UF will receive nearly $757,200 from the U.S. Agency for International Development through Higher Education for Development to create the Colombian Caribbean Human Rights Center, which will build capacity in human rights among two Colombian Caribbean law schools through rigorous interdisciplinary research, education and community service with emphasis on serving vulnerable populations.

The center will assist regional law schools in training future legal practitioners with knowledge on national and international human rights standards, the skills to support human rights reform in Colombia, and in enhancing outreach initiatives to better serve minorities, displaced persons and other vulnerable populations.

“The faculty at the colleges of law and education, and at the Center for Latin American Studies, possess great depth in international law, human rights and experiential learning,” UF Law Dean Robert Jerry said, “and are very well suited to achieve the goals of this ambitious program.”

Directors of the project are Jon Mills, dean emeritus and director of the Center for Governmental Responsibility at the Levin College of Law; Pilar Mendoza, a native Colombian and assistant professor in higher education administration in the College of Education; Philip Williams, director of the Center for Latin American Studies; and Timothy McLendon, Center for Governmental Responsibility staff attorney.

The UF team will work with the Universidad del Magdalena in Santa Marta, Colombia, and the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia. Both universities offer courses and activities to enhance human rights awareness and education in the region.

“Respect for the rights of individuals, especially vulnerable populations, is vital to the development of the democracy and economy of a nation,” Mills said. “We are honored to have this opportunity to work with two distinguished Colombian universities on such an important priority for the U.S. government. The Levin College of Law is acknowledged for its faculty expertise in human rights.”

The three universities will work toward establishment of the human rights center through enhanced human rights curricula; workshops and training programs in Colombia; educational opportunities at UF for Colombian faculty members and LL.M. students; and collaborative research and scholarship between Florida and Colombian faculty.

The project will include law faculty with expertise in human rights, clinical legal education and comparative law; and education faculty from the Collaborative Assessment and Program Evaluation Services . The award will be managed by the Center for Latin American Studies.

“Given the fundamental importance of enhancing the protection of the human rights for Colombian citizens after years of internal conflict, the Center for Latin American Studies is thrilled to be working alongside the Center for Governmental Responsibility and the College of Education in a project of such national and international significance,” Williams said.

During the first two years of the project, the Center for Governmental Responsibility’s annual Conference on Legal and Policy Issues in the Americas will focus on human rights in Colombia, beginning with a workshop in Gainesville in spring 2013, and a major conference to be held in Colombia in spring, 2014.

Two recent factors have increased U.S. interest in human rights in Colombia – the end of overt civil war and weakening of guerilla movements and the development of free trade agreements.

Colombia also is an important trading partner with the State of Florida, as evidenced by an upcoming trade mission to Colombia, led by Gov. Rick Scott and Enterprise Florida. In announcing the trade mission, the Governor’s Office said Florida trade with Colombia totaled $9 billion last year, noting that Colombia is one of the top five destinations for Florida products, representing nearly $3 billion a year in exports.

“The higher education sector is rapidly developing in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Mendoza said. “The University of Florida is uniquely positioned to take advantage of these developments and engage in these types of collaborations.”

The U.S. Agency for International Development administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide.  For more information, visit www.usaid.gov.

HED mobilizes the expertise and resources of the higher education community to address global development challenges. Higher Education for Development (HED) works closely with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is founded by the nation’s six major higher education associations to support the involvement of higher education in development issues worldwide. For more, visit www.hedprogram.org.

For additional information:

Jon Mills, Tim McLendon, 352-273-0835

Dr. Phil Williams, 352-273-4703

Dr. Pilar Mendoza, 352-273-4309

Description: John H. Hankinson, Jr., Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, which is preparing recommendations to restore the Gulf Coast areas damaged by the 2010 oil spill, will speak at the University of Florida on June 17.  Hankinson’s visit, which is open to the public, is co-sponsored by the Center for Governmental Responsibility at UF’s Levin College of Law and by the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering in UF’s College of Engineering.

Hankinson’s visit, which is open to the public, is co-sponsored by the Center for Governmental Responsibility at UF’s Levin College of Law and by the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering in UF’s College of Engineering.

The program begins at 10 a.m. and will be held in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center at the law school.

“We are honored to host John Hankinson, who is at the forefront of restoring the Gulf of Mexico and making the region even stronger, following the disaster of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” said UF Law Dean Emeritus Jon Mills, who is also director of the Center for Governmental Responsibility. “We know John well because he is a graduate of the UF law school and has spent decades as one of the leading authorities on environmental issues throughout the southeast.”

Mills and Peter Sheng, Ph.D., professor of coastal and oceanographic engineering, will co-host Hankinson’s visit. Both served on UF’s university-wide oil spill task force, an interdisciplinary group of faculty researchers who developed research projects related to the spill and who served as experts during the response process. Additionally, Mills chaired the law school’s working group on legal and policy issues related to the oil spill.

