(JD 72) propelled Greenberg Traurig into an international law firm
Transcription
(JD 72) propelled Greenberg Traurig into an international law firm
UF LAW HAPPENINGS, EVENTS & ACHIEVEMENTS because of our historical relationship with Cuba,” said Lyrissa Lidsky, UF Law Stephen C. O’Connell Professor, who organized the conference. Conference topics included trade, foreign investment, family law, legal education and agricultural and environmental issues. Nancy Dowd named Fulbright Scholar U F L AW PROFESSOR NANCY D O W D has been awarded a Fulbright Distinguished Chair. Dowd, the David H. Levin Dowd Chair in Family Law, will serve as the Lund University Chair in Public International Law, honoring her scholarship and significant teaching and publication record. The Fulbright Commission annually awards approximately 40 distinguished chairs to American scholars in a range of disciplines. She will focus predominantly on research as well as engage in teaching while associated with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and Lund University, the largest higher education and research institution in the Nordic countries. Dowd, who is the emeritus director of UF Law’s Center on Children and Families, will also focus on comparative perspectives and human rights strategies for children, including experience in the implementation of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. Her work is part of a book 6 under contract with NYU Press examining the developmental arc for male black children and exposing systemic inequalities. “I am honored to have this opportunity to continue to explore strategies to challenge inequalities,” Dowd said. “Our embrace of the importance of a developmental lens to construct meaningful equality is at the core of the analysis that leads to strategies to ensure equality for all children and youth.” court opinions and has been cited by more than 800 academic articles and referenced in about 60 legal decisions. Richmond’s work has been cited by more than 900 academic articles and cited in about 170 legal decisions. “The inclusion of Noah, Blair and Richmond in this list is yet another example of the ways UF Law faculty impact national and international legal debates,” Dean Laura A. Rosenbury said. Professors among most-cited legal scholars of all time Leonard H. Johnson (JD 80) new member of the UF board of trustees U F L AW PROFESSOR LARS NOAH, Affiliate Professor Roger Blair and Adjunct Professor Noah Douglas Richmond have been recognized by the online database HeinOnline as three of the top 250 law authors of all time. HeinOnline, the world’s largest and most highly recognized collection of legal journals, treatises, books, trial documents and legal decisions from more than 175 countries, calculated the list based on analysis of more than 100 million pages of documents in its law library. Noah is an internationally influential scholar focusing on legal issues in science and technology. His articles have been cited in more than 1,400 academic articles and about 30 legal decisions. Blair’s work focuses on clarifying the economic effects of statutes and LEONARD H. J O H N S O N is the newest Gator lawyer to join the UF board of trustees. Johnson who was appointed by Johnson the Florida Board of Governors, is president-elect of the Gator Boosters board of directors. As a member of Barnett, Bolt, Kirkwood, Long & Koche, P.A. in Tampa, Johnson focuses on real estate law, business law, banking law, construction law and land use and development law. He has represented banks and other businesses, as well as individual clients, with complex issues related to buying and selling real estate, financial transactions, construction disputes, and land use and development regulations. He joins fellow UF Law alumni Rahul Patel (JD 97) and Robert B. Stern (JD 90) on the board. UF L AW FROM CESAR TO CEO How Cesar Alvarez (JD 72) propelled Greenberg Traurig into an international law firm B Y M AT T WA L K E R SPRI NG 2016 15 A very deep bench UF Law produces hundreds of judges and clerks, and many return to its halls BY C H A N TE L L E M c H U G H 24 UF L AW UF LAW ALUMNI LAURELS CLASS NOTES S E N D YO U R C L A S S N OT E S to [email protected]fl.edu or to: UF LAW magazine, Levin College of Law, University of Florida, P.O. Box 117633, Gainesville, FL 32611. Please limit submissions to 75 words or fewer by focusing on new endeavors and recognition. 1962 J. Charles “Charlie” Gray (LLB 58), shareholder and founding director in GrayRobinson’s Orlando office, was awarded the University of Central Florida’s Champions Award at the school’s Black Gold Gala Event. The Champions Award is given to an individual or corporation who has consistently advocated the cause of UCF and/or the UCF Alumni Association. It has only been given three times in UCF’s history. 1963 Bruce Rogow, founding professor of Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad College of Law, has been selected for inclusion in the 2016 edition of Best Lawyers in America for his work in appellate law, bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense, first amendment law and municipal litigation. This marks Rogow’s 29th year included on the list. 1966 Charles Baumberger, co-founding partner of Rossman, Baumberger, Reboso & Spier, P.A., has become national president of the American Board of Trial Advocates. ABOTA is dedicated to the preservation of the right of trial by jury, civility, professional education, providing civic education for our nation’s schools and to saving the civil justice system for future generations. Baumberger was elected to national leadership after his service to ABOTA, most recently as national first vice president and president-elect. Stephen Rossman, co-founding partner of Rossman, Baumberger, Reboso & Spier, P.A., has received the Fran Peacock Coker FLABOTA Community Service Award from the American Board of Trial Advocates Gray 62 32 Rossman 66 Markus 73 and the Justice Joseph Story Award from the Dade County Bar Association. Both awards celebrate a lifetime of career excellence and advocacy on behalf of the powerless. 1968 Justus W. Reid, senior partner of Reid Burman Lebedeker, has been selected for inclusion in the 2016 edition of Best Lawyers in America for his work in personal injury litigation. Reid has been listed in Best Lawyers for more than 25 years and was also listed as one of the “Top Lawyers in 2016” in the South Florida Legal Guide. Raleigh “Lee” W. Greene III, of Greene & Greene, Attorneys at Law, has been selected for inclusion in the 2016 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the fields of family law and family law mediation. Greene has also been named one of the “Florida Legal Elite” by Florida Trend for 2015 and is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell. 1974 John D. Dumbaugh, partner with Syprett Meshad in Sarasota, has become re-certified by The Florida Bar in the field of real estate law. His certification will continue through 2020. 