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If you haven’t already made plans to join us for 2019 Homecoming Weekend, you still have time to register as there are five weeks until festivities commence. Our annual College of Law Alumni Reunion Reception will take place on Friday, October 25, from 6-9 p.m. The event is being sponsored by Jim McConnaughhay (’69) and McConnaughhay, Coonrod, Pope, Weaver & Stern P.A., and will take place at the firm’s Tallahassee office. We are looking forward to honoring our 2019 alumni award recipients that evening. The following day, we will host our Alumni Association Board of Directors Meeting and Alumni Tailgate Party at the law school. Times for both events will be determined once the time of the Syracuse vs. FSU football game is announced. We always look forward to seeing many friendly faces and their family members at the tailgate. A special addition to this year’s events is the 50-Year Alumni Brunch on Sunday, October 27, from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., where we will celebrate the Charter Class of 1969 and their 50-year graduation anniversary. More information about these and other events, including class reunions, is available on our website. You can also register for events online. We look forward to celebrating Homecoming with you next month!
- Dean Erin O'Connor
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FSU Admissions Blog Serves As Resource for Prospective Students
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This summer, the FSU Law Admissions Blog featured a Summer Spotlight series, where FSU Law student ambassadors wrote blog articles about their summer experiences. The articles covered topics including clerking for the Houston Bar Association president, working in the Chicago public defender’s office, interning with the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., interning for the Florida Senate Democrats, interning with Navy JAG Corps, and interning with NFL Films in Philadelphia. Other spotlights were about networking and recharging after the 1L year.
As prospective students go through the admissions cycle and become admitted students, the Admissions Blog gives them an insider look—from the law student perspective—into life in Tallahassee, the FSU College of Law and what law school is like in general. Last year, student ambassadors covered topics such as Tallahassee trails and fitness, navigating law school as a parent, transitioning from a small undergraduate institution to a large university, taking a gap year, Tallahassee local hot spots and more. If you know anyone considering law school, please encourage them to visit the FSU Law Admissions Blog.
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Alum Profile: Arielle H. Demby Berger (’06)
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Arielle H. Demby Berger recently joined the Broward State Attorney’s Office as an assistant state attorney, leading Broward County’s Conviction Review Unit. Prior to her new role, she was an assistant attorney general and special assistant statewide prosecutor in the Office of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and previously served as an assistant state attorney for the Broward State Attorney’s Office. In addition to her vast criminal trial experience, Demby Berger has multi-faceted litigation experience in dissecting issues concerning all aspects of healthcare fraud. In June, Demby Berger published an article, “Modern Day Crime: Fraud,” in the Broward County Bar Association Barrister. She is a graduate of The Florida Bar’s Leadership Academy and is currently serving on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Three of Florida’s four official conviction review/integrity units are led by FSU Law alumni.
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“We are on the cusp of great change in the criminal justice arena and I am honored to play a small part in that,” said Demby Berger about her new role. “I remember when I first started at the State Attorney’s Office right after law school. We were told that we ‘wear the white hat,’ and that philosophy has always resonated.”
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Student Profile: 3L Hana Bilicki
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Desired Practice Location: Florida, Washington D.C. or Dallas-Fort Worth area
Expected Graduation: May 2020
Field of Law Sought: Government law or tax law; open to practicing in other areas as well
Hana Bilicki is a third-year law student from Melbourne, Florida. A double ’Nole, she graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Florida State University. She will graduate from FSU Law in May 2020. During the first part of her 2L summer, Bilicki clerked for the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in Washington, D.C, the chief oversight committee of the U.S. Senate. There, she drafted committee reports, prepared for congressional hearings, tracked legislation and conducted policy analysis. During the second part of the summer, Bilicki served as an honors intern in the Office of Professional Responsibility at the Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she assisted in conducting internal adjudications of alleged employee misconduct. During her 2L year, Bilicki was a Florida Gubernatorial Fellow (Class XIV) and worked at the Department of Economic Opportunity. Bilicki collaborated with staff to incorporate state and federal regulations to develop and implement disaster recovery efforts of approximately $1.4 billion in federal funding. She also participated in key stakeholder meetings and worked with local governments to support communities in recovery in the areas of housing, infrastructure and economic revitalization. During the summer after her 1L year, Bilicki clerked at the Office of General Counsel, Executive Office of the Governor, where she conducted legal research and drafted memoranda regarding legal issues that arose in the operation of the executive branch of Florida. She also supported attorneys who served as chief legal advisors to the governor and assisted the governor with judicial appointments. Bilicki is currently an executive editor of the Florida State University Law Review and vice president of the Tax Law Society. She was a research assistant to Professor Mark Seidenfeld and is currently a teaching assistant for the Juris Master Program’s Legislation and Regulation course. Bilicki also received Book Awards in Contracts and Criminal Law. If you are interested in hiring Bilicki after graduation, visit her LinkedIn profile.
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“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at FSU Law, largely due to the high-caliber professors and staff, collegial students and supportive alumni. I will always be grateful for the unique legal opportunities that being a student here has given me.”
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