Hankinson has spent more than 30 years on environmental policy and regulation, including work on the National Estuary Program in the Gulf of Mexico, water quality protection plans for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, restoration and protection of the St. Johns River system, and serving as regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. His top priority while at EPA was helping states and communities protect air and water quality and restoring and protecting key ecosystems such as the Everglades and the Gulf of Mexico. Prior to his service at EPA, Hankinson worked for almost ten years as Director of Planning and Acquisition for the St. Johns River Water Management District in Palatka. Hankinson most recently served as an environment and conservation lands consultant, advising on land conservation, strategic land use decision-making, and constructive environmental management and policy projects across the Southeastern United States.

As the executive director of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, Hankinson – who reports directly to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson – coordinates interagency efforts, oversees staff and outreach efforts in developing a regional ecosystem restoration strategy and ensures that science underpins the task force’s efforts. The task force is an advisory body comprised of lead officials from the five Gulf states appointed by the president upon recommendation of each governor, and 11 federal agencies and White House offices. Engagement of local stakeholders, representatives from affected tribes, and the scientific and academic communities is ongoing and will inform the development of the strategy. Offices for the task force are located in Washington, D.C. The Task Force was created by President Barack Obama in October, 2010, and will prepare a restoration strategy for the Gulf Coast by October, 2011.

For additional information: Jon Mills, 352-273-0835

UF researchers, partnering with the Center for Urban Policy Research at Rutgers University, examined activities that included rehabilitation of historic buildings, heritage tourism, state historic preservation grants, operations of history museums and Florida Main Street Programs. The study was funded by the Bureau of Historic Preservation, Division of Historical Resources in the Florida Department of State. It updated a similar study completed in 2002.

“Despite negative events of significance to the international economy since our earlier study, we found that historic preservation activities continue to make a significant positive contribution during these tough economic times,” said Timothy McLendon, CGR staff attorney and lead researcher on the project. He cited such events as the impacts of the World Trade Center bombings on travel, tourism and the international economy; the economic meltdown of world banking and financial markets, affecting housing, real estate and construction; the international recession; economic struggles of state and local governments; and unemployment trends.

Using a formula developed by Rutgers economists David Listokin and Michael Lahr, the study found that in-state benefits from investment in historic preservation included: 111,509 jobs; $2.9 billion in income; $4.2 billion in gross state product; $1.38 billion in taxes; and $3.77 billion in in-state wealth.

The overall findings of the study were:

1. Historic preservation creates jobs in Florida and in the United States. Of the more than 110,000 jobs created in Florida, nearly half were in the retail sector and a quarter were in the services sector. Another 20,000 jobs were created in the U.S., outside of Florida.
2. Historic preservation contributes to state, local and federal tax collections.
3. Historic preservation creates in-state wealth, and $2.9 billion in income to Florida residents.
4. Rehabilitation of historic properties in Florida is a multi-billion-dollar business. More than $2 billion was spent rehabilitating existing residential and non-residential historic Florida property in 2007-08.
5. Florida visitors spend billions visiting historic sites. Heritage tourists in Florida spent an estimated $4.13 billion in 2007-08.
6. Investments through the Florida Main Street Program are revitalizing historic downtowns and original commercial corridors, thus bringing citizens, visitors and dollars back to the heart of communities throughout the state. Florida Main Street investment output was roughly $409.6 million in construction and retail job benefits in 2007-08.
7. History museums attract millions of tourists visiting Florida. Approximately 13 million people (Floridians and out-of-state tourists) visited a history museum in the state.
8. Florida’s Historic Preservation Grants program supports rehabilitation and tourism, thus enriching the state’s economy. Researchers visited sites throughout Florida that were among the recipients of a total of more than $193.8 million in state grant funds between 1996 and 2008.
9. Historic designation does not depress property values and may help maintain value. Researchers, working with UF’s Geoplan Center, examined more than 20,000 parcels of single family residential property in communities throughout Florida, including Gainesville, Jacksonville, Ocala, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Lakeland, West Palm Beach, Lake Worth and Tallahassee from 2001-09. The study found that in 12 of 18 cases studied for 2001-09, historic district properties showed greater increases in property values than comparable property in non-historic neighborhoods. For the period from 2006-09, historic districts tended to maintain their values better than the non-historic neighborhoods.

Florida sites featured in the study are: South Beach in Miami Beach; El Jardin Mansion at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, Miami; Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid; Historic Masonic Lodge #36 A.F. & A.M., Daytona Beach; Old City Hall, Chipley; Ximenez-Fatio House Museum, St. Augustine; Tarpon Springs; Ponce Inlet Lighthouse & Museum; Crooked River Lighthouse, Carrabelle; Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park, Baker County; Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park, Leon County; Ray Charles Boyhood Home, Greenville; Okeechobee Main Street; Lincoln Park Main Street, Fort Pierce; Main Street Punta Gorda; Main Street Wauchula; Dade City Main Street; Panama City Main Street; Main Street Starke; Newberry Main Street; Pensacola Historical Society & Museum, Historic Pensacola Village; Historical Society of Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach; The Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida, Naples; Immokalee Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch; Charlotte County History Center, Punta Gorda; Mandarin Museum and Historical Society; Old Firehouse No. 3, Key West; Bing Rooming House, Plant City; Historic Derby Street Chapel, Cocoa; Vietnam War Patrol Torpedo Fast Boat, PTF3, DeLand; and Flagler College Art Building, St. Augustine.

The research findings are included in a 52-page executive summary and detailed in an extensive technical document that accompanies the summary. Both will be available soon at CGR’s website.

Cossack presently serves as the legal analyst for ESPN, reporting on how the law applies in various ways to sports. He also is distinguished practitioner in residence at Pepperdine University School of Law, where he teaches a course on media and the law.

“Roger Cossack offers our students a unique perspective on the law, as a practitioner, analyst, and professor,” said Jon Mills, professor, dean emeritus, and director of the Center for Governmental Responsibility. “He visited our law school in 2001 as part of a distinguished panel of experts who analyzed the 2000 presidential election in a CGR-sponsored forum. At that time, we knew we wanted to bring him back because he was such an excellent, informed speaker. We hope our students and faculty take advantage of the opportunity to meet and hear from him.”

Cossack was a prosecutor and a defense lawyer during his 22 years of practice, and in 1984 he argued U.S. v. Leon before the Supreme Court. Prior to beginning his private practice of law, he served on the faculty of the UCLA Law School. In 1994 he joined CNN as the co-host of Burden of Proof and also was the CNN legal analyst. From 1994 to 2001 he covered all the major legal events, including breaking the Bush v. Gore decision, the impeachment of President Clinton, and the disputed election of 2000. He has been with ESPN since 2002.

The CGR lecture is sponsored through contributions of CGR alumni and friends, principally led by Judge Anne C. Conway, U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Florida, and the Jon Mills Family. Cossack’s visit is jointly sponsored by the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information in UF’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications

Contact: JoAnn Klein; 352-273-0843; klein@law.ufl.edu

• Portrait of Jon Mills (UF Law/Chen Wang, 3.4 MB)
• Book jacket (Courtesy of Oxford University Press, 287 KB)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Technology has intruded into every aspect of modern life, from how people die to how they conduct their public and private business. Although the benefits of technology are obvious, the risks can be huge.

That’s because every cell phone call, credit card transaction, discount card purchase, Internet site visited, or e-mail sent or received is fair game for information poachers to filch at will and without your knowledge. So states a new book released this month, “Privacy: The Lost Right” (Oxford University Press), authored by Jon Mills, a University of Florida Levin College of Law professor, dean emeritus, and founder of the university’s Center for Governmental Responsibility.

“Technology has moved too fast for the law, which is not totally surprising,” said Mills. “The combination of the Internet and a broad range of scientific advances, like genetic testing, have created information and societal changes with which the law has not been able to keep pace.”

“Privacy: The Lost Right” draws on Mills’ academic, courtroom and legislative experiences and explores examples of privacy intrusions enabled by technology ranging from disclosure of private online video rentals, Internet purchasing habits, spyware that tracks personal online viewing habits, governmental and corporate intrusions, and salacious or defamatory Web postings made by anonymous bloggers. He outlines the legal protections people have — or don’t have — to prevent these intrusions, and offers options to bolster legal protections of privacy.

Mills also relates his personal experiences as an attorney who has made successful arguments in several, high-profile court cases that have defined the First Amendment boundaries of the press’ right to know and an individual’s right to privacy. These included blocking the release of grisly autopsy photos of six young people murdered by serial killer Danny Rolling, preventing the posting of Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s autopsy photos to the Internet, and closing the homicide investigation file containing detailed personal information on murdered fashion mogul Gianni Versace.

These cases were sensationalized in the media and riveted public attention, but the privacy invasions of the information age that don’t garner any attention can do equal harm, said Mills.

“People are unaware of how many intrusions they face during everyday life because it is not in any intruders’ interest to put the public on notice, and when they do it’s usually only in the fine print,” said Mills. “We don’t know when somebody has gathered and sold our private information, we don’t know that somebody looked at our medical records and that it affected the way we were treated in a job search.”

Mills said it is not just government or the press or the anonymous bloggers or the data brokers that have the ability to violate our privacy rights, it’s all of the above together. Although Americans enjoy the conveniences of the Internet, camera phones and online commerce, Mills contends few of us surrendered all privacy for convenience — at least not knowingly.

