|
|
|  |
Charter class members, Professor Ehrhardt and Dean O'Connor at the 50-Year Alumni Brunch
| |  |
Dean O'Connor (center) with alumni award recipients (L-R) Debby Kearney (’81), Jim Douglass, Jr., Curt Kiser (’70) and Mary Pankowski (’01) at the Alumni Reunion Reception
| |
| | |
|  |
Class of 2009 members (L-R) Judge Jessica Costello, Dave Gillis, John Cary, Will Hall and Raju Vyas at the Law Alumni Tailgate Party
| |  |
Approximately 400 alumni, students and friends attended the Law Alumni Tailgate Party
| |
| | |
This past weekend we celebrated our alumni during Homecoming 2019 festivities. It was a pleasure to see many familiar faces and to meet others in person for the first time! Honoring alumni is always a highlight of Homecoming for us and 2019 has been especially meaningful because we are celebrating the golden anniversary of our Class of 1969’s graduation. On Sunday, we paid special tribute to charter class members during a 50-Year Alumni Brunch at the Longmire Building, which was home to the law school until 1971. In addition to reconnecting with classmates over brunch, Class of 1969 members were able to spend time in the classroom where they took all of their classes and view memorabilia from their days as students. The event also featured remarks by class member James Harold Thompson (’69), Professor Emeritus Chuck Ehrhardt, who taught the charter class, and FSU President John Thrasher (Dec. ’72). Photos of this event and others are available online.
At Friday’s Alumni Reunion Reception, we honored our 2019 alumni award recipients. S. Curtis “Curt” Kiser (’70) received the Distinguished Alum Award, which recognizes a Florida State University law school graduate who is distinguished professionally and who has rendered outstanding service to the community and to our College of Law. We presented the Alumni Association Service Award to Mary L. Pankowski (’01) for rendering distinguished service to our College of Law over an extended period of time. Our Class of ’66 Award was presented to James R. “Jim” Douglass, Jr., thereby inducting him into the Class of 1966 to commemorate the year that we opened our doors. This award recognizes a non-Florida State University College of Law graduate who has rendered distinguished service to our law school and to the community. Finally, we honored Deborah “Debby” Kearney (’81) with the Exemplary Public Service Career Award, which recognizes a Florida State University College of Law graduate who has dedicated their career to public service and who has demonstrated exceptional character, integrity, humility and professionalism, as well as the highest regard for ethics. I hope you will join me in congratulating our award recipients and our charter class members on the 50-year anniversary of their graduation!
- Dean Erin O'Connor
| |
Faculty Profile: Nathan Wadlinger
| |
Nate Wadlinger is an adjunct professor teaching Financial Statements Interpretation this semester. He is also an assistant lecturer for the FSU College of Business, an adjunct lecturer at Boston University School of Law, where he teaches tax courses, and the lead instructor of the Enrolled Agent Exam at Gleim Publications. Wadlinger’s areas of expertise are individual and business federal income taxation, tax research and writing, and tax aspects of buying and selling a business. Wadlinger’s scholarship has been published in a variety of legal and financial journals and he is a regular presenter for The Florida Bar Tax Section and other CLE and CPE programs. Wadlinger is currently a staff tax accountant for Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. CPAs. He previously worked as a staff attorney/court program specialist for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida in Port St. Lucie. Wadlinger holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting, as well as a J.D. with an Estates and Trusts Certificate, all from the University of Florida. He also holds an LL.M. in taxation from Boston University, where he graduated first in his class.
| |
“I really enjoy teaching and making dull subjects more interesting. In my tax and accounting courses, including the FSU Law courses, I use costumes to make the subject more fun and lively. These costumes also help students remember tax and accounting themes essential throughout the course. For examