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On Sunday, November 18, at 11 a.m., we will honor President Emeritus and Professor Sandy D’Alemberte during a statue relocation celebration at the law school. We hope you can join us as Sandy’s relocated statue is unveiled in its new home on the north side of the law school, overlooking the FSU Center for the Advancement of Human Rights. The statue was previously located outside the FSU College of Medicine, which was established in 2000 during Sandy’s tenure as FSU president. We will also hold reception on the Thompson Green and in the D’Alemberte Rotunda. This will be a wonderful opportunity to thank Sandy for his many contributions to the university and the law school, where he led as dean from 1984-1989 and still teaches. All alumni, students and friends are invited! If you plan to attend, please RSVP by Monday, November 12 to 800.788.7097 or alumni@law.fsu.edu.
- Dean Erin O'Connor
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Faculty and Alum Profile: JoLen Rawls Wolf (’76)
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Adjunct Professor JoLen Rawls Wolf is teaching Florida Family Law this semester. The course is an updated version of her Florida Dissolution of Marriage course, which she taught for more than 12 years. Wolf was an FSU Law legal writing professor for nine years before returning to private practice in an of counsel position at The Mills Firm. Before joining the FSU faculty, Wolf practiced with Gardner, Shelfer, Duggar & Bist. She also was a research assistant to the Honorable George W. Hersey at the Fourth District Court of Appeal, an assistant state attorney and a cabinet aide. Wolf is a 1976 graduate of the FSU College of Law and an active supporter of the law school. In 2009, she and her husband, the Honorable James R. Wolf, created an endowment at the law school to support the FSU Law Moot Court Team. Their endowment established the Judges John S. Rawls and James R. Wolf Intramural Moot Court Competition, named for her father and husband.
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“Having the opportunity to teach at FSU law school, my alma mater, is extraordinarily rewarding. I love interacting with the bright and curious students, talking with the outstanding professors, sitting on moot court panels, and simply being a part of life at FSU Law. I am grateful that I can give back to the law school that formed the basis of my journey as a practicing attorney and law professor.”
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Alum Profile: Gina G. Smith (’87)
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Gina G. Smith is an executive senior attorney with the Florida Department of Financial Services, Office of the General Counsel, False Claims & Criminal Law Unit. She supervises the unit, which provides legal advice to the department's law enforcement and public assistance fraud divisions, and assists in the investigations and prosecution of false claims actions involving the State of Florida. Smith previously was a partner at Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP in Tallahassee for 17 years, where she specialized in first-party property coverage matters, focusing on claims involving suspected insurance fraud. Her career also includes positions as assistant statewide prosecutor for the Office of the Attorney General, assistant general counsel at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and an assistant state attorney at the Office of the State Attorney, Second Judicial Circuit. Smith remains very engaged with the College of Law and serves on our Board of Visitors. She recently made an additional $25,000 gift to the law school to support the existing Gina Gutru Smith Endowment for Excellence.
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“My legal education and student experiences at FSU College of Law have served me quite well during my 30-plus years of practice. That is why I am so committed to helping FSU Law continue in its successful quest to be the top law school in Florida and one of the best in the nation.”
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Student Profile: 3L Amy Bhatt
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Desired Practice Location: Tampa Bay area preferred, but open to any area
Expected Graduation: May 2019
Field of Law Sought: Judicial clerkship; also interested in consumer protection, criminal law and appellate practice.
Originally from Clearwater, Amy Bhatt will graduate from the FSU College of Law in May 2019. Thanks to the Early College Program, Bhatt had the unique opportunity to be a full-time college student after 10th grade. This allowed her to simultaneously earn her high school diploma and an associate's degree from St. Petersburg College. She then completed a bachelor's degree in paralegal studies from St. Petersburg College one year later. This spring semester, Bhatt will work as a certified legal intern for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office. She is currently clerking for the Florida Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, where she evaluates class action settlement notices and researches legal issues related to price gouging in violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Last summer, Bhatt was an American Bar Association Janet D. Steiger Fellow and worked for the Florida Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division in Tampa. She was selected from more than 200 applicants across the U.S. to be the fellow for Florida. During her 2L year, Bhatt was selected from more than 180 applicants for a legislative internship with the Florida House of Representatives. Working with the Judiciary Committee, Bhatt analyzed the fiscal and economic impact and constitutionality of proposed bills. The summer after her 1L year, Bhatt interned for the Honorable Elizabeth A. Kovachevich of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, where she drafted over 35 dispositive orders for the judge’s review and signature. Bhatt is the two-term editor-in-chief of the Florida State University Business Review. She is also a senior staff editor of the Florida State University Law Review. Bhatt is a brief writer for the Moot Court Team and her negotiations team will be travelling to North Carolina in November to compete in an employment law negotiation competition. Bhatt also is the book award winner for Legal Writing & Research I and Administrative Law. If you are interested in hiring Bhatt after graduation, visit her LinkedIn profile.
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“I am so grateful for my time at FSU College of Law. Not only did being in the heart of Florida’s capital allow me the unique opportunity to be able to work in all three branches of government, but the law school itself has been a wonderful place to learn from some of the best professors in the country and make life-long friends. As my time in law school comes to an end, I’m excited to use the skills I’ve acquired over the past three years in the next chapter of my life!”
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