“Americans cherish their privacy and the legal tools that protect it. At no time in our history have the challenges to personal privacy been so great,” said Janet Reno, former U.S. attorney general. “Jon Mills is uniquely qualified through legal, political and academic experience to address these challenges.”

GAINESVILLE, Fla.—President George W. Bush’s recent meetings with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have brought increased attention to relations between the two countries, particularly with respect to continuing trade negotiations.

These and other issues will be topics of discussion at the Center for Governmental Responsibility’s Eighth Annual Conference on Legal & Policy Issues in the Americas, April 11-12 at the Holiday Inn-West in Gainesville. Speakers at the conference include former U.S. Senator Bob Graham and Minister Carlos Mário da Silva Velloso, Past President, Supreme Federal Tribunal of Brazil. Media attendance at this event is welcome.

The conference will feature day-long workshops and discussions on selected topics, including: Brazilian perspectives on legal and policy issues in the Americas; street crime, organized crime & terrorism; parliamentary reform; new directions in property law and policy in Latin America and the Caribbean; human rights; justice reform; legal education, professional responsibility and ethics; and environment and agriculture. The conference and workshops are designed to define and develop a research agenda for the 2008 conference, scheduled to be held in Brazil.

Elizabeth Lowe, associate director of the UF Center for Latin American Studies, and Terry L. McCoy, director of the Latin American Business Environment Program and associate director of the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at UF, will be honored with the 2007 Jon Mills Award for Significant Contributions to Relations Between Florida and the Americas.

Along with CGR, the sponsors of the conference include the Law & Policy in the Americas Program, Florida Journal of International Law, Hughes Hubbard & Reed of Miami, the Pontifica Universidade Catolica of Rio de Janeiro, and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at UF. Several UF Law faculty members will participate, including CGR Director Jon Mills and Conservation Clinic Director Tom Ankersen. For more information, contact JoAnn Klein at the Center for Governmental Responsibility at 352-273-0835 or klein@law.ufl.edu.

GAINESVILLE, Fla.—Real-life scenarios will serve as launching points for discussion at the First Annual Center for Governmental Responsibility Symposium, “Privacy Law: Perspectives of National Security, the First Amendment, the Media, and the Individual,” on Tuesday, Jan. 23, noon-1:30 p.m., in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom (Holland Hall Room 180) at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law. This event is free and open to the public.

Speakers include Mike Foley, master lecturer, Hugh Cunningham Professor in Journalism Excellence, UF College of Journalism & Communications; Gregg D. Thomas, Thomas & LoCicero, Tampa; Judge Jacqueline Griffin, Fifth District Court of Appeals of Florida; Judge Anne C. Conway, U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Florida; and Fletcher N. Baldwin, Jr., Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law at the Levin College of Law, director, Centre for International Financial Crime Studies. Jon Mills, dean emeritus, professor of law, Levin College of Law, and founding director, Center for Governmental Responsibility, will serve as moderator for the discussion.

Some of the proposed scenarios to be discussed at the event include:

• A 1999 Mississippi case, Plaxico v. Michael, in which an expectation of privacy in the seclusion of one’s own bedroom was not considered reasonable when the individual was involved in a lesbian relationship and in a child custody fight with her husband.
• A female president of a college’s student association sued a newspaper for invasion of privacy by public discourse of private facts when a columnist disclosed that she was actually a man. The newspaper argued that the publication was newsworthy and protected by the First Amendment. The jury found for the plaintiff.
• The case of a medical examiner who allowed a cable network film crew to follow him to a hotel room where a woman had been thrown to her death from the balcony by her husband, who then died when he fell or jumped. The film crew recorded the crime scene, including the woman’s dead body, and the next morning shot photos of the nude bodies. The parents and sister of the dead woman sued the network, the parties associated with the program, and the medical examiner’s office.
• In December, President George W. Bush issued a “presidential signing statement” related to a Postal Service bill, which said a subsection of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act “provides for opening an item of a class of mail otherwise sealed against inspection.” The statement said the administration had the right to “conduct searches in exigent circumstances” such as to protect human life and safety against hazardous materials, and the need for physical searches specifically authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection.”

As the state’s oldest legal and public policy research institute, the Center for Governmental Responsibility (CGR) has been a mainstay for environmental and social policy research at the College of Law since 1972. CGR lawyers have affected more public policy decisions during the past 30 years than any other organization of its nature and scope in Florida. CGR provides students with a unique opportunity to conduct research with staff attorneys on issues of state, national and international importance. Their research has led to the enactment of environmental policy relating to the Everglades and other environmentally sensitive areas, as well as to Florida’s Growth Management Act. Internationally, CGR staff has assisted local governments and organizations in Central Europe and Central and South America.

