Archive for 'FIU College of Law'

FIU Law Professor J. OseiTutu presented her current scholarship at the ASU Conference on the International Aspects of IP Law held on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. The global conference, sponsored by the Center for Law, Science & Innovation and the Center for Law and Global Affairs at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, together with the American Society of International Law and the International Law Association (American Branch), was attended by experts on international intellectual property from South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and across the United States.

As part of a panel on intellectual property enforcement, OseiTutu focused her presentation on counterfeit medicines and intellectual property rights.“Through multilateral and bilateral trade-related treaties we have seen increased intellectual property rights, and a trend towards a greater role for governments in enforcing these private intangible rights, rather than leaving it to the rights holders,” she said. Using counterfeit medicines as an example, she continued by advocating greater transparency in the discussions relating to increased government enforcement of private intellectual property rights.

Read More →

Third-year law student Andrea Canona will begin her law career as a law clerk through the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Honors Program, the largest and most prestigious federal entry-level attorney hiring program.

“When the Department of Justice informed me that I had been selected I was ecstatic, and frankly, a bit surprised,” Canona said. “The selection process is very competitive and I feel very fortunate to be in this position.”

Selections to this prestigious program are made based on several elements of a candidate’s background including a demonstrated commitment to government service, academic achievement, legal aid and clinical experience, leadership, and extracurricular activities that relate to the work of the DOJ.

Read More →

Professor M.C. Mirow has recently been appointed to serve another five-year term on the Editorial Board of the Law and History Review, the official peer-review journal of the American Society for Legal History.

Law and History Review, published by Cambridge University Press, is internationally recognized as the leading journal in the field and examines the history of law from ancient to modern times. The journal’s purpose is to further research in the fields of the social history of law and the history of legal ideas and institutions. The Review features articles, essays, commentaries by international authorities, and reviews of important books on legal history.

Read More →

FIU Law Professor José Gabilondo, was recently appointed to the Membership Review Committee of the Association for American Law Schools (AALS), the non-profit educational association of law schools whose purpose is “the improvement of the legal profession through legal education,” according to the association’s website.

The committee evaluates applications for membership from law schools to determine if they comply with AALS requirements for teaching, scholarship, and faculty governance.  This appointment grew out of his work on site visit inspections of the American Bar Association (ABA) and membership review inspections of the AALS.  He also participates in training other faculty who participate in accreditation.

This marks Gabilondo’s second appointment to an AALS committee this year. He was also appointed to the AALS Audit and Investment Committee, which participates in the oversight of the Association’s financial practices and organization.

Read More →

Pictured, from left to right: Judge Andrea R. Wolfson, Senator Rene Garcia, Senator Dwight Bullard, and Senator Oscar Braynon.

MIAMI, FL  -  On Nov. 27, the FIU College of Law hosted a local swearing-in ceremony in honor of the 2013-2014 Miami-Dade Delegation.

Judge Andrea R. Wolfson, of the Miami-Dade County bench, administered the oath of office to 24 members of the Florida House and Senate.

Read More →

Pictured, from left to right: Igor Hernandez, Jose Lorenzo, Megan Mackintosh, Caridad Garcia, Alejandro Carrasco, Denita Jones, Gregory Pierre, and David Baroff. Not pictured: Saulo Perez.

The FIU Law Trial Team recently won second place at the Hon. E. Earle Zehmer Memorial Mock Trial Competition held in Tampa and sponsored by the Florida Justice Association.

The squad composed of Alejandro Carrasco (3L), Denita Jones (3L), Saulo Perez (4L), and Gregory Pierre (4L) demonstrated powerful legal storytelling and entered the championship round as the lone undefeated squad out of a field of 14.  Along the way, these student-advocates defeated perennial powerhouse Stetson University, Nova Southeastern University and the University of Miami, before being edged out by the University of Florida in the finals.

Read More →

Pictured from left to right: Coach Matthew L. Baldwin, Coach Anthony C. Hevia ‘07,  Joseph P. Glace (3L), Nisha Mohammed (3L), Marc Schmulian (4L),  Julian V. Stroleny (4L), Professor H. Scott Fingerhut, and Professor H.T. Smith.

This past weekend in Washington, D.C., the FIU Law Trial Team – composed of students Joe Glace (3L), Nisha Mohammed (3L), Marc Schmulian (4L), and Julian Stroleny (4L) – won first place at the 16th Annual National White Collar Crime Mock Trial Invitational, sponsored by Georgetown Law and the Georgetown University Law Center Barristers’ Council.

From 20 of the top trial advocacy programs across the country, the FIU Trial Team won all five rounds in the competition, defeating the University of Houston, Fordham University, and Barry University in the preliminary rounds. They entered the semi-final round undefeated and as the second-ranked squad, where they defeated the University of Houston once again, and then William & Mary in the final round.

This year’s tournament featured allegations of straw contributions, illegal money orders, a mayoral campaign, and the candidate’s alleged honest services fraud in accepting a bribe to change her position to favor a casino referendum on the same ballot.

Read More →

In a recent article by The Florida Bar News, Megan E. Davis features FIU’s LawBridge Program, which combines elements from a medical school residency and a business school entrepreneurial incubator into a two-year program for recent graduates who have passed the Florida Bar Examination.

FIU’s LawBridge gives graduates a hand up

By Megan E. Davis

In January, half a dozen new law school graduates hung their own shingles and opened practices in an office suite on Brickell Avenue in the heart of Miami’s financial district.

Less than a year later, all six firms are operating in the black, but that’s not all, said Alex Acosta, dean of Florida International University’s College of Law.

Thanks to the school’s LawBridge program, the young practitioners are also becoming well-versed in ethical and professional standards central to practicing law and in their responsibilities to the public as members of the profession, he said.

Traditionally, new law school graduates take jobs with established law firms or clerkships with judges to learn those skills not taught in law schools — how to actually practice law and run a firm, said Tony Santos, the director of the LawBridge program.

But many of those opportunities for new lawyers have dried up in the past two decades, and the economic downturn has accelerated that trend in recent years, he said.

Read More →

Pictured above, from left to right: Natalie Marcell (3L) and Bryan Belenson (3L).

The FIU College of Law Board of Advocates (BOA) hosted the American Bar Association (ABA) Southeast Regional Negotiation Competition this past weekend, where a FIU Law team took first place.

The competition, which had a total of 24 teams from five states, ended in dramatic fashion on Sunday morning, with a three-way tie among teams from FIU Law, the University of Georgia School of Law, and Stetson University College of Law. Following the ABA tie-breaking rules, FIU Law students Natalie Marcell (3L) and Bryan Belenson (3L) emerged as champions.

Read More →

Honorees in the Photo (from left to right): Judge Beatrice Butchko, Alexandra Bach Lagos, Esq. and Laura K. Wendell, Esq.

The FIU Women’s Law Society hosted its Networking Event Celebrating Women in Law on Nov. 1, 2012 at Kork Wine & Cheese in downtown Miami.

The Women’s Legal Society, which strives to connect and motivate future women lawyers to excel within the legal field, honored Judge Beatrice Butchko and Alexandra Bach Lagos, Esq. for their outstanding accomplishments in the legal community and constant support of FIU Women’s Law Society.

Judge Butchko presides over civil cases in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida and Alexandra Bach Lagos, Esq. is the immediate past president of Miami-Dade Florida Association for Women Lawyers.

Read More →