The Public Interest Law Society Chapter ( PILS) for Nova Southeastern University Law Center is excited to announce the upcoming Seventeenth Annual Public Interest Auction, to be held on Friday, February 12, 2010.

The purpose of this auction is to raise money to provide the necessary funds to facilitate legal services to those individuals who desperately need it. Due to budget constraints, most organizations that assist the indigent and poor are understaffed and unable to compensate legal interns. The funds raised at this auction will enable law students to aid local organizations in providing quality legal services to those who would otherwise be unable to afford it.

ALL funds raised at the auction are utilized in the form of fellowship grants to students at NSU Law School. These grants are paid to students who work in non-paid public interest legal positions. 100% of the auction proceeds will be put back into our local community and help benefit both numerous public interest programs and our local community as a whole. This year a portion of the proceeds will also go to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.

Join us February 12, 2010 for a night of food, fun, and entertainment. The spectacular evening will include both a silent and a live auction. Auction items are donated by law firms, local businesses, faculty, students, and alumni, and additional generous individuals.

Twelve teams from five different states competed in the annual APALSA Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition in Miami. NSU Law students performed exceptionally well, bringing home two trophies and will compete at the Nationals in Boston.

The team of Danielle Dudai and Rebecca McClurg won Runner-Up Best Brief among 14 team briefs.The team of Dena Sacharow and Mick Jacobsen, after competing in two preliminary rounds, were one of four teams to advance to the semi-finals. They won their semi-final round and went on to the final round where they finished as Runner-Up Best Oralists for the Southern Region and will also compete at the Nationals. 

Congratulations to all the students for their outstanding efforts and achievements.  Special thanks to Professors Burris, Brown, Langan, Rohr, Cerminara, Grady, Kahn, Hnylka, Rawls, Gregg, Britzke, Jackson, Perez, A., and Associate Dean Harrison for helping to prepare the teams for the competition.

Alumna Judy Goodman ’03, a health care law concentration graduate, was recently recognized in the 2009 Palm Beach Daily News supplement entitled "Palm Beach Elite: 100 People Who Get Things Done" in the Medicine and Healthcare category as a public policy specialist for her consulting work for Good Samaritan Medical Center.  View the story at http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/society/content/specialsections/pbelite/pbelite.html.  (Click onto the heading “Palm Beach Elite: Medicine & Health Care.")

Goodman credits her health law concentration studies with putting her into the position she now occupies.  As part of her health law concentration work, she worked on the proposed St. Mary’s/Good Samaritan buyout in Palm Beach County for service hours, and she wrote an article that the Nova Law Review published as part of the Goodwin Seminar issue (Charitable Choice:  The Ramifications of Government Funding for Faith-Based Health Care Services).  She now represents both Good Samaritan Medical Center and St. Mary's Medical Center in certain policy areas that relate to her work on the law review article. 

Jennifer Swirsky’s article placed in the Top 15 for the Grammys Foundation.  Jennifer contacted the Entertainment and Sports Law Section of The Florida Bar about publishing her article.  They have posted an edited version on the main page of their Website.  To read Payola: Should Internet Radio Stations Be Able to Accept Pay for Play While Over-the-Air Stations are Statutorily Precluded?, go to http://easl.info.  Congratulations, Jennifer!

Billie Jo Kaufman '90, associate dean for Library & Information Resources and professor of law at American University Washington College of Law, will be a guest speaker and moderator at the Conference on Legal Information and Law Libraries in Beijing, China. The Conference will be an opportunity for legal information professionals from both the U.S. and China to share experiences and exchange views in regard to legal information development and law library management. Associate Dean Kaufman's presentation will be on Friday, May 29, and will be part of a session focusing on the digitization of legal information resources. She will also moderate a panel on Saturday, May 30, on the challenges facing libraries in regard to the acquisition, distribution, and preservation of legal materials.

Jessica Chiappone, a rising second year student was selected to be the ABA Law Student Division Liaison to the Criminal Justice Section - Juvenile Justice Committee. Her announcement letter read, "This appointment was based on your excellent qualifications and your interest in becoming a national representative of the Division. As a liaison, you will represent the Division's 46,000 members to your assigned entity. The liaison appointment process is very competitive due to the high volume of exceptionally qualified applications received by the Division. Far more applications were received than were available positions for placement. We hope you realize the honor and obligations associated with your appointment. This is also a special recognition to your school."

