Coastal Law Magazine (Spring 2010)

Designing ReDD FOR THegreenhouse:BiODiVeRsiTY pROTecTiOn THROugH

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gReeTings F r o M C o A s T A L L A W

We welcome the beginning of 2010 with a sense of excitement for the coming year, as well as satisfaction with the many successes of our students and alumni in 2009.

Over the summer, Coastal Law furthered its stellar record for the fifth year in a row at the annual Robert Orseck Memorial Moot Court Competition, Florida’s oldest and most prestigious tournament. Our team advanced to the final round against the University of Florida, and earned top writing honors. As a result of that success and others, Coastal Law is currently ranked fourth in the country as recognized by the 2010 Moot Court National Championship standings.

Kudos also to members of our Mock Trial program, which has recently achieved regional and national success. Our team won the Southern Region BLSA Mock Trial competition, marking Coastal Law’s first ever mock trial championship. The team advances to the national finals in Boston in March, following the victory in the 20 school regionals. Another team finished second in the Bedell Competition, which is the state championship for Florida. Coastal lost narrowly in the finals to the University of Florida. Earlier in the year we placed fourth out of the 20 teams competing in the November Georgetown White Collar Crime Tournament in Washington, D.C. Another Coastal Law team placed second in the Southeast Regional Division of the ABA Labor & Employment Competition in Miami.

With this first 2010 issue of Coastal Law Magazine, we are providing the reader a focus on environmental sustainability and the law. The cover story, by our own Professor Andrew Long, “Designing REDD for the Greenhouse: Biodiversity Protection through Climate Change Mitigation,” provides a good background for the understanding of issues surrounding biodiversity and adaptation, and a vision for the post-Kyoto future. Our “Perspectives” feature recounts the events of our 2009 Environmental Summit, where speakers from industry, law practice and academia addressed “Growing Green: Developing a Sustainable Florida.” Consistent with the “green” theme, our “In Practice” feature spotlights three young alumni who are actively engaged in protecting the environment in the course of their daily practice.

This spring marks another significant milestone in the young life of Florida Coastal as we launch a JD/MBA program with Jacksonville University’s Davis College of Business. Already, this exciting new program has garnered an enthusiastic response from current and potential students who seek to gain the skills needed to succeed in business and in the legal profession.

As a final note, our Florida Coastal School of Law alumni organization continues to grow. The 10-year reunion of the school’s first graduating class during October’s Alumni Weekend was a spectacular success. In addition to reuniting the class of 1999, the event was also well attended by alumni from all classes. If you haven’t already joined, I urge you to become active with your alumni association and to register with Coastal Connect, the school’s new online community available exclusively to alumni. This new system provides opportunities to connect to your friends and former classmates, join practice area and other special networking groups, and post referrals.

I wish you a wonderful 2010, and thank you for your continued support of Coastal Law.

C. Peter Goplerud III

C. Peter Goplerud III, Dean and Professor of Law

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I s s u e F o C u sD e P A r T M e n T s

eYe On THe enViROnmenT5 save the Date Important events for alums and students

6 news and events

Coastal Law achievements, appointments and programs

20 student news Competitive team wins, and campus-wide events and projects

22 Faculty news Publications, achievements and presentations

26 everyday ethics Find a Mentor, Find Your Way

27 AlumniNewsandSpotlightsCoastal Law Alumni Association highlights, and the personal and professional milestones of former students

34 Q & AMeet Doug Helsing, Coastal Law Academic Success Department

8 Cover sToryDesigning REDD for the Greenhouse Biodiversity Protection Through Climate Change Mitigation

By Andrew Long

Cover Illustration by Heather Blanton

PersPeCTIves2009 Environmental Summit Experts address ‘Growing Green’ in the 21st Century

Illustration by Michael Austin

In PrACTICe Coastal Alumni Focus on

Environmental Efficiency, Enforcement

Three alumni who’ve made‘green’ their practice

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AuDrey MCKIbbIn MorAn, ChAIr president and chief executive Officer

sulzbacher center

bArbArA “bAbs” sTrICKLAnD The suddath companies

henry M. Coxe IIIDirector

Bedell, Dittmar, DeVault, pillans & coxe, p.a.

PAuL I. Perez executive Vice president and chief

compliance OfficerFidelity national Title group, inc.

roberT M. rhoDesOf counsel

Foley & lardner llp

KenneTh L. shroPshIre David W. Hauck professor

Wharton school of the university ofpennsylvania

PAuL vAnCe

senior Vice president of Football Operations and general counsel

Jacksonville Jaguars

saVe THe DaTeBOaRD OF aDVisORsF L o r I D A C o A s T A L s C h o o L o F L A W

PubLIsher:c. peter goplerud iii, Dean and professor of law

eDITor:J. Brooks Terry, Director of marketing and communications

MAnAgIng eDITor:margaret Widman Dees, Director of institutional advancement

ConTrIbuTors:assistant professor andrew longassociate professor Karen millardJennifer Hydecaroline Rivaemily Tracystewart Verney

DesIgn AnD ProDuCTIon:BroadBased communications, inc.

PhoTogrAPhy:Jamie B. cicatielloJim laBrancheHeather Blanton

MAIn nuMber904.680.7700

[email protected]

[email protected]

MArKeTIng AnD [email protected]

[email protected]

InsTITuTIonAL [email protected]

Coastal Law Magazine is published by the Florida coastal school of law Office of institutional advancement. address correspondence to: 8787 Baypine Rd., Jacksonville Fl 32256 Telephone: 904.256.1212 Fax: 904.256.1104 email: [email protected] Web: www.fcsl.edu or http://alumni.fcsl.edu

saVe THe DaTeMArCh 27SBA Charity BallThe Marriott at Sawgrass

APrIL 718th Circuit Alumni SocialChili’s near the Viera Mall

APrIL 8Circuit Alumni Social Downtown Pour House in Orlando.

APrIL 10Sports Law Society’s 4th Annual Charity Golf Tournament Deercreek Country Club

APrIL 10Atlanta Alumni Chapter Social (location tbd)

APrIL 16Career Services Department’s The Finish Line: Celebrating Coastal Law 3Ls with Legal Community

APrIL 16Center for Law and Sports Panel:Exploitation of the Student-Athlete? Evaluating Bloom, Oliver, O’Bannon and Keller APrIL 21Swearing-in Ceremony for new lawyers

MAy 15Spring Commencement 2010Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena

June 24Alumni Reception at the Florida Bar Annual ConventionBoca Resort & ClubBoca Raton, FL

oCTober 22Alumni Day 2010Florida Coastal School of Law

o u r C A L e n D A r o F u P C o M I n g e v e n T s *

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FOR inFORmaTiOn, cOnTacT cOasTal laW’s alumni OFFice.

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*The original illustration covers of both 2009 Coastal Law Magazine issues recently earned awards of excellence, as recognized by case District iii.

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The Davis College of Business at Jacksonville University ( JU) and Florida Coastal School of Law (Coastal Law) have announced the two private colleges are combining resources to create Northeast Florida’s only JD/MBA program. Beginning in Spring 2010, qualified individuals can simultaneously enroll in the Coastal Law Juris Doctor ( J.D) and the Davis FLEX or Accelerated M.B.A. programs. By allowing up to 18 credits to satisfy the requirements for both the J.D. and M.B.A.

degrees at the same time, qualified students can obtain both degrees in four years, as compared to the five years it often takes to earn both degrees if pursued separately. Officials from both schools said the program will begin in the upcoming academic year. “This JD/MBA program offers an unparalleled combination of legal and

business education,” said Terri Davlantes, Coastal Law vice dean. “It’s a wonderful joint effort between them. In addition to concurrently participating in the academic and social life of both schools, graduates

with a joint JD/MBA degree can develop the skills needed to pursue careers in the business and legal professions, especially where those areas overlap, such as in investment and commercial banking, management consulting, government regulation, and business policy analysis.” Applicants must meet the entrance requirements for both Coastal Law and Jacksonville University and be accepted into each institution separately. Additionally, a dual degree enrollment form, approved by each school, will be required. The Davis College has been offering the MBA program for 30 years. Today, more than 3,400 students from 47 states and 27 different countries attend Jacksonville University. In 2008, JU was named one of “America’s Best Colleges” for the fifth consecutive year in U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Colleges of 2009 list for master’s universities in the south.

Coastal Law and Jacksonville University to Offer JD/MBA programCo-curricular program will allow students to earn degrees from both schools in four years

Of the 230 Coastal Law graduates who attempted the Florida Bar examination for the first time in July, 83 percent passed. This rate, which was notably higher than the statewide average of 80 percent, marks the second highest July pass rate in the school’s history. “With this rate, we are in very good company,” said Dean Peter Goplerud. “To be ranked among Florida State, Florida, and Miami is a good thing for Coastal Law. “It proves just how competitive we can be with those institutions that have historically been considered among the best.” In addition to the pass rate being comfortably higher than the predicted rate, it was achieved by the largest group of Coastal Law grads ever. “I am extremely proud of our new attorneys,” Goplerud said, “and I commend all who assisted in preparing our graduates for the demanding exam.”

Coastal Law grads post second highest July pass rate in school history

Following the results of the Florida Bar exam, new Coastal Law attorneys were sworn in at the Jacksonville Courthouse Annex.

“This JD/MBA program offers an unparalleled

combination of legal and business education.”

In October, Florida Coastal School of Law hosted its annual Pro Bono Forum in an effort to offer students the opportunity to meet with Northeast Florida public service organizations and become better acclimated with their volunteer opportunities. The forum was held in conjunction with the city’s Pro Bono Week, as declared by Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton. More than 200 students attended the event and more than 25 area public interest organizations participated, including The Public Defender’s Office, Three Rivers Legal Services, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, HandsOn Jacksonville, and Hubbard House. “It is imperative students understand that, as attorneys, we have a responsibility to help others in our communities,” said Professor Karen Millard, director of Coastal Law’s Pro Bono Services. “We view the forum as a win-win situation for Northeast Florida, because our students are given information on how they can volunteer their services and better develop as attorneys, and those people who cannot afford legal representation are given a better chance of receiving it. “It continues to be a wonderful success for everyone involved.”

Pro Bono Forum fosters student volunteer opportunities

School Adds Disability and Benefits ClinicIn August, Florida Coastal School of Law added the Disability and Public Benefits Clinic to its clinical programs roster. More than 25 individuals and families were represented in the first semester, with students assisting those indigent clients in areas including Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security disability claims, supplemental security income claims, advance health care directives and guardianships. “When you’re in law school you are immersed in theory,” said Sarah Sullivan, assistant professor of Professional Skills and supervising attorney for the clinic, “but in the clinic you are able to apply those theories to real cases and real people. You also have the opportunity to learn about the complexities of public benefits while applying them to all different areas of law.” Sullivan, who came to Coastal Law from Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, said she has nine students enrolled in the class component of the clinic for Spring 2010. She added she will also have two senior clinicians returning from the fall who are interested in earning both clinic credits and practical experience. “Right now there is a very competitive job market” she said, “and by gaining practical

experience, students can set themselves apart from the rest. “Law firms are looking for first-year attorneys who can actually assist clients, jump right in, and get started with minimal assistance.” In addition to providing students with excellent practical experience, Sullivan said the Disability and Benefits Clinic does a great service to the disabled. “We are filling a void” said Sullivan. “The disabled are traditionally among the most underserved segments of the population, so I am especially proud of the work our student clinicians committed themselves to in the Fall.” Sullivan added the clinic accepts cases private attorneys traditionally won’t take.

