Congratulations to Coastal Law’s Public Interest Research Bureau. Several Bureau teams have recently completed a number of practice-quality research memorandums that will be used to advance the rights of poor persons across Florida and Mississippi.

The Bureau team of Cassandra Smith, Kelly Kalahar, and Olajuwon Adebeyo completed a legal analysis for Mississippi poverty lawyers on an important access to court issue affecting poor Mississippians across the state.  The team of Stacy Patrick, Kristi White, and Boris Futeryan has just completed a jurisdictional and equal protection analysis for a Palm Beach Legal Aid Society attorney working on a case involving equal access to Road To Independence Scholarships for former foster care children.  And, the team of Erica Clark, Kathryn Kofler, Elizabeth Jung, and Tyler Pettinghill completed a legal analysis for a Three Rivers Legal Services attorney attempting to develop a theory of liability against fraudulent tax preparers who exploit the poor and members of the immigrant community.

Finally, the Bureau team of Anthony Davis, Tony Nguyen, Dipa Patel, and Derek Folds prepared a legal analysis for a Palm Beach Legal Aid Society attorney concerning libel and disclosure issues affecting the status of a HIV positive client.

Reminder–Applications for Fall Clinics and Externships are due Friday March 29^th, 2013. Stop by suite 255 to pick up an application and information or apply on line via simplicity.

Finally, the Immigrant Rights clinic assisted two foreign nationals in achieving their goal to become US citizens this past week. Congratulations to IRC students Bruno Portigliatti and Leah Gregoire.

Coastal Law’s wide range of Externships and award winning Clinics provide an excellent way to earn credit while gaining legal work experience. Come and learn about the opportunities and the application and interview process during our information sessions. Today Monday, March 4 Room 550 4:45 pm – 6:00 pm and Wednesday, March 6 Room 250 11:45 am – 1:00 pm .   Applications are available on simplicity and in suite 255. Learn more by visiting the clinic blog or email Prof. Ericka Curran with any questions.

A law review article, “The Future of Estate Planning: The Multi-generational Life Plan,” authored by 3L, Charles Jamison and alumna, David Goldman (’06) appears in the Fall 2012 Estate Planning and Community Property Law Journal of the Texas Tech University Law School.  Charles Jamison participates in the Disability and Public Benefits Clinic.  David Goldman is owner of The Apple Law Firm in Jacksonville, Florida.  His practice focuses on asset protection. Congratulations to Charlie and David on this wonderful achievement!

At the end of the first three preliminary rounds, the students were ranked first in the competition. They advanced to the semi-finals and were defeated by Samford University, which was the team that won the competition.  Florida Coastal ultimately finished ahead of teams from, among others, Florida A&M, Emory, and John Marshall.  Jarmon DeSadier was the team captain.  Congratulations to all!

The Mock Trial Team competed against 26 other schools at the University of FLorida this weekend in the prestigious National Trial Competition. After all preliminary rounds, the 2L team of Theresa Carli, Tracy Engle, Justin Norman and witness Camille Smith were undefeated and ranked fifth entering the semifinals. They had beaten St. Thomas and Barry, but unfortunately lost to Faulkner in a very close round in the semifinal round. They were coached by Coastal Law Mock Trial alumni John Leombruno and Jo-Anne Yau.  The Team Manager was Tiffany Roman. Congratulations to all!

Spend your Spring Break making a difference in the lives and working conditions of one of the nation’s most exploited communities – - migrant farmworkers. The Alternative Spring Break Farmworker Justice Immersion Project will be holding an informational meeting on Thursday, February 21st in Room 425 from 4:00pm to 5:00 pm.  Students who participate in this year’s project will have an opportunity to work with some of the most skilled migrant attorneys in the nation.

At the Charleston National Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition this weekend one team won the championship while our other team reached the semi-finals. In fact, our two teams faced each other in the semi-finals, showing that it takes an Honor Board team to beat an Honor Board team. Our students defeated teams from FSU, University of Maryland, Mercer, Howard University and DePaul, among others.

The Coastal Law 2L team of Job Fickett and Amanda James reached the semi-finals. 3Ls Alexandra Amador and Nina Cano defeated William and Mary to win the championship, with Nina also winning the Best Advocate Award for the finals. Professor Sander Moody coached the teams. Alex and Nina also combined to win a national competition as 2Ls. And a very special note of congratulations to the Team Manager, Aida Ramirez. In the storied history of Florida Coastal’s Moot Court program, Aida is our first student to win three national competitions, having served the Honor Board as a brief writer, an oralist and a Team Manager. Congratulations to all!