1975 1970 Mercer K. Clarke, president and a founding principal of Clarke Silverglate, P.A, has been named “Lawyer of the Year” in the 2016 edition of Best Lawyers for his work in personal injury litigation. Clarke was also recognized in the product liability, construction and commercial litigation categories. Joseph C. Mellichamp III was named Able Trust’s “Volunteer of the Year” for his work coordinating funding and logistics support for the Tallahassee Rotary’s Youth Leadership Forum over the last seven years. The forum is a leadership-training event for high school students with disabilities, aimed to empower young adults. Mellichamp has served in a leadership role with his Rotary, both volunteering for YLF duties and recruiting new volunteers, since 2008. Barry A. Abbott has been elected as a shareholder in Lane Powell. Abbot has extensive experience in corporate law and financial services and has represented numerous international and domestic institutions. Larry D. Barnett, professor emeritus at the Widener University Delaware Law School, has authored a book titled Explaining Law: Macrosociological Theory and Empirical Evidence. The book was published by Brill in August 2015. Christopher White, shareholder in GrayRobinson’s Jacksonville office, has been named to the Florida Coastal School of Law’s board of visitors. The board assists in policy and administrative issues with the school. 1976 1973 Andrew J. Markus, shareholder in Carlton Fields’ Miami office, has been appointed chair of the Beacon Council’s International Committee for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. The Beacon Greene 73 Council is Miami Dade County’s official economic development partnership and its committees include industry leaders and academic and community partners who examine issues and opportunities within an industry that enable or inhibit job growth. Dumbaugh 74 Tyrie W. Boyer, circuit judge of the 4th Judicial Circuit of Florida, was recently honored by the Jacksonville Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates as “Jurist of the Year” (2015). “Florida Super Lawyer” for the 10th year in a row. Mark Abbott 75 White 75 Boyer 76 UF L AW CLASS NOTES Vision 2016 Incoming Florida Bar President William Schifino Jr. (JD 85) speaks during a UF Law Center Association Board of Trustees meeting. Alum to tackle legal representation, diversity as Florida Bar president B Y M AT T WA L K E R G AT O R L AW Y E R S D O M I N AT E the Florida legal elite, and on the other hand, we have way too many of our citizens not getting the nowhere is this more apparent than the leadership of The Florida Bar. legal services they need.” In June, William Schifino Jr. (JD 85) becomes the sixth UF Law The Florida Bar is participating in the state Supreme Court’s Florida alum in eight years to take the reins as president of The Florida Bar. Commission on Access to Civil Justice, Schifino said, as it searches for Since 1950, UF Law alumni have held more than half of the annual creative solutions to the problem. terms of Florida Bar presidencies. Schifino, who is also a member of the UF Law Center Association “With all the dynamics and all of the working Board of Trustees, said he and the bar’s board of pieces today, I don’t have a single issue but several governors are working closely with UF Law Dean “Some people talk areas I want to work on to benefit Florida attorneys, Laura A. Rosenbury and other law school deans in about too many citizens and law students,” Schifino said. the state to assess how to best equip law students lawyers, but on the One major component of his term will be seeing to enter the practice of law, whether through the Vision 2016 initiative to completion. Schifino’s other hand, we have classroom education or clinics. law school classmate Eugene Pettis (JD 85) started “We want our students doing what’s appropriate way too many of our the program in 2013, when Pettis was serving as for them to be ready to practice law,” Schifino said. citizens not getting Florida Bar president. The Vision 2016 commission Diversity and inclusion will also be an important aims to evaluate four main areas for possible part of Schifino’s presidency. He said the legal the legal services improvements: bar admissions, legal education, profession and The Florida Bar will continue to strive they need.” technology and access to legal services. to be true leaders in the area. “We’ve known for decades now that we’ve had —WILLIAM SCHIFINO JR. (JD 85) Schifino is managing partner of Burr & Forman’s a civil justice access issue with legal services and Tampa office, where he focuses on litigation and trial resolution in our courts, with representation being unaffordable not practice, including securities litigation and arbitration, professional only for those below the poverty line but also for the middle class,” malpractice litigation, employment litigation and intellectual property Schifino said. litigation. Schifino helped establish Williams, Schifino, Mangione Although lawyers in Florida last year contributed approximately & Steady, P.A., as a founding shareholder, president and managing half a billion dollars in free legal services and millions of dollars in director. The firm combined with Burr & Forman in 2012. direct support, it’s just not enough, he said. Schifino joins Pettis, Scott Hawkins (JD 83), Gwynne A. Young (JD “You’ve got (approximately) 75,000 lawyers serving 20 million 74), Mayanne Downs (JD 87) and John G. White III (JD 83) as UF Law people,” Schifino said. “Some people talk about too many lawyers, but alumni who have recently served as presidents of The Florida Bar. 34 UF L AW CLASS NOTES Hawkins 83 Marraffino 84 Domnick 89 Scott G. Hawkins, former president of The Florida Bar, received the Palm Beach County Bar Association’s Judge Edward Rodgers Diversity Award at the bar’s annual Bench Bar Conference Luncheon in February. The award honors an individual who “cultivates and promotes diversity and gender initiatives that establish and foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment.” 1984 Donnelly 89 Fleming 89 1987 Harvey L. Jay has been appointed to the 1st District Court of Appeal by Gov. Rick Scott. Jay has served as a 4th Judicial Circuit judge since 2012 and was awarded the 2015 “Jurist of the Year Award” by the Jacksonville Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He fills a vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Simone Marstiller. David Akins, shareholder in the estate and succession planning department of Dean, Mead, Egerton, Bloodworth, Capouano & Bozarth, P.A., has been elected a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. His election is based on reputation, skill and significant contributions to the field through writing, lecturing and participating in bar activities. 