A reception will follow the symposium at 1:30 p.m. in the Faculty Dining Room, Bruton-Geer Hall.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Historic preservation enhances the quality of life of Floridians through economic and cultural contributions to an improved sense of place, according to a new study from the University of Florida.

“Determining a specific dollar value for quality of life is a challenging undertaking,” said project co-director Timothy McLendon, staff attorney at the Center for Governmental Responsibility at UF’s Levin College of Law, which conducted the study along with UF’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning. “Therefore, we offered local decision makers a number of options for protecting historically valuable assets that contribute to the community.”

Florida citizens also recognize the importance of historic preservation, according to a survey commissioned as part of the overall study. Based on surveys of more than 1,500 Floridians during November and December, 2005, and January, 2006, the most threatened historic resources in Florida include historic and scenic landscapes; old homes and neighborhoods; and old downtowns. Respondents, likewise, saw a need to preserve Florida’s historic resources for future generations, scenic reasons, and education. The survey was conducted by UF’s Bureau of Economic & Business Research as part of its monthly statewide consumer confidence survey.

The report includes models and tools available to further historic preservation in Florida and to measure the impact of historical structures, events and related activities on the enhancement of the quality of life in Florida.

Specifically, the use of community indicators is described as a tool for decision-makers to measure their success in improving the quality of life in their communities. Community indicators are bits of information that when combined, provide a picture of what is happening in a community. For historic preservation purposes, these may include items like the number or type of local ordinances; the amount of projects qualifying for historic tax credits or exemptions; changes in property values; numbers of historic districts; and visitors to and support for local historic museums. Other tools included in the report are preservation laws and policies, tourist-related tax revenues, and creative solutions to conflicts of gentrification, sustainability, and rehabilitation.

“We’re excited to have this wonderful study to confirm that along with the economic impacts that result from historic preservation, the quality of life is indeed improved as well,” said Caroline Tharpe Weiss, executive director of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, which provided key support for the study.

Sprinkled throughout the report are examples of model communities and projects that have succeeded in using the tools to enhance quality of life. DeFuniak Springs and Fernandina Beach are described as communities whose historic roots lure tourists and improve the economies of their regions. The St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum; the Fort Christmas Historical Park in Central Florida; and the Riley House museum near Tallahassee are provided as case studies of how history museums can be an important community resource.

Also described in the report are conservation districts in Tampa, Sarasota, and Zephyrhills which offer ways for local governments to balance historic preservation through protection, rehabilitation and revitalization, all contributing to a neighborhood’s culture. Other incentive programs, including tax credits and exemptions and grants have been key to preserving and improving Florida communities.

The 18-month study was funded with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission. The study was a collaborative effort involving multiple UF partners: the Center for Governmental Responsibility; the Department of Urban and Regional Planning; the Center for Building Better Communities; the Graduate Program in Museum Studies; and the Center for Tourism Research and Development.

The Quality of Life study complements an earlier study on the Economic Impacts of Historic Preservation in Florida released in 2002. The full Quality of Life report copies may be obtained from the Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State (850) 245-6333.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Noted novelist and newspaper columnist Carl Hiaasen and major environmental issues facing Florida will share the agenda here Feb. 19-21, at the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s 10th Annual Public Interest Environmental Conference.

Entitled “Shaping Florida’s Future: A Decade of Protecting an Eternity,” the event will take place at UF’s J. Wayne Reitz Union and include state and national legal, academic and governmental officials. Focus will be on Florida’s water supply, marine and coastal problems, human health risks and land and development concerns.

Hiaasen, Miami-Herald columnist and author of nine best-selling novels, is noted for his strong pro-environmentalist stands which are reflected through his book’s characters. He will be keynote speaker on the 20th at a 7 p.m. banquet to be held at the UF Hilton Hotel & Conference Center.

Tulane University Professor of Law Oliver A. Houck will open the session at a 6 p.m. reception on the 19th at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Houck is former general counsel and vice president, National Wildlife Federation; a director of Defenders of Wildlife and the Environmental Law Institute; and a member of the Environmental Defense Fund litigation review board and committees of the National Science Foundation. Houck currently is consulting on the development of Cuba’s environmental law.

Among other participants are Lee Arnold of Colliers-Arnold/Colliers International, chair of the Florida Council of 100 Water Resources Taskforce; Dr. David Guggenheim, conservation policy vice president, Ocean Conservancy; Sonny Vergara, former executive director of SW Florida and St. Johns River Water Management Districts; Dr. Beverly Wright, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice; and attorney Jeanne Zokovitch, Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation.

Organizers of the event are students of the UF Environmental and Land Use Law Society, with sponsorship assistance from the law school’s Center for Governmental Responsibility, Florida Bar’s Environmental & Land Use Law Section, Law College Council, Law Center Association, UF Student Government, Jelks Family Foundation, and the law firms of Hopping Green & Sams, P.A., Tallahassee; Lewis Longman and Walker, P.A., Tallahassee / Jacksonville / West Palm Beach; and Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell, Orlando. Lawyers attending the conference are eligible for Continuing Legal Education credits.