I would like to congratulate the new candidates of the Florida Coastal Law Review:

• Stacy Patrick
• Charles Pearson
• Loreyn Raab

The Law Review would also like to congratulate Rick Nolan on receiving the Best Casenote Award! One requirement of the Candidacy semester on Law Review is the completion of a casenote, a ten- to twelve-page paper analyzing a recent case decision. Of the twenty outstanding casenote submissions, Rick’s received the highest score. Congratulations, Rick!

In reaching the finals, our team defeated teams from Stetson, the University of South Carolina and Florida State University, among others. There were a total of 22 teams in the Regional. Our team members included Camille Smith and Ronnie White (brief writers/oralists) and Talia Smith (Team Manager). Professor Nick Martino coached the team.

By reaching the Regional finals, our team has earned an invitation to the FDMCC National rounds. Last year, with over 150 teams competing in FDMCC, Florida Coastal defeated Columbia University in the national finals to win the championship. We are looking for a repeat!

And, further congratulations to the Coastal Law mock trial team for reaching the Quarterfinals in this weekend’s BLSA Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition. They defeated Loyola University of New Orleans and Samford University, before losing to FSU in the Quarterfinals. This team of exceptional advocates included Caila Coleman 3L, Chantal Simon 3L, Jeffrey Walker 3L and Jermal Blanchard 2L. Their team manager was Jenna Sims and coaches were Professor Richard Watson and Coastal Law alum, Rocco Carbone. Great job everyone!

The Florida Coastal Law Review is proud to announce that the inaugural Literature and the Law Conference will be held on Friday, April 5, 2013 from 9:00 to 12:30 in room 550. In addition to offering CLE credit to area attorneys, the Conference will be free to Florida Coastal students, faculty, and administrators, and will offer insight into one of the most inclusive of the postmodern legal movements. Encompassing the study of both law in literature and law as literature, the movement emphasizes how both law and literature share in a common bond of language and interpretation, which supply their power and can reveal their fallibility.

• President: Tracy Engle
• Vice President of Communications: Tiffany Roman
• Vice President of Standards: Amanda Derby
• Vice President of New Members: Christine Martin
• Vice President of Internal Competition: Camille Smith

This weekend the intraschool competition to select a team for the ABA Client Counseling Competition was held. Four teams competed in the selection rounds. We are pleased to announce that Cynthia Barnes and Nakeisha Baptiste were chosen to represent Florida Coastal at the ABA Regional Client Counseling Competition which will be held at Nova Southeastern University College of Law on February 9, 2013.

The Florida Coastal Law Review is proud to announce the members of the 2013-2014 Editorial Board:

• Editor-in-Chief – Amanda L. Ingersoll
• Managing Editor – T. L. Coleman Brooks
• Executive Editors – Kristy E. Warren & Job Fickett
• Senior Articles Editor – Jimmy C. Durstein
• Submissions/Symposium Editor – Neda A. Sharifi
• Notes & Comments Editor – A. Derek Folds
• Technical Editor – Trey Coker
• Research & Writing Editor – Patrick Goode
• Manuscript Editor – Christian A. Rogers

All entering fall 2012 students must attend a mandatory Courtroom Etiquette Professionalism Seminar which will be held on January 15, 2013 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Topics will include appropriate courtroom attire, addressing the tribunal, courtroom preparations, interacting with “the other side” and court personnel. Please feel free to bring your own lunch and proceed to your designated room –> Section A – Room 250, Section B – Room 455, Section C – Room 425, Section D – Room 550, Section E – Room 550, Section F – Room 585. Sign-in sheets will be available outside the rooms.

The Office of the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida is soliciting applications for summer 2013 externships. This credit-bearing externship is a great way to gain practical experience while earning skills credit. The deadline for applying for a USAO externship is Friday, January 25, 2013. To do so, you must submit a letter of interest (cover letter), resume, transcript, writing sample and the USAO background questionnaire to the Clinic Office, room 255, by the deadline. Please look for an email that was sent to all students attaching information regarding this opportunity. The information also is available in the Clinic Office and on Symplicity.

Applications for Coastal Law’s live-client in-house clinics and for judicial and non-judicial credit-bearing externships for the summer 2013 will be available both on Symplicity, the Coastal Law website under “Experiential Learning,” and in the Clinic Office, room 255, on January 16th. The deadline for submitting application materials is Friday, February 1st. Please look for an email with more detailed information that will be sent to all students.