“Yes, and considering it was the first time the clinic was offered, students were exceptionally open to explore the new areas of the law, public policy concerns and client barriers, and the clients responded with genuine gratitude,” she said.

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I. InTroDuCTIonThe inter-related challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss present serious threats to the future of life on earth, while posing some of the most challenging issues in international law and policy. Climate change will exacerbate biodiversity loss, while continued loss of biodiversity will undermine efforts to adapt to a changing climate. The issues are nowhere more closely linked than in tropical forests, where challenging governance and equity questions have diluted prior international cooperative efforts. This article proposes an avenue for advancing biodiversity preservation through a post-Kyoto climate change agreement. It begins by surveying the linkages between biodiversity, tropical forests and climate change, noting that tropical forest ecosystems and the biodiversity they support must play a critical role if the regime expects to meet adaptation goals. A post-Kyoto agreement will likely include a mechanism for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD). A purely carbon-focused REDD mechanism will not ensure benefits for biodiversity and, therefore, its impact on adaptation of the peoples dependent on forest ecosystems is also questionable. To secure adaptation benefits, this article proposes an optional component that can be incorporated into whatever form of REDD gains support at COP 15. The optional component would create a registration system for biodiversity-enhancing REDD projects that conveys concrete market benefits through modest financial support for both project hosts and investors. Implementation of this proposal would significantly increase the adaptation value of REDD by steering market activity in favor of projects that are most beneficial to globally significant biodiversity, related ecosystem services, and the peoples dependent on them (often the impoverished populations most vulnerable to climate change impacts).

II. bIoDIversITy, ForesTs AnD CLIMATe ChAnge ADAPTATIonTropical deforestation has significant consequences for climate change policy. Deforestation accounts for roughly 17% of greenhouse gas

(GHG) emissions, second only to the burning of fossil fuels. At current rates of deforestation, the emissions of GHG from forest loss in just two countries – Brazil and Indonesia – more than double the total annual reductions of Annex I countries under the Kyoto Protocol. Economically, reduction of emissions from deforestation is among the least expensive mitigation options. Thus, “[i]n any effort to slow harmful climate change, tropical forests are the low hanging fruit.” (Laurance) Maintaining tropical forest ecosystems also represents an adaptation imperative for the climate change regime, which is closely connected to the ongoing biodiversity crisis. The term “biodiversity” refers to “the variability among living organisms from all sources ... and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.” (Convention on Biological Diversity) The consensus of scientists is that “the current rate of species extinction is 100 to 1,000 times greater than prehuman levels, and that we are moving toward an extinction rate that is on average 10,000 times greater.” (Pimm et al.) Thus, current rates of species extinction rival the five prior mass extinction events throughout the history of life on Earth, and mark the first time in planetary history that one species has so threatened its co-inhabitants of the planet. Unlike many other threats, the harm from this loss of genetic and species diversity cannot be made up even within a few thousand years. If the loss is rectified, the process will almost certainly take millions of years. For this reason, biodiversity loss arguably represents the environmental problem with the most “immediate importance for humanity” and may be “the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us.” (Wilson) A primary force driving biodiversity loss is habitat destruction, particularly tropical deforestation. Tropical forests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth, accounting for roughly two thirds of all terrestrial biodiversity. Studies have identified approximately 25 biodiversity “hotspots” based primarily on species richness and immediacy of extinction risk. These cover only 1.4% of the earth’s land mass, yet support one third of its plants, mammals, and birds. Of these 25 hotspots, 16 are tropical forests. Yet, destruction of humid

Designing ReDD FOR THegreenhouse:

Andrew Long*

Excerpted from Andrew Long, Taking Adaptation Value Seriously: Designing REDD to Protect Biodiversity, 3 CARBON & CLIMATE LAW REVIEW 314 (2009), by courtesy of Lexxion Publisher Berlin. Many of the citations have been removed from this excerpt.

Cover sTory

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Cover sTory

“a primary force driving biodiversity loss is habitat destruction, particularly tropical deforestation.”

tropical forests occurs at a rate of approximately 120,000 square kilometers (46,300 square miles) per year. Climate change is also becoming a major driver of biodiversity loss, with one study suggesting that climate change will cause roughly one quarter of all currently living species to become “committed to extinction” by 2050 assuming mid-range climate change scenarios. (Thomas) Further, the mix of human-caused drivers of biodiversity loss – including deforestation and climate change – produces synergistic effects that are likely to have a multiplicative effect on the loss of biodiversity. Projections for future biodiversity preservation are not promising. The Biodiversity Synthesis report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, for example, concludes that “most of the direct drivers of biodiversity loss are projected to either remain constant or to increase in the near future.” The biodiversity crisis threatens to undermine the adaptation goals of the climate change regime because of its close connection to sustainable development in developing countries. Biodiversity loss has already “caused some people to experience declining well-being, with poverty in some social groups being exacerbated.” (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) Further, “poor people, particularly those in rural areas in developing countries, are more dependent on biodiversity and ecosystem services and more vulnerable to their degradation.” (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) In many instances, these populations are in need of assistance to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Thus, preserving biodiversity in developing countries will frequently assist in adaptation for the rural poor by sustaining ecosystem services and associated livelihoods. This is particularly true with regard to protecting tropical forest biodiversity because, “in the face of climate change,” the services offered by protected forest areas “become more critical to enhance the adaptive capacity of local people to cope with climate change.” (Mansourian, et al.) Similarly, protection of biodiversity may moderate vulnerability to climate change by increasing ecosystem resilience to disturbances. Therefore, policy targeted to preserving biodiversity through reducing deforestation in developing countries will have significant climate change mitigation benefits, and support adaptation of vulnerable human communities through climate change. While “[s]temming biodiversity loss arguably represents humanity’s most urgent challenge,” (Chen) “[c]onservation of biodiversity probably presents greater regulatory challenges to international law than any other environmental issue.” (Sands) An increasing chorus of scientific and policy organizations is calling for integration of biodiversity preservation in the post-Kyoto climate regime. Further, the conference of the parties (COP) to the primary international regime concerned with biodiversity – the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) – notes the strong links between biodiversity and climate change, as well as the potential to affect biodiversity loss through the climate change regime. . . . A mechanism for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) offers the best hope for making progress in addressing tropical deforestation and its attendant impacts on biodiversity and global climate. Constructed properly, a REDD mechanism can overcome several of the major stumbling blocks that have limited efforts to conserve biodiversity and slow tropical deforestation, thus providing significant adaptation benefits while also fostering substantial carbon emissions reductions at relatively low cost.

III. The CLIMATe regIMe: MovIng ToWArD reDDThe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) establishes the goal of “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system . . . within a time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.” (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) The Kyoto Protocol (KP) adds specificity and binding quantified emissions reduction targets to this general mandate. The KP also created important “flexibility mechanisms” that provide for potentially more cost-effective methods of obtaining the overall reduction of GHGs, including the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and International Emissions Trading. Trade in carbon credits created through international projects under the CDM is among the most innovative aspects of the KP and suggests the value of international markets in affecting behavior on environmental issues. The climate regime aims not only to mitigate climate change through emissions reduction, but also to foster successful adaptation to climate change. “Adaptation” refers to “[i]nitiatives and measuresto reduce the vulnerability of natural and human systems against actual or expected climate change effects.” (International Panel on Climate Change) Despite UNFCCC and KP provisions identifying adaptation as a priority, implementation has thus far been hindered by disagreements, limited developing country capacity and the availability of funding. Nonetheless, significant adaptation planning is underway and the importance of biodiversity preservation in adaptation is recognized. Further, the UNFCCC COP identified adaptation as one of five main priorities to be addressed by COP 15 in Copenhagen. Leveraging the incentives created through the markets born of the flexibility mechanisms to advance adaptation priorities would open significant new possibilities that do not exist under the current regime.

1) beyonD The CDM: overvIeW oF reDD“REDD” refers to a mechanism that provides financial incentives for protecting forests based on their mitigation value as carbon sinks. As perhaps “the most progressive environmental finance instrumentto date,” (Ebeling and Yasue) REDD holds the promise of reducing emissions at low cost while simultaneously curbing poverty, fostering sustainable development, and preserving biodiversity. Although the concept of avoided deforestation credits received consideration during UNFCCC and KP negotiations, it never gained acceptance and was ultimately foreclosed by the Marrakesh Accords. A major reason for excluding REDD was fear that uncertainty in design and implementation could undermine the overall success of the agreement and threaten the sovereignty of developing nations. Avoided deforestation also faced opposition from NGOs [non-governmental organizations] due to the potential for cheap credits from the 638 billion tons of carbon in the world’s forests to “flood the market” and undermine efforts to obtain emissions reductions elsewhere. Many participants feared REDD would enable developed countries to purchase questionable avoided deforestation credits rather than taking steps to reduce fossil fuel-based emissions.

Despite these concerns, the concept of REDD resurfaced at COP 11 in 2005, where Costa Rica and Papua New Guinea, speaking for the Coalition of Rainforest Nations, proffered a REDD proposal. The COP directed the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) to research REDD’s viability as a mitigation measure. At COP 13 in Bali, the SBSTA reported favorable results, and the parties announced COP 15 in Copenhagen as the target for designing an acceptable REDD program. While there were high hopes for development of REDD at COP 14 in Poznan, relatively little was achieved on this point. “It is most often the quest for income that drives deforestation and degradation,” (Badiozamani) and it is this quest that REDD may capitalize on as a means of changing the drivers of deforestation. Economic assessments conclude that carbon credits created through a REDD program will be available at a lower cost than reducing fossil fuel emissions. Further, REDD credit-generation will likely create more wealth for host nations than activities currently driving deforestation. Direct yields for land converted to agriculture are frequently equivalent to less than $1 per ton of CO2 equivalent, although the full opportunity costs of avoiding deforestation in such areas may be somewhat higher. Even after recent price declines, credits on the European Carbon Exchange continue to sell for roughly $20 per ton of CO2 offset. This data suggests the incentive for avoiding deforestation to earn carbon credits under REDD will be strong, thus offering a means to overcome the issues that have plagued international forest negotiations. Major issues to be addressed for a workable REDD program by COP 15 include scope (national or project-based), monitoring, baselines, leakage, and permanence. Many developing countries and some developed countries have already submitted proposals regarding REDD design, and several demonstration projects are proving the potential for successful REDD implementation. Unfortunately, very little formal attention has been paid to designing a REDD mechanism that assigns direct value to benefits for biodiversity and forest ecosystem services.