Conference co-chairs are Erika Zimmerman, second-year student from Mandarin, and Ryan Osborne, 3L from Longwood. Detailed information on the conference, registration, speakers and panelists is available at http://grove.ufl.edu/~els.

Media contacts: Chairs Erika Zimmerman & Ryan Osborne (352.392.2237)
Communications Chair Drew Melville (352.392.2237)

MIAMI, Fla. – Progress on a major effort begun here in 1994 at the Summit of the Americas, establishment of a single free trade area of the Americas, will be discussed at a local town hall meeting scheduled November 4, and sponsored by the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

To be held at the Sheraton Biscayne Bay Hotel, the meeting to discuss the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas will be from 6:30-8:30 p.m., and is free and open to the public. Hosts include Akerman Senterfitt law firm and one of its partners, Oscar Sanchez, new president of the UF College of Law Alumni Council.

Key speakers include Thea M. Lee, assistant director for international economics of the Public Policy Department of the AFL-CIO, and Ambassador Luis Lauredo, executive director of FTAA Miami Ministerial and Americas Business Forum and an officer of Hunton & Williams International LLC. Lauredo also was executive director of the ‘94 summit, and is a member of President Bush’s Advisory Board on Trade.

Additional participants are Robert E. Coker, senior vice president for public affairs of U.S. Sugar Corporation, and Stephen J. Powell, director of the international trade program for the UF law school and former chief counsel for import administration in the U.S. Department of Commerce. Levin College of Law Dean Robert H. Jerry II will open the session, to be moderated by Florida Lawyer editor David Lyons.

The effort to unite the economies of the Americas, consisting of 34 democracies, was agreed to here in 1994, with negotiations toward the agreement to be completed by 2005. Subsequent meetings on the agreement by a variety of officials have been held annually starting in 1995, and final phase of FTAA negotiations – guided by co-chairmanship of Brazil and the United States – will be this November in Miami and in 2004 in Brazil.

Additional information on the Nov. 4th town hall meeting: JoAnn Klein, Development Director ( 352.392.2237 or eMail: klein@law.ufl.edu)
Center for Governmental Responsibility, UF Levin College of Law

WARSAW, POLAND — “Poland exemplifies in many ways a courageous democracy that’s transformed itself through the rule of law into a partner for America and a model for the world.”

Speaking is Dean Jon Mills of the University of Florida Levin College of Law in celebration of a joint U.S.-Poland experiment begun in this country 16 years before the fall of Communism.

It was in 1973 that five UF law professors traveled here to participate in what was then called the Cambridge-Warsaw International Trade Law Program — organized by the UF law school, Trinity College of Cambridge University and the Institute of Legal Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences — allowing American law students for the first time to take courses for credit in a European Socialist Country.

Today, 30 years later, from those humble beginnings, the Center for American Law Studies (CALS) – a collaborative venture between the UF law school’s Center for Governmental Responsibility and Warsaw University Faculty of Law & Administration – graduates annually an average of 100 current and future Polish attorneys as trained practitioners in a legal system that just 13 years ago was alien to Communist officials then ruling the country.

Mills said a key to CALS success is that it takes traditional American law school practices and implements them in the Polish classroom. Classes are taught in English and help prepare participants for work as attorneys in Poland, the European Union and the United States.

On Monday (June 16), graduation ceremonies for the fifth class of CALS students combined with a commemorative 30th anniversary celebration of the UF law school’s involvement in Poland was held at Warsaw University. Presiding were Mills and Dean and Professor Tadeusz Tomaszewski of Warsaw University, and American attorney Steven Zack – national media analyst during 2000 U.S. presidential elections – was keynote speaker.

According to Polish enrollees, the Center offers the opportunity to learn not only foreign laws, but also foreign ways of learning.

Pawel Grabowski was one of the top three students of the Center’s first graduating class in 1999, and from there went to study at Harvard Law School.

“Attending CALS courses was my first opportunity to look into the American legal system,” Grabowski said. “The classes constituted a forum for legal discussions providing a chance for a high level of student involvement in the teaching process, rather unexpected in a Polish law school environment which focuses more on academic knowledge and professorial lectures.”

Grabowski said extracurricular activities also were beneficial “and of enormous influence on my subsequent legal career.” He was one of the students assigned to the Center’s first team to represent Poland during the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in Washington D.C., now an annual event for Center students.

Another 1999 graduate, Adam Imielowski, notes he “had a chance to get acquainted with American law that nowadays, in the era of globalization and Western countries’ investments in foreign markets, is a significant aspect. My experience turned out to be very attractive to potential employers in search of lawyers with international and American expertise.”

