believe-it-shooting-was-accident

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20380589/prosecutors-face-hurdles-trayvon-martin-case

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120412/AP01/304129958/1057/AP01

“Hannity could be required to testify about his conversation with George Zimmerman” (April 11, 2012, Think Progress.org), http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/04/11/462513/experts-hannity-testify-conversation-with-george-zimmerman/?mobile=nc

The keynote address will be given by Rob E. Atkinson, Jr., who is the Ruden McClosky Professor of Law at the Florida State University College of Law. Atkinson’s address is titled, “The Amended Oath of Admission to the Bar: Why its New Civility Clause is Far Less Radical than its Classical Republican Core.” The event is sponsored by the Eight Judicial Circuit Bar Assocation, David B. Mishael, P.A. and the UF Levin College of Law.

For more information: http://www.8jcba.org/archives/professionalseminar2012.pdf

The winner of this trial team competition will present his or her closing argument to Fredric Levin and Martin Levin, two highly accomplished and nationally prominent trial lawyers. The Levins will then critique the student’s argument in front of an audience, allowing the audience to learn more about the finer points of closing arguments and trial advocacy skills in general.

The UF Levin College of Law Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations will host “A Conversation on the Shooting Death of Trayvon Martin” Wednesday in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, HOL 180, at 5:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

For additional information:
Debra Amirin, Director of Communications, University of Florida Levin College of Law
352-273-0651, amirin@law.ufl.edu

A Modern Miracle for UF Law
Building Dedication Wraps Up Transformative Decade

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Considering the obstacles, you might call it a modern miracle. In the face of dwindling state support and increasingly tough times for higher education as state revenues plummeted in the wake of the Great Recession, the University of Florida Levin College of Law has rallied its alumni and friends during the past decade in a $30 million effort to completely transform, enlarge and upgrade its facilities and offer more scholarship and faculty support.

“We’ve had to manage our money very carefully,” said UF Law Dean Robert Jerry. “But we’ve been able to continue to move forward when other schools have not thanks to the generosity and foresight of our graduates and their families as well as others who believe in the value of what we do here. This facility wraps up a decade of transformation for our law school, particularly in its physical facilities.”

The college will formally dedicate its newest building, the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center, March 30, with its presentation to UF President Bernie Machen. Another surprise is that the sleek 19,500 square-foot building with its dramatic, two-story curved glass foyer has earned the gold LEED rating for its energy efficient and environmentally friendly design, a tribute to its architects. The rating is based on features such as the use of low-flow faucets, waterless urinals, reflective building materials and designs to optimize energy performance. According to the March 14, 2011, LEED report, 1.5 tons of construction waste water was diverted from landfills during the building’s construction and potable water use has been reduced by 55 percent from fittings and fixtures. Energy efficiency measures include high efficiency glazing, reduced interior lighting power density, occupancy sensors and a district chilled water system. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Rating System was designed by the U.S. Green Building Council to encourage more environmentally sustainable buildings.

Proud participants at the dedication will be the Levin family, who made the building – as well as numerous other improvements at the school – possible.

Machen noted that Fredric G. Levin (JD 61) donated $10 million to the law school in 1999. At the time it was the largest gift ever given to UF.

“When the history of this law school is recounted 50 or 100 years from now, Fred Levin will be known as a transformative force,” Machen said.

The center is named after Fredric’s son, Martin Levin (JD 88), who serves as general counsel for the Washington, D.C.-based Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. He illuminated what has driven his father to become the prime benefactor of UF Law in general and the advocacy center in particular when the opening of the center’s 4,000-square-foot courtroom was celebrated last year.

He said his father believes that advocacy is a way of arriving at conclusions that instill confidence in the advocate to speak even if the point of view is unpopular. The meticulous research and critical thinking upon which advocacy relies allows conclusions based on reality rather than self-interest, Martin Levin said.

“It’s very simple. Dad honestly believes that advocacy is the single-most important action that can sustain this country’s greatness and, certainly, sustain justice,” said Martin Levin, who finished first in his class at UF Law and holds two advanced degrees from Harvard as well as an undergraduate degree from Stanford.

Martin Levin said his father has done this regularly during his 50-year career. “He spoke out no matter what the consequences were going to be to him. He never backed down.”

“I’m very privileged and honored to do this for Allen and to live the legacy of this incredible family,” Teri Levin announced at the courtroom dedication. Her $1 million donation in the name of her late husband, Allen Levin, a Pensacola developer, allowed the Teri and Allen Levin Advocacy Center Suite on the second floor, which includes two new multipurpose courtroom classrooms and offices for Legal Research and Writing faculty and practice areas for student trial and moot court teams, to be completed this summer.