Iv. bIoDIversITy AnD ForesT ProTeCTIon: InTernATIonAL AgreeMenTs AnD reDD’s PoTenTIALIf strong mechanisms for the protection of biodiversity and primary forest habitats existed in international environmental law, REDD’s impact on biodiversity would be less significant. Unfortunately, current agreements have had little effect in slowing the rapid loss of biodiversity and tropical forests. Thus, the potential for REDD to secure biodiversity conservation represents a critical opportunity to make progress where prior instruments have floundered. Accordingly, elements of REDD’s design that affect these issues must be carefully assessed.

1) reDD beneFITs AnD rIsKs To bIoDIversITyThe expectation that REDD will be incorporated into a post-2012 climate change regime creates hope that the program will benefit biodiversity. The potential for such “co-benefits” has been noted in major studies of climate change policy and several country proposals suggest that REDD will benefit biodiversity. These benefits are not guaranteed through a REDD regime focused entirely on carbon

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emissions, however. Instead, many current REDD proposals present several significant risks to biodiversity that not only debunk the notion of inevitable co-benefits but also threaten to cause harm beyond the status quo. Accordingly, REDD design matters for biodiversity. REDD runs the risk of repeating some of CDM’s forestry mistakes. CDM forestry projects can harm biodiversity because they may be plantations made up of a single species. A similar risk exists that creating a REDD mechanism based solely on carbon value will result in “carbon farming.” The incentive to maximize carbon value could lead some countries to emphasize plantation forestry that detracts from biodiversity and human livelihoods. This type of perverse

incentive cautions that a REDD regime in which incentives are based on carbon value alone may foster outcomes worse than business as usual when the full range of environmental issues are considered. Finally, a purely carbon-based REDD mechanism will create incentives unlikely to coincide with biodiversity priorities in many instances. One study assessing numerous tropical forest countries based on the income potential from REDD and the biodiversity index value concluded that “[c]ountries with high index values . . . did not have high-income potential from RED,” while “[c]ountries with high income potential . . . are not countries of high conservation priorities.” (Ebeling) Thus, the authors caution that “achieving [conservation] aims may require significant non-carbon-based support,” and suggest, inter alia, “influencing the international policy framework regarding the valuation of non-carbon benefits [and] provision of supplementary funds to implement RED measures in conservation priority areas.” (Ebeling)

v. DesIgnIng reDD For ADAPTATIon vALue: bIoDIversITy-enhAnCIng CreDITsTwo elements are essential for ensuring that REDD provides significant benefits to biodiversity. First, biodiversity preservation must be explicitly recognized within the climate change regime as an adaptation priority. Second, the REDD mechanism should be designed to provide incentives for investment in projects that specifically target preservation of biodiversity while reducing emissions.

I propose adding an optional component to any form of REDD that is agreed to at COP 15 as a means of enabling formal designation of biodiversity-enhancing (BDE) projects. In this system, application from the project proponents would trigger review of projects for satisfaction of pre-established BDE criteria. Upon satisfactory review by expert designated operational entities (DOEs) overseen by the Executive Board (EB) or a similar body, the project would receive BDE designation and become eligible for modest financial support from an international fund (either a general adaptation fund or a fund created specifically to support BDE REDD credits). In order to stimulate the initiation of projects and support the market for BDE credits, this financial support should benefit project hosts while lowering cost for investors. These points are explained in more detail below.

1) DesIgnATIng ProJeCTs For bIoDIversITy-enhAnCIng reDD CreDITsRecognition of BDE projects requires a system for identifying projects eligible for this designation. The agreement establishing the mechanism should outline general criteria for BDE projects. It should recognize that forest areas presenting the greatest potential for conserving globally significant biodiversity – such as areas containing a high number of endemic or endangered species – are the best-suited to the BDE designation. In such areas, projects providing for guaranteed maintenance of existing ecosystems important to sustaining the endemic or endangered species should be eligible for designation. Similarly, projects anticipated to restore degraded habitat in areas of significant global biodiversity value should be eligible for the designation. In all areas, projects should be eligible where they are integral to maintenance of threatened species. The agreement should also re-define “forests” for REDD generally, and BDE credits in particular. While non-BDE projects might include monoculture plantations, BDE projects should rarely, if ever, include such plantations. Instead, “forests” eligible for BDE REDD credit should consist of (1) preservation of primary forests capable of supporting biodiverse communities based on their characteristics (such as size or proximity to existing protected areas) and (2) reforestation or afforestation activities that contribute to enhancement of primary biodiverse forests. In addition to general criteria, a structure of project assessment is required. The assessment should be overseen by a body similar to the CDM EB. This body should establish more precise guidelines for assessment, not unlike the type of criteria employed by the Forest Stewardship Council during certification audits. Upon application to the EB, assessments should be carried out by expert DOEs, including scientists expert in the biodiversity of the geographic area assessed, and should include both an on-the-ground review of the project and an analysis of the global significance of the biodiversity in the region. If the project is found to provide significant benefit to globally important aspects of biodiversity, the BDE designation should be awarded. Further, BDE designation should be structured to overcome permanence concerns by requiring reassessment at regular intervals, such as every five years. Such re-assessment may be less extensive than initial designation audits, but should be probing of key factors.

“ Biodiversity loss has already caused some people to experience declining well-being, with poverty in some social groups being exacerbated.” (sangster and Dudley)

2) MArKeT beneFIT oF bIoDIversITy-enhAnCIng DesIgnATIonIn order to create an incentive to seek BDE credits, they must provide an economic advantage. The incentive should be two-prong. The program should include a mechanism to (1) award an additional percentage of the credits’ value to the host and (2) offset a percentage of the credits’ initial cost to investors. These incentives are targeted to both stimulate development of BDE projects within countries and provide an advantage for such credits within a regulatory offset market. Since biodiversity-priority forests frequently do not coincide with the most attractive investments for carbon offsets, this type of incentive may be necessary to direct non-philanthropic regulatory market funding into essential habitats. Further economic analysis should examine the optimal percentage for each incentive in order to stimulate action while minimizing the need for funding. In contrast to other options for supporting REDD-based biodiversity funding, formalizing the BDE incentives within the climate regime’s REDD mechanism presents a regulatory means for significantly improving preservation of biodiversity in critical habitats areas. The BDE approach outlined above assumes a carbon offset market and the availability of funding to support the incentives, both of which require some elaboration. Use of the BDE proposal within a market-based REDD mechanism would offer incentives for biodiversity preservation that are greater than those that could be created in non-offset approaches because of the higher sums available through regulatory markets as compared with voluntary project support. Further, the BDE proposal is designed to eliminate concerns about the impact of a market-based REDD system on key habitat through problems such as leakage and selection of projects solely for high carbon value or lack of governance concern. The incentives attendant to BDE designation require funding, which can be drawn from either a general adaptation fund that is currently being negotiated, or a smaller fund established for this purpose. The funding

should be market-linked to reduce the dependence on voluntary contributions or development aid. It could be generated, for example, through a modest tax on all carbon credit transfers or through a tax on REDD-generated credit transfers. Market-linked financing will reduce the contentiousness of funding negotiations and provide a sustainable source of funds that responds to the volume of market transactions. Voluntary contributions may be used to initiate or supplement the funding.

vI. ConCLusIonsThe proposal set forth in this article highlights one means of designing REDD to promote significant biodiversity benefits. Such benefits cannot be assumed to flow automatically from a REDD mechanismbased on carbon value alone, but must be intentionally designed into the regime. The biodiversity impact of REDD projects is well suited to valuation in ways that other co-benefits (such as poverty alleviation) generally are not. Biodiversity provides multiple direct benefits to adaptation priorities and may serve as a rough proxy for related matters, such as ecosystem productivity and sustainable management. Further, assessment of biodiversity impacts can be integrated into the framework of REDD projects through scientific analysis of the ecological system for which REDD credit is sought, thus enabling development of relatively uniform criteria to be applied throughout the globe. Projects designed for biodiversity conservation will foster adaptation of natural systems, which will in turn support adaptation of socio-economic systems through maintenance of ecosystem services. Thus, the income generated through BDE REDD credits would directly support adaptation and, accordingly, may decrease the need for voluntary or ODA [official development assistance] adaptation funding. Without the incentives envisioned in this proposal, REDD is unlikely to realize these benefits.

There is a strong likelihood that avoided deforestation will be less expensive than other mitigation methods, costing as little as $1 to $5/tCO2. Nicholas Stern, The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007), at pp. 244–45.

William F. Laurance, “Can Carbon Trading Save Vanishing Forests?” 58 Bioscience (2008), p. 286.

Convention on Biological Diversity, Rio de Janeiro, 5 June 1992, in force 29 December 1993, Art. 2.

Stuart L. Pimm et al., “What is Biodiversity?” in Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein (eds), Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 18.

Edward O. Wilson, Diversity of Life (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999), at p. 254.

Edward O. Wilson, Nature Revealed: Selected Writing, 1949–2006 (Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 2006), pp. 617–18.

Chris D. Thomas, et. al. “Extinction Risk from Climate Change,” 427 Nature (2004), pp. 145 et sqq., at p. 147.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Biodiversity Synthesis (Washington D.C.: World Resources Institute, 2005), at p. 14.

Ibid. at p. 5.

Stephanie Mansourian, Alexander Belokurov and Peter J. Stephenson, “The Role of Forest Protected Areas in Adaptation to Climate Change,” 60 Unasylva (2009), at p. 65.

Jim Chen, “Legal Mythmaking in a Time of Mass Extinctions: Reconciling Stories of Origins with Human Destiny,” 29 Harvard Environmental Law Review (2005), pp. 279 et sqq., at p. 283.

Phillipe Sands, Principles of International Environmental Law, 2nd ed. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003), at p. 615.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 9 May 1992, in force 21 March 1994, Art. 2, at p. 4.

International Panel on Climate Change, Fourth Assessment Report, at p. 76 (Appendix II). Neither the UNFCCC nor the KP contains a definition of adaptation. The definitions employed by the IPCC are most

commonly used. Farhana Yamin and Joanna Depledge, The International Climate Change Regime: A Guide to Rules, Institutions, and Procedures (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2004), at p. 214.

Johannes Ebeling and Mai Yasue, “Generating Carbon Finance Through Avoided Deforestation and Its Potention to Create Climactic, Conservation and Human Development Benefits,” Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society (2009), at p. 5.

Ghazal Badiozamani, “Addressing Deforestation and Forest Degradation Through International Policy,” in Peter H. Freer-Smith et al. (eds), Forestry & Climate Change (Wallingford: CABI, 2007), at p. 204.

See Marcus G. Sangster and Mike Dudley, “Governance and Climate Change,” in Forestry & Climate Change, supra, note 16, at p. 215.

