Archive for 'Laverne Pinkney'

Pictured (l to r) are Cindy McKenzie, CEPS Program Manager; Jan Jacobowitz, Lecturer in Law; Laverne Pinkney; Anthony Alfieri, CEPS Director; and Ebonie Carter, CEPS Administrative Assistant.

The University of Miami School of Law’s Center for Ethics and Public Service recently honored Professor Laverne Pinkney with the 2013 Friend of the Center Award, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the Historic Black Church Program’s Community Education Project.

The Historic Black Church Program is part of the Center’s ongoing effort to help Miami’s distressed Coconut Grove Village West community by providing multidisciplinary resources in education, law, and social services to underserved residents.

During the award presentation, Pinkney was praised as a wonderful role model and motivating teacher. The value of the collaboration she created between the Florida International University College of Law and the University of Miami School of Law, was also praised.

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In December of 2012, the FIU Family and Education Law Clinic filed three State Complaints with the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) against the Miami-Dade County School District.

The complaints, lead by Visiting Assistant Professor Laverne Pinkney, were filed on behalf of three siblings alleging violations of State and Federal Law pertaining to children with disabilities or suspected of having a disability.

Fourth year law student Doreen Rubio, former Staff Attorney Ilana Bonan, and law school Graduate Assistant Sandra Eschaverry assisted Pinkney with the complaints.

In a decisive victory for the clinic, the FDOE, Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services recently issued a Finding of Noncompliance against the School District on March 1, 2013.

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By Martin Haro

Eight law clinics are currently operating within the College of Law at FIU. There, law students are not only gaining hands-on experience in many areas of practice but also improving the lives of their fellow community members. In this first part of a two-part story, we tell you about some of the cases handled by the Consumer Bankruptcy Clinic, the Environmental Law Clinic, the Family and Children’s Advocacy Clinic and the Immigrant Children’s Justice Clinic.

When Peggy Maisel joined the faculty of the College of Law in 2003, she did so with a clear goal in mind: to establish a flagship clinical program that provides students with hands-on experience outside the classroom.

In August 2004, Maisel and former College of Law Professor Troy Elder launched the inaugural law clinic, the Carlos A. Costa Immigration and Human Rights Clinic. Currently, there are eight clinics and a ninth is being planned to work on behalf of veterans.

About 45 percent of FIU Law students work in a clinic before graduation. Through the end of the 2011-’12 year, the students had provided more than 27,000 hours of free legal services to approximately 400 individuals, groups and organizations. That is equivalent to a court-approved value of more than $2 million in free legal services, exclusive of faculty time.

“We are very much a law firm focusing on educating the next generation of lawyers through close supervision of law students as they practice for the first time and provide policy advocacy and community education throughout Miami-Dade,” said Maisel of the clinics, which primarily serve underprivileged individuals and nonprofits that must meet a certain threshold to receive services.

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MIAMI (February 2, 2012) – Under the supervision of Professor Laverne Pinkney, staff attorney Ricardo Rodriguez ‘10 of the Family and Children Law Clinic  successfully argued a case before the Third District Court of Appeal on behalf of a 12 year old child whose express wishes were to be with her mother.

The clinic argued that the Court must consider the express wishes of a child who is old enough and capable of expressing them. In a decision handed down on February 1, DM and BA vs. DCF, the Court reversed a termination of parental rights holding against the mother (BA) and affirmed as to the father (DM).  The court found no clear and convincing evidence that the rights of BA, a survivor of domestic violence, should be terminated because she was improving with treatment, having positive interactions with her children, and because expert testimony showed that it takes about a year for therapy for domestic violence victims to work.

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