Law Center Professor Michael L. Richmond was named by Broward Lawyers Care, the pro bono project of Legal Aid Service of Broward County (LAS) and Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida (CCLA) as a recipient of their 2012 Attorney of the Year Award.

As the state of the economy has worsened over the past few years, there is an increasing need for volunteer legal assistance to the poor and disadvantaged. These awards honor attorneys who recognize that need and have committed themselves to serving the community. 

Professor of Law Michael Richmond has served on the faculty at the Law Center since 1978, where he teaches Torts, Defamation, Products Liability and the Law & Literature Seminar.  While in law school, he interned with a civil rights attorney in Charlotte and later clerked at the Cleveland Legal Aid Society in their mental health division.  At the Law Center, he is the faculty advisor to the Public Interest Law Society, raising funds to support stipends for NSU students to intern at LAS and CCLA .His pro bono work for Broward Lawyers Care includes working extensively on diverse cases over the years, including family law/domestic cases, and unfair collections practices and public benefits resulting in hundreds of donated pro bono hours.

“If I, as a Torts Professor and Attorney, can handle a Legal Aid pro bono case dealing with the Medicaid Act, then any lawyer can work on a case outside the comfort zone. As attorneys we are trained to think and analyze,” said Richmond. “We can all help, and as professionals we all have an obligation to help.”

The award will be presented at the 11^th Annual FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD gala on September 28, 2012 at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina. FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD is an annual fundraiser for Legal Aid Service of Broward County and Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida.  Proceeds benefit families and individuals in gaining access to equal justice.  

Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida is a not-for-profit law firm established in 2003 and funded, in part, by the Legal Services Corporation.  Their mission is to improve the lives of low income persons in our community through advocacy, education, representation and empowerment.

Legal Aid Service of Broward County is a not-for-profit law firm established in 1974.  Their mission is to provide high quality free civil legal advice, representation and education to the poor of Broward County so as to improve the lifestyle and living conditions of the low-income community and to encourage self-sufficiency.

Broward Lawyers Care is the pro bono unit within Legal Aid Service of Broward County and Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida and is the recognized pro bono program in Broward County, Florida. Broward Lawyers Care (BLC) was formed in 1983 by a joint effort of the Broward County Bar and Legal Aid. BLC enables busy attorneys to make a difference in their community.

The Office of Career and Professional Development and the Law Alumni Association is proud to partner with the Broward County Bar Association in an effort to provide mentors for all of our students. We believe all law students can benefit from the guidance of a practicing attorney. We invite you to register to become a mentor and to participate in mentoring activities throughout the year, including the upcoming Mentoring Picnic on February 4, 2012. The guidance you provide to a law student is invaluable.

2012 NSU Law Student Mentoring Picnic

Helping Today's Students Become Tomorrow's Leaders 

Saturday, February 4, 2012

12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

NSU Shepard Broad Law Center

South Lawn and Atrium

3305 College Ave., Davie, FL 33314

To RSVP for the Picnic and Register to become a Mentor, click here.

Space is limited. Casual attire.

If you have questions about our Mentoring Program, please contact  Assistant Dean Robert Levine.

The Office of Career and Professional Development is proud to partner with the Broward County Bar Association in an effort to provide mentors for all of our students. We believe all law students can benefit from the guidance of a practicing attorney. We invite you to register to become a mentor and to participate in mentoring activities throughout the year, including the upcoming Mentoring Picnic on February 4, 2012. 

If you have questions about our mentoring program, please contact Assistant Dean Robert Levine at 954-262-6227.

To become a mentor and RSVP for the Mentoring Picnic, please register here.

The Caribbean Law Clinic (CLC) was held at the Law Center November 9-11, 2011.  The CLC is a program created by the American and Caribbean Law Initiative (ACLI), a consortium of four Caribbean and five U.S. law schools.  Each semester law students meet in a selected venue to coordinate research and prepare a joint presentation on topical legal issues. This semester, the CLC will include about 30 law students and 10 faculty members from the following Caribbean and U.S. Law Schools: Cayman Islands Law School (George Town, Grand Cayman), Eugene Dupuch Law School (Nassau, Bahamas), Hugh Wooding Law School (Tunapuna, Trinidad), Norman Manley Law School (Kingston, Jamaica), Florida Coastal University School of Law (Jacksonville, Florida), Florida International University College of Law and Stetson University College of Law.

The Criminal Law Society and Nova Trial Association at the Law Center held a Symposium on the Influence of Social Media on Highly Publicized Criminal Trials on October 27, 2011. The symposium featured a panel discussion on the effects of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as well as, commentary on the Casey Anthony Trial and other highly publicized criminal trials, and ethical constraints on mental health professionals who involve themselves in media proceedings.