Ebeling, supra, note 15, at pp. 5–6.

Ibid. at p. 7.

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* Assistant Professor, Florida Coastal School of Law. My thanks to FCSL students Lauren Shaffar, Justin McCarthy, Avery Sander and John Evan Gibbs for research assistance on this article and related projects.

References

2009envIronMenTALs u m m i T

PersPeCTIves

in november, the 11th annual northeast Florida environmental summit held on campus focused on ecological issues statewide, though the discussion was much more sophisticated than advising people to recycle or companies to save fuel. Rather, speakers at this year’s daylong event, “growing green: Developing a sustainable Florida,” examined several elements relevant to achieving long-term sustainability, including land use, energy, environmental Justice, environmental ethics, and Transportation.

i l l u s T R a T i O n B Y m i c H a e l a u s T i n

2009envIronMenTALs u m m i T

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A collaborative effort between Coastal Law and Jacksonville University, the summit is the culmination of almost a year’s worth of planning by key faculty members from both schools, as well as Coastal Law students pursuing careers in environmental law. It began in 1998 and has since become the premier professional program housed within Coastal Law’s Environmental Certificate program. “The level of collaboration was phenomenal between students and faculty from both schools,” said Coastal Law Professor Andrew Long, the primary organizer of the conference. “In particular, students helped in selecting and reaching out to the speakers this year, which gave them an opportunity to identify some top scholars and practitioners whose work they found most interesting, and then interact with them during the event. “They also learned about current issues concerning how principles they study in the classroom are being implemented in practice.” Summit topics in recent years range from sea level rise and water conservation, to carbon neutral initiatives, conservation, and even the ecological impacts of the Super Bowl. Long said the summit this year was held amid a sense that real progress might be made on sustainability, either through the Copenhagen climate change conference or just the sense that a change in Washington, D.C., might lead to a leap forward on environmental issues. “I think a lot is spurred by the change in administration at the national level,” said Long. “The Bush Administration’s attitude to climate change kept a lot of political change from happening.”

WorKIng WITh busIness CoMMunITy One recurring theme examined by the more than a dozen panelists from across the country, was that sustaining the environment will involve working with the business community, not against it. Concurrently, the emphasis must stay on the environment.

Tim Center, executive director of the Governor’s Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida, said in his summit- opening remarks that while concerns about the economic effects of environmental measures must be considered, “The economy is only a subsidiary of the environment, and not the other way around.” The summit has historically attracted a wide array of speakers from numerous professional disciplines nationwide, and this year was no exception. The summit involved the participation of non-academics from JEA, the Jacksonville Port Authority, CSX Corp.

and Environmental Services Inc., as well as moderators from the Rogers Towers, GrayRobinson and McGuire Woods law firms. In addition to Coastal Law and JU, academics were on hand from schools as far-flung as the University of Montana and Widener University. There were 150 registered attendees to the all-day conference, but attendance was higher because Coastal Law students were encouraged to sit in on any of the sessions free of charge. In his opening remarks, Center pointed out that much of the resistance to the proposals made by environmentalists concentrates on the fact that the actions, if taken, will harm the economy. But Center turns that point of

view on its head, pointing out that if we don’t take care of the environment, the economy will deteriorate anyway, and probably more dramatically. “It’s really about the money,” he said. “It’s really about the survivability.” By 2030, Center said, Florida will have another six to eight million residents. The state will continue to see agricultural land turned into residential property, the inevitable consequence of it being more valuable. And transportation miles will double. The way to deal with this growth, Center said, is not to continue to do what has been

done in the past. “If you think the way to solving this is by adding more lanes, you probably think the answer to obesity is to loosen your belt,” he said.

CLose-uP on TrAnsPorTATIonThe panel on transportation touched closest on Jacksonville. The speakers were David C. Stubbs, director of properties and environmental compliance for the Jacksonville Port Author-ity, and Thomas Anderson, senior corporate counsel for CSX. Stubbs acknowledged that a port is not the first entity one thinks of when considering environmentally friendly operations. “There’s no way you can do a container terminal that

looks the least bit green,” he admitted. However, Stubbs added the port is taking significant measures to reduce its impact on the environment. One consequence of the increasing focus on sustainability is a closer scrutiny on land that has been polluted in the past, a topic with which Stubbs is familiar. The Port Authority is considering buying a 34-acre piece of land that was owned by Kerr-McGee and is substantially contaminated with pesticides. “The joke around Jacksonville is that it’s a great place to have a picnic because you’ll never be bothered by bugs,” Stubbs said. The land is also a Superfund site, and the Port will have to clean it up before it can put

any operations there, an example of economic development having a positive effect on the environment. Another example involves the creation of a 150-acre salt marsh at a bend in the St. Johns River that was originally marsh, but then starting about 50 years ago was gradually filled in. Cranes at Jaxport are diesel-powered and relatively inefficient, Stubbs said, but that is changing. The next generation of cranes will be electrical, more efficient, and bigger in order to handle post-Panamax ships, bigger vessels that will be able to traverse the Panama Canal after it is widened. Jaxport will also reduce carbon emissions through a practice called cold-ironing, in which ships tied up at a Jaxport berth

shut down their boilers and hook up to JEA power.

Even when the Port toes the environmental line in its land

development, the result can be less than pretty. When the port and TraPac started work on the new container terminal that will handle Asian shipping lines, it had to clear-cut the land. Under the city’s tree ordinance, the port and TraPac had to pay money to offset the loss of the trees: in this case, said Stubbs, $3 million. Still, Stubbs said, Jaxport and its partners in the business community are constrained by the recession.

“We’re doing what we can with the economy we’re faced with now,” he said. Jaxport’s environmental efforts are not confined to the port or even the river. The authority has implemented a “green flag” program to help protect the endangered right whale, the first such program on the East Coast and the only one in the country aimed at protecting wildlife. Shippers are eligible for the green flag distinction if they slow down to no more than 10 knots for the last 20 miles into Jaxport, and if they follow one of two designated approach lanes.

beneFITs oF rAIL CSX’s Anderson said the Jacksonville-based railroad is simultaneously helping the environment and its own bottom line by focusing on fuel efficiency. Since the railroad industry was deregulated in 1980, he said, cargo volumes have climbed steadily across the industry while fuel consumption has stayed flat as a result of increasingly fuel-efficient locomotives and practices. In the next 10 to 20 years, Anderson said, freight volumes in the U.S. are expected to double. The main contribution CSX can make, Anderson said, is to take market share away from trucking. This is not only good for CSX and its shareholders, it’s good for the environment because rail uses less fuel than trucking. “It’s just a lot more fuel-efficient,” he said of rail. “It’s not that we are better people or that we try harder, it’s just physics.” One of the main differences, said Anderson, is that steel wheels moving on rails generates much less friction than rubber tires on asphalt. CSX’ main corridor is between Chicago and Albany, N.Y., and in the Northeast especially rail is even more efficient because of the congestion on the roads that trucks have to deal with. If just 10 percent of the freight moved by truck were switched to rail, Anderson said, a billion gallons of diesel fuel would be saved each year. “It’s three to four times more fuel-efficient than moving things by truck,” he said. As fuel efficiency has improved over the last three decades, CSX has publicized the trend to fight the perception that rail is not environmentally friendly. In ads that run on radio and TV, CSX boasts that it can move a ton of freight 436 miles on a gallon of fuel. This number has been challenged by some people who have heard it, and Anderson said more than 10 percent of the calls to a CSX hotline set up to answer questions concern the claim. Anderson said the 436 miles figure is actually from 2007, and the number is higher now. As a demonstration, Anderson showed a slide that illustrated how far different modes of transportation could move a ton of cargo on a gallon of fuel. A car leaving Jacksonville

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could get to Kingsland, Ga., about 33 miles away. A truck could get that ton to Savannah, about 140 miles away, while the 436 miles a train can move it puts it in Raleigh, N.C.

susTAInAbILITy In our besT InTeresT The summit’s closing address was delivered by John C. Dernbach, a professor at Widener University Law School, who said the audience was present at the creation of a sustainable America. He told the story of how a friend of his suspects the America public will resist the changes needed for a sustainable future, in part because of economic concerns. “I acknowledged that he might be right,” Dernbach said. “But if we keep going in the direction we’re going, we’re going to be in a place that is impossible for us. Sustainability is not something that is merely nice. Sustainability is something that is deeply, deeply in the U.S. interest.” Long said he is pleased with feedback he received both the day of and after the summit from speakers and attendees, and is confident both the range of topics and the appeal of

the event itself will expand beyond Northeast Florida. “Certainly the Summit this year gave members of the Coastal Law and greater Jacksonville communities an opportunity to learn about contemporary legal and scientific ideas regarding how Florida can become sustainable over the next century. It also provided an ex-ceptional platform for discussion of these issues with leaders in their relevant fields,” he said. “As the summit’s reputation grows, I expect the event will continue to draw top legal scholars and practitioners, as well as scientific leaders, to the school to address pressing environmental issues that directly affect Florida, the Southeast and perhaps even beyond.” For more information on the 2009 Northeast Florida Environmental Summit, including panel topics and speaker biographies, visit: www.fcsl.edu/envsummit.

“ Certainly the summit this year gave members of the Coastal Law and greater Jacksonville communities an opportunity to learn about contemporary legal and scientific ideas regarding how Florida can become sustainable over the next century.”

In Northeast Florida, Robert E. Riva Jr., of Holland & Knight LLP and Eileen LaCivita, associate attorney at Tritt Henderson, are at the forefront of green building and sustainable development. Concurrently Jeff Close, senior assistant general counsel with Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection, spends much of his time on waste clean-up cases throughout the state. Riva, who practices in the areas of real estate, corporate, and sustainable development, became the first attorney in Jacksonville to receive the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP) designation in September 2008. Riva said he saw two things that made him

realize sustainable development and green building is not only a pervasive worldwide concern, but also a niche market on the rise. “Aside from there being an increasing client demand, I recognized green building and sustainable development strategies were continuing to be incorporated into companies’ overall business operations and plans,” he said. “There are unique legal issues with LEED development, as well as other facets of green building and sustainable development, including contracts, financing, and taxes issues.” LaCivita practices in the area of construction law and represents contractors and sub-contractors. She became a LEED Accredited Professional in December 2008.