1988 Gwen A. Baumann, associate municipal judge of Plano, Texas, was appointed associate municipal judge of the city of Carrollton, Texas. Spencer H. Silverglate, managing partner of Clarke Silverglate, served as a panelist at the Minority Mentoring Picnic in Miami. The panel gave advice to minority law students and provided opportunities for them to network with lawyers and judges in an informal environment. Silverglate was recognized by Best Lawyers for his work in labor and employment litigation, employment law and commercial litigation. Lawrence Marraffino has been awarded the AV-Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell based on recommendations of high levels of professional excellence from his peers. Marraffino was also named a “Top 100 Litigation Lawyer” in Florida by the American Society of Legal Advocates, and he has maintained a 10.0 AVVO rating since 2010. Marraffino is board-certified in civil trial law and focuses his practice on personal injury, family law and bankruptcy. 1985 Steven Ellison, partner in Broad and Cassel’s West Palm Beach office, has been selected for inclusion in the 2016 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Reginald Garcia has published Second Chances: Florida Pardons, Restoration of Civil Rights, Gun Rights and More. The book is designed to help Florida’s convicted felons with transition, reentry, state licenses and jobs. 1986 Jennifer Taylor, general magistrate and hearing officer for the 18th Judicial Circuit Court, has been appointed as a judge to the 18th Judicial Court by Gov. Rick Scott. SPRI NG 2016 Kevin Hyde, partner with Foley and Lardner, LLP, has been appointed to the University of North Florida board of trustees by Gov. Rick Scott. Hyde previously served as president of the Jacksonville City Council and chair of The Florida Bar Labor Employment Section. Robert Wheeler, of Tallahassee, has been appointed to the 2nd Judicial Circuit Court by Gov. Rick Scott. Wheeler has served as a Leon County judge since 2010 and fills the vacancy left by the resignation of Judge Frank Sheffield. 1989 Sean C. Domnick, shareholder in the national plaintiff litigation firm Domnick Cunningham & Whalen, has been elected secretary of the Palm Beach County Justice Association for the 2016 term. Domnick served as past president of the Miami Dade Trial Lawyers Association and currently serves on the board of governors for the American Association for Justice. He is the 2015 recipient of the “Florida Justice Association BJ Masterson Award for Professionalism” and the Daily Business Review’s “Verdicts Hall of Fame” award. Paul Donnelly has been included in Florida’s Best Lawyers for labor and employment law for the past 10 years and received an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Donnelly was also selected for inclusion in Florida Trend’s Stein 89 Akin 90 “Legal Elite” (2015) and Florida Super Lawyers (2015). His firm, Donnelly and Gross, founded with Laura Gross (JD 90), was recognized in the 2016 edition of U.S. News’ “Best Law Firms.” T. Mills Fleming, chair of HunterMaclean’s health care practice group and partner in the firm, has been selected for inclusion in the 2016 edition of Georgia Super Lawyers. Fleming was also honored with the 17th annual “Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service” by the State Bar of Georgia and the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism, for his outstanding contributions in community service. Lawrence Krutchik joined global strategic communications firm Hill+Knowlton Strategies as senior vice president of public affairs. Krutchik leads the agency’s West Coast public affairs practice, where he provides issues management, community engagement and crisis communications counsel as well as media training for executives and spokespersons. Guy Norris, attorney with Norris and Norris P.A., has been appointed to the Commission on Ethics by Gov. Rick Scott. His term began December 2015 and will end in June 2017. Norris previously served as the chair of the 3rd Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission. Jeffrey Paskert has been elected president of Mills Paskert Divers. Paskert was noted in the 2015 Super Lawyers list and listed by Best Lawyers in Tampa Bay, Florida and America. Mark E. Stein, of Mark Stein Law, has been appointed as a team leader for the Social Media and Mobile Application Subcommittee for the International Trademark Association. Stein was named “Co-lawyer of the Year” by Florida’s Best Lawyers in America for his work in copyright law. He also received a tier 1 ranking in the 2016 edition of U.S. News’s “Best Law Firms.” 1990 Sherri D. Bailey Akin (LLMT) has joined ShuffieldLowman’s two Volusia County offices and Orlando office as of counsel. Akin practices in complex estate planning and tax law. Steven Bernstein, managing partner in Fisher & Phillips’ Tampa office, has been appointed treasurer of the Greater Tampa Chamber of 35 CLASS NOTES Commerce where he will oversee the chamber’s budget and ensure its funds are used to further its priorities. As a member of the executive committee, he will oversee chamber activities, determine strategic priorities and provide guidance to the organization. Laura Gross has been included in Florida’s Best Lawyers for labor and employment law for the past 10 years and received an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Gross was also selected for inclusion in Florida Trend’s “Legal Elite” (2015) and Florida Super Lawyers (2015). Her firm, Donnelly and Gross, founded with Paul Donnelly (JD 89), was recognized in the 2016 edition of U.S. News’ “Best Law Firms.” David A. Wolf, partner with Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. in Jacksonville, published his fifth book entitled Bikes, Trikes and Automobiles – Legal Rights of the Injured Cyclist. The book is provided as a free resource for injury victims and families dealing with the aftermath of a bicycle accident. 