Guest speakers included:

Bradford Cohen `97
Bradford Cohen is a Fort Lauderdale based criminal lawyer. He has been noted as a “Top Notch Criminal Defense Lawyer" by Catherine Crier of Court TV, and called the "go to miracle worker" by TMZ.com. He is a requested expert legal commentator on CNBC, NBC, The Dan Abrams Show, Nancy Grace, Fox News, CNN and Celebrity Justice. He has criminal trial experience in both Federal and State Courts. He has handled Federal criminal matters in and outside the State of Florida, including but not limited to White Collar Crimes, Extortion, Gun Charges, Mortgage Fraud, Bank Fraud, Theft, Drug Trafficking, and 1st degree Violent crimes. Bradford is a sought after criminal attorney for tax matters, both civil and criminal due to his extensive background in finance and accounting. Although, high profile in regards to legal commentary and his experience in Criminal Defense, his notable clients recognize his representation is discreet and aggressive, without compromising their rights.
 

Hugh Mundy
Professor Mundy is an Assistant Professor of Law at the Law Center. He teaches Lawyering Skills & Values I & II and supervises the Criminal Justice Clinic. He joined the Shepard Broad Law Center after eight years with the Federal Public Defender in the Middle District of Tennessee and the Southern District of New York. As an assistant federal defender, Professor Mundy represented clients in a broad range of cases involving narcotics, firearms, immigration, federal benefits, and internet-based offenses. In addition, he argued multiple appellate cases in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Prior to serving as an assistant federal defender, Professor Mundy was an Equal Justice Works Fellow at the Tennessee Justice Center in Nashville where he participated in litigation to expand services for children under the state’s managed Medicaid program. Professor Mundy also clerked for the Honorable A. Richard Caputo in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Professor Mundy holds a Juris Doctorate from The Catholic University of America where he was a Charles & Louise O’Brien Public Interest Fellow and a Dulin-Haynes Law & Public Policy Fellow. He received a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Notre Dame.
 

Terence M. Lenamon `92
Terry Lenamon is a Florida Bar Board Certified Trial Lawyer - a significant accomplishment that few attorneys have achieved.  Martindale Hubbel rates Terry as an AV Preeminent attorney. An AV Preeminent rating is given to only the top 2% of the legal profession for excellence in both ability and integrity. With over 17 years experience and more than 100 jury trials under his belt, Mr. Lenamon has built a reputation as one of Florida’s most respected criminal defense lawyers. His skilled, high-quality defense has been sought by many high-profile clients including Ceasar Mena and Casey Anthony. He has experience with 20 first-degree murder trials and eight death penalty cases. That experience has brought him national recognition as a go-to commentator on death penalty issues. Whether it be capital crimes or DUI, Mr. Lenamon puts his trial skills to work for clients accused of the most serious of crimes and facing the most serious of punishments. His cases have been profiled on national television shows including “The Point”, Nancy Grace and “The First 48.” He has successfully persuaded the State to waive the death penalty more than 26 times. Mr. Lenamon is an active participant in the Trial Lawyer’s College, has taught techniques in mitigation investigation for the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and was chosen to present techniques on creative brief writing in capital litigation.
 

David Shapiro, Ph.D.
Dr. Shapiro is a Professor of Psychology at the Center for Psychological Studies where he teaches in the Forensic Concentration.  He has taught at the Law Center since 2000 and has previously taught at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and at Johns Hopkins University.  He is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at the New York Law School's online program in Mental Disability Law. He has been Board Certified in Forensic Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology since 1979 and has taught many continuing education courses in psychology and law. He has also been involved in ethics education for over thirty years and led a task force which made significant contributions to the APA Code of Ethics. He has served on the ethics committee of the American Psychological Association and has chaired the Ethics committee of the American Board of Professional Psychology. He has been President of the APA Dision of Media Psychology. His recent presidential address dealt with ethical issues when psychologists interact with the media.

Click here to see photos of the event.

The Law Center congratulates Sharon Booth (Director, Public Interest Programs and Disability Services), former Judge Frank Orlando (Director, Center for Study of Youth Policy), Nancy Sanguigni (Assistant Dean for Clinical Programs), and Fran Tetunic, (Director, Alternative Dispute Resolution Clinic & Professor of Law) who were recognized at Nova Southeastern University’s External Funding Recognition Reception on September 21, 2011.  Each year, NSU honors the recipients of these grants and awards for their hard work in applying for and utilizing the funding.

Sharon Booth, Nancy Sanguigni and Fran Tetunic were recognized for their efforts in securing grants from the Florida Bar Foundation to support the Law Center’s public interest law program, pro bono initiatives and clinical programs. Frank Orlando is recognized for his efforts in securing funds for the Center for the Study of Youth Policy from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.  Judge Orlando recently received an award from the Casey Foundation for his project entitled, Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative. Every grant received by the Law Center is important to fulfilling key educational programs for our students and service projects to the Broward County community.