“I wanted to gain an understanding about the work my clients are doing now and, of course, are going to be doing more of in the future,” she said. LaCivita and Riva agree there are often issues that arise before, during, and after the construction of new structures, as well as for existing buildings being retrofitted to become LEED certified to meet the highest green building and performance measures. “To competently advise a client on legal issues concerning LEED development, we needed to have a detailed knowledge of the rating system and be able to identify with the legal issues,” said Riva. LaCivita added that because there is not a lot of case law out there to reference the

In PrACTICe

Whether through handling the legal issues concerning certified green buildings or taking on cases involving contaminated land, the school has learned three recent Coastal Law alumni have committed themselves to

protecting the environment where they practice and beyond.

c O a s T a l a l u m n i F O c u s O n environmental

efficiency, enforcement

issues, it is even more important to be ready when those situations arise. Aside from green building and sustainable development, Close is helping the environment in other ways. As part of his role with the DEP, Close brings civil and administrative actions to enforce Florida’s environmental laws and regulations. The DEP has several program areas, including air, water, wetlands, and waste. He focuses on cases having to do with waste cleanup, such as contaminated properties. “When we become aware of a contaminated area, we identify the responsible parties and pursue corrective actions and, in some cases, civil penalties,” he said. Generally speaking, the parties who have statutory liability will be asked to perform site assessment and remediation at these properties and, if this is not done as required by applicable rules and statutes, pay a certain amount of money for violating these rules and statutes.

Only time will tell what the future will bring for environmental law and sustainable development. Right now they can only speculate the issues, problems, and scenarios that can arise in their respected areas of law.“Green is here to stay,” said LaCivita. “While it is a proactive movement, I think it is going to generate a lot of litigation. “I see a lot of case law in the future as new products are developed.” She added there is a litany of legal risks with going green, mainly because the standardized

contracts rarely include green issues. Riva said green building and sustainable development is deeply engrained in the business strategies of companies throughout

Northeast Florida and the rest of United States. “Attorneys in all areas of the law are going to have to have some understanding of certain components of sustainable development,” he said. “You are going to continue to see incentives and products for buildings that are

built with a holistic efficiency approach that addresses water efficiency, energy, and indoor air quality, among other areas.” Riva also believes that non-LEED or green buildings will be appraised at lower values when compared to LEED and other green certified buildings. From Close’s perspective, he said there are always going to be laws and regulations, and we’ll always have to enforce them. But concerning both environmental law and sustainable development, there are going to be

many incentives available to stay in compliance. “As the country continues to become more environmentally conscious, environmental compliance will become more and more of a

smart business decision,” said Close. “It has always been smart for businesses to avoid the costs of penalties and cleanups, but it seems the public is going to continue to favor more and more the companies that maintain a positive image from an environmental standpoint.”

“By remaining compliant, businesses can avoid public lawsuits and stay in the good graces of their consumers.” Riva added there is federal legislation on the horizon concerning greenhouse gas cap and trade. “This can have an impact on how companies operate businesses in light of potential restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions,” said Riva.

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In PrACTICe

Eileen LaCivita Rob Riva Jeff Close

you are going to continue to see incentives and products for buildings that are built with a holistic efficiency approach that addresses water efficiency, energy, and indoor air quality, among other areas.”

”

A Florida Coastal School of Law team reached the semifinal round in Houston in February at the Moot Court National Championship, establishing the Jacksonville-based law school’s moot court honor board as among the four best nationwide. In addition to Coastal Law, teams from schools including Columbia, Duke, William & Mary and Fordham also competed. Team members on the Coastal Law team include Renatha Francis, Kristin Rhodus, and Wes Ridout. Paul Knudsen served as the team manager. Professor Sander Moody coached the team. “Florida Coastal’s appellate advocacy program has emerged as one of the nation’s elite programs,” said Moody. “The competitions are strictly merit-based. Anonymous grading removes everything else to reveal work ethic and ability. The competitions show which law students consistently perform at the highest level in legal research and writing and oral advocacy. This consistent record of achievement by Florida Coastal’s moot court students reveals them for what they are — among the best in the nation at what attorneys do.” Standings at the Moot Court National Championship, which is open to the top 16 moot court programs across the country, were

determined by results tabulated at competitions throughout the academic year. As moot court is about both written and oral advocacy, scoring for the Championship incorporates not only team awards, but also individual honors. In 2009 alone, Coastal Law won a national title at a prestigious competition hosted by the Williams Institute at UCLA, defeating New York University in the finals, and a championship in a competition hosted by the Navy’s JAG Corp, defeating the University of Florida in the finals. Additionally, Florida Coastal’s moot court students reached the final round in six of the nine moot court competitions they attended. In those nine moot competitions, Coastal Law won three Best Brief Awards, including winning the Best Brief Award at the Florida state championship, and six Best Advocate Awards. Coastal Law also had a brief place in the top 10 percent at an international commercial arbitration

competition in Vienna, Austria, attended by more than 230 law schools from around the world. “It’s been rewarding to watch the most competitive law firms and other organizations here in Florida, and across the country and in

Europe, recognize this in granting interviews and job offers to our students, especially in this competitive market,” said Moody.

sTuDenT neWsA W A r D s , A C h I e v e M e n T s A n D h I g h L I g h T s

Coastal Law Moot Court Honor Board Ranks Among National Top Four

“Florida Coastal’s appellate advocacy program has emerged as one of the

nation’s elite programs.”

From left: Wesley Ridout, Kristin Rhodus, Renatha Francis, Paul Knudsen, Professor Sander Moody, Coastal Law’s Moot Court Faculty Advisor.

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One Coastal Law professor challenged her students to think outside the textbook earlier this year, and the results were no laughing matter. Professor Stacy Scaldo, who teaches Professional Responsibility, predicted students would find the recommended reading of her class “boring,” so she offered extra credit to students who designed and assembled games that promote professionalism. Scaldo said the class requires an immense amount of familiarity and memorization of the rules of professional conduct. The games, she said, allowed to students to “have a little fun while learning some of the more complex rules that come with being a successful lawyer.” More than 75 percent of Scaldo’s class developed games, with two to five student groups participating in the exercise. Scaldo encouraged creativity while stressing only one requirement: each game must be in question and answer format. “It was a lot of fun and students really seemed to be ‘getting it,’” she said. “Games ranged from computer and internet games like Who Wants to Be A Millionaire and The Weakest Link, to board games, like Sorry, Monopoly and Taboo.” When asked if she would use this type of curriculum again, Scaldo said it would likely become a “staple for the class.” Scaldo also suggested that there was a strong correlation between the students who created the games and the students who excelled in the course. “Absolutely,” she said. “Those who participated in the games got higher raw scores on their tests than those who did not. It’s hard to dispute those results.”

Students learn old rules in new ways

The fall semester for the Florida Coastal School of Law Mock Trial program proved nothing short of banner, with teams competing from the school earning distinctions not only locally, but at both a regional and national competition, as well. In November, at the Georgetown White Collar Crime Tournament in Washington, D.C., Coastal Law placed fourth out of the 20 teams competing. In addition, team member Heath Vickers earned the Exceptional Advocate award. That same weekend, during the Southeast Regional Division of the ABA Labor & Employment Competition in Miami, the team earned second place overall. “This has never happened all within a single season,” said Annette Ritter, assistant professor of LP and director of Coastal Law’s Mock Trial Programs. “And to have this kind of success in one weekend was pretty amazing for us.” Ritter said winning these awards is not only great for Coastal Law, but also for current and future alumni. “Earning these distinctions allows the

name of Florida Coastal School of Law to get that national recognition where there are attorneys and judges who may help in furthering our growing reputation,” she said. In addition to excelling at external competitions, on October 7, students participated in the first ever Spohrer & Dodd Trial Advocacy Scholarship Competition at the school. “That internal competition was a huge success,” Ritter said. “Robert Spohrer and Roger Dodd actually came to us with the idea of hosting the competition on our campus and it certainly provided our team members with a wonderful opportunity to refine their courtroom skills.” Competitors were given the opportunity to give a 10-minute closing argument to a panel of judges that included State Attorney Angela Corey and Holland & Knight partner Buddy Schulz. At the conclusion of the event, which was scored by a jury of local media and alumni, three students walked

away with scholarships. Heath Vickers earned first place and was awarded $2,500. Tenisia Burke, 2L, placed second and Daniel Martinez, 3L, placed third. “I have been so impressed this semester with the Mock Trail team members,” said Ritter. “The atmosphere of the team – the camaraderie – it just really impressed me.”

Mock Trial program earns regional, national distinction

From left: Roger Dodd, Coastal Law students Heath Vickers, Daniel Martinez and Tenisia Burke, and Robert Spohrer following the results of the Spohrer & Dodd Trial Advocacy Scholarship Competition in October.

2L Jessica Urban tosses the dice onto a homemade board game tailored to professional responsibility

FaculTY neWsh I g h L I g h T s , A C h I e v e M e n T s A n D A P P o I n T M e n T s

ProFessor eLIzAbeTh DeCouxProfessor Elizabeth DeCoux’s most recent article was published in the fall 2009 issue of the Animal Law Review at Lewis and Clark School of Law. The article is entitled “Speaking for the Modern Prometheus: The Significance of Animal Suffering to the Abolition Movement.” Another of her articles, “In the Valley of the Dry Bones: Reuniting the Word ‘Standing’ with Its Meaning in Animal Cases,” was also recently cited by noted Professor Glen-Peter Ahlers as one of six articles about legal protections for non-human species that is “not to be missed.”

ProFessor sTePhen DurDen Quinnipiac Law Review has just published Professor Stephen Durden’s new article, “Plain Language Textualism: Some Personal Predilections are More Equal than Others.” This is his second law review article published this year.

ProFessor CLeveLAnD FergusonIn August, Professor Cleveland Ferguson became the first African American to be both promoted to the rank of full professor and granted tenure at Florida Coastal School of Law. In November he was appointed Chairperson of the Personnel Committee of the Florida Legal Services, Board of Directors. Ferguson also chaired United States Senator Bill Nelson’s Service Academy Nominations Board’s Air Force Panel-Tallahassee Region on November 5, 2009, and chaired the State Board selection process in Orlando on November 21, 2009. Professor Ferguson was the keynote speaker for the 34th Annual Fall Leadership Institute Luncheon of the Florida African American Student Association, held in Jacksonville, Florida, on November 13, 2009. He was president of the association from 1992-1994. He also retrained as an American Bar Association Site Team Inspector from November 13-14, 2009, in Rosemont, Illinois.

ProFessor erICKA CurrAnProfessor Ericka Curran and the Immigrant Rights Clinic co-facilitated a new Immigration Specific Pro Bono intake at Jacksonville Area Legal Aid starting September 1, 2009.

ProFessor susAn DAICoFFProfessor Susan Daicoff submitted a book chapter, by invitation, for a book on conflict transformation edited by University of North Florida Professor Candace Carter. She also presented continuing legal education workshop for lawyers on professionalism and intrinsic values for the Jacksonville Bar Association, was interviewed by the California Bar Journal, and wrote two online magazine article pieces for The Complete Lawyer.

vICe DeAn TerrI DAvLAnTes Vice Dean Terri Davlantes presented a talk entitled “The Village Approach to Raising Professional Lawyers” at the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning Implementing Best Practices & Educating Lawyers: Teaching Skills and Professionalism Across the Curriculum Conference in Spokane, Washington, in June 2009. She also moderated a panel at the 2009 SEALS conference entitled “Measuring Educational Quality.” She was also elected to the Board of the Youth Crisis Center.