Two of Nova Law's students were selected to serve for 11 weeks as 2009 Legal Services Summer Fellows by The Florida Bar Foundation:

Elizabeth Cases, - Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida
Stephany Garcia, - Dade County Bar Association Legal Aid

Both students recently completed their second year at Nova Law Center. Forty law students from all 10 Florida law schools and several out of state schools attended a workshop May 21 and 22 in Fort Lauderdale before beginning their fellowships at 28 Foundation supported legal aid programs. Nearly 490 applicants applied for these positions; the most the Foundation ever received. "The need for Legal Aid is continuing to grow and it's exciting to also see a growth in law students wanting to get their feet wet in public interest law," said Paul Doyle, director of the Foundation's Legal Assistance for the Poor and Law Student Assistance grant programs.

The Law Center was pleased to recognize two of its finest adjunct professors—Gerry M. Morris and Ross Lauren Baer, both graduates of the Law Center—at a reception held to show appreciation for all Law Center adjuncts on April 16 at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art. Athornia Steele, dean of the Shepard Broad Law Center, remarked during the celebration, “Law schools could not operate without the assistance of adjunct faculty who bring experience to legal education and enrich the curriculum. Adjuncts teach, not because they are paid well because they are not, but because they enjoy imparting specific knowledge and skills to students."

A member of the Law Center’s Charter Class, Gerald M. Morris ‘77 has been an Adjunct Professor of Law since 1992. He has served as the General Counsel for Holy Cross Hospital and the Holy Cross Health Ministries in Fort Lauderdale for over 13 years. Morris has been Board Certified in Health Law since 1995 and he earned his LL.M. Degree in Health Law from the University of Houston Law Center in 2002. Since 1992 he has been teaching a Health Law survey course and several times has taught the Law of Managed Health Care course. In addition to being on the faculty of the NSU Law Center's online Master of Science in Health Law program as a Research Project advisor and co-teaching Administrative Law, Morris also serves on the Law Center's Board of Governors.

Ross Lauren Baer ’88 has been supervising attorney, family law unit, with the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, Inc., since 1993. He initiated and developed the Palm Beach County Self Help Center to assist the pro se litigant in family law matters. Since 1999, he has instructed certified legal interns enrolled in the Law Center’s Family Law Clinic in the area of post judgment remedies in general and those unique to family law. He has been involved in all aspects of litigation in cases concerning the Hague Convention and the international abduction of children. He has also had vast experience in Appellate Litigation. Baer is a member of The Florida Bar and a Member of the United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal.

Serena Gober won this year’s $10,000 Rising Star scholarship. Serena is the ABA’s Law Student Division representative for the law school, a NSU Presidential Ambassador, board member and incoming editor-in-chief of International Citator, president of ILSA, vice-president of JLSA and an active member of other organizations and associations. Aside from her academic accomplishments, Serena has consistently been a leader focused on diversity and concentrating her efforts on recognizing and welcoming the differences among people that bring them together rather than dividing them.

Diana Sulea received a $1,000. scholarship from BCWLA. Diana has already devoted over 350 pro bono hours at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Legal Aid Society. She belongs to PAD and PULSE and in her “spare time”, has organized a charity auction, taught Sunday school and worked on countless volunteer projects to benefit children in need – all while attending and achieving in law school.

These are two very accomplished and dedicated young women that we are lucky to have at the Law Center. Members of the BCWLA scholarship committee told me that they received such high quality applications this year from our law students that the committee had to meet three separate times to try to decide among the candidates. The choice was very difficult this year, but they wanted everyone to know that all of the applicants were worthy.

FAWL is hosting a presentation by best selling author and South Florida resident  Jilliane Hoffman, at noon on Tuesday, April 14, in the Law Center’s Faculty Study.   Hoffman began her legal career as an Assistant Attorney in Florida, prosecuting felonies from 1992-1996.  In 2001, she became the Regional Legal Advisor for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.    Hoffman will discuss her career and present signed copies of her most recent novel, Plea of Insanity, for sale. 

Professor Rob Gregg (Critical Skills Program, M.S.Emp.L.) has been appointed to a third term as Chair of the Broward County Commission’s Homeless Advisory Board. The Homeless Initiative Partnership (HIP) Advisory Board was created by County ordinance in 1994, and is charged with overseeing the County’s homeless “Continuum of Care,” which includes making funding recommendations for over $22 million in local, state, and federal funds. Broward's Continuum of Care addresses all aspects of homelessness including prevention, outreach, emergency shelter, transitional and permanent affordable housing, and supportive services. This work includes:

• Facilitating community, business, and governmental involvement in the homeless continuum of care;
• Oversight of the County's three regional Homeless Assistance Centers;
• Creating new and innovative programs to serve Broward's homeless population; and
• Participation in the creation and review of applications and requests for proposals.

Professor Gregg was first appointed to the HIP Board in 2004 by then-Commissioner Lori Nance Parrish, and has been reappointed by former Commissioner Jim Scott and Commissioner Ken Keechl.