NSU prides itself on the number and amount of externally funded research grants it receives each year. This fiscal year, NSU had $71.4 million of active externally funded grants and awards for various projects and research efforts across the university

The Law Center hosted the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) Florida Deposition Skills Program on October 20-22, 2011.  This was the twenty-second year that the Law Center -was designated as the Florida site for this prestigious NITA skills training program.  NITA, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, is nationally and internationally renowned for providing skills training programs for lawyers.  NITA invented the “learning by doing” skills instruction methodology which has been adopted by many law schools, law firms and government agencies for teaching lawyering skills.  This year’s program featured lawyers from around the country as instructors and utilized Law Center students as program witnesses.   Program Director and Law Center Professor Michael Dale discusses the program in this video.

The Law Center held A Symposium on Water: A Human Right on Friday and Saturday, September 16 and 17, 2011.

The symposium covered why safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights – a declaration that was made by the U.N. General Assembly in 2010. The U.N. has voiced deep concern that almost 900 million people worldwide do not have access to clean water.

At the symposium treaty obligations, implementation and barriers to clean water were discussed. There was a Water Art Fundraiser with all proceeds going to supply potable water to those in need.

Guest speakers included Ms. Kenza Robinson, United Nations Secretary of Water. Her presentation can be viewed here http://www.youtube.com/user/NSULawCenter

Congratulations to recent graduates Melanie Malave and  Holli Adams.  They are the recipients of the Bar Gift Award. Funded through generous contributions of alumni and faculty donors, the Bar Gift Award provides monetary assistance to graduates during their 10 weeks of preparation for The Florida Bar Exam. The award enables recipients to concentrate fully on their studies. Eligible graduates must have a qualifying grade point average, demonstrate need, agree to forego employment between graduation and the Bar exam, and commit to supporting the Bar Gift fund in the future.

On April 10, members of the Law Center student organization, Democratic Law Student Council (DLSC), had the opportunity to meet the President of the United States.  Thirteen Law Center students and three professors were in attendance at an event held at the Westin Diplomat in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Student members of the DLSC are members of the Democratic Party as well as the legal profession. Their mission is to promote and encourage social awareness, community activism, volunteering, and political action by creating a forum for students to gather, organize, debate, and become informed of important political issues.

Students pictured from left are DLSC Vice President Harry Tapias and DLSC President Casey Mullin.

Congratulations to the members of the Class of 2012 who participated in the Pro Bono Honor Program and volunteered over 22,000 hours of pro bono legal work while in law school. This is an impressive volunteer effort and its impact on the community is beyond measure.

One-hundred and fifteen members of the Class of 2012 qualified for recognition by performing at least 50 hours of pro bono service. This is the highest number of participants for a graduating class on record! The total number of hours is the equivalent of 440 work weeks (at 50 hours per week) or over nine years of service (at 50 work weeks per year). In addition, 20 graduates received summer and/or academic year fellowships for a total of 3,300 volunteer hours.

The top three placements in terms of number of students volunteering and the total number of hours were (1) Legal Aid Service of Broward County/Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida; (2) Broward County Public Defender’s Office; and (3) Broward County State Attorney’s Office.

The Broward County Women Lawyer’s Association (BCWLA) presented the 2012 Rising Star Scholarship Award to third year Law Center student Ethel Moreno. She was presented this award due to her passion for international human rights, immigration law, civil rights and the rights of women and children.  She has devoted herself to helping people navigate the complexity of the immigration system.  She is the daughter and granddaughter of immigrates of Nicaragua who came to this country to seek stability and were ultimately granted asylum.  She will be the first person in her family to hold a professional degree and credits her success to her parents’ hard work and sacrifice.

Ethel is currently enrolled in the International Practice Clinic where she is working for Kurzban, Kurzban, Weinger, Tetzelli and Pratt, P.A., in the area of immigration law.  During her enrollment in the Clinic, she was awarded a scholarship to attend the American Immigration Law Association Conference.  Ethel was also awarded the Martin E. Feinrider Summer Fellowship for International Human Rights in 2011. She has volunteered for several organizations.  Since September 2010, she has been a Grants Coordinator for the Inter-American Center for Human Rights.  She has also been volunteering for the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center since June 2010 working with female immigrants who have been victims of crimes or domestic violence.

Ethel’s community service includes her work with the Florida Immigrant Coalition, where she has been involved with building awareness for the DREAM Act legislation and assists with efforts to bring about fundamental rights for farm workers.  She is also involved with SEED 305, which is a small nonprofit organization which hosts political and community education programs.

She has indicated that she will be using this scholarship award to fund a study to track the current migratory patterns of immigrants and how those patterns related to the civil rights of women and children.  The women she has interviewed have revealed a reoccurring pattern of immigration to flee abuse and seek stability for themselves and their children.  It is Ethel’s goal to explore the problems these women experience and uncover solutions.  