Teri Levin noted that she gave the money for the advocacy center at the guidance and encouragement of her brother-in-law Fredric G. Levin, who also donated $2 million for construction of the advocacy center.

“I hope with the facility here, the advocacy center, that it will become the go-to place for young law students who want to become trial lawyers and they certainly have the facility to do it,” said Fredric Levin, a renowned trial lawyer. “I have tried cases all over the country. I’ve never seen a more beautiful courtroom or a more well-equipped courtroom.”

Architect Sol J. Fleischman Jr., A.I.A., CEO of Tampa-based FleischmanGarcia, said the courtroom is geared to its teaching function through monitors, data, phone and Internet connections, and especially the tiered seating giving students a clear view of the proceedings. The cherry-paneled walls and leather chairs give it the stately grace appropriate for Florida’s flagship law school.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The UF Levin College of Law Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations will host “A Conversation on the Shooting Death of Trayvon Martin” Wednesday in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, HOL 180, at 5:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

This will be an engaging discussion on the legal and social issues surrounding the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last month in Sanford, Fla. It is an excellent opportunity for those who are concerned to ask questions, provide commentary, and gain insight from members of the UF Law faculty, including Professors George Dekle, Monique Haughton-Worrell, Kenneth Nunn, Michelle Jacobs, Katheryn Russell-Brown and Michael Seigel. Topics scheduled for discussion include Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, self-defense, racism, police discretion, charging decisions, racial imagery, slave codes, prosecution and evidence.

Please visit UF Law’s website for a tip sheet with contact information for UF Law professors available to comment on the case: http://www.law.ufl.edu/news/2012/03/20/uf-law-criminal-law-experts-available-to-address-trayvon-martin-case/.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Joseph Harrington, professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University, will deliver the third annual Bayard Wickliffe Heath Memorial Lecture Friday at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Harrington will discuss “Game-Theoretic Ruminations on Section 1 of the Sherman Act,” at 10 a.m. in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, HOL 180. The lecture is free and open to the public.

“Joe Harrington has been one of the most important names in antitrust for his research into cartels, which utilizes elegant game theoretic models,” said UF Law Professor Daniel Sokol. “His policy work with antitrust agencies around the world allows Joe to bridge the worlds of theory and practice. He is a star in the field and we are honored to have him as our Heath Lecturer.”

The Sherman Antitrust Act, which was passed by Congress in 1890, was one of the earliest and most important antitrust laws established in the United States and still forms the basis for much of today’s antitrust litigation.

Often used in business and economics, game theory uses applied mathematics to examine how “players” interact within certain scenarios – and the benefits or problems that could arise from how they relate to one another.

The Heath Memorial Lecture Series was made possible by a gift from Inez Heath, Ph.D., widow of Bayard “Wick” Heath. Before his death in 2008, Heath was the senior competition consultant with Info Tech, a Gainesville firm specializing in statistical and econometric consulting, expert witness testimony and antitrust law.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On Feb. 26, Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American youth, was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old White-Hispanic man, while Martin was walking in Zimmerman’s neighborhood. Almost a month after the killing, Zimmerman has not been arrested, with Sanford, Fla. police citing Florida’s 2005 “Stand Your Ground” law as the reason, which allows a person who feels threatened in a public space to use deadly force. As the case gains national attention, with over 500,000 signatures on a Change.org petition calling for the arrest of Zimmerman, it has today gone to a grand jury, and the Justice Department and FBI have opened  an investigation on the case.

University of Florida Levin College of Law experts available

Bob Dekle, Legal Skills Professor
Cell: 386-365-4611
Email: dekle@law.ufl.edu

Areas of expertise include issues related to criminal law, self-defense, evidence, police tactics and interrogation.

Michelle Jacobs, Professor of Law
Office: 352-273-0940
Email: jacobsm@law.ufl.edu

Areas of expertise include issues related to critical race theory and criminal law.
                                                                                                                                             
Katheryn Russell-Brown, Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law; Director, UF Levin Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations
Office: 352-273-0912
Email: russellbrownk@law.ufl.edu

Areas of expertise include issues related to race and crime, criminal law.

Michael Seigel, UF Research Foundation Professor of Law; Director, Criminal Justice Center and Clinics
Office: 352-273-0914
Email: seigel@law.ufl.edu

Areas of expertise include issues related to criminal law, self-defense, and Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law.

Jennifer Zedalis, Legal Skills Professor; Director Trial Practice Team
Office: 352-273-0814
Email: zedalis@law.ufl.edu

Areas of expertise include issues related to criminal law and trial practice.