Since 2002, Imielowski has been working as a legal consultant to the management board of PTK-Centertel, one of three cellular phone operators in Poland. “I deal mostly with corporate, telecommunication and intellectual property law, and I must admit that since one of our shareholders is a foreign company, thorough knowledge of legal aspects of international transactions is a must.”

Imielowski says the program is as important to the country as a whole as it is to individual lawyers and their careers. “To be able to play its international role, Poland needs well-educated lawyers with international experience,” he said.

Witols Danielowicz, managing partner of White & Case in Warsaw, agrees Center graduates are more attractive to employers. “We clearly see the distinction, and the contribution of the Center shows in their work,” he said.

New York-based White & Case is only one of the law firms in the U.S. and Poland that have financially supported the Center and its goals. Others include international firms Weil Gotshal & Manges , Baker & McKenzie, Hogan & Hartson, Altheimer & Gray and the Florida firm of Levin Papantonio & Partners. While the Center for American Law Studies is now focal point of the cooperative venture, the decade of the 70s and early 80s primarily was devoted to the International Trade Law Program. The second major phase began in early 90s when the law school’s CGR received a grant from the U.S. Information Agency, Office of Citizen Exchanges, to develop a Northeastern Poland Local Government Training Program.

A key proponent of such a program was Marek Agopsowicz of Olsztyn Agricultural and Technical University, who recommended its establishment. Officials in the voivodships of Olsztyn, Elblag and Suwalki were first to participate, training through internships and seminars held in Florida.

UF Affiliate Professor of Law James Nicholas, associate director of the law school’s Environmental and Land Use program, was there as the officials tried to understand the new concept of local government.

“They kept asking how we did things in America. They wanted to know who sent out tax bills, and who paid for the postage. They had very, very fundamental questions, because local government was something they hadn’t had,” Nicholas said. “Being involved was such a great thrill. Many of us were talking about grand theories of government, and questions kept coming back to things like who pays for postage.”

Mills believes the 30-year “involvement with Poland has been of tremendous benefit to the University of Florida and the U.S. as well as to this relatively young democracy, and it is a great honor for our law school to participate. I know participants from both countries, in fact, believe this wonderful and successful venture – from the grass roots and involving educational institutes, academicians, governments, legal professionals and students – is a perfect case study for how the rule of law and a successful legal structure can be developed and maintained.”

For additional information:

• Ewa Gmurzynska, Director Center for American Law Studies, Warsaw University, Phone: 48.22.826.9177
• Dean Jon Mills, Warsaw Marriott, Phone: 48.22.6306.306 / Fax: 48.22.830.0041
• JoAnn Klein, UFLaw Center for Governmental Responsibility / Poland Phone: 48.22.826.0331

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Noted Brazilian environmental lawyer and former high ranking state official Paulo Roberto Pereira de Souza was honored here this week for his significant contributions to relations between and legal education initiatives of Florida and the Americas.

de Souza, currently coordinator of the master’s course of law at the State University of Maringa in Brazil, was honored during proceedings of the fourth annual conference on “Legal and Policy Issues in the Americas” organized by the Center for Governmental Responsibility of the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

This is the fourth year conference officials have honored a leader in the Americas legal field, with previous award recipients Raul E. Valdes-Fauli, Miami, 2000; Kenneth H. (Buddy) MacKay Jr., Ocala, 2001; and Alejandro Ogarrio, Mexico City, 2002.

This year and in the future, the award is named in honor of Jon Mills, dean of the UF law school, founding director of the Center for Governmental Responsibility , and himself a long-time contributor through his work in Central America, Haiti and Brazil to U.S. / Latin America programs and relations.

de Souza has served as a member of the State Environmental Defense Council, State of Parana, Brazil; State Secretary of Science, Technology and Economic Development; State Secretary of Urban Development and Environment; president, National Forum of Secretaries for Scientific and Technological Affairs; and Director of Development, Exchange and International Operations of the Bank of the State of Parana.

He is a founding member of the advisory board of the UF’s Florida/Brazil Institute, directed collaborative research and exchange projects between law faculties in Florida and Parana, and co-authored comparative environmental law and policy studies of the two states., and served as Rector of the State University of Maringa.

deSouza is president of the Environmental Commission of the Brazilian Order of Lawyers, member of the Institute of Brazilian Lawyers, and a member of the Portuguese Cabinet of Humanist Studies of Lisbon, Portugal.

Additional information on the Jon Mills Award, Legal & Policy Issues in the Americas Conference, or the Center for Governmental Responsibility: *JoAnn Klein, Conference Executive, 352.292.2237 / eMail: klein@law.ufl.edu

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Key U.S. and Latin America international, governmental, legal and educational officials will convene here Sunday to finalize plans for establishment of a universities-based Rule of Law Center for Judicial Reform in the Americas.