Pictured are the Board Members of BCWLA, Law Center adminstrators, and Ethel Moreno with her father.

Congratulations to the Law Center’s Student Bar Assoc. (SBA) for winning Student Government of the Year as part NSU’s Annual Student Life Achievement Awards (STUEY). The STUEYs were created to recognize NSU’s best of the best in scholarship, leadership, involvement, service, commitment, integrity and inclusion. The SBA is the liaison between students, faculty, and administrators, as well as a vehicle for positive change. As the voice of the student body, SBA brings forth student concerns and perspectives to faculty and administrators. This year, SBA has taken substantial steps in becoming a more prominent organization at NSU by advocating for beneficial changes and  promoting the growth of the university. SBA was able to successfully renovate the student lounge and court rooms. Some of SBA’s main goals are to foster a strong sense of community through the Law Center and to promote a positive law school experience. The SBA hosts a variety of school-wide social events and programs, which include a Welcome Back Social, Friends and Family Day, and the Barristers Ball in order to bring students, faculty and administrators together outside of the classroom.

Other Law Center nominees and finalists are:

Student of the Year                                         Hannah Knight

Executive of the Year                                      Leslie Cooney

Administrator of the Year                                Natalia Enfort

Staff Person of the Year                                 Lynda Harris

Professor of the Year                                     Elena Marty Nelson

Co-Curricular Advisor of the Year                  Ron Brown

Graduate Organization of the Year                Hispanic Law Student Association (HLSA)

Student Government of the Year                   SBA

Corporate Partner of the Year                        Broward County Bar Association

Alumna of the Year                                         Beverly Vesel

Ethel Moreno, a Law Center international practice clinic student was selected to receive the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association South Florida Chapter Scholarship to attend the 33^rd Annual American Immigration Lawyers’ Association (AILA) Conference in Miami.  Ethel is currently participating in the Law Center’s International Clinic Program and interning with Law Center alumna Andrea Martini `07 at Kurzban, Kurzban,, Weinger, Tetzeli & Pratt P.A. in Miami.   

The AILA is an Affiliated Organization of the American Bar Association and is represented in the ABA House of Delegates. The AILA is the national bar association of over 10,000 attorneys who practice immigration law. AILA Member attorneys represent tens of thousands of U.S. families who have applied for permanent residence for their spouses, children, and other close relatives to lawfully enter and reside in the United States. AILA Members also represent thousands of U.S. businesses and industries who sponsor highly skilled foreign workers seeking to enter the United States in a temporary or--having proven the unavailability of U.S. workers--permanent basis. AILA Members also represent foreign students, entertainers, athletes, and asylum seekers, often on a pro bono basis. Their purpose is to advance the science of the administration of law pertaining to Immigration and Nationality law; to promote reforms in these laws; to facilitate the administration of justice in this regard; and to elevate the standards of integrity, honor and courtesy of those appearing in a representative capacity in such matters.

Photo from left: Ethel Moreno with the President of the South Florida Chapter of the AILA, Kari Ann Fonte, of Montiel, Davis & Fonte, P.A. in Miami.

On March 24, survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking and rape as well as experts on the matter will be among the speakers at a symposium titled, “Paperless, not Faceless: Violence Against Immigrant Women Symposium.”

The symposium, which is free and open to the public, will be held on NSU’s main campus from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Presentations will be held in the Atrium of the Shepard Broad Law Center. The purpose of the symposium is intended to help create awareness and provide aid to immigrant women who are victims of violence. Some of the topics that will be covered include human trafficking, rape, domestic violence, and the options available to aid immigrant victims.

There will be an auction with works by artist Rhonda Long and domestic violence survivor Traci Rhone. A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to Women in Distress, a non-profit organization dedicated to stopping domestic violence abuse for everyone through intervention, education, and advocacy. 

An estimated 14,500 to 17,500 women and children are brought into the United States each year by human traffickers and forced into prostitution. The majority of human trafficking victims that enter the U.S. originate from Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Florida is one of the top four destination states for human trafficking.

The symposium is being presented by the Shepard Broad Law Center’s Inter-American Center for Human Rights, Hispanic Law Student Association and the Immigration Law Organization in partnership with the Hispanic National Bar Association. More information on the symposium is available by calling (305) 409-6866 or emailing pnfsymposium2012@gmail.com.

Students Adam Diaz, Cynthia Pyfrom, Matthew Walker, Christine Venezia and Rachel Slone took First Place at the Annual Florida Bar Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Pre-Moot Competition held at the University of Miami. The Law Center team tied for First Place with the University of Florida.  University of Miami placed second and Stetson University placed third.. Additionally, Adam Diaz came in Third Place for Best Oralist. The team argued against Stetson University, University of Florida, Florida International University and Loyola University New Orleans.