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ProFessor susAn hArThILLIn July, Professor Susan Harthill participated in the Regulating for Decent Work Conference at the International Labour Organization in Geneva, where she presented her new article, “The Need for a Revitalized Regulatory Scheme to Address Workplace Bullying in the United States: Harnessing the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act.” Professor Harthill has submitted this article for publication to U.S. law reviews. Also in August, Professor Harthill received word that her next article, a comparative review of occupational safety and health laws addressing workplace bullying, has been

accepted for presentation at the 7th International Conference on Workplace Bullying and Harassment, to be held in June 2010 at the University of Glamorgan in Cardiff, Wales. Professor Harthill’s ERISA article was published last summer by the Oklahoma Law Review: “A Square Peg In A Round Hole: Make Whole Relief Under ERISA Section 502(a)(3), 61Okla. L. Rev. 721 (2009).

ProFessor CAroLyn herMAnOn August 22, 2009, Professor Carolyn Herman presented “What You Need to Know About Copyright Law and Literary Publishing Agreements Before You Become Rich and Famous” to the First Coast Writer’s Circle

ProFessor rebeKAh gLeAson hoPeProfessor Rebekah Gleason participated as a commenter at Lehigh University’s Education Law Symposium on June 26. She commented on remedies in the area of special education law, including the Supreme Court decision that had come down earlier that week.

ProFessor QuInCe hoPKInsProfessor Quince Hopkins represented Coastal Law as a senior faculty mentor at the Florida Faculty Forum hosted by Stetson Law School in November, chairing scholarly paper presentations by junior faculty from many law schools around the state.

ProFessor ThoMAs hornsbyOn August 17, Professor Thomas Hornsby was a guest speaker at the National Workers’ Compensation Judiciary College in Orlando, Florida. His topic was “Judicial Stress and Judicial Behavior.”

ProFessor nAnCy hogsheAD-MAKAr

Professor Hogshead-Makar was the keynote speaker November 4 at the University Club, at an event launching a new television channel (200) on Comcast focused on Olympic sports. Two Sports Law Certificate candidates, Daniel Fox and Shawn Packer, joined her.

Professor Hogshead-Makar guest lectured at the Sports Law and Economics Seminar at Arkan-sas State University, November 18th, 2009. Her lecture was entitled, “The Economics of Title IX in Intercollegiate Athletics.”

Professor Hogshead-Makar was also widely quoted in Florida Trend Sports Business article, “It’s Rough and Tumble at FHSAA; The new head of the powerful organization that regulates high school sports stepped into the job amid controversy and hasn’t been afraid of it since,” by Cynthia Barnett. The article discussed the Title IX litigation over unequal cuts to competitive schedules, Cook v. FHSAA, that cost the Association more than $100,000 to settle.

Professor Hogshead-Makar spoke at the Susan G. Komen Row for the Cure Breast Cancer Breakfast on November 20.

ProFessor roberT hornsTeInProfessor Rob Hornstein’s essay, “Teaching Law Students to Comfort the Troubled and Trouble the Comfortable: An Essay on the Place of Poverty Law in the Law School Curriculum,” was published in Vol. 35 No. 3 of the William Mitchell Law Review.

ProFessor AnDreW W. JursProfessor Andrew Jurs’ article, “Judicial Analysis of Complex & Cutting-Edge Science in the Daubert Era: Epidemiologic Risk Assessment as a Test Case for Reform Strategies,” was published in the Connecticut Law Review in November.

ProFessor John KneChTLeFrom July 10 – 12 Professor John Knechtle participated in the American & Caribbean Law Initiative’s (ACLI) Law Conference in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The title of the conference was “Dispute Resolution & Restorative Justice.” Professor Knechtle was a member of the conference organizing committee and as president and co-founder of the ACLI, spoke at the opening reception honoring Keith Sobion, co-founder and vice president of the ACLI.

ProFessor AnDreW LongProfessor Andrew Long presented as the New Scholar representing Coastal Law at the 2009 Southeast Association of Law Schools annual meeting in Palm Beach on August 3, 2009. His presentation, entitled “Biodiversity Conservation in a Time of Climate Change,” outlined a proposal for including biodiversity considerations in the mechanism to create carbon credits from avoided deforestation that was likely to be incorporated into the agreement negotiated at Copenhagen in December 2009.

Professor Andrew Long served as a moderator on the Sustainable Land Use panel of the 11th Annual Northeast Florida Environmental Summit hosted at Coastal Law on November 12. Also in November, Professor Long was invited to speak and publish in connection with the William Mitchell Law Review’s annual symposium and the 2009-10 Sea Grant Law and Policy Journal Symposium. In addition, Professor Long’s most recent publication, “Taking Adaptation Value Seriously: Designing REDD to Protect Biodiversity,” 3 Carbon and Climate Law Review 314 (2009), was among top 10 downloads in two of the SSRN subject categories.

ProFessor MArC MCALLIsTerOn November 14, Professor Marc McAllister participated in the 2009 Florida Legal Scholarship Forum on the Gulfport campus of Stetson University College of Law. Professor McAllister presented his article entitled, “Confrontation, the Disguised Witness, and Crawford’s Uneasy Tension with Craig: Does Crawford’s Literal Cross-Examination Requirement Mandate Return to a Literal Face-to-Face Requirement?”

ProFessor Lynn MCDoWeLLProfessor Lynn McDowell served as a member of a panel presentation that was one of the concurrent sessions at this month’s AALS Clinical Legal Education Conference in Tucson. The session addressed creating relevant classes for students in diverse externship placements.

ProFessor DAvID PIMenTeLProfessor David Pimentel was one of two American law professors invited to address a workshop on “Customary Justice and Legal Pluralism in Post-Conflict and Fragile Societies” on November 17-18 at George Washington University. The workshop was co-sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace and the World Bank, and included 100 individuals from 65 organizations in 30 countries, mostly legal anthropologists and rule-of-law practitioners doing post-conflict transitional justice in war-torn communities. Professor Pimentel presented his paper “Rule of Law Reform without Cultural Imperialism: Reinforcing Customary Justice through Collateral Review in Southern Sudan.”

ProFessor brAD shAnnonIn June, Professor Shannon attended the 2009 Institute for Law Teaching and Learning Summer Conference held at Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Washington. In August, Professor Shannon attended the 2009 SEALS Conference in equally beautiful Palm Beach, where he served as the moderator on panel discussion, “How to Market Your Research.”

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Professor Shannon was selected to serve as moderator of a roundtable discussion on the subject “Obtaining and Executing Casebook Contracts” at the 2010 SEALS Conference in Palm Beach.

ProFessor nAreIssA sMIThIn June, Professor Nareissa Smith was one of two women chosen to speak at the annual Women’s Breakfast during the AALS New Law Teachers Conference. The proceedings of the breakfast, along with a summary of Professor Smith’s remarks, will appear in the next newsletter of the AALS Section on Women in the Legal Profession.

ProFessor Morse TAnProfessor Tan shared his expertise on Korea with several media outlets: United Press International (UPI), Channel Four News and East-West Magazine.

ProFessor roD suLLIvAnIn a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court issued its ruling Atlantic Sounding v Townsend, in favor of Edgar Townsend, finding that punitive damages were available for the willful and wanton withholding of medical care from a seaman. Professor Rod Sullivan represented Edgar Townsend in the case. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the decision for the majority, which included Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer. The dissent included Justice Scalia, Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Alito, and Justice Kennedy.

Some legal commentators noted the unusual split among the justices, with Justices Thomas and Scalia, who frequently are in agreement, on opposite sides of the issue. Michael Barone in The Washington D.C. Examiner commented that “… at first Thomas was dismissed as a clone of Justice Antonin Scalia. But today even liberal analysts of the court concede that he has set his own course …”

The Supreme Court remanded the case to the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, for further proceedings.

Professor Sullivan addressed a meeting of the Louisiana Association of Justice in New Orleans (August 12-13) at their seminar entitled “High Stakes on the High Seas.” He spoke about the decision in Atlantic Sounding v Townsend, and punitive damages in maritime law. The seminar was attended by more than 160 lawyers, judges, and law students from Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama.

Professor Sullivan moderated the environmental panel on Industry at the 11th Annual Northeast Florida Environmental Summit held in Jacksonville on November 12. The Summit, entitled “Growing Green: Developing a Sustainable Florida,” featured speakers from the law schools at the University of Montana, Brandeis, FSU, University of Florida, Widener, and Florida International University. Other speakers appeared from FSU’s College of Engineering, CSX, the EPA, JPA, JEA, the City of Jacksonville, and Environmental Services, Inc. The Summit was organized by Professor Andrew Long.

What can attorneys do to make the first year of practice less difficult? They must find a mentor because there is no substitute for that relationship you will share with an experienced attorney. This is the person you can call when you have questions about a particular judge’s court rules, the committees to join, or what to do when sticky situations come up in the office. As a law school professor, I meet with law students on a regular basis and most chant the same mantra: “I cannot wait until I am done with law school.” In response I recount my harrowing tale as a first-year attorney and how it was tougher than all three years of law school, studying for the Bar exam, taking the exam, and then, waiting for the results, combined. There are many reasons why beginning to practice law is so difficult. It is very much like the first year of law school when students learn the legal language or legalese. The case that took an hour to review and understand during the first semester may only take a matter of minutes now. In practice, the learning curve is even steeper. Attorneys have to learn procedure in multiple court systems and to understand how the law can be applied to their clients’ problems. They also have to learn how to interact effectively with clients, opposing counsel, and the judiciary. After three years of law school, the new attorney is trying to put everything together, and the scary part is new attorneys don’t even know what they don’t know about the practice of law. How does a new attorney select a mentor? One should look for someone who is admired, respected, and professional. This person does not have to be a close friend, an attorney who practices in the same area of the

law, or a member of the same firm. New attorneys can also reach out to alumni who graduated from the same law school, or contact the local bar to find out whether a formal mentor program exists. If the local bar does not have a formal program, then the attorney should attend the meetings. There are so many people to meet; new attorneys will be surprised by seasoned attorneys’ willingness to help if they are asked. The new attorney should consider whether the mentor shares the same values because this relationship is seldom short term. In a successful mentor-mentee relationship, the mentor will be willing to take the time out of his schedule to share stories about his past

experience, to respond to the mentor’s questions, and to help the mentor network. I met my mentor at a Jacksonville Bar committee meeting and, at the time, I would have never believed my conversation with a stranger would turn into a long-term friendship. I could share at least a dozen examples of how my mentor helped me in the past, with my questions in the beginning ranging from client control to office politics. Even when my mentor did not have the answer, she was able to point me in the right direction. The first year of practice feels like a journey into the great unknown, but if you have a mentor who has been down that path, it can be so much easier to find your way.

eVeRYDaY eTHicsL e s s o n s I n P r o F e s s I o n A L I s M

FInD A MenTor. FInD your WAy.The journey of a first-year attorney begins with a guide

By Karen E. MillardAssociate Professor of Lawyering Process

i l l u s T R a T i O n B Y D a n V a s c O n c e l l O s

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FInD A MenTor. FInD your WAy. 1999

Michael Bateh became a Felony Unit Divi-sion Chief in the 4th Circuit Public Defend-er’s Office in Jacksonville, Florida.