1991 Keith S. Grossman, founder and managing partner of Grossman Law & Conflict Management, has been awarded the Hugh E. Starnes “Think Outside the Box” award by the Association of Family Law Professionals. The award recognizes his leadership, critical thinking, innovation and dedication to non-adversarial practice. Kevin F. O’Brien, Georgetown University’s vice president for mission and ministry, will become the dean of Santa Clara University’s Jesuit School of Theology in August. Kimberly Rezanka, attorney with Dean Mead, has been appointed to the Commission on Ethics by Gov. Rick Scott. Her term began December 2015 and will end in June 2017. Nelson C. Bellido, managing partner of Roig Lawyers’ Miami office, has been re-elected to the Miami-Dade County Fair & Expo board of directors and elected incoming chairperson. Bellido also served on a panel in March at 36 qualified women candidates for Florida Bar committee appointments. Gerber has also been named chair of the subcommittee on law firm advancement. John Guy has been appointed to the 4th Judicial Circuit Court as a judge by Gov. Rick Scott. He has served as an assistant state attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit and as managing director of the office since 1993. Tim Cerio has rejoined GrayRobinson as a shareholder after serving as general counsel to Florida Gov. Rick Scott. Cerio focuses his practice on regulatory and health care law; administrative law, including representation of clients in regulatory, administrative and quasi-judicial proceedings; and complex litigation in state and federal courts. D. Bruce Hoffman, head of the global competition practice at Hunton & Williams, has been recognized in Washington’s Best Lawyers and International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers for his accomplishments in antitrust and competition law. He was also named a “Washington, D.C. Super Lawyer” and ranked a leader in antitrust by Chambers and Partners. He was recently admitted as a fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only trial lawyer honor society. Paul Militello, past president of the Citrus County Bar Association, has been appointed to the Sumter County Court by Gov. Rick Scott. 1993 Jed L. Frankel, partner with Eisinger, Brown, Lewis, Frankel & Chaiet, P.A., was certified by the Supreme Court of Florida as a circuit mediator for a two-year term. Lawrence “Larry” Freiman, of MendenFreiman LLP, has been selected for inclusion in the 2016 edition of Georgia Super Lawyers based on research evaluation and peer reviews. Carl V. Romano, partner in Broad and Cassel’s West Palm Beach office, has been selected for inclusion in the 2016 edition of Best Lawyers in America. 1994 1992 Gross 90 the 2016 Hispanic National Bar Association Corporate Counsel Conference. The panel, entitled “Judges that Google: the Ethics of Judicial Use of Internet Resources,” discussed the concerns of accuracy, fairness and permanency that comes from judicial searching and citing Internet materials. Grossman 91 Tracy L. Gerber, co-managing shareholder in Greenberg Traurig, P.A.’s West Palm Beach office, has been appointed to the Florida Association of Women Lawyers standing committee on Member Advancement and Placement. The committee helps to vet Bellido 92 Frankel 93 McClelland 96 1995 Douglas A. Harrison, an assistant city attorney with the city of Miami, has been reappointed by Gov. Rick Scott to the South Broward Hospital District board of commissioners for a four-year term. 1996 Dennis McClelland, partner in Phelps Dunbar’s Labor and Employment Group and newly named managing partner of Phelps Dunbar’s Tampa office, now serves as an editor-in-chief of the newly published third edition of The Fair Labor Standards Act. The volume is a nationally recognized legal treatise published by the American Bar Association’s Section of Labor and Employment Law and Bloomberg BNA. 1997 Brian D. Burgoon, of the Burgoon Law Firm, LLC, in Atlanta, was elected vice president of the UF Alumni Association and was re-elected as an out-of-state representative on The Florida Bar Board of Governors. Burgoon practices in the areas of civil and business litigation. Jennifer Fowler-Hermes has become a counsel in the Sarasota firm Williams Parker Harrison Dietz & Getzen as part of the expansion of its Labor and Employment Practice Group. Nicole L. Goetz, of Nicole L Goetz, P.L., has become treasurer of the family law section of The Florida Bar. For more than 10 years, Burgoon 97 Fowler-Hermes 97 UF L AW CLASS NOTES Troy Finnegan, general counsel of Dr. Philips Charities, was elected president of the University Club of Orlando. Larry Fleurantin, of Fleurantin, Francois & Antonin, P.A., recently published a coauthored article titled “Attorneys’ Fees on Appeal: Misapplication of the Law of the Case Raises Procedural and Substantive Due Process Concerns.” Whalen J. Kuller has joined Hartman Simons & Wood’s Atlanta office as senior of counsel. Kuller practices in the areas of acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, private equity and venture capital, crowdfunding, and public offerings and private placements of debt and equity securities and technology licensing. Allison R. Sabocik, of Pankauski Law Firm PLLC in West Palm Beach, has earned a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent rating based on peer reviews and recommendations. This rating reflects the highest level of competency, ethics and professional excellence. Sabocik focuses her practice on estate and trust litigation. L. Elijah Stiers has founded Stiers Law, P.A., a boutique civil litigation firm located in Miami. The firm focuses on catastrophic personal injury, specializing in medical malpractice, wrongful death, auto negligence and general liability matters, as well as commercial and business litigation disputes. Stiers has been recognized as a 2015 “Top 40 Under 40,” a “Rising Star” (2010-2015), “Up and Comer” (2011 and 2013), and has been given an AV Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell. 2004 Brian Arthur (LLMT, JD 02), of Baker & McKenzie, has become a partner in the firm’s tax practice. Arthur practices in the areas of international and federal taxation, focusing on transfer pricing and federal income tax controversy matters. Travis Hayes, vice chair of The Florida Bar Probate Rules Committee, along with Laird A. Lile, has formed Lile & Hayes, PLLC, a legal Fleurantin 03 38 Stiers 03 practice specializing in estate and trust related matters. Hayes is a member of the Executive Council for the Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar. He serves as vice chair of both the Probate Law and Procedure Committee and the Digital Assets and Information Study Committee. He serves on the board of directors of the Collier County Bar Foundation and has been named a “Top Up & Comer” by Florida Trend and a “Top 40 under 40 Trust and Estate Attorney in Florida” by the American Society of Legal Advocates. 