The team will compete at the 19th Annual Vis William International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna, Austria, which takes place March 29-  April 5. The team is scheduled to compete against University of Fribourg, University of Turku, Kazakhstan Institute of Management Economics and Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.

Pictured (from left to right): Team members Rachel Sloan, Matthew Walker, Cynthia Pyfrom, Adam Diaz, and Christine Venezia.  Not pictured: Professors Kundawala and Shu-Acquaye. 

Niccolo Reid, Thasaian Jordan, Chasity Strachan and Alexia Hudson, members of the Law Center’s Black Law Student Association (BLSA) Mock Trial Team, recently competed in the regional rounds of the National Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition. The team won their first two preliminary rounds by a total margin of 11 points, which included a win against the team from Cumberland School of Law whose member won the Best Advocate award.  The competition was held in Birmingham, Alabama and consisted of 24 teams from all across the region. Pictured with the students is coach and professor Tania Williams.

Law Center students Martavis Clarke and  Lydia Charles are helping make advance health care planning better for Creole-speaking Floridians. As part of their work toward satisfying the health law concentration requirements, Martavis and Lydia teamed up to have Creole translations of Florida’s advance directive forms posted on the website of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration. Lydia translated the documents into Creole, and Martavis made the connection with the agency. Congratulations to Martavis and Lydia for this amazing public service!

South Florida community association law firm Kaye & Bender P.L. has named Jonathan Picard,  second year student at the Law Center the recipient of the 2011-2012 Kaye & Bender Scholarship.

“The quality of the applicants impressed us and made it a difficult decision to select this year’s scholarship recipient.  However, in his application submission, Jonathan clearly demonstrated an insightful understanding of the essay topic and made a persuasive presentation,” said Robert Kaye, managing member of Kaye & Bender.  “His strong assessment and passion for the topic ultimately swayed our decision.”

To be eligible for the $2,500 annual Kaye & Bender Scholarship, students must be a second or third year full-time, or fourth year evening student at Nova Southeastern who is in good standing with a grade point average above a 3.0, demonstrate community involvement and have prepared an essay on the challenges facing community associations in South Florida.

“We appreciate the generosity of Kaye & Bender in creating this scholarship and value their ongoing partnership with the law school,” said Athornia Steele, dean of the Shepard Broad Law Center at Nova Southeastern University. 

Kaye & Bender provides legal services to more than 800 associations throughout Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe counties.  For more information, visit KayeBenderLaw.com

Congratulations to third year law student Robert Lamarche. He is the recipient of the Bar Gift Award. Funded through generous contributions of alumni and faculty donors, the Bar Gift Award provides monetary assistance to graduates during their 10 weeks of preparation for The Florida Bar Exam. The award enables recipients to concentrate fully on their studies. Eligible graduates must have a qualifying grade point average, demonstrate need, agree to forego employment between graduation and the Bar exam, and commit to supporting the Bar Gift fund in the future.

Law Center students collected and donated more than 11,000 cans of food to Feeding South Florida. The cans were collected during the “Canned Immunity” food drive held November 14- 18, 2011.  As part of the food drive, law students donate cans in their class to receive immunity from being called on by the professor for that class.  "Canned Immunity is a wonderful law school tradition.  While participating students may be entitled to 'pass' if called on in class by their professor, their primary motivation is reach out to those less fortunate. Competition also plays a role.  This year, two 1L sections set a challenge.  I'm proud that my Section 5 topped Section 4 by almost 150 cans.  Even more important, the 120 students and seven professors from the two Sections combined to donate almost 6,300 cans to make Thanksgiving more meaningful for many, " Joseph D. Harbaugh, Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus. Last year, Law Center students donated more than 10,000 cans of food.

Law Center students Ryan Brenton and Isha Kochhar won first place at the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Regional Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition held in Philadelphia at Drexel University.  During the preliminary rounds of the competition, Ryan and Isha competed with teams from the University of Pennsylvania and Brooklyn Law School.  In the semi-final round, they competed against a team from Fordham University.  Ryan and Isha defeated a team from The John Marshall Law School in the championship round to win first place at the competition. As winners of the Philadelphia Regional Competition, Ryan and Isha will represent the Law Center in the national competition in Atlanta in November.

The Thomas Tang Regional Competitions are held throughout the month of October in Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, and Houston.  The Philadelphia Regional Competition included multiple teams from the University of Pennsylvania, Fordham University, Brooklyn Law School, University of Maryland, Boston University, Hofstra University, Drexel University and The John Marshall Law School. The competition problem was based on the issue of whether an Act that provided for certain limitations on the courses taught and course-related materials used in state-funded institutions of higher education violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Law Center students Martavis Clarke and Curtis Davis also competed at the competition and received compliments from the judges regarding their oral advocacy skills. Law Center Professors Amanda Foster and Michele Struffolino served as coaches for both teams.