GAINESEVILLE, Fla. – One of the nation’s foremost federal court scholars will delve into issues surrounding judicial review at the 31st annual Dunwody Distinguished Lecture in Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Martin H. Redish, the Louis and Harriet Ancel Professor of Law and Public Policy at Northwestern University School of Law, will present the lecture “Judicial Review, Constitutional Interpretation, and the Democratic Dilemma: Proposing a ‘Controlled Activism’ Alternative” Friday March 23, at 10:30 a.m. in UF Law’s Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, HOL 180. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Redish was recently listed in a study conducted by William S. Hein & Company as the sixteenth most cited legal scholar of all time. He has also been consistently recognized by the Institute for Scientific Information for being among the most highly cited researchers worldwide. 

Redish has also appeared as an expert witness before numerous congressional committees. In addition, he has made frequent appearances in the national media, including the Today Show, ABC and NBC National News, CNN, Court TV, CSPAN and National Public Radio.

The Florida Law Review Dunwody Distinguished Lecture in Law series was established by the U.S. Sugar Corporation and the law firms of Dunwody, White, & Landon, P.A. and Mershon, Sawyer, Johnston, Dunwody & Cole in honor of Elliot and Atwood Dunwody. The honorees were brothers who dedicated their lives to the legal profession and who set a standard of excellence for The Florida Bar. As graduates of the University of Florida College of Law, they labored long, continuously and quietly to better the social and economic conditions in Florida.

The series is intended to perpetuate the example set by the Dunwody brothers by providing a forum for renowned legal scholars to present novel and challenging ideas.

The event is CLE accredited and will be available via live webcast at www.floridalawreview.com.

For additional information:
Matt Walker, UF Law Communications
352-273-0650, mlwalker@law.ufl.edu

The Judge John J. Parker Distinguished Professor of Law will present a lecture titled, “Slavery, Secession and the Constitution,” at the ninth annual UF Levin College of Law Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations Spring Lecture Wednesday, March 21, at noon at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, Room 345. The lecture is free and open to the public.

“While everyone understands that slavery was at the center of the South’s secession, what I’m interested in is how southern politicians, lawyers and professors used constitutional ideas – like the Constitution’s protection of slavery – to argue for secession,” Brophy said.

Brophy said while today we see the Constitution as a guarantee of equal rights, before the Civil War, southerners used the same document to protect slavery, even at the cost of a united nation. This presentation is the culmination of years of work analyzing southern academics and their defense of slavery, and “how ideas about slavery, history and economy were used to gin up support for a proslavery interpretation of the Constitution and separate Confederate nation.”

Brophy is the author of Reconstructing the Dreamland: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 (Oxford University Press, 2002) and Reparations Pro and Con (Oxford University Press, 2006), and is the co-author of Integrating Spaces: Property Law and Race (Aspen, 2011).  He is completing a study of jurisprudence in the old South tentatively titled University, Court, and Slave and is starting a study of the idea of equality among African American intellectuals in the early twentieth century and the road to Brown, tentatively titled Reading the Great Constitutional Dream Book.

The University of Florida Levin College of Law Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations is committed to fostering communities of dialogue on race. The center creates and supports programs designed to enhance race-related curriculum development for faculty, staff and students in collegiate and professional schools. Of the five U.S. law schools with race centers, the CSRRR is uniquely focused on curriculum development.

For additional information:
Matt Walker, UF Law Communications
352-273-0650, mlwalker@law.ufl.edu

The event is not open to the public, but media are welcome to attend. 

When looking back on Mickle’s long and successful career, a pattern quickly becomes clear – a pattern of firsts. Besides being the first African-American to earn an undergraduate degree from the University of Florida in 1965, Mickle was the first African-American to establish a private law practice in Gainesville, the first African-American to become a county judge in Alachua County, the first African-American to become a circuit judge in the 8th Judicial Circuit, the first African-American from the 8th Judicial Circuit to be appointed to the Florida 1st District Court of Appeals, and the first African-American to become a federal judge in the Northern District of Florida.    

The ceremony will also feature remarks about Mickle and his career from distinguished guests including Chief United States District Judge of the Northern District of Florida Casey Rodgers, North Central Florida Chapter of the Federal Bar Association President Gilbert A. Schaffnit, 8th Judicial Circuit Bar Association President James H. (Mac) McCarty Jr. and UF Law Dean Robert Jerry. 