The team of Emmanuela Charles and Delrose Raynor competed in Nashville, Tn. on Feb. 4th -7th in the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition as part of the Black American Law Student Association's regional convention.  They received the first place trophy for the Best Petitioner’s Brief and advanced into the power round with a first seed before losing by the narrowest of margins. 

Also competing during the convention in the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition was the team of Gina Jacobs, Keri Joseph, Lawonda Warren and Kimberley Miller. This team won both of their preliminary rounds and advanced into the quarter-finals where they were stopped in a very close round.

All of our competitors performed very well.  The judges for both the moot court and trial teams were very complimentary about the teams' performance, professionalism, and competence.  They all represented Nova extremely well and were very impressive.  The moot court team was coached by Profs. Olympia Duhart and Alicia Jackson.  The mock trial team was coached by Adjunct Profs. Tania Williams and Phyllis Kotey, and Associate Dean linda f. harrison.

Joel Mintz has authored a chapter on hazardous waste legislation and policy in an important new book, Agenda for a Sustainable America.  The book, edited by John C. Dernbach, surveys the progress that the United States has made towards environmental sustainability while pointing out the challenges that still remain.  Professor Mintz’s chapter, titled Hazardous Waste and Superfund: Few Changes and Little Progress, examines how federal hazardous waste legislation, which initially seemed so promising, has been weakened in application.  He offers four recommendations on how the United States can attain sustainability without depositing its hazardous waste problem on the doorstep of the world’s poorest countries.  Of the book, Senator Russ Feingold said, “This comprehensive review of the United States’ environmental efforts is a reminder that despite our progress, we have further to travel on the road toward sustainability.  As this book makes clear, we must pursue new, sustainable solutions that will allow future generations, and the environment they depend on, to thrive.” 

Professor John Sanchez recently published The Vesting, Modification, and Financing of Public Retiree Health Benefits in Light of New Accounting Rules in 41 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1147 (Summer 2008.)  The 2008 update to his book, State & Local Government Employment Liability,  by Thomson West, was recently published.  He anticipates publication of the Survey of Florida Public Employment Law  in the 2008 Nova L. Rev. and an Employment Law Bar Chart.

PUBLIC INTEREST LAW SOCIETY CHARITABLE AUCTION
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6TH AT 6:00 PM IN THE ATRIUM
FOOD AND BEVERAGES WILL BE SERVED

SILENT AND LIVE AUCTION ITEMS:

All proceeds from the auction go to summer public interest fellowships.

Professor Cerminara’s paper, “ Introduction: Health Care in the 21st Century: Cost, Quality, and Access in the New Millennium" was recently listed on SSRN's Top Ten download list for Public Goods & Regulation in Health Economics. Her papers are available on SSRN at: http://ssrn.com/author=145233

Professor Marty-Nelson’s article entitled, "Securities Laws in Soap Operas and Telenovelas: Are All My Children Engaged in Securities Fraud?" was recently listed on SSRN's Top Ten download list for Law, Politics & the Media. This article is available on SSRN at: http://ssrn.com/author=500647

Judge Patrick L. Robinson, who oversaw trial of Slobodan Milosevic,
to present at Black History Month event

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – The Honorable Judge Patrick L. Robinson of Jamaica, president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), will speak at the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center on February 14, 2009 as part of Black History Month. The event is co-sponsored by the Caribbean Law Programs and the Inter-American Center for Human Rights of NSU Law Center, the Latin American Caribbean Forum of NSU’s Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Consul General of Jamaica and Unique Creations, Inc.

Judge Robinson currently serves as the President of the ICTY.  He has served as the Presiding Judge for Trial Chamber III since 2004 and oversaw the historic trial of the former President of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, the first former Head of State to be brought to trial for war crimes.

Judge Robinson has been on the ICTY since 1998 and became president on November 17, 2008. The ICTY is a body of the United Nations established to prosecute serious crimes committed during the wars in the former Yugoslavia, and to try their alleged perpetrators.

A book signing will be held with Judge Robinson at 2 p.m. in the Faculty Study and he will give a presentation at 4 p.m. in the Large Lecture Room (LL) on “The Interaction of Legal Systems in the Work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.”  His book is entitled Jamaican Athletics - A Model for 2012 And the World: Jamaica’s Triumph in Beijing.

The book signing and presentation are free and open to the public. The event will be held at the Law Center on NSU’s main campus at 3305 College Ave. in Davie.

Judge Robinson has had a distinguished career in public service in Jamaica and internationally, particularly in the field of International Law. He was a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) from 1987 to 1995 and was a member of the United Nation’s International Law Commission between 1991 and 1995.  For 26 years, he was Jamaica’s representative on the Legal Committee of the United Nations General Assembly to which he was accredited as an Ambassador. 