Andy Frashuer has left the firm of Johnson and Johns, PA, after 10 years and has opened his own office, Louis A. Frashuer, Attorney-at-Law, in Jacksonville, Florida. He practices in the areas of tax controversy and litigation, estate planning, bankruptcy, probate, and elder law.

Monica Kindt has recently become the Assistant United States Trustee for Region 9 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Barry Newman was recently named co-chair of the Florida Bar Aviation Certification committee. Newman is himself a board- certified aviation lawyer and a partner at Spohrer & Dodd in Jacksonville, where he practices serious personal injury and death

claims involving products and transportation. He is also beginning his fourth year as an adjunct professor at Coastal Law.

Sanjeet Persad is entering his 13th year working as a Senior Consultant at Administar Services Group, a full-service claims administrator that handles the class action process in Jacksonville, Florida.

Cyril Toker is writing a memoir of his life as a surgical pathologist. The memoir, The Sibyl-line Books, complements his earlier fiction book about his life as a surgeon. He lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

2000

Whitney R. Lonker is practicing at the law firm of Wood, Atter & Wolf, PA. She has been practicing family law and criminal defense for the past nine years in Jacksonville, Florida. Whitney was the first attorney in the State of Florida to obtain a success-ful ruling under the new Romeo & Juilet Statute that absolves teenagers from having to register as sex offenders when they were in a consensual relationship in high school and one party was 18 or over.

Jeffrey T. Reel is currently Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of the ATP World Tour in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. He is also an adjunct professor at Coastal Law.

Carl Williams was elevated to Member status in the law firm McDonald Hopkins, LLC, located in West Palm Beach, Florida.

2001

Travers Chance was appointed Municipal Court judge in Grovetown, Georgia, on July 27. He practiced criminal defense law for seven years prior to his appointment.

2002

F. Susannah Collins practices Family Law, and specializes in Divorce Law, with David Craig Calley, PA, in the Historic Riverside/ Five Points area of Jacksonville, Florida. Susannah is also an artist and is represented by The European Art Garage Art Gallery in San Marco and has her works on display in the Courthouse Annex’s Jury Room in downtown Jacksonville. Susannah is a mother of four and a part-time soccer coach.

Kristopher D. Robinson is employed at Frazier & Frazier, Attorneys at Law, PA, in Jacksonville, Florida, where he focuses his practice on tax compliance and controversy, estate planning and administration, and succession planning and wealth transfer through business entities. He became a board-certified tax lawyer in 2008.

Liz Shaw was selected for inclusion in Law & Politics’ Florida Super Lawyers—Rising Stars Edition 2009 for health care law. Super Lawyers magazine names Florida attorneys who have attained a high degree of recognition and professional achievement as chosen by their peers and through the independent research of law & politics. A statewide survey of attorneys is conducted and only the top 5% of the lawyers nominated in more than 70 practice areas are named to the Super Lawyers list. Rising Stars names the state’s top up-and-coming young attorneys, as nominated by their peers, and only the top 2.5% of the lawyers in the state are named to the list. Liz is Florida Bar board certified in health law and was included in Jacksonville Magazine’s April 2009 feature, “Order in the Court: 200 Local Expert Attorneys.”

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2004

R. Scott Clayton was recently hired as an associate attorney at Conroy, Simberg, et. al., in the firm’s West Palm Beach, Florida, office.

Rocky L. Rinker has opened his own firm, Rocky Rinker, Attorney at Law, P.A., in St. Petersburg, Florida. His practice focuses primarily on foreclosure defense, criminal defense, and general litigation.

Jo-Anne Yau opened the Ponte Vedra, Florida, office of Wood, Atter & Wolf. With the new office opening, she will bring the trademarks, franchising, business, and civil litigation areas of her practice with her. She will also continue to serve as Magistrate in Civil Traffic Court for the 4th Judicial Circuit.

2005

Rachael Armstrong has opened Rachael Armstrong, Attorney & Counselor at Law, LLC, in Lanesville, Indiana, after serving as a legal counsel in the Indiana Department of Child Services for the past several years.

John Duffy III is practicing in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, at the firm of O’Neill & Phipps, LLC. He is engaged to alumna Abigail Scudder ‘06.

Michael Orr opened his own firm, The Law Offices of Michael Fox Orr, in Jacksonville, Florida. His practice focuses on civil and commercial litigation. Michael was previously with the defense firm of Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin.

Leland Taylor was elected President of the Young Lawyers Division of the Lee County Bar Association for 2010. He was also nominated and recently accepted membership to the Caloosa Chapter of the Inn of Courts.

2006

Gretchen Brantley recently opened her own criminal defense law firm, G.K. Brantley Law, P.C. in St. Mary’s, Georgia.

Jeffrey Brashear practices in Houston, Texas, and is the current Presiding Municipal Court Judge for Katy, Texas. He is pictured swearing in the town’s mayor on May 13, 2009.

Shelby Kellahan ‘06 was elected vice president of the South Carolina alumni chapter. She is the Law Clerk to Judge Carolyn C. Matthews of the South Carolina Administrative Law Court in Columbia, South Carolina.

Lindsay Faroni is practicing personal injury law with Schackow, Mercadante & Edwards, PA, in Gainesville, Florida.

Jeff Miller accepted a full-time civilian job with the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Texas in Corpus Christi.

Erin Moorman Pooley ‘06, Gregg Anderson ‘02, and Coral Messina ‘08 from the law firm Camerlengo & Brockwell in Jacksonville, Florida, teamed up with Maggie Jo Hilliard ‘05 of The Law Office of Maggie Jo Hilliard, PA, to host a gift and needs drive benefitting local charities during the holiday season.

Abigail Scudder is currently serving as legal counsel for the Charleston County Depart-ment of Social Services in Charleston, South Carolina. Abby was also elected president of the South Carolina alumni chapter. She is engaged to alumnus John Duffy III ‘05.

David Calevski became certified as an agent/contract advisor by the NFL Player’s Association during this past summer. In addition to his current responsibilities as associate in-house counsel for SCI, a multi-level marketing firm in Canton, Ohio, David will be working with HOF Player Representatives, a subsidiary of SCI, based in North Canton, Ohio.

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Travis Walker was recently elected Vice-President of the Port Saint Lucie Bar Association. Travis has also been selected to participate in Leadership 2010 for the Saint Lucie County Chamber of Commerce.

2007

Jessica Blackman recently relocated to West Palm Beach, Florida, within the firm of Kelley, Kronenberg, Gilmartin, Fichtel & Wander, PA. She focuses in the areas of Workers’ Compensation Defense and Federal Longshore Claims.

Scott R. Brennan opened a solo practice, Law Offices of Scott R. Brennan, in Rockville, Maryland. He focuses on estate planning, will and trust creation, elder law representation, and criminal defense.

Jesse Dreicer recently became a named partner for the firm of Tassone, Sichta, and Dreicer in a Jacksonville, Florida. The firm specializes in criminal litigation and criminal post-conviction appeals.

Alexandra “Ali” Griffin has joined the law firm of Hathaway & Reynolds, PA, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Hathaway & Reynolds, PA, is a transactional law firm focusing on real estate, corporate and lending law. Ali joins Coastal alums Heather Reynolds ‘02 and Timothy Shippee ‘04 at the firm.

Courtney Hamer was elected co-vice president of the Charlotte, North Carolina, alumni chapter. She practices family law with the Hatcher Law Group in Charlotte.

Carrie Mansfield was elected president of the Charlotte, North Carolina, alumni chapter. She was recently promoted to Assistant Admissions Director at Charlotte School of Law. Carrie chairs the Young Lawyers Division Connectivity Committee of the Mecklenberg County Bar.

Sharleen Sullivan is practicing in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the Garis Law Firm.

Since completing a post-graduate fellowship at the National Associate for Law Placement, Diane Cross recently began working at CT Corporation in Washington, D.C., as a legal consultant focusing on corporate law.

Assistant Public Defender, William (Billy) Tedford was named the Trial Lawyer of the Year by Florida 4th Circuit Public Defender, Matt Shirk ’99. Billy also received an award as a member of the office’s Exemplary Team Performance of the Year.

2008

Todd Davis recently completed a clerkship for Judge Eugene E. Siler, Jr. at the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Kentucky. Todd has relocated to Miami, Florida, where he practices commercial litigation with the law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP.

Summer Nichols is practicing family law in Jacksonville and Tallahassee, Florida, with the Law Offices of John C. Kenny, PA.

John O’Neal is employed as an Assistant State Attorney in the 3rd Judicial Circuit in Lake City, Florida, since August 2008. He recently passed the Georgia Bar exam.

Brenda Page is running for a seat in the U.S Congress for the 18th District of Texas. The District covers Houston, Texas, where Brenda currently resides with her family. Brenda is licensed to practice law in Texas and Florida. She is also a Texas mediator.

Stephanie Schaap works in the Felony Unit of the Public Defender’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit in Jacksonville, Florida.

Preston Oughton is associate with Neace & Associates, PA, the Ponte Vedra, Florida, firm of alumnus Jeff Neace ‘03. Preston recently married alumna Kat Murk ‘08, who practices with McConnaughhay, Duffy, Coonrod, Pope, & Weaver, PA. The couple lives in Jacksonville, Florida.

2009

Anna Balu recently passed the New York and New Jersey Bar examinations. She is currently working with Hudson Legal in New York City, New York.

A.J. and KiKi Grossman (both 2009) are currently working together toward their LLM in Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

Crystal Johnson is enrolled in American University under the Law and Government Program, specializing in Immigration and Policy in Washington, D.C.

Wendy Mara has joined Snell Legal in Daytona Beach, Florida. She specializes in business law.

Natalie Trolenberg is enrolled in Georgetown University’s LLM Tax Program in Washington, D.C. She is currently interning at the U.S. Tax Court with Judge Stanley J. Goldberg.

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Phillip Vogelsang has been working at the State Attorney’s Office in Duval County for more than two years.

Thomas Williams is an Assistant State Attorney in the First Judicial Circuit of Florida in Pensacola.

In Memoriam

Joseph Estwanik IV passed away peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. He was a founding partner of The Law Office of Estwanik & May in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Bill Weston, one Coastal Law’s founding faculty members, passed away on February 3, 2010. He was 63.

Marriages & engagements

Dan Armstrong ‘99 was married in November 2009 to Patti Martin. They will reside in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where Dan has practiced law for the last 10 years in his own firm, Law Offices of Dan W. Armstrong, PA.