2005 Jill Bechtold has been elected as shareholder in Marks Gray, P.A. Bechtold practices in the areas of medical and professional liability defense, products liability and general civil litigation defense. Jarrett Hoffman joined Boies, Schiller and Flexner LLP as head of the firm’s Executive Compensation & Benefits practice and was elected partner in December 2015. Hoffman was also selected again by Super Lawyers Magazine as a “Rising Star” in the New York metro area for employee benefits. Erin Houck-Toll (LLMT), stockholder in Henderson Franklin’s Business & Tax Division, has been recertified as a board-certified tax expert by The Florida Bar. Houck-Toll is also board-certified in health law and is one of only three attorneys in the entire state of Florida dual-certified in both health and tax law. Charles Jimerson, managing partner of Jimerson & Cobb, was named to the Jacksonville Business Journal’s inaugural “Ultimate Attorneys” list. The list honors those who have elevated the legal profession and helped to shape Jacksonville’s business community. Kenneth M. Poole Jr. has been named a partner in the Sarasota law firm of Syprett Meshad. Poole focuses his practice on family and criminal law and is a member of the Sarasota County Bar Association as well as the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. Hayes 04 Jimerson 05 Poole 05 Michelle Yard was presented with the Joseph W. Durocher “Foot Soldier of the Constitution” award by the Central Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The award is given annually to a criminal defense attorney who fights for their clients’ rights and improves the criminal justice system as a whole. 2006 Florence Taylor Barner, former Broward County assistant state attorney and AV Preeminent-rated civil trial attorney, announced her candidacy for Broward County court judge in group 3 as the first-ever candidate of Haitian decent seeking election to the Broward judiciary. Willard A. Blair has been named a partner of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP. Blair practices primarily in corporate and securities law and mergers and acquisitions and has experience in all aspects of public and private company representation. Amanda Groover Hyland, attorney at Taylor English Duma in Atlanta, has been elected partner in the firm. Hyland was ranked by Chambers and Partners in 2015 as a leader in intellectual property law and also is Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent rated. She has also been named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers in intellectual property litigation for the fourth consecutive year. C. Victoria Knight-Alaee has been named a partner of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP. Knight-Alaee practices primarily in health law. Joanna Lardin has joined Carlton Fields’ Miami office as an associate. Lardin is a member of the firm’s business transactions practice group and focuses her practice on domestic and international income, estate and gift planning and probate, trust and guardianship administration and litigation. Chad McCormick (LLMT) has joined Kirkland & Ellis LLP as a partner. McCormick will help build the Houston office’s Tax Practice Group. Kevin McCoy, an attorney with Carlton Fields, has been elected president of the board of Lardin 06 McCoy 06 UF L AW CLASS NOTES Wire-to-wire Miami-Dade county attorney concludes 45 years of service BY TI M G R OVES ( 2 L ) W H E N R O B E R T C U E VA S J R . ( J D 7 0 ) joined the Miami-Dade UF Law, which focuses on current County Attorney’s Office in June 1970, he did so with the idea of staying land use topics, including eminent for a couple years before moving on to the next phase of his legal career. domain. Instead, Cuevas retired in September after 45 years working for the Wolf said eminent domain is county. usually invoked after initial negotiaAfter completing his UF undergraduate studies in political science tions with the property owner have and his law degree from UF Law, Cuevas chose the County Attorney’s broken down because the owner Office to begin his legal career and never looked back. may not want to sell the property or “When I interviewed there I just felt it would be a good fit,” he said. is asking too much. “Forty-five years later, it still was.” Eminent domain is by no Cuevas began as an assistant county attorney before becoming first means rare and is often a vital comassistant county attorney, the second in command, in ponent in the 2005 and finally county attorney in May 2007. Along construction of Cuevas played Cuevas the way he headed numerous legal departments within some of the most a key role in the office, including tax, eminent domain, transit and important public commercial law. structures, Wolf said. However, it is often met with the 1980’s Robert Ginsburg was a colleague of Cuevas beskepticism from the general public because they view fore becoming his boss for approximately 25 years as construction of the it as the government “using the bulldozer to take their county attorney. 21-mile Metrorail houses,” Wolf said. “He had a rare ability — you don’t see this in everyWhile Cuevas turned the highly challenging Meand the 4.4-mile body — to actually take responsibility for his work and trorail project into a rousing success, he does not view Metromover. follow through,” Ginsburg said. “He was just superb. it as his greatest accomplishment. He instead referencHe’s a good trial lawyer and a great administrator as es his eight years as county attorney. well.” The position of county attorney places a great deal of responsibilIt was in the field of transportation law, according to Ginsburg, that ity on a single individual. Miami-Dade operates Miami International Cuevas completed his greatest project. He played a key role in the 1980’s Airport, PortMiami, some of the largest police and fire departments in construction of the Rapid Transit Project, which included the 21-mile the country, and many other government entities. All of the legal issues Metrorail and the 4.4-mile Metromover. of those massive projects fall on the county attorney’s desk, resulting in “You wouldn’t believe the amount of federal regulations that sur- roughly 10,000 lawsuits a year for the Miami-Dade County Attorney’s Ofround a project of that type,” Ginsburg said. “In those days, the federal fice. To handle the caseload, the office requires approximately 70 lawyers government was funding transportation projects so they called the shots. and 75 staff members. I remember going into the office of the administrators who worked on The position also requires working one-on-one with clients, such as that and there was an entire wall of federal regulations. He was able to county commissioners, the mayor and all county