The skills labs provide the opportunity to learn while working on live-client matters. There are a few openings remaining for Spring Semester in the following skills labs: Education Law, Interviewing & Counseling, Estates & Trusts and Florida Appellate Law. If you are on the waiting list for another skills lab, also consider the labs that have openings. Don’t miss out on the opportunity for hands-on learning while earning skills credit.

The students were supervised by Clinical Teaching Fellow, Vanessa Bernadotte, and Adjunct Professor, Karen Winston. You can read more about this case on the Legal Clinics Blog.

It was another outstanding weekend for our Advocacy Teams. The Mock Trial Team competed again this year in the very prestigious Georgetown White Collar Crime Tournament. With over 88 students competing, Garth Cheek was honored for Outstanding Advocate. Previously he was awarded ” Best Direct Examination” at the Lone Star Classic National Tournament, was in the top 10% at the Nova Closing Argument Competition that is open to all Florida law students, was on the ABA Labor Law semi-finalist team last year, and he took second place at this year’s Spohrer Dodd Trial Advocacy Scholarship Competition.

This makes Garth the most individually honored student in Coastal Law mock trial history. Congratulations to Garth Cheek and the entire Georgetown team: Jon Gless, Laura Padilla and Jason Kemp as well as coach Professor Lois Ragsdale.

Congratulations to three Moot Court Honor Board teams on their success this weekend. Two of our teams competing this weekend in Washington, D.C. reached the national semi-finals in the Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition, hosted by the National Asian and Pacific American Bar Association.

Over 70 teams from around the country competed in Tang. Having two of the teams in the final-four is a significant accomplishment. Our students argued in front of benches that included federal and state judges, including a state supreme court justice, and former United States Supreme Court clerks. Kristy Warren served as the Team Manager for both our Tang teams. The advocates on the two teams consisted of Alex Amador and Jansen Balisi (oralists/brief writers) and Nina Cano and Rishi Pattni (oralists/brief writers). In addition, Alex and Jansen won the national Best Brief Award for the competition. Professor Sander Moody coached both teams.

Another one of our Moot Court teams reached the octo-finals at the National Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition in Chicago this weekend. The team consisted of Sarah Allen and Brad Moyer. Heather McGriff served as the Team Manager. Professor Jennifer Reiber coached the team. Congratulations to all.

The Florida First District Court of Appeal will hear cases at Florida Coastal tomorrow and Wednesday, November 6 and 7 starting at 9:00 a.m. each day. This is a tremendous opportunity to observe the Florida appellate court in action.  I encourage students to drop by to hear at least a portion of the arguments.  The court understands that students will be coming and going to attend classes.  Please dress in courtroom attire.  Additionally, please silence your cell phones and remove head coverings not worn for religious reasons.

Legal work experience is essential to becoming job ready!  Learn about a great way to get hands-on experience here on campus during the Spring Semester.  Attend a Skills Lab Information Session on:

• Monday November 5, 2012 at Noon, in Room 505; or
• Tuesday November 6, 2012 at 4:30 PM, in room 505; or
• Tuesday November 13, 2012 at 1:00 PM in room 455—lunch will be served at this session, please RSVP via Symplicity.

Skills Labs to be discussed: Wills & Estates; Education Law; Interviewing & Counseling; Mediation; Unemployment Compensation Claims and Appeals; Florida Appellate Law; Wrongful Convictions; Juvenile Law and Veteran’s Benefits Claims. Please attend the information session to learn more about the skills labs prior to registration, and look for the e-mail sent to all students regarding the skills labs. We look forward to seeing you there for LUNCH (on 11/13).  This is an opportunity to obtain some great information!

Two Honor Board teams were champion and finalist this weekend in their Regional for the Thomas Tang International Moot Court Competition. Kristen Warren did an outstanding job as Team Manager for both teams.

The team of Nina Cano and Rishi Pattni (oralists/brief writers) won the Regional championship. Alex Amador and Jansen Balisi (oralists/brief writers) also reached the Regional finals for an all-Florida Coastal championship round. Alex and Jansen continued the Honor Board’s national prominence in brief writing by earning the Best Brief Award. Jansen also received the Best Advocate, Second Award. In the semi-finals, our teams defeated SMU and the University of Miami.  Professor Sander Moody coached both our Honor Board teams.

With their success, our teams have earned the right to represent the law school in Washington, D.C. at the Thomas Tang International Rounds. The International Rounds will be held in November. Congratulations to all!!