The International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA) has announced the winners of the 2012 Shannon Bybee Scholarships at the 2012 IAGA International Gaming Conference held in Las Vegas. The IAGA is a nonprofit professional corporation dedicated to the study and development of gaming regulation and compliance. The scholarships are awarded annually to law student authors of articles of significance to the understanding and practice of gaming law. Law Center student Michael Salad was awarded a $2,500 scholarship underwritten by International Game Technology for his article titled, Royally Flushed: The Legislative Fight to Legalize Internet Gambling. The articles are judged on their merit by an IAGA national panel of attorneys whose practices reflect significant emphasis on gaming law. Panel member Richard Nathan of Denver, Colorado said, "The task of judging the entrants becomes more difficult each year as we are asked to single out two papers from amongst all of those we receive as meriting special consideration. IAGA founder Shannon Bybee, a former gaming attorney, regulator and industry executive, would be proud at the level of quality in authorship and value to the gaming industry that his namesake award generates."

The Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT), with more 2,000 members in 26 affiliate chapters worldwide, has announced Jennifer Diaz as its 2011 Member of the Year. The award is presented for outstanding contributions to the organization and strong commitment to advancing women in international trade and business.  The professional association also selected OWIT’s South Florida chapter – of which Ms. Diaz is immediate Past President -- as its 2011 Chapter of the Year.

Beverly Vesel`79 has been nominated as Alumni of the Year as part of Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) 13th Annual Student Life Achievement Awards (STUEY). The STUEYs were created to recognize NSU’s best of the best in scholarship, leadership, involvement, service, commitment, integrity and inclusion. Vesel, a Fort Lauderdale family law attorney, was nominated by the Shepard Broad Law Center because of her more than 30 years as an attorney and tireless advocate for her clients and their children. She serves her community’s most vulnerable people and works to restore hope to the hopeless. From 2000-2006 she was Vice Chair of The Florida Bar Family Law Rules Committee. She served as Chair of the Family Law Section of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers (now known as Florida Justice Association), where she performed lobbying functions in Tallahassee, and reviewed bills and legislation. Vesel was Vice Chair of the Grievance Committee 17E of The Florida Bar and co-chair of the Family Law Section of the Broward County Bar Association from 2008-2009. She is the former President of the Shepard Broad Law Center’s Alumni Association and currently serves on its Board of Directors and Board of Governors. NSU will review the list of nominees submitted by each school and select five finalists who will compete for the STUEY Award. The 2012 STUEY Award winners in each category will be announced at a ceremony on April 17. 

Yale Galanter ’83 was named by the Shepard Broad Law Center as the 2012 NSU Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award recipient. Given in recognition for outstanding accomplishments in one’s field, the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed by the NSU Alumni Association. Galanter accepted his award at NSU’s annual Celebration of Excellence ceremony held at the Signature Grand in Davie on January 19.

Galanter is a renowned criminal defense attorney with a well-earned reputation for handling high-profile cases. His client list has included O.J. Simpson, Charlie Sheen, Kobe Bryant, and Scott Peterson. With over 20 years of experience in criminal litigation, he is frequently called upon as a television guest to offer commentary and analysis of big name cases, appearing on CNN, FOX News, and such national programs as The Today Show, Good Morning America, The O’Reilly Factor, and The Abrams Report.  He has also been interviewed and mentioned in such publications as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.

The Florida Association of Counsel for Children (FACC) has announced Abigail Beebe `06, has been elected by the board of directors to serve as treasurer for 2011-2012. The FACC serves to provide legal representation for children.  It is the FACC’s goal to ensure effective representation of children in the child welfare system in this state.  Currently, children in Florida child welfare proceedings are the only unrepresented party.  There exists no law in Florida that provides for representation in a dependency proceeding. While forty other states have mandated representation of these children, Florida has not.   At this time, the appointment of counsel for children in these cases is completely discretionary.  Thousands of children go unrepresented by an attorney in these cases. 

On March 26, Law Center Professor Michael J. Dale was a panelist at the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review colloquium in Cambridge, MA, in conjunction with attorneys from The Juvenile Law Center of Philadelphia and Professor Martin Guggenheim of New York University Law School. The program was entitled “ Roper, Graham, and J.D.B.: Redefining Juveniles’ Constitutional Rights”.   The colloquium speakers discussed three upcoming articles that will be published in Volume 47, Issue 2 of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.  Those articles are “Graham v. Florida and a Juvenile’s Right to Age Appropriate Sentencing” by Professor Guggenheim, “The United States Supreme Court Adopts a Reasonable Juvenile Standard in J.D.B. v. North Carolina for Purposes of the Miranda Custody Analysis: Can a More Reasoned Justice System for Juveniles Be Far Behind?” by Marsha Levick and Elizabeth-Ann Tierney, and “The Legal Significance of Adolescent Development on the Right to Counsel: Establishing the Constitutional Right to Counsel for Teens in Child Welfare Matters and Assuring a Meaningful Right to Counsel in Delinquency Matters” by Jennifer Pokempner, Riya Saha Shah, Mark Houldin, Professor Dale and Robert Schwartz.

The Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review (CR-CL) is the nation’s leading progressive law journal. Founded in 1966 as an instrument to advance personal freedoms and human dignities, CR-CL seeks to catalyze progressive thought and dialogue through publishing innovative legal scholarship and from various perspectives and in diverse fields of study.

Professor Dale has been a member of the faculty at  the Law Center since 1985, teaching courses in family law, juvenile law and in the family and juvenile clinic. He also teaches litigation courses including civil procedure, conflicts of laws, evidence, trial advocacy, judicial administration and international litigation. Before joining the faculty Dale spent time in private law practice in Phoenix and was Executive Director of the Youth Law Center in San Francisco after serving as Attorney in Charge of the Special Litigation Unit of the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society of the City of New York where he worked with Professor Guggenheim. Professor Dale has been a practicing lawyer specializing in civil rights litigation for over 35 years. He is admitted to practice in the states of Arizona, Florida, New Mexico and New York as well as the United States Supreme Court and numerous federal appellate and district courts. He is a certified mediator in the State of Florida.

Professor Dale teaches in National Institute for Trial Advocacy programs concerning children including trainings held in Denver, in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania, in New York at Hofstra University and in Houston at the University of Houston. For the past 20 years he has been program director for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy Florida Deposition Program. In 2009 Professor Dale received the Robert Oliphant Service to NITA award in recognition of his exemplary service to NITA as a teacher, program director and for his leadership in their child advocacy program. He has been a consultant to federal and state agencies on civil rights issues and to law firms on litigation matters. He is the author of over seventy-five articles focusing primarily on juvenile and children’s law topics. Professor Dale is also the author of the two volume text, Representing the Child Client, published by Matthew Bender Co. He speaks regularly to professional groups on children’s law and litigation topics.

Law Center Professors David R. Cleveland, Olympia Duhart, Hugh Mundy, Amanda Foster, and Kate Webber were presenters at the Capital Area Legal Writing Conference on March 10, 2012, at The Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC. The conference featured legal writing professors from across the country who presented on topics ranging from course design and bridging the gap between law school and practice to classroom exercises, teaching research, and assessing student skills. Professor Cleveland presented “Live Critiquing: Individual Conferencing Meets Formative Assessment.”  During the presentation, Professor Cleveland proposed the use of live critiquing as an efficient combination of two of legal writing's signature pedagogies.  Professors Duhart and Mundy presented “Deal or No Deal: Teaching Negotiation and Mediation in a First Year Legal Research and Writing Course.” During the presentation, the two provided sample lesson plans, worksheets and meta-cognitive questionnaires on teaching first year students negotiation and mediation. Professors Foster and Webber presented, “Incorporating Client Communications into the Legal Research and Writing Curriculum”, which modeled a classroom exercise on how to notify a client via telephone call of the results of a motion hearing and draft a follow-up email.  Their presentation also touched upon attorney professionalism and ethics.  Faculty involvement and advancement in and out of the classroom is a critical component of how the Law Center balances legal tradition and innovation.

For many, the word Prohibition conjures up scenes of gang wars in New York, New Jersey and Chicago along with some of the decade’s most infamous characters, Bugs Moran, Meyer Lansky and Al Capone. Yet few realize the prominent role South Florida, and its Caribbean neighbors, played in the transportation of illegal booze into the U.S. during this infamous era. Depicting the prohibition era experience from Palm Beach to Key West is “Prohibition and the South Florida Connection,” a documentary film produced and directed by Steve Waxman for WLRN that includes interviews by Shepard Broad Law Center Professor Robert Jarvis, J.D.

As part of the WLRN Writer Series, the documentary will be screened on Friday, February 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Knight Auditorium, located on the first floor of the Carl DeSantis building. For additional details, please contact Steve Waxman by e-mail at: info@shadowwavemedia.com. A question and answer session will follow the film.

Filling the demand for the illegal hooch were a host of bootleggers and rum runners transcending both gender and racial lines. Suave and sophisticated men, like Bill McCoy and Cracker Johnson, who along with their savvy female contemporaries, Gertrude Lythgoe and Marie Waite, all relied on their wits and bravado to amass sometimes fleeting fortunes that were often fraught with risks and danger. Pirates, illicit still makers, an unmotivated local police force, along with an undermanned but determined Coast Guard all added to an intoxicating South Florida cocktail of peril, profits and corruption.

Al Capone, local speakeasies and the hanging of Horace Alderman, a rum runner convicted of murdering Coast Guard officials, are also included, as are the poignant and humorous personal recollections of those directly connected to one of America’s most notorious periods.