Megan Elizabeth Richards ‘07 and L. Ford Banister, II were married on May 30, 2009. The ceremony was held at Southside Methodist Church, Jacksonville, Florida, and the reception was held in Jacksonville Beach.

Melody Davis ‘08 and Matthew Swilling were married in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 10, 2009.

Jason Foust ‘06 and Bridget Cassidy were married in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on October 31, 2009. The couple live in Sarasota, Florida, where Jason is an assistant state attorney.

Christy M. Greene ‘06 and James “Ted” Bailey were married March 21, 2009, in Riverside Memorial Park in Jacksonville, Florida. Christy is a founding attorney at Advocates for Justice, PLLC, and Ted is the supervising attorney handling nationwide receipt and distribution of title claims and corporate litigation for Fidelity National Title Group.

Preston Oughton ‘08 and Kathryn Murk ‘08 were married on October 24, 2009, at Riverside Avenue Christian Church, followed by a reception at the Florida Yacht Club in Jacksonville, Florida.

Abigail Scudder ‘06 and John Duffy III ‘05 were engaged on February 12, 2009. The wedding will be held on March 27, 2010, in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Hiberian Hall.

Laura Stevens ‘09 and Tristan Gruber were married on October 10, 2009, at St. Joseph’s Church in Detroit, Michigan.

Coral Kathryne Williams ‘08 and Brian Joseph Messina were married on May 23, 2009, at St. Andrews Lutheran Church By-the-Sea in Crescent Beach, Florida. The couple lives in Jacksonville.

births

David Azotea ‘04 and his wife Mia welcomed their second son, Austin Mitchell, on May 6, 2009. The family lives in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.

Kelsi Cottle and Nicholas Pasquale ‘08 are expecting their first child, due May 21, 2010. Kelsi and Nic were married October 10, 2008, and presently reside in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

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Michael Jordan ‘06 and his wife, Elizabeth, welcomed their daughter Jane on May 12, 2009. The family lives in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.

Jennifer Kellum Kowkabany ‘07 and husband Stephen announce the birth of their twins, Liam and Daphne Kowkabany, born November 11, 2009. The family lives in Neptune Beach, Florida.

Valarie Linnen ‘08 and her husband, David, are pleased to announce they are expecting the arrival of their first child together in April 2010. The family lives in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

Alumni Weekend 2009, our biggest turnout yet Alumni Weekend 2009 welcomed approximately 150 former Coastal Law students back to campus for a weekend packed with CLE opportunities and festivities. The weekend began with a daylong series of free CLE offerings covering topics from bankruptcy and foreclosure to the confrontation clause of the Constitution. In addition to the substantive legal topics, attendees could choose between two different tracks of classes. One track included substantive legal topics led by alumni and leading attorneys in the field, while the alternative track offered practical training in ethics and law office management and marketing. In an addition from past year’s events, students played a significant role in the Alumni Weekend. Beginning with a well-attended Student-Alumni Roundtable discussion in the morning, the students later took center

stage at a sunset Welcome Reception on the Deck. The reception offered students the opportunity to showcase and reach out to alumni from their student organizations. The organizations then became eligible for one of four $100 donations from the Alumni Association.

Alumni Weekend saw the first ever 10th Reunion class celebrate a decade of practice. Many members of the 1999 class traveled back to Jacksonville to reconnect with their colleagues. In addition to the returning alumni, a number of former faculty and staff made the trip as well. Led by the venerable Dean Donald Lively, the group also included former Coastal favorites Dean Dennis Stone and Professors Cheryl Young and Marc Summers. The 10th Reunion class warmed up for the weekend with a casual dinner at the home of Jim Farah ‘99.

Alumni from all classes capped off the weekend at the Sawgrass Marriott for a gala dinner. Jarahn Newman ’01 reprised his popular role as emcee, ushering the crowd through the evening’s multifaceted program. In addition to fine dining and socializing, attendees were treated to live entertainment from professional comedian Danny Johnson and local alumnus and comedian Kevin Loftus’ 01. The evening culminated in a moving tribute to Professor Young, who was honored by the Class of 1999 with a scholarship in her name sponsored by the class.

For pictures and a recap, see the Alumni & Friends website at www.fcsl.edu. If you missed it in 2009 – make plans to attend this year! Save the Date – Alumni Day is Friday, October 22, 2010.

Coastal Law faculty and former students at Alumni Weekend 2009.

A new online communityavailable exclusively to alumni.

connect

Are youconnected?

Find out moreon page 35.

alumni.fcsl.edu

snapsHOTsC o A s T A L L A W P h o T o r o u n D u P

Jarahn Newman, Class of 2001, with Coastal Law student Carla Adams at the 2009 Career Services Starting Line reception for 1Ls.

Judge Thomas B. Griffith, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (center), with Adam Patton and Jeffrey Brown

Eve Greenhalgh, winner of the ALWR Research Poster Competition with Rosan Larizza, Writing Specialist, and Susan Daicoff, Professor of Law.

Clarence Sydnor at the Spohrer Dodd Trial Advocacy Scholarship Competition in October.

The student organization showcase, as part of Alumni Weekend 2009.

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Coastal Law alumni and Alumni Weekend chair, Stephanie Harriett and past Alumni Association president, James E. Farah.

Adriana Pampanas at the Spohrer Dodd Trial Advocacy Scholarship Competition in October.

At the Class of 1999 dinner: Howard Royce (Class of 1999), Debi Keith, Andy Frashuer (Class of 1999), Wayne Leoug (Class of 2000)

U.S. Circuit Judge Timothy Corrigan (Center), recipient of the 2010 Justice Raymond Ehrlich Award, with Coastal Law students Amanda Nunez and Whitney Wright. Corrigan accepted the award, which honors a Jacksonville legal professional who displays professionalism, humanitarianism and integrity in the community. during a February luncheon in downtown Jacksonville.

Professor Annette Ritter, Director of Coastal Law’s Mock Trial Program, with Clarence Sydnor, Adrianne Irish, Professor Lois Ragsdale, Ruby Green, and Jaimee McDowell. In March, Sydnor, Irish, Green, and McDowell reached the final round of the 2010 Thurgood Marshal Mock Trial Competition in Boston, making them the number two Black Law Students Association mock trial team nationwide. In addition, Irish earned the Best Advocate Award at the competition.

What is your background and how did that prepare you for your work here?I am originally from Spokane, Washington, and both of my parents were dedicated educators. After receiving my Bachelor of Business Administration from Eastern Washington University I served in the United States Air Force as a communications officer. During this stint with the military, I travelled extensively and became instilled with a deep appreciation for other cultures and values. While in the Federal Republic of Germany, I witnessed history as the Berlin Wall toppled and saw firsthand the difficult reunification with the German Democratic Republic. Upon my return to the United States, I worked at the Pentagon in the National Military Command Center providing global intercontinental ballistic missile surveillance for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Luckily for me and the world, these years at the Pentagon were quite uneventful. However, living inside the Beltway did awaken an abiding interest in the law for me and led me to the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. My work with the Elder Law Clinic convinced me that my greatest accomplishments were achieved simply in the service of others. After law school I spent eight years with the United States Department of Labor adjudicating federal workers’ compensation claims. All of these experiences have equipped me to recognize and value the unique qualities that each student brings to Coastal Law. This recognition of the strength to be found in our diversity is my guiding principle working with faculty, staff and our students.

The Academic Success department develops more and more each year, how do you all continue to work so well as a team?All of the counselors, who are all licensed attorneys in good standing, bring unique experiences, training, and specialties to help students improve their performance in all aspects of law school. We have worked as a team to develop and facilitate the Law School Foundations curriculum to include developing lesson plans, presenting weekly

classes, and evaluating the progress of assigned first-semester students. Each member of our team also researches and explores an individual “specialty area” relating to academic success. The team meets on a weekly basis to discuss current issues and update the team on the status of their individual projects. This forum for open discussion provides a good opportunity to discuss any problems that have come up in the past week and to share ideas for enhancing student meetings.

What has been your greatest accomplishment since you began working here?My greatest accomplishment since I began working here is the certainty that I have had a positive impact on the lives and careers of many of our students. I am energized by the outstanding quality of our students and constantly strive to see that all are provided with a strong foundation leading to a successful legal career and a continuing relationship with their alma mater, Florida Coastal School of Law.

Q&aA C o n v e r s A T I o n W I T h C o A s T A L L A W ’ s D o u g h e L s I n g

“We are a progressive team and are constantly striving to improve our services and programs to create better prepared students who have had a successful law school career from orientation through to successful bar preparation,” Doug says. “Every day in Academic Success can bring different challenges because our office is a busy one with students, faculty, and staff constantly coming in and out seeking support and guidance. However, because we provide so many different services, each day provides different opportunities to grow both personally and professionally.”

meet Doug Helsing, a counselor in coastal law’s academic success Department, which provides students with the guidance, support, and resources necessary to achieve in law school and pass the bar exam – the first time. as a counselor, Doug’s responsibilities include meeting with students individually to implement study skills, reviewing academic performance, discussing course selection, and providing feedback on practice essays and multiple choice questions.

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alumni.fcsl.eduLook Up

ClassmatesPost Job Referrals

Explore Career Services

SubmitClass Notes

Update Contact Information

Register For Events

A new online community available exclusively to alumni.

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Coastal Connect allows you to contact and stay connected with your alma mater and each other. When you log in, you’ll be able to:

+ search for and contact your friends and classmates;+ post client/case referrals; and+ join practice area and other special networking groups.

For security purposes, all alumni must register in Coastal Connect, even if you registered in the previous alumni online community.

To get started, go to alumni.fcsl.edu and click on “Register” located on the top center of your screen. Then, follow these three easy steps:

1 Enter your last name and class year. Hit SUBMIT.

2 Select your name from the list shown. Hit NEXT.

3 Enter the last four digits of your Social Security Number. Hit VERIFY.

You will then be prompted to create a username and password to use upon future visits.

If you have any problems logging in or any questions regarding the community, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 904-256-1212.

“I practice in New York state and I had a client who needed representation for a foreclosure in Miami. I spread the word on Coastal Connect and within hours, I received several responses. Coastal Connect helped me

better serve my client by finding counsel that I could count on.” Elena Razis ‘99 | Razis & Ross, PC | Astoria, NY

8787 BaYpine ROaD

JacKsOnVille, FlORiDa 32256

WWW.FCsL.eDu

The Florida Coastal School of Law Foundation is a nonprofit organization that makes a

difference in the lives of our students and the communities where they will practice.

With financial contributions from alumni, members of the legal community, and

corporations, The Coastal Law Foundation supports scholarships and loan repayment

assistance programs that allow our students to pursue their passion for public service.

8787 Baypine Road, Jacksonville, Florida 32256904.256.1212 | [email protected]

www.fcsl.edu/foundation

Christian Lukjan, Class of 2009

Inspire.