November 19, 2003

The College of Law hosted two well-attended events over the homecoming weekend. More than 200 alumni and guests attended a party last Friday night at the Tallahassee home of 1984 alumnus Lance Block and his wife Carol. Special recognition was given to the classes of 1973, 1978, 1983 and 1993. The party was sponsored by Lance's law firm, Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, P.A.

During the evening, Dean Don Weidner presented awards to two alumni: HUD Secretary Mel Martinez, '73, and Jim McConnaughhay, '69. The dean congratulated Secretary Martinez, a former president of the College of Law Alumni Association, on being named the 2003 Distinguished Alumnus. The award recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves professionally and rendered outstanding service to the community and to the College of Law. The dean presented the Distinguished Service Award to Jim McConnaughhay, '69, of the law firm of McConnaughhay, Duffy, Coonrod, Pope & Weaver, P.A. This award honors alumni who have rendered distinguished service to the law school over an extended period. McConnaughhay was co-recipient with Steve Rissman, '72, of Rissman, Weisberg, Barrett, Hurt, Donahue & McLain, P.A., in Orlando. Rissman was not on hand for the presentation.

On Saturday, more than 300 alumni, their families, faculty and students had another opportunity to mingle and eat barbecue at a tailgate party, hosted by the College of Law on the James Harold Thompson Green.

To see the video of the forum, click Forum Video Presentation.

The FSU Mock Trial Team held its annual Wayne Hogan Intramural Competition on October 8-10, 2003. The competition consisted of eight teams of newly inducted second year law students and their respective third year coaches. They argued a criminal case involving a murder, which was a spin-off of the recent movie, "Training Day." The winner of the Wayne Hogan Trophy went to the defense team, consisting of Matthew Baggett, Ty Roofner, and Andrew Mikos. Mikos was named Best Advocate. The prosecution team members were Tor Jensen-Friedman, Dina Munasifi, and Manny Arisso.

This competition is made possible by a gift from law school alumnus Wayne Hogan, '72, and his wife Patricia. Hogan is past president of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers and a partner with the law firm of Brown, Terell, Hogan, Ellis, McClamma & Yegelwel, P.A. He was part of Governor Lawton Chiles' litigation "dream team" that secured the huge tobacco settlement for the State of Florida.

Mock Trial Team President Min Cho said, "It's an honor to be surrounded by these talented trial advocates and see them succeed. Their successes, along with the entire team's successes, wouldn't be possible without the support of the law school's administration, local Tallahassee attorneys and judges, and of course, our benefactor Wayne Hogan."

Mock Trial teams reach semi-finals at Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers Competition

The Mock Trial team competed on November 7-8 at the Honorable E. Earle Zehmer Memorial Mock Trial Competition in West Palm Beach. The competition was sponsored by the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers (AFTL). Both of the teams representing the law school reached the semi-finals, but were defeated by Stetson. One of the semi-finalist teams consisted of Tor Jensen-Friedman, Jonathan Zaifert, Ebony Tucker, and Jake Kiker. The second team consisted of Bryan Slogick, Joshua Machlus, Cameron Kennedy, and Genevieve Hall. Coaches for the AFTL team were Diane Barnes, '03, an associate with the law firm of Myers & Fuller; and Erica White, '01, a senior attorney with the Florida Department of Children and Families.

The Terri Schiavo right-to-die case, which has created a constitutional crisis in Florida and provoked intervention by Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Legislature, has received national media coverage, and a number of College of Law faculty members have been called upon to comment on the various aspects of the issue. On November 6, four Florida State University professors attracted further media attention when they presented an interdisciplinary discussion covering three different perspectives.

