INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF ADVOCACY
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LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR Stetson was one of the first schools to use a learning-by-doing model back when that approach was radical and non-traditional. As time passes and the new becomes mainstream, Stetson is committed to continuing to challenge existing models and offer innovative opportunities for collaboration and creativity. Our plans for the future are ambitious. They include a renewed focus on the development of effective teaching methodologies, the thoughtful integration of technology in the learning process, and the creation of meaningful advocacy training experiences outside of the classroom. Through our efforts, we strive to build on Stetson’s rich history of preparing students for practice as well-rounded and professional advocates. We look forward to working with other institutions and the newly formed National Association of Legal Advocacy Educators (NALAE) to advance creativity and innovation in advocacy teaching. Please join us at the 2021 Educating Advocacy Teachers (EATS) Conference and continue the conversation of investing in the future of advocacy teaching. -Elizabeth Boals Assistant Professor of Law and Director, Center for Excellence in Advocacy
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AWARD-WINNING ADVOCATES
Winner of the first-ever ABA Champion Award
Advocacy is our core mission at Stetson, and it shows. Since U.S. News and World Report began ranking trial advocacy programs, Stetson has been ranked in first place 22 times.
A WINNING TRADITION Stetson has a long history of supporting trial, moot court, and dispute resolution competition teams. Stetson believes that these opportunities offer the essential practical experience that helps students bridge the gap between the theoretical foundation of rules and the application of those rules in practice. Learn more here.
5 World Championships
77 National Championships
94 Regional Championships
50 State Championships
56 Brief Awards
172 Brief and Individual Advocate Awards 3
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NATIONAL ALL STAR BRACKET CHALLENGE CHAMPIONS TYLER HILLIER
KATHERINE CASTANER
HUNTER PEREZ
ASHLEIGH TAYLOR
Trial Team DIEGO NOVAES
KRISTIN S. GONZALEZ
Coaches
Stetson Law’s Trial Team is the National Champion of the 2020 National All Star Bracket Challenge! This mock trial competition featured 64 teams from across the country being placed into four regional brackets – East, South, Midwest, and West – to compete online. Each team faced off in four preliminary rounds. The top four teams from each region then faced off in a single-elimination to crown the National Champion. Stetson Law’s Trial Team finished No.1 in the South Region, and team member Katherine Castaner was named a finalist for Best Advocate in the regionals. The team went on to win the National Championship, where Katherine also took Best Advocate overall! Stetson Law alumni and Trial Team veterans Kristin Gonzalez and Diego Novaes coached the team.
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Advocacy Courses & Faculty Stetson’s advocacy courses are limited to small sections (often only 8 students) that are taught by experience litigators. No war-stories allowed here! These courses are thoughtfully planned and executed to maximize the students’ time on their feet with multiple forms of feedback and interaction between students, their professors, and peers. • 42 advocacy related courses • Two-thirds of full-time faculty teaching advocacy related courses • 65 Practitioners teaching advocacy courses • 16 Judges teaching advocacy courses
Online Advocacy LL.M. Program The Advocacy LL.M. is designed to foster participants’ development into full-spectrum legal advocates through a focus on advanced advocacy skills coupled with sound legal analysis and strategic planning. Courses cover a range of topics including Advanced Evidence, Voir Dire, Law Practice Management, and Technology Enhanced Advocacy, to name a few. The program culminates in a Capstone course that blends the advocacy components together through the development and presentation of a final project. • Flexible and engaging • Asynchronous and live online session options • In-person opportunities offered 1-2 times per year • Faculty drawn from leaders in the national advocacy community Learn more here.
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-Joseph Bodiford, J.D. ’95, LL.M. ‘14 State and Nationally Board-Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer
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There is no advocacy program like The Stetson Advocacy LL.M. As both a graduate of and now a professor in Stetson’s Advocacy LL.M. program, I can truly attest that it will unlock your potential as a trial advocate. The faculty and courses are keenly focused on the study and advancement of trial advocacy theory and practice. The engagement with others from all areas of practice is immeasurably valuable to your growth as a litigator. Programmatic experiences from the virtual classroom translate amazingly well to the physical courtroom. If you want to take your courtroom advocacy to the next level, get a Stetson Advocacy LL.M.!