Action will come during the two-day 4th Annual “Legal & Policy Issues in the Americas” conference organized by the Center for Governmental Responsibility of the University of Florida Levin College of Law and scheduled for the UF’s Doubletree Hotel & Conference Center.

Participants will include representatives of 14 international universities from eight countries, six international organizations and five businesses, eight law firms with global interests, five U.S. universities and 12 UF academic departments.

“A democracy without an effective judiciary governed by the rule of law inhibits its citizens from enjoying basic freedoms and discourages international community involvement and investment in that country,” said UF law Dean Jon Mills, CGR founder / director and conference organizer. “The proposed Rule of Law Center will be a universities-based program designed to focus on issues relating to judicial reform and fair administration of justice.”

Mills said potential Rule of Law Center collaborators are the Justice Studies Center of the Americas in Santiago, Chile, operated through the Organization of American States, and law schools at universities in Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Jamaica, Venezuela and Colombia.

“The panelists, main speakers and commentators committed to this conference are well-qualified to assist in development of this new venture, proposed to be housed at UF,” Mills said.

According to Mills, the Rule of Law Center would work through university partnerships to provide assistance to involved countries in such areas as human rights issues, due process, judicial system operation, individual rights, legislative drafting, election reform, separation of powers, alternative dispute resolution, money laundering and financial crimes, and environmental and military law.

The law dean said precedent has been set for such a center based on efforts throughout the Americas by the law school and its Center for Governmental Responsibility, including decades of work with non-governmental organizations, federal and state agencies and universities on research, technical assistance, training, exchanges workshops, seminars and conferences.

“The Rule of Law Center is based on the strength of the interconnection of democracy and economic improvement, “ Mills said, “and without a strengthened system of justice throughout the Americas, a safe and protected citizenry and a viable economy is impossible.”

Among major Center objectives in the Americas:

1. Establish alliance of leading universities to focus on fair administration of justice
2. Foster development of inter-parliamentary relations to promote rule of law
3. Establish legal policies that promote development of private property rights and economic and political stability.
4. Develop training and technical assistance at request of governmental and non-governmental entities in the justice field
5. Create a cadre of legal and policy experts to respond to international issues
6. Initiate ongoing dialogue among legal professionals, law professors, government officials and public servants to assist in resolving questions of justice and legality

In addition to CGR, others sponsoring the conference include the Justice Studies Center of the Americas, the law school’s Florida Journal of International Law, and UF’s Warrington School of Business Center for International Business Education and Research.

Media Notes:

• Comprehensive list of speakers, participants, commentators attached
  (Call Communications Office (352.392.9586) or additional copies)
• Details on accommodations, meeting agenda, media arrangements:
• JoAnn Klein, Conference Executive: 352.392.2237 / klein@law.ufl.edu
  Lenny Kennedy, Conference Assistant: 352.392.2237 / Lkennedy@law.ufl.edu

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Thanks to demand by legislators, city and county officials and historic preservation enthusiasts statewide, a University of Florida research report indicating the state nets billions of dollars annually because of historic preservation and restoration has had to be reprinted.

The study – Economic Impacts of Historic Preservation in Florida – is the first of its kind in Florida and was conducted by the Center for Governmental Responsibility at the UF Levin College of Law and the Center for Urban Policy Research at Rutgers University, with assistance from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation.

Researchers found that historic preservation activities in Florida – including properties rehabilitation, heritage tourism, Florida Main Street Program, preservation grants-in-aid program, operation of historic museums and federal tax credits – contribute a net of approximately $4.2 billion each year to the state’s economy.

Results of the research were presented to governmental officials and preservationists in December in Tallahassee, Tampa and Delray Beach in a series of meetings organized by the Florida Trust. As a result, demand for the 34-page, full color report necessitated a second printing.

Among key findings of the study, commissioned by the Florida Department of State (through its Bureau of Historic Preservation, Division of Historical Resources) and the Florida Historical Commission:

1. Preservation generated more than 123,000 jobs in 2000, providing some $2.7 billion in income to Florida citizens.
2. Tourists spend approximately $3.7 billion each year visiting Florida’s many historic sites.
3. State and local governments in 2000 benefitted from $657 million in state and local taxes generated by spending on historic preservation activities.
4. Communities also benefit from increased property values in historic districts.

Copies of the report are available from the Bureau of Historic Preservation (Mary Rowley: 1-800.847.7278), and also from the Center for Governmental Responsibility’s website, and the State Division of Historical Resources (http://www.flheritage.com).
For additional information:

UF Levin College of Law Center for Governmental Responsibility
- Timothy McLendon (352.392.2237) eMail: mclendon@law.ufl.edu
- JoAnn Klein (352.392.2237) eMail: klein@law.ufl.edu