Lawyer - Stetson University College of Law

f r o m t h e D e a n
Our students as leaders
An important part of the College of Law’s mission statement is to
train students “to become outstanding lawyers and leaders who serve
the profession and society.” I’m proud to say that many of our students
have accepted this challenge and have already made great strides toward
becoming future leaders in both the legal profession and greater community.
Four years ago, the College of Law created the Leadership
Development Program. As part of this voluntary program, students attend
a variety of programs to supplement their mastery of legal doctrine and
skills. Recent sessions have included “Managing Staff and Being Managed,”
“Appreciating Diversity in the Workplace,” and “Effective Personal Life/
Professional Life Balance.” Past programs also have focused on conflict
resolution in the workplace, networking skills, dining etiquette, and professionalism
in the courtroom. To date, almost 200 graduates have earned
Leadership Development Certificates, and the number of students who opt
to participate in the program increases each year.
This past summer, we piloted a new program that we hope to soon
include as part of each student’s educational experience. The Summer
Professionalism Series is based on the American Inns of Court Model;
students in a particular entering class are divided into small groups and
are assigned a faculty member and an upper-level student as mentors.
Each week, the students and their mentors meet during lunch, and one
group is responsible for presenting the program and leading a discussion
on the assigned topic. This summer’s topics included “Classroom
Civility and Etiquette,” “Conflict Resolution,” “Communication,” “Diversity,”
“Interviewing Skills,” and “Professional Reputation.” The students gained
wonderful insights, strengthened their collaborative skills, and honed leadership
skills as part of this unique program.
For the past 15 years, Stetson students have also been leaders in
the American Bar Association’s Law Student Division. Due to our students’
strong commitment, Stetson has won the ABA Law Student Division’s
Award of Excellence on multiple occasions. Recent graduates Justin
Hosey, Andrew Chiang and Brian Redar held national leadership positions
within the organization. These graduates and others have inspired current
students to seek significant leadership positions within the American Bar
Association.
Louis Brown III serves as 5th Circuit governor in the ABA Law Student
Division, following in the footsteps of many other Stetson circuit governors.
With more than 4,500 students, the 5th Circuit is the largest in the Law
Student Division, representing all law schools in Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
Mississippi, Puerto Rico and Tennessee. In addition, Stetson students Lisa
Only and Evan Raymond serve as lieutenant governors for the circuit.
At the national level, several Stetson students have been appointed
as liaisons to other ABA groups: Chris Hart, ABA Standing Committee
on Judicial Independence; Korey Henson, Senior Lawyers Division;
Vilma Martinez, Standing
Committee on Legal
Assistance for Military
Personnel; Shanda
Moyers, Commission on
Homelessness and Poverty;
and Karla Reyes, Criminal
Justice Section, Sentencing
Committee. Shanda, who also serves as Stetson’s representative to the ABA
Law Student Division, was selected through a competitive process to work
on homelessness issues this summer as an unpaid intern with the ABA’s
Commission on Homelessness and Poverty in Washington, D.C. Through
our new Summer Law and Policy Internship Program in Washington, we are
able to award Shanda academic credit for her good work.
Finally, rising 3L Chris Sprowls has been elected chair of the American
Bar Association Law Student Division. When Chris assumes office in August,
he will be the primary spokesman for the 52,000-plus members of the
ABA Law Student Division. For Chris, this position is the latest in a long
list of impressive accomplishments. In recent years, Chris has served as a
legal intern for the Chief Republican Counsel at Committee on Homeland
Security, a legislative intern in Florida Senate, and has held leadership positions
in many statewide political campaigns.
Our students also shine in other realms. For example, 2L student
Bradley Bodiford, has been selected as one of Florida Governor
Charlie Crist’s 11 Gubernatorial Fellows. Jay Delaney, as you will read
more about later in the magazine, is an award-winning movie producer.
And May 2008 graduate Callie Weed has been selected to receive the
Student Professionalism Service Award from The Florida Bar’s Center for
Professionalism.
The wonderful thing that is our students’ desire to serve continues
well after graduation. For a school of our size, we have a disproportionate
number of alumni who have served as leaders of bar associations and
other professional organizations, held elective and appointed public office,
served as managing directors and officers of their law firms, built successful
businesses like HSN co-founder Roy Speer (see page 22) and sat on the
boards of various civic organizations.
To our student and alumni leaders: We are very proud of you. You
epitomize the best of Stetson Law!
Darby Dickerson
Vice President and Dean
s t e t s o n Lawyer