Deborah “Debby” Kearney (’81) devoted her entire legal career to public service. Before she retired from Citizens Property Insurance Company in January 2015, she had served as general counsel in all three branches of state government. She served both Democrat and Republican leaders at numerous state agencies, the Governor’s Office, the Florida House and Senate, and the Florida Supreme Court.

As a 2L wanting to enroll in courses that would prepare him for the bar exam, Kareem J. Spratling took State Constitutional Law with Randy Hanna (’84) at FSU Law. The adjunct professor and former managing partner of Bryant Miller Olive (BMO), who now serves as dean of FSU Panama City, encouraged Spratling to clerk at BMO the summer before his 3L year.

What happens when a meandering road and a straight line cross paths in the library during 1L year of law school?
For Wendy and Bruce Wiener, both Class of 1993, their library meeting during a legal writing research project—when they needed the same casebook—sparked a connection ultimately leading to their wedding during winter break of their 3L year.

After moving to Tallahassee from his home state of Mississippi for law school, Wilford A. “Abb” Payne, III thought he might never leave the Sunshine State. Even upon deciding to join his father’s small homecare business after graduating, Payne chose to work in the Fort Lauderdale branch instead of one of three Mississippi locations.

Elissa Gentry is an assistant professor at the College of Law. Her research interests include health, risk and regulation, and law and economics. She previously served as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Toulouse, France, and a judicial clerk for the Honorable Jane Roth of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, in Philadelphia.

On Sunday, November 18, 2018, we gathered at the law school to celebrate President Emeritus, Dean Emeritus and Professor Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte. We were joined by more than 100 of D’Alemberte’s friends and colleagues to pay tribute to our fourth dean and to unveil the new location of his presidential statue.

Long before Justice C. Alan Lawson (’87) was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court, he contemplated careers in the military and medicine. As a high school student in Tallahassee, his goal was to become a pilot and he was a principal nominee to the U.S. Air Force Academy.

In October, we posthumously presented our inaugural Exemplary Public Service Career Award to alumna Kristine “Kris” Knab (’78), who passed away July 19, 2018. One of 49 nominees, the award committee selected Knab for her decades of service at Legal Services of North Florida, Inc. (LSNF), where she worked from 1978 until retiring in 2016.

Marlon Hill never expected to run for office, or become a lawyer for that matter. He did not anticipate that he would have an integral role in building a courtroom at a Miami middle school.

Professor Morley joined FSU Law in 2018, and teaches and writes in the areas of election law, constitutional law, remedies, and the federal courts. He is best known for his work on election emergencies and post-election litigation, nationwide and other defendant-oriented injunctions, the jurisdiction of the federal courts and their equitable powers more generally.