The reception is sponsored by the Federal Bench and Bar Fund for the Northern District of Florida, the North Central Florida Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, the 8th Judicial Circuit Bar Association, and the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

For additional information:
Stephanie Marchman, Assistant City Attorney
marchmansm@cityofgainesville.org

March 13, 2012

For additional Information: Debra Amirin, Director of Communications, University of Florida Levin College of Law, 352-273-0651, amirin@law.ufl.edu

UF Law high in new U.S. graduate school rankings

Gainesville, Fla.–The University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Tax Program continues to rank first among public law schools and second overall, its Environmental and Land Use Law Program rose four places to fifth among publics/ninth overall, and its Dispute Resolution Program rose three places to seventh among publics/16th overall in U.S. News & World Report rankings released today. UF’s law school is in the top twenty (ten percent) in three of nine specialty program rankings.

The publication’s annual rankings of the nation’s graduate schools place UF’s law school 25th among public schools and 48th out of 200 accredited law schools nationwide.

“While we are pleased to remain ranked in the top quarter of the nation’s law schools, particularly as we deal with continuing budget challenges, we are certain UF Law would have ranked considerably higher if U.S. News had not changed how it ranks schools,” said UF Law Dean Robert Jerry. “The method for ranking shifted last year to counting graduates who immediately enroll in post-J.D. programs like LL.M. programs as unemployed. This hurts us more than most other institutions due to the much larger number of UF Law students—10.7 percent in this class—who continue their study in a graduate program such as our highly regarded tax LL.M.”

“This highlights how frustrating rankings can be, since, as I have said every year, they are rarely accurate measures of institutional quality,” said Jerry. He added that a better indication of institutional strength in U.S. News rankings is reputation, where UF Law continues to be highly rated in the top 20th percentile or better–15th among publics and 35th overall in peer assessment, and 17th among publics and 38th overall in lawyer/judge assessment. This coupled with comparatively low tuition makes the Levin College of Law widely regarded as one of the nation’s best values in legal education. (A chart ranking law schools by reputation was posted yesterday on the blog Taxprof at http:/taxprof.typepad.com/.)

“The college’s reputation is one reason UF Law has ranked in the top three in the U.S. News specialty tax area for as long as they have published the list,” said Associate Dean for Graduate Tax Mike Friel. “It is gratifying to know we remain listed as the top public school and second overall, and credit our outstanding faculty’s scholarship and reputation for this distinction.”

UF’s Law Environmental and Land Use Law (ELUL) and Dispute Resolution programs have been steadily rising in the annual specialty area rankings.

ELUL Program Director Mary Jane Angelo said, “We are proud that UF’s Environmental and Land Use Law Program is ranked 5th among all public and 9th among all law school environmental programs. The program’s ranking has been steadily rising in recent years and our current ranking reflects the depth and breadth of our program, as well as the accomplishments and strong reputation of our faculty and students.”

The University of Florida’s Levin College of Law played an active role in the development of alternative dispute resolution in the state, and its Institute for Dispute Resolution (IDR) was the first of its kind established at a law school in Florida, as a result of state legislators enacting one of the first laws in the country giving judges broad authority to order mediation in all types of civil lawsuits, according to IDR Director Robin Davis.

“We monitor the school’s progress closely. We know that we have earned our excellent reputation in very real, measurable ways and we are proud that our graduates continue to lead the profession,” Jerry said, citing the college’s long history of producing national leaders, including 2010-11 ABA President Stephen Zack and the majority of Florida Bar presidents. The prominence of our alumni in the federal and state judiciaries also speaks loudly about our quality.”

UF Law was ranked fourth among public law schools in 2011 (eighth overall) in the number of its graduates serving as federal district and circuit court judges; more than 250 graduates serve as state appellate and trial judges in Florida, and many serve in those roles in other states as well.

“That a large number of law schools hire our graduates as law professors is also a sign of the college’s strength,” said Jerry. A study published in the August 2011 Journal of Legal Education ranked UF Law in the top 33 (17 percent) of law schools nationwide, and as high as 22nd (11 percent) in one calculation, for placement in the professoriate in legal education.

“It is remarkable that despite continuing budget cuts, the Levin College of Law has not only managed to sustain its top tax ranking and remain a top 50 law school, it is also attracting national attention for its strength in environmental and land use law and dispute resolution.”

“We’ve had to manage our money very carefully,” said Jerry. “But we’ve been able to continue to move forward when other schools have not thanks to the generosity and foresight of our graduates and their families as well as others who believe in the value of what we do here. When we dedicate the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center March 30, we will be wrapping up a decade of transformation for our law school these supporters have made possible.”

###

Vicki L. Been, Boxer Family Professor of Law and director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University School of law will present, “Who Controls Land Use Regulation: The Urban Growth Machine versus Homevoters,” Tuesday at 11 a.m. in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center courtroom at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Click the link below to watch the 2012 Wolf Family Lecture:

http://mediasite.video.ufl.edu/mediasite/SilverlightPlayer/Default.aspx?peid=6b41e27f10c04b02b9f86a81f7e957cb1d