Archive for 'FIU College of Law'

Aston Wilson Jr. ’05 , JD ’11

Aston Wilson Jr., who received his Juris Doctor from the Florida International University College of Law in 2011, has opened his own law firm, Aston Wilson, P.A. Mr. Wilson also graduated from Florida International University with a B.A. in Political Science and as an Honor College graduate.

Wilson recently discussed his career path and what it’s like to be a sports agent and a criminal defense attorney.

Did you always want to be a sports agent? What about that career appealed to you?

I am actually a criminal defense attorney and an NFL Agent.  When I was young I participated in every sport, baseball, basketball and football.  I always knew I would be a lawyer but my first dream was to play a professional sport.  After playing football at FIU and attempting to play in the NFL I decided that I could become a lawyer and still be involved in sports by becoming an agent.

Most people think agent and they think “Show me the money!” but what appealed to me about becoming an agent was the ability to use my law degree and still be involved with sports.  My mother and father raised me on sports, I was basically born in a major league baseball park, I have just always loved sports.  As for law, I am not sure what the deciding factor was for me at eight years old, but I always wanted to go to law school.

Read More →

MIAMI (March 12, 2013) – In the U.S. News & World Report’s 2014 edition of Best Graduate Schools, the Florida International University College of Law has risen to 105 among top law schools – up from 113 last year, an eight point rise.

In just four years, FIU Law has ascended from unranked (below 150), to 132, to 113, to their present ranking of 105. This represents an increase of more than 44 spots since 2009.

At 105, FIU Law is tied with long-established schools such as Mercer University, Texas Tech University, and Wayne State University.

Read More →

Workplace bullying panelists: (l to r) Kerri Stone, Susan Harthill, and David Yamada. Photo courtesy of David Yamada.

Kerri Stone, associate professor at Florida International University College of Law, recently presented at the “Bullying: Redefining Boundaries, Responsibility, and Harm Symposium.” The symposium, sponsored by the Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review, was held on Feb. 23, 2013, at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia.

Over twenty leading scholars and advocates addressed the phenomenon of bullying in a variety of different venues, including K-12 education, higher education, the workplace, and senior living environments.  The symposium featured a keynote address by Emily Bazelon, senior editor at Slate, and author of Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy (Random House 2013).

Read More →

FIU Law Review Editor-in-Chief Courtney Walter (on left) and Executive Symposium Editor Erin Auble introduce the panelists.

Why is there a strong presence of women in higher education, but the highest positions of power and prestige in law firms and corporations are still occupied by men?

In the following op-ed that appeared in the March 3, 2013, edition of the Miami Herald, FIU Law Professor Peggy Maisel makes the case that Medicaid expansion is the right thing to do in Florida.

Florida should agree to Medicaid expansion

by Cheryl L. Holder and Peggy Maisel

Fifty-year-old Miami-Dade County resident Mr. G worked every day. “I have always provided for my family,” he says proudly. Unfortunately, his job provided no health insurance and he and his wife could not afford to pay for the family plan at her job.

When he started losing weight and feeling weak, he went to a Broward County hospital ER where, with a white blood cell count near 1,000,000 and golf ball sized lymph nodes, he received the diagnosis of Stage IV Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. The hospital stabilized his condition and discharged him to continue care in Miami–Dade County.

With no health insurance, he then waited one month for an appointment in the Jackson Clinic and even longer to see an oncologist, both of which worsened his prognosis from 72 months (stage 1) to 19 months (stage IV)

Read More →

Pictured above: Professor George Knox leads the participants through a series of exercises.

On Feb. 27, 2013, the FIU College of Law Center for Professionalism and Ethics, together with The Florida Bar Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism, hosted a symposium at the FIU College of Law titled Professionalism Matters.

At the event, led by George Knox, director of non-litigation advocacy programs within the Center for Professionalism and Ethics, and with contributions from various guest speakers, participants explored the fundamental ideals and values that underlie the meaning of professionalism. The event was ultimately designed to provide the tools and motivation that stimulate personal and professional growth and development.

Read More →

(Pictured from left to right are Professor Rifkin and Professor H.T. Smith, Director, Trial Advocacy Program.)

The Trial Advocacy Program recently recognized Abbe Rifkin on her fifth year as an adjunct professor teaching Trial Advocacy for the Florida International University College of Law.

Since 1981, Professor Rifkin has served proudly as an Assistant State Attorney in the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, currently as Chief of the Sexually Violent Predator Unit and Senior Trial Counsel in the prosecution of the County’s most complex and high profile homicides.

Read More →

The Honorable José M. Rodríguez, Circuit Judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida leads a mock class for local high school students.

It is never too early to provide young students interested in the law with support at the FIU College of Law. On Feb. 25, the college hosted its annual DiscoverLaw High School Visit Day for four local high schools: Hialeah Law Academy, Coral Reef Senior High, Law Enforcement Officers Memorial High, and COPE Center North.

With over 100 high school students from underrepresented and diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds in attendance, students were exposed to the various aspects of a legal education.

The program, held in the Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall, featured a video presentation from current law students discussing why they chose to attend law school; a mock class taught by the Honorable José M. Rodríguez, Circuit Judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida; an interactive law student panel; and a tour of the building with current law-student ambassadors.

Read More →

Alexander Kopf will be joining the Florida International University College of Law as a visiting researcher from Feb. 20, until July 19, 2013. He will be working with Professor Hannibal Travis.

Mr. Kopf holds a first degree in law focusing on commercial and intellectual property law from Friedrich-Schiller-University in Jena, Thuringia, Germany.  He is currently a doctoral candidate at Martin-Luther-University in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany studying the cross-border enforcement of domain claims.  Mr. Kopf’s research will focus on the legal aspects of U.S. domain law, examining the different possibilities and requirements for jurisdiction and enforcement of claims.

The cross-border enforcement of domain-claims deals with the relation of national jurisdiction and international arbitration Systems for Domains (UDRP and ADR) for the enforcement of trademark and name right related claims against the infringing use of domains. Mr. Kopf will give special consideration to how the problems resulting from the territorial character of protection rights can be avoided by arbitration panels. The related issues of international jurisdiction the cross-border enforcement demand a detailed analysis of intellectual property and international procedural law.

This past Monday, the FIU College of Law marked the 17th anniversary of the attack by the Cuban Air Force on two small, unarmed civilian aircraft, by hosting a vigil for the victims’ families and friends.

Four men — three of whom were United States citizens — were shot down and killed by Cuban fighter planes on Feb. 24, 1996, while flying over the international waters of the Florida Straits. Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales, flying with the Brothers to the Rescue organization, were on a volunteer mission to spot potential rafters at sea.

Read More →