department heads. master that.” The office is an atypical governmental entity as the turnover rate is The system was subject to intense scrutiny, eventually reaching low, and many attorneys make their careers there, much the way Cuevas the desk of President Reagan. But Cuevas soldiered on and the project did. Ginsburg said the office wins roughly 90 percent of its cases, which opened for service in 1984. led it to be featured in the book The Greatest Places to Practice Law in Cuevas handled Miami-Dade’s acquisition of virtually all the proper- America. ty and right-of-ways required for the project. He managed to accomplish “People like Bob Cuevas were part of that and made it that way,” this massive land accumulation through both purchases and eminent Ginsburg said. domain. Cuevas retired in 2015 and is pondering his next step. But Cuevas UF Law Professor Michael Allan Wolf, the Richard E. Nelson Chair will forever cherish his time with the Miami-Dade County Attorney’s in Local Government, is one of the most recognized scholars on eminent Office. domain. He is the general editor of Powell on Real Property (17 volumes), “I miss them tremendously,” Cuevas said of the County Attorney’s the most prominent treatise in the area that is regularly cited by state and Office staff. “I got up every morning looking forward to going in and federal courts. He also hosts the annual Richard E. Nelson Symposium at interacting with them and solving the issues we had.” SPRI NG 2016 39 CLASS NOTES Plata 10 D’Alessandro 11 Madden 12 Raiford 12 Morgan 12 Gaffney 13 Nozzolillo 13 Griffin 14 Diaz-Cortes 15 Gallagher 15 Greiwe 15 Rodriguez 15 2010 Belkis Plata, of Plata Schott Attorneys & Counselors at Law, was honored as a champion of mentoring by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership for her commitment to the needs of young people at the national, state and local levels. Plata began mentoring through Take Stock in Children and continues to mentor young attorneys and speak to high school students. She was honored with two others at the 6th annual Mentoring Summit at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., based on nominations by members of MENTOR’s national network of affiliate partnerships and youth-serving partner organizations. 2011 Amy D’Alessandro, assistant Florida state attorney for the 20th Judicial Circuit, joined Aloia, Roland & Lubell, PLLC, as an associate. She will initially focus on representing clients in the firm’s rapidly expanding business litigation and real estate practices. Jeffrey A. Eisel has become a partner with BaskinFleece, Attorneys at Law. He practices in the areas of guardianship, probate, and trust litigation and administration; fiduciary litigation; estate planning; commercial and civil litigation; and business law. 2012 Deborah K. Madden, attorney with Gunster’s Ft. Lauderdale office, has been elected to the leadership team of the 2016 board of directors for the Florida Association of Environmental Professionals SPRI NG 2016 (FAEP). The multidisciplinary professional association includes environmental professionals from a variety of disciplines and is an affiliate of the National Association of Environmental Professionals. Hilary Flint Morgan has joined Trent Cotney, P.A., where she focuses on all aspects of construction law including lien law, surety bond law, litigation, arbitration, construction defect, contract review and drafting, licensing, bid protests and OSHA defense. Anitra Raiford has joined Shook Hardy and Bacon as an associate in its Tampa office. She practices in the areas of business disputes, employment litigation and policy, mass tort and product liability. 2013 Nicholas Gaffney (LLMT, JD 12), attorney in Quarles & Brady LLP’s Tampa office, was selected as part of the Hillsborough County Bar Association Leadership Institute Class of 2015-16. The institute helps attorneys develop the skills to become leaders. Armando Nozzolillo has joined Burr & Forman’s Jacksonville office. The firm opened the Jacksonville office in early January, and Nozzolillo is one of the first attorneys to join in what the firm expects to be a high-growth year. 2014 Kyle C. Griffin (LLMT, JD 13) has joined Dean Mead’s Orlando office in the estate and succession planning department. Griffin focuses his practice in the areas of estate planning, probate and trust administration and taxation law. 2015 John F. DeStefano (LLMT, JD 14) has joined Proskauer Rose LLP in Boca Raton. Marcelo Diaz-Cortes has joined Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman as an associate. Diaz-Cortes focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation. Marjorie Gallagher (LLMT) has joined Comiter, Singer, Baseman & Braun in Palm Beach Gardens. Gallagher practices in federal taxation of partnerships, S Corporations and limited liability companies; business transactions; income and estate planning; asset protection; and trust, estate and guardianship litigation. Donald Greiwe has joined de la Parte & Gilbert, P.A., practicing primarily in the areas of civil and business litigation, appeals and commercial transactions. Yisell Rodriguez has joined Broad and Cassel as an associate in the affordable housing and tax credit practice group in its Orlando office. Send your class notes to [email protected] or to: UF LAW magazine, Levin College of Law, University of Florida, P.O. Box 117633, Gainesville, FL 32611. The class notes deadline for the fall issue is July 25. Please limit submissions to 75 words or fewer by focusing on new endeavors and recognition. 41 CLASS NOTES Laying the foundations Mid-career law students build upon past work experiences BY CH A NTELLE Mc H UG H A S A P R A C T I C I N G E N V I R O N M E N TA L E N G I N E E R in Atlanta, “Experience in the workforce before law school can make you a stronger Dana Mehlman (JD 10) grew frustrated dealing with attorneys who lacked a applicant and a stronger law student,” said Ian McInnis, UF Law’s associate fundamental understanding of the issues that arose in her work. After almost director of admissions. “It gives you experiences someone else may not have, a decade working as an engineer, she knew she could succeed in the technical which bolsters the learning experience.” world, but was it time to venture into a new field altogether and view her work Associate Dean for Student Affairs Rachel Inman noted the educational from a different angle? benefits of combining mid-career students with recent graduates. Drawn by the strength of the Environmental and Land Use Law Certifi“Mixing students who have previous work experience with those who are cate Program and its course variety, Mehlman left Atlanta for the orange and viewing