Mary Crossley, The Florida Bar Health Law Section Professor of Law, laid out the factual and legal history of the case and moderated the discussion. Lois Shepherd, associate professor of law, addressed the Florida statutes regarding end-of-life care that have governed the dispute, as well as arguments based on the rights of liberty and privacy found in the federal and Florida constitutions. Aline Kalbian, an assistant professor in the Department of Religion, who teaches courses on religious ethics and bioethics and writes about Catholic moral theology, discussed religious views on end-of-life decisions. College of Medicine Associate Professor Jeffrey Spike focused on defining and diagnosing a persistent vegetative state, addressing the use of feeding tubes, and distinguishing starvation from the dehydration and malnutrition that result from the removal of tubes.

Crossley, Shepherd and Steven Gey, the David and Deborah Fonvielle and Donald and Janet Hinkle Professor of Law, have been interviewed on the issue in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Jacksonville Times-Union, Newsday and The Tallahassee Democrat, among other publications.

The Office of Admissions and Records hosted the annual Fall Open House on October 22, and Minority Law Day on November 8. A total of 117 students attended both events to learn more about the law school's admissions process. The goal of the Admissions and Records Office was to acquaint prospective students with the challenges and opportunities of law school and the legal profession.

Dean Don Weidner welcomed students to both the Fall Open House and Minority Law Day, discussing the school's emphasis on a liberal arts approach to teaching the law. At the Fall Open House, Professor Mary Crossley presented an informative mock class which gave the audience a brief lesson in contracts law. For Minority Law Day, Judge Nikki A. Clark, adjunct professor at the law school and circuit judge of the Second Judicial Circuit, gave a presentation on opportunities and challenges for minorities in the legal field. Administrators from Admissions and Records, Career Planning and Placement, the Admissions Committee, and University's Office of Financial Aid served on panels during both events, answering questions from prospective students.

Members of the Student Bar Association, Asian-American Law Students Association, Black Law Students Association, Spanish Law Students Association, Jewish Law Students Association, OUTLaw, Law Partners and the Student Ambassadors also participated as panelists and moderators in both programs.

At Minority Law Day, Monica McNealy, FSU undergraduate student, said, "It was very helpful to have students and alumni from all walks of life participate."

The College of Law Alumni Affairs Office invited alumni and students to a Fort Myers-area reception on October 29 at the Royal Palm Yacht Club. Dean Don Weidner made brief remarks to a crowd of alumni and law school friends.

The Career Placement sponsored three events in the past month to give students an idea of what careers are available for law school graduates—and how to land those jobs.

Special Agents Rodney Cortes and Alexander McDonald, from Tallahassee and Jacksonville FBI offices, talked with students about careers for lawyers with the bureau and how to apply for them. For information, visit their web site.

Kimm Walton, author of Guerrilla Tactics for Getting the Legal Job of Your Dreams, presented a seminar on November 14 in the D'Alemberte Rotunda. The seminar covered how to find the dream job, networking, interviewing, resumes, deciding on a career path, among other topics.

On October 30, the Real Property, Probate & Trust Law section of The Florida Bar hosted a panel and reception at the law school. Former Florida Senator Fred Dudley, a partner with Akerman Senterfitt Attorneys at Law and an adjunct professor at the law school, coordinated the panel, which included Florida Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Bell and John T. LaJoie, vice president and regional counsel for First American Title Insurance Co. They spoke about their careers in real property, probate and trust law.

Halloween-on-the-Green If you missed Halloween-on-the-Green on October 31, you missed some great costumes, music, tricks and, of course, treats. Did we mention fun? In the trick department, Professors Rob Atkinson, Greg Mitchell and JoLen Wolf all volunteered a few minutes of their time as targets for pie-throwers!

Professor Dan Tarlock Chicago-Kent College of Law, was the FSU Journal of Land Use & Environmental Law's 17th Annual Distinguished Lecturer on October 16. Tarlock discussed what principles define environmental law and whether it is a discrete area of the law.

Professor David Caron, the C. William Maxeiner Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law, was the inaugural Richard B. Lillich Memorial Lecturer on October 23. The event was sponsored by the College of Law's Journal of Transnational Law & Policy. Caron spoke on international courts and tribunals in a talk titled "The Search for Practical Justice: The Work of the United Nations Compensation Commission for Claims Arising from the 1991 Gulf War."

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