Judge Robinson is a lifelong sports enthusiast.  A Jamaica College old boy, he was a member of the school’s track team that won the Inter-Scholastic Championships (CHAMPS) in 1959 and a member of the school’s Sunlight Cup cricket team. His book seeks to explain the reasons for Jamaica’s high quality performances in global athletics over the past sixty years.

Professor Shu-Acquaye is the recipient of In Focus Magazine’s 2007 Quiet Storm Achievement Award, in special recognition of her work in Cameroon with the Society for Women & AIDS in Africa (SWAA), for which Professor Shu-Acquaye was also recognized by the Florida Supreme Court.

It is with deep sadness that Nova Southeastern University shares the news that Stephanie Feldman Aleong, a beloved friend, colleague, and teacher to so many, died unexpectedly on October 21, 2008, after a difficult battle with cancer. Professor Aleong’s passing is a tremendous loss to the entire community.   She always maintained a very positive and cheery outlook, even in the direst of circumstances.  On October 8th she sent an email to her colleagues thanking them for their support and kindness and advised them, “I am a tough little bird so I will undergo this therapy with a cheery heart and a smile because I know I will get much better medical care that way!”  Well regarded by faculty colleagues, students, and staff, Professor Aleong will be missed for her larger than life personality, her wisdom, her enthusiasm, and her warm and generous spirit.

Professor Aleong, an Associate Professor of Law at the Shepard Broad Law Center, directed the Master of Science in Health Law Program, a program designed to teach to health care professionals the ever-expanding web of law that controls health practices.  Professor Aleong taught Criminal Law, Remedies, Women and the Law, and Lawyering Skills & Values I and II in the J.D. program. Her scholarship focused primarily on securing the prescription drug supply chain in the United States.  She served as the advisor to Nova’s Moot Court Society, a position that she cherished and used to mentor to many students.

A member of The Florida Bar since 1996, Professor Aleong was a prosecutor for six years in the state of Florida. From November 2000 through July 2002, she served as an Assistant Statewide Prosecutor and the Health Care Fraud Priority Leader for Florida. She specialized in the prosecution and investigation of racketeering in pharmaceuticals. Her work as a prosecutor in the area of prescription drugs was the basis of a novel and many periodical articles. From 1996 through 2000, Professor Aleong was an Assistant State Attorney for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, serving in many units. Her service included acting as the Assistant Chief of the DUI Division in County Court and serving in the Career Criminal Unit. During her tenure as a prosecutor, Professor Aleong taught Trial Advocacy for the U.S. Department of Justice in both Honduras and Venezuela.

Prior to joining the faculty at Nova, Professor Aleong was a member of the faculty of Emory Law School as an instructor in the Legal, Writing, Research and Advocacy Program from 2002 to 2004. She also taught in the first-year Professionalism program at Emory and developed materials for the second-year Trial Techniques program. During the summer of 2003, she was a Visiting Professor at the University of Trier Law School in Trier Germany, where she taught Legal Writing in an international, bilingual program. Professor Aleong was a member of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics. Recipient of a J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1996 and a B.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1993, Professor Aleong was the Moot Court Board's Associate Justice for the First Amendment Competition at the law school.

Professor Stephanie Feldman Aleong is survived by her husband Neil, and her parents Dr. Jack and Lorraine Feldman.  A memorial service will be held on Friday, October 24 at 3:30 p.m.  It will take place at Beth Israel Memorial Chapel in Boynton Beach, located at 11115 Jog Road, Boynton Beach, FL 33437.  Donations can be made to the Melanoma Research Foundation in the memory of Stephanie Feldman Aleong.  Send any donations to the Melanoma Research Foundation, 170 Township Line Road, Bldg B, Hillsborough, NJ, 08844, or online at www.melanoma.org.

The Law Center was pleased to have these distinguished professors visit from our partner universities:

Cristina Gonzalez is visiting us from the University of Barcelona. She is an expert of International Private Law and is also Vice-Dean of International Relations and Research at the University of Barcelona.

 
Zdenek Kuhn is visiting us from Charles University in Prague. He is an expert of Comparative Constitutional Law and is also a Justice of the Supreme Administrative Court in the Czech Republic.

 
Luca Marafioti is visiting us from the University of Roma Tre. He is an expert of Criminal Procedural Law. Many of you have already met Luca when he visited us last August.

Our international community and presence is growing due to the faculty and students that we send to and receive from our specialized semester exchange programs with our partner universities in Barcelona, Prague, Venice, and Rome.

Blue shirt: Luca Marafioti
White shirt: Zdenek Kuhn
White dress: Cristina Gonzalez