Filmed in an intimate style with telling photographs, obscure footage, vivid recreations, and a lively soundtrack, “Prohibition and the South Florida Connection,” reveals yet another fascinating and intriguing chapter in our region’s colorful past.

Professor of Law Robert Jarvis was featured on National Public Radio (NPR) to discuss the recent incident of the Costa Concordia. To read and listen to the NPR segment, click here.

Professor Jarvis came to the Law Center in 1987 and was awarded tenure in 1992. Prior to entering academia, he practiced admiralty and international law in New York City, first with Haight, Gardner, Poor & Havens (now Holland & Knight) and then with Baker & McKenzie. In addition to NSU, Bob has taught at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Fordham University, Saint Thomas University, Tulane University, and Yeshiva University and has served as a Bar/Bri bar review lecturer.

Bob's scholarship includes 18 books and more than 100 articles. His writings, eclectic and diverse, have explored a wide variety of topics, ranging from the serious to the whimsical. Thus, for example, he has examined the AIDS epidemic and the disputed 2000 presidential election, but also penned such articles as "Babe Ruth as Legal Hero" and "Legal Tales from Gilligan's Island." Bob's work has been cited in decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Hawaii Supreme Court, Florida District Court of Appeal, and New York Supreme Court.

Bob often is called on by the media to provide commentary on current events. He has appeared on ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, CNN, HBO, and National Public Radio and has been quoted in such newspapers as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, New York Times, Times of London, Toronto Globe & Mail, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Bob also has delivered papers at meetings of such organizations as the American Arbitration Association, American Bar Association, American Society of International Law, Canadian Bar Association, Daughters of the American Revolution, Federal Judicial Center, International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators, and Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution.

From 1996 to 2000, Bob served as the Editor of the Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce. He also has been the Chair of the Admiralty Law Committee of The Florida Bar, Vice Chair of the Miami International Arbitration and Mediation Institute, and a member of the Executive Council of the International Law Section of The Florida Bar. Bob is a current or past member of the editorial boards of numerous publications and serves on the Carolina Academic Press Law Casebook Series Advisory Board. His biography appears in both Who's Who in the World and Who's Who in America.

During the semester break, Assistant Professor of Law Michele N. Struffolino presented at the New England Consortium of Legal Writing Teachers conference held at University of New Hampshire School of Law.  The conference focused on creating practice ready assignments and exercises for the classroom.  Professor Struffolino presented, “Who Are You and What Did You Do With My Real Attorney?”  This presentation addressed ways to build real life client management and ethical considerations into the basic client interview assignment.  Professor Struffolino used her classroom mock client interview exercise to exhibit how even first year law students can be introduced to concerns clients often have when dealing with first year associates and some common ethical issues that can arise in the first client meeting.

Assistant Professor of Law Amanda Foster was recently published in The Law Teacher, a bi-annual publication by the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning.  Her article, “Google It: Responding to Tough Economic Times by Integrating Free Electronic Research in the Classroom,” discusses a professor’s responsibility to teach students in a way that will make them both competent and competitive when they enter practice.  Specifically, the article addresses the need to expose students to advancements in technology such as Google Scholar, a free legal research tool.  Professor Foster teaches Lawyering Skills I & II, Civil Procedure, and Women & the Law.  

Professor of Law Michael Richmond spoke on a panel with Outreach Director at Talmudic University Rabbi Akiva Zweig at a CLE titled “American Cases through the Eyes of the Talmud – Defamation:  Libel and Slander.”  The CLE was held at Greenberg Traurig, P.A. in Miami and was sponsored by the South Florida Center for Jewish Ethics.

Professor Amanda Foster (far left) and Professor Olympia Duhart (far right) hosted a distinguished panel of women attorneys Tuesday, Oct. 18, in their Women and the Law seminar. The guests shared their personal experiences as women in the practice of law. Students participated in a panel discussion and engaged in a question and answer session with the guests.  The invited speakers included Attorney Yeemee Chan `08, an associate with Toral Garcia Battista, Attorney Andrea Gundersen `92, a solo practitioner and Co-Chair of the Professionalism Committee of the Broward County Bar Association and Professor Kate Webber, formerly a partner at an employment law firm and an associate at Proskauer Rose in New York City.

Professor Bruce Rogow has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for the 25th time. This year, Rogow was listed in six separate categories: Appellate, Bet The Company, First Amendment, Municipal Litigation, Commercial Litigation and White Collar Criminal Defense. Rogow is the only remaining member of the inaugural faculty of the Law Center which, began in 1974.  During his tenure, he has served as acting dean and co-dean.  He is an outstanding leader in the growth and development of the Law Center and shares with others the credit for making this institution an excellent one for preparing lawyers.