A MESSAGE FROM DEAN ALEXANDRE Stetson invests in the future of our students and supports them in their goals of becoming the best advocates possible. Through numerous scholarships, Stetson alumni and the institution demonstrate that commitment. Our scholarships provide the means for hard working and meritorious students to obtain a top-notch education that focuses on advocacy and emphasizes professionalism in the practice of law. Michèle Alexandre Dean and Professor of Law
Advocacy Awards and Scholarships Through the generous donations of our alumni and friends, Stetson is able to fund a variety of awards and scholarships for students who participate in its extensive advocacy programs, including: • The Florin Roebig Outstanding Advocate Award for Dispute Resolution, Moot Court, and Trial Team • Michael P. Allen Award for Excellence and Professionalism • Ralph Harris Ferrell Competition Award • Judge John M. Scheb Excellence in Appellate Advocacy Award • The Stephanie A. Vaughan Excellence in Advocacy Award • Professor Roberta Flowers Ethics and Advocacy Award • Professor Kelly Feeley Founder’s Award • Cacciatore Scholarship in Advocacy for the Protection of the Rights of Individuals • Professor Lee Coppock Trial Team Scholarship • Joseph J. Reiter Scholarship for Excellence in Advocacy
Annual Advocacy Writing Competition Stetson supports advancement in advocacy teaching and practice through an annual advocacy writing competition. The competition is open to faculty, judges, and practitioners. Article submissions cover topics related to all areas of advocacy including trial, appellate, and dispute resolution. The winner receives an award of $2,000.00 and the opportunity to present their paper at the annual Educating Advocacy Teachers (EATS) Conference. In addition, the winner is guaranteed publication in the Stetson Journal of Advocacy and the Law. Learn more here. 7
EATS: Educating Advocacy Teachers Conference For more than a decade, Stetson’s commitment to the national advocacy community has been demonstrated through the annual EATS Conference. The overarching goal of EATS is to provide a venue for advocacy teachers to share their experiences, ideas, and initiatives for the advancement of advocacy teaching. To make this happen, Stetson brings together advocacy teachers including program directors, fulltime faculty, adjunct faculty, and coaches for three days of collaboration, networking, and training. EATS is changing to meet the interests of the national community. This year, Stetson is instituting an EATS Committee that includes advocacy teachers from across the nation to plan the EATS curriculum. Through this collaborative effort, the EATS agenda will be responsive to the diverse interests of the community. Each year at EATS we celebrate our colleagues who have distinguished themselves as leaders in our community. The 2020 award recipients are: • Rafe Forman (retired), University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law - Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Advocacy • Sara Jacobson, Former Associate Director of Trial Advocacy, Temple University Beasley School of Law - Edward D. Ohlbaum Professionalism Award Learn more here.
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Online Advocacy Resource Center Through the Advocacy Resource Center (ARC), Stetson has made online access to skills lectures and other advocacy related topics accessible and free to all. Anyone can explore this resource and access training videos, helpful skills demonstrations, and lectures. Learn more here.
The Stetson Journal of Advocacy and the Law The Stetson Journal of Advocacy and the Law was founded in 2014 and is the first online law review designed to be read online. It is a student-produced legal journal dedicated to discussing, exploring, and influencing contemporary issues related to oral and written advocacy. The journal publishes articles on all facets of advocacy, many of which are written by pre-eminent practitioners, judges, law professors, and students. Learn more here.
Oxford Comparative Advocacy Program
Stetson’s study abroad program in Oxford, England, is an intensive, two-week experience that teaches advocacy through small group workshops, dynamic and engaging presentations, and self-reflection. The program takes place on the historical campus of St. Hughes College at Oxford University. This immersive program allows Stetson to bring together advocacy professors and students from across the country and expose students to some of the differences between the practice of law in the United States as compared to England and Scotland. During the program, students have the option of focusing on international arbitration or litigation.
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INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF ADVOCACY
Sign Language Interpreter Training Each spring, the Stetson Center for Excellence in Advocacy, in conjunction with the Center for Excellence in Elder Law, along with Absolute Quality Interpreting and Hallenross and Associates, LLC host a sign language interpreter training conference. This multi-day training conference is unlike any other in the country and provides specialized hands-on sign language interpreter training in a live mock trial setting. Interpreters work through every step of a trial, including interpreting opening and closing statements, direct and crossexaminations, interpreting for a deaf witness, and interpreting jury deliberation, which involved a deaf juror. Stetson Law Trial Team students provide all of the trial simulation performances for the training. It is an amazing experience for the interpretors and the students.
Clinics and Externships
Professor Cerniglia Director of Clinical and Experiential Education
Stetson Law offers students more than 300 clinic and externship opportunities annually. With approximately 28 clinic and externship courses at 60 hosting organizations, Stetson joins a handful of other law schools across the country who guarantee that every student can participate in a clinic or externship course during law school.
Programs are designed to enhance classroom-based learning and give students opportunities to gain valuable, real-world experience while working closely with Stetson faculty. These experiences allow students to observe and participate in the application of substantive law, and find solutions to problems that confront attorneys on a daily basis. Learn more here.
Sixth Circuit Prosecution and Public Defender Clinic students - two of the state’s most historic clinic programs 10
Real World Experience in the community; students in the Local Government Clinic are mentored by City of St. Petersburg attorneys
Social Justice Advocacy Stetson Law is committed to preparing students to use their legal education to serve the public interest and to advance social justice in the public and private sectors. It is our goal to create excellent advocates both inside and outside the courtroom. Students learn to deal directly with significant social justice issues in civil or criminal law through coursework, faculty mentoring, along with pro bono service activities, experiential learning, and advanced research and writing on contemporary social justice issues. Learn more here.
Students in the Social Justice Advocacy concentration have coordinated with Fines & Fees Justice Center CoDirector Lisa Foster (first row, second from left) on research about the devastating impact that fines and fees have on indigent individuals in the state of Florida. The work was part of a national project designed to shed light on how fees and fines in our court system criminalize people with low income.
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The Social Justice Advocacy Concentration Program is just one way we are preparing our students to promote equal justice and equal opportunity in our society. Professor Judith Scully Director, Social Justice Advocacy Concentration
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-Alexis Rae Campos,‘15 Winters & Yonkers, P.A.
1401 61st Street South Gulfport, Florida 33707 (727) 562-7317 advocacy@law.stetson.edu
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I always wanted to be a litigator. So, it seemed very practical to develop my skills at a law school that was constantly being recognized for its advocacy programs. What I had not known, however, was just how invaluable the experiences and connections would prove to be. As a graduate from the Advocacy Concentration, participant of the Veterans Advocacy Clinic, and former member of the Mock Trial Team, the skills I learned at Stetson have positively contributed to the way I approach my cases, my ability to further my clients’ position (at all stages of litigation), and my practice in and out of court.