subjects with fresh eyes creates a dynamic atmosphere in the classblue halls of UF Law. room that incorporates different perspectives,” Inman said. She found that her environPrevious work experience can also influence how stumental engineering experience dents approach law school in general. Goliath Davis IV “As a former helped her acclimate to environ(1L) ran a nonprofit before enrolling in UF Law. Now he engineer, I can mental law. While her classmates treats law school like a full-time job. take depositions had a hard time understanding “I get to campus by 8 or 9 a.m., whether I have class the environmental acronyms and or not, and stay until around 5 pm. When I’m here, I’m of engineers technical jargon, her work before working, whether studying or reading or in class, so that more easily law school placed her ahead of the when I’m home I can relax,” Davis said. “It’s exhausting, but than if I didn’t learning curve. I co-founded a nonprofit, Citizens for a Sustainable Future, Mehlman “I was up to speed on envihave a technical before coming to law school, and a law degree seemed like ronmental aspects of the field so the most practical skill I could have to grow that nonprofit. background.” I wasn’t intimidated by the mate“The nonprofit works on issues pertaining to environ—DANA MEHLMAN (JD 10) rial,” Mehlman said. “As a former mental justice and food sovereignty in low-income comengineer, I can take depositions of munities, particularly African-American neighborhoods,” engineers more easily than if I didn’t have a techni- Davis said. “Having that specific goal in mind gives me more focus and discical background. Furthermore, the engineers I have pline to do what needs to be done.” hired, as well as those hired by opposing parties, Some students find that their technical background also allows them to show a unique respect for me because they know think more deeply about the legal issues concerning their areas of specialty. I am not only an attorney, but a licensed engineer This positions them to advance an organization because they understand its Davis as well.” goals, obligations and technical functions before offering counsel. This interdisciplinary focus means Mehlman “My law classes allowed me to see how the technical aspects of environstands out in the legal field for her ability to interpret what experts say and to mental engineering interacted with the policy aspects of environmental law,” translate it into legal arguments courts can understand. Last year, the National Mehlman said. Law Journal recognized her as one of its inaugural “Energy & Environmental Even without previous work experience, students can immerse themselves Trailblazers.” in fields that interest them during law school through certificate programs, Today Mehlman is a manager in the corporate environmental division of clinics and conferences. Experiential work coupled with the expertise of visitPCS Administration (USA), Inc., one of the world’s largest fertilizer compa- ing practitioners and scholars from different disciplines broaden perspectives. nies by capacity, producing potash, nitrogen and phosphate. She is leading the UF Law students also benefit from the law school’s location on the UF development and evolution of the firm’s environmental management system, campus, a major research university with a multitude of resources and scholwhich includes the creation of a legal register — a list of relevant legislation ars, which allows law students to earn a master’s degree in related fields while — for each of the company’s facilities. Mehlman especially credits UF Law pursuing their J.D. degrees. Professors Mary Jane Angelo (JD 87) and Alyson Flournoy with much of her For UF Law students, Flournoy noted, these opportunities allow them to law school and career success. Flournoy is former director of the Environmen- transition into employment with experience and knowledge of the legal imtal and Land Use Law Program and Angelo is the current program director. pacts in the various areas that interest their clients. Mehlman is just one of a growing number of students who decide mid-ca“Whether they are mid-career professionals or students coming directly reer to pursue a degree at UF Law. In the fall 2015 entering class, 46.5 percent from their undergraduate studies, UF Law students have the opportunity to of incoming students had been out of school up to four years before enrolling, gain experience and knowledge of topics that will help them to understand and 5.8 percent had been out of school for five or more years. their future clients’ concerns,” Flournoy said. 42 UF L AW SCHOLARSHIP Research Report A sampling of the wide-ranging scholarly articles and books UF Law professors are producing “Technology has facilitated both the amount of trade secrets that are now stored electronically and the rise of cyber intrusions. Together, this has created a storm perfectly ripe for economic espionage.” ELIZABETH ROWE Feldman Gale Term Professor in IP Law; UF Research Foundation Professor; Director, Program in Intellectual Property Law “RATs, TRAPs, and Trade Secrets,” 57 B.C. L. Rev. (forthcoming) SPRI NG 2016 WENTONG ZHENG Associate Professor of Law “Exhausting Patents,” 63 UCLA L. Rev. 122 (2016) “Yet underneath the seemingly unequivocal mandate of patent exhaustion lies a doctrine fraught with contradictions.” “Yet perhaps the most alarming aspect of overdisciplining students and of the school-toprison pipeline generally is that not all racial groups are affected equally by these negative trends.” JASON NANCE Associate Professor of Law; Associate Director, Center on Children and Families “Over-Disciplining Students, Racial Bias, and the SchoolTo-Prison Pipeline,” 50 University of Richmond L. Rev. 1063 (2016) 43 SCHOLARSHIP “Structured properly and achieved fairly as to senior executives, a non-binding employee vote would politically legitimate executive compensation and income disparity at both the firm and political levels.” ROBERT RHEE John H. and Mary Lou Dasburg Professor of Law “Intra-Firm Monitoring of Executive Compensation,” 69 Vanderbilt L. Rev. (forthcoming 2016) 44 AMY STEIN Associate Professor of Law “Distributed Reliability,” 87 University of Colorado L. Rev. (forthcoming 2016) “Coordination with energy storage resources will require greater effort, both because of the multitude of energy storage forms, as well as the ability of customers to reap the private benefits of energy storage without regard to contracts.” “In applying these standards, states have denied a defendant’s self-representation because of his stuttering, strong foreign accent and low level of education, even when the defendant has intact decision-making abilities.” LEA JOHNSTON Professor of Law; Assistant Director, Criminal Justice Center “Communication and Competence for SelfRepresentation,” 84 Fordham L. Rev. 2121 (2016) UF L AW EXPERT OPINION Faculty in the News “The consequences are not likely to be serious, however serious it is for (Trump) I think it is really just going to be the way that it plays out in the media more so than the way it plays out in the courts.” KENNETH NUNN Professor of Law; Associate Director, Center on Children and Families; Assistant Director, Criminal Justice Center “Florida legal expert: Lewandowski incident ‘is a battery’” (March 30, 2016, The Washington Post) SPRI NG 2016 “(The pattern) may be the least effective way to rehabilitate youth. (It has a) disproportionate impact on students of color, LGBTQ and those with disabilities.” “Clearly, the existence of the sex tape is newsworthy in the context of this particular celebrity. But does that mean the actual tape itself is newsworthy?” JASON NANCE Associate Professor of Law; Associate Director, Center on Children and Families “Too many students are being diverted from school into the criminal justice system, report says” (Feb. 6, 2016, ABA Journal). Nance is co-author of the report referenced in the article. LYRISSA LIDSKY Stephen C. O’Connell Professor; Associate Dean for International Programs “Hulk Hogan’s Suit Over Sex Tape May Test Limits of Online Press Freedom” (March 4, 2016, The New York Times) 45 EXPERT OPINION “I think the court understands that our sentencing scheme is different from (Arizona’s), and therefore it’s not a slam dunk that the same analysis would apply in Florida.” TERESA REID Master Legal Skills Professor; Assistant Director, Criminal Justice Center “Attorneys for Florida inmate argue for execution delay” (Feb. 2, 2016, Associated Press) 46 STACEY STEINBERG Legal Skills Professor; Associate Director, Center on Children and Families “Parent partnerships: A better way to co-parent” (March 8, op-ed in The Washington Post) “Children thrive when their parents work harmoniously to meet their needs. While laws establish each parent’s legal obligation to the child, they do not specify obligations between co-parents in the absence of a marriage.” “The deeper point, however, is that it is hard to see why those wishing to honor the originalist principle for which Scalia stood are voicing such strong objection to the Senate voting on the nominee of a lameduck President Obama.” JONATHAN COHEN Professor of Law “Why ‘originalists’ who loved Scalia should want a vote on his replacement” (Feb. 22, 2016, op-ed in The Washington Post) UF L AW UP&COMING Equal marriage model Student, professor publish in European journal BY C H A N TE L L E M c H U G H SI MON E C H R I S S ( 3 L ) A N D P R OFESS OR DAN AYA W R IG H T have entered the international conversation about same-sex marriage with an article published in the Italian law journal Genius. The article examines the evolution of the 50-year-old same-sex marriage debate in the U.S. It also analyzes the Supreme Court’s June 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges and its implications moving forward. “Very few countries in Europe have legalized same-sex marriage, and Italy is a long way from doing so,” Wright said. “But Genius is read by a lot of people in different countries around Europe and outside of Europe. We wanted to give the European legal community – or a general audience who are not specifically educated on this issue – an understanding of what we did in this country, how we got there and the basis on which we made the decision.” The project began after “Conversations Across the Curriculum” – a UF Law initiative to expose students to diverse perspectives on social issues – brought U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker to campus in February. Judge Walker spoke about his Hollingsworth v. Perry ruling that some say sparked the same-sex marriage litigation of the past several years. Chriss was one of two students on the panel who interviewed Judge Walker on the landmark decision and his predictions for the future of LGBT rights. Roberto Virzo, a visiting Italian scholar at UF Law, asked Wright, who had organized the event, and Chriss to write a piece on how the same-sex marriage debate in the U.S. had come about and where it could go, with a European audience in mind. “I approached Professor Wright about writing an article because she is an eminent expert on constitutional law with a sensibility for the constitutional rights of sexual minorities,” Virzo said. The goal was to give European lawmakers a model of how the discussion was handled here, showing the successes and pitfalls, so that they could understand or one day follow our path. “When I started writing and doing the research for it, we didn’t have nationwide same-sex marriage,” explained Chriss, president of OUTLaw, a UF Law student organization that brings awareness to LGBT issues through events and guest speakers. “So the focus of the paper was about how far we’d come and all of the little pieces of the same-sex marriage fight and gay rights fight at that point, as well as different avenues on which the Supreme Court could eventually decide.” With the 2015 Obergefell decision, holding that all states must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the article grew to in- SPRI NG 2016 corporate an analysis of the consequences of the dissenting and majority opinions. The article was the first analysis of Obergefell to be published in a European law journal, Virzo said. “European law scholars are studying the continued battle over equal rights for sexual minorities in the United States because of the role that judges are playing in it,” Virzo said. “In Italy, Parliament has yet to adopt any law on same-sex marriage or on same-sex partnership. Our hope is that judges might shake the Italian Parliament out of its apathy.” Wright said she tries to co-author with students regularly to encourage them to get into the spirit of academic work outside of the classroom. For example, she worked with Shelbi Day (JD 02), who went on to become one of the lawyers that filed the Nevada lawsuit instrumental in striking that state’s gay adoption ban. While same-sex couples can now marry, Chriss stresses that they still do not possess all of the privileges of heterosexual couples. States can still discriminate in the workplace, in housing and in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, which are not protected classes in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its various amendments. “That is the civil rights issue of the early 21st century,” Wright said. UF Law Professor Danaya Wright and Simone Chriss (3L). 47