Miami Law News Headlines: April 2012

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Miami Law Student Argues Immigration Case in Federal Appeals Court

(Posted: 04-30-12) Brittany R. Young, a member of Miami Law's Immigration Clinic, recently argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on behalf of one of the clinic's clients. Young, a third-year student, appeared under a new rule that permits law students to appear in certain cases as long as they are supervised by an attorney. "I believe that Brittany is the first student to argue before the court," said Rebecca Sharpless, Assistant Professor of Clinical Education and the Immigration Clinic's director.

Students Urge Officials in D.C. to Stop Deportations to Haiti

(Posted: 04-27-12) Students from Miami Law's Human Rights and Immigration Clinics traveled recently to Washington D.C. as part of their ongoing advocacy for a halt to deportations from the United States to Haiti. The deportations were resumed in January 2011 despite worsening post-earthquake conditions in Haiti and protests from the United Nations Independent Expert on Human Rights in Haiti and other UN bodies.

Student Activists Say Local Law Unfairly Targets Pit Bulls

(Posted: 04-26-12) Representatives of the Miami Coalition Against Breed Specific Legislation spoke out recently at Miami Law against a law that bans pit bulls and similar dogs from Miami-Dade County.

Knowledge as a Tool in Human Rights Activism; India's Poor Agitate for Equality, Justice

(Posted: 04-25-12) Global economists use the term "India rising" to describe the economic boom among India's middle class, part of the growing financial power of the second most populous country in the world.

Miami Law Hosts Visitors from Middle East and North Africa

(Posted: 04-24-12) Miami Law's Professional Responsibility & Ethics Program will be hosting visitors from the Middle East and North Africa on Wednesday. The visit is part of the International Visitor Leadership Program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in coordination with World Learning.

Syria Crisis Examined at Miami Law; Failure of Diplomacy Leads to Calls for Intervention

(Posted: 04-24-12) Inspired by the so-called Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and elsewhere, a few Syrian kids last year scrawled some graffiti calling for freedom from oppression. For their pains, they were arrested, tortured and mutilated. In the outrage that followed, their deaths gave birth to an insurrection that has become a brutal civil war.

Diversity Fellowship Awarded to Miami Law's Jennifer Jumbo-Davis

(Posted: 04-23-12) A second-year Miami Law student, Jennifer Jumbo-Davis, has won a paid summer internship in the Fort Lauderdale office of Becker & Poliakoff, as well as a $5,000 tuition scholarship from the firm toward her last year in law school.

Visiting Jamaica, Caribbean Law Class Ponders Terrorism

(Posted: 04-20-12) Three Miami Law students from Adjunct Professor David Rowe's Caribbean Law class recently visited Kingston, Jamaica, as part of an independent study project.

Death Penalty Clinic Fellow to Work on Death Row Cases

(Posted: 04-19-12) After graduating in May from Miami Law, Jessica Houston, a Death Penalty Clinic Fellow, will begin working as an attorney for the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel for the South District Region.

Miami Law Mourns Passing of Judge Margarita Esquiroz, JD '74

(Posted: 04-18-12) Judge Margarita Esquiroz, who graduated with cum laude honors from Miami Law in 1974 and became Miami-Dade's first female Cuban-American judge, died on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. She was 67.

Entertainment & Sports Law Society Goes All Out for High-Profile Event

(Posted: 04-17-12) When time came to pick a location for the Entertainment and Sports Law Society's annual symposium, Jason Sosnovsky, the group's president, had a novel idea. Instead of holding the event on campus, as in years past, ESLS would host it in a new, much higher-profile location: the Miami Marlins' new home, Marlins Park.

When Diplomacy Fails: Syria's Dilemma

(Posted: 04-17-12) For more than a year, Syrians have gathered every day, mostly peacefully, to demand democratic reforms. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has responded with brutal force, attempting to silence the protests with a military crackdown of almost unimaginable ferocity.

Miami Law Students Recognized by 'Who's Who Among Students'

(Posted: 04-16-12) Thirteen Miami Law students were recently named for inclusion in the prestigious listing Who's Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges.

Students Provide Ethics Training For Legal Community

(Posted: 04-16-12) Students from Miami Law's Professional Responsibility and Ethics Program recently presented three CLE ethics training sessions for working attorneys. Housed under the Center for Ethics and Public Service, the PREP program allows law students to travel to bar associations, legal services organizations, government agencies, law firms and corporations in South Florida to provide customized education in ethics.

Nonprofit Organizations To Benefit From Pro Bono Clinic

(Posted: 04-13-12) Miami-area attorneys will provide free legal advice to local nonprofit organizations on Monday at the University of Miami School of Law.

Human Rights Clinic Fights For Gender Justice

(Posted: 04-13-12) In back-to-back trips last month to Washington D.C., four student members of Miami Law's Human Rights Clinic – along with the clinic's director, Professor Caroline Bettinger-López – pressed their advocacy of issues surrounding gender equality and justice.

Miami Law Professors Weigh In On Trayvon Martin Case

(Posted: 04-12-12) The arrest of neighborhood-watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the killing of an unarmed teenager in Sanford, Fla., has prompted widespread debate about the appropriateness of the second-degree-murder charge against him and his chances of conviction, a discussion in which University of Miami law professors are playing a significant role.

Malpractice and Liability at Heart of Professionalism Session

(Posted: 04-12-12) There are many interests at stake in the matter of lawyers' liability, and the University of Miami School of Law's Center for Ethics and Public Service offers a variety of opportunities for lawyers and law students to help educate the legal community about professional responsibility and ethics, as well as legal malpractice issues that could arise. The law school also offers courses aimed at cultivating professionalism and dedication to ethics in the legal community.

Miami Marlins and Miami Law Join Forces for Symposium

(Posted: 04-11-12) Co-hosted by the Miami Marlins in their new ballpark, a symposium Saturday organized by the Entertainment and Sports Law Society at the University of Miami School of Law will feature officials from the Miami Marlins, the Miami Dolphins, the National Football League, the Florida Panthers and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, as well as attorneys, academics, executives and other representatives of the entertainment and sports industries.

Passing of the Gavel: Students Assume the Responsibility of High Office

(Posted: 04-11-12) Many things signal the end of the academic year at Miami Law: increasingly hot weather; inescapable urges to hit the beach; frantic scrambling for the perfect outline; extreme exhaustion at the mere thought of studying for exams.

Judge A. Jay Cristol's Gift Supports Bankruptcy Clinic

(Posted: 04-10-12) Never mind that he's an octogenarian – Judge A. Jay Cristol has not remotely begun to slow down. At 82, he maintains a full calendar in his downtown Miami courtroom, and after 27 years on the bench, still finds bankruptcy law fascinating.

How to Handle a Nuclear Iran

(Posted: 04-06-12) Israel and the West claim that Iran seeks to enrich uranium, a crucial step in developing a nuclear bomb. The Iranians counter that the sole purpose for their nuclear program is to provide domestic energy. To address some of the key issues underlying the current situation in Iran, the University of Miami School of Law hosted a panel this week to examine the legal implications of a preemptive military strike by Israel against Iran.

The Future of Law: Nimbleness, Dexterity, Change

(Posted: 04-06-12) A shopper in London picks up milk, butter and eggs – and legal advice – during a trip to the grocery store. A multinational Internet technology company invests millions in a startup that gives consumers the tools to handle legal matters with no human interaction whatsoever. In some countries, you don't even have to be a lawyer to own a law firm.

Carolyn Lamm Named 'Lawyer of the Americas' by Inter-American Law Review

(Posted: 04-05-12) Former American Bar Association President Carolyn B. Lamm has been named "Lawyer of the Americas" by the Inter-American Law Review, published by the University of Miami School of Law. A Miami Law alumna who graduated in 1973, Lamm was formally bestowed the title at the law review's 30th annual banquet, held at the Coral Gables Country Club.

Students' Documentary Probes History of Coconut Grove School, Segregated Community

(Posted: 04-03-12) Without any of the trappings of a Hollywood premiere, a documentary made by University of Miami law students in the Historic Black Church Program's Oral History Project had its first public screening at a Coconut Grove school that is at the heart of the film's real-life story.

PREP Provides Ethics Training to Caribbean Bar

(Posted: 04-02-12) Michael Greenfield, Matan Sheier and James Lechter, three student interns in Miami Law's Professional Responsibility and Ethics Program, recently presented a CLE ethics training session for the Caribbean Bar Association. Under the supervision of Jan Jacobowitz, PREP's director, the students discussed some of the ethical implications of using social media in the practice of law.

Alumni Clinch Victory for Autistic Children

(Posted: 04-02-12) Two Miami Law graduates, Betsy Havens, JD '11, and Monica Vigues-Pitan, JD '03, last week helped autistic children win a major courtroom victory. In a ruling on March 26, U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard ordered the State of Florida to immediately begin providing coverage for a psychological program called applied behavioral analysis, designed to improve the behavior, language and cognitive development of autistic children.

Judge Adalberto Jordan, "Extraordinary" Miami Law Graduate, Elevated to Appeals Court

(Posted: 04-02-12) It was a "really happy occasion," Miami Law Dean Patricia D. White said, as she and a distinguished gathering of lawyers, academics, friends and a half-dozen federal judges celebrated Judge Adalberto José Jordan's ascension to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Judge Jordan, who graduated summa cum laude from Miami Law in 1987, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in February by a 94–5 vote after being nominated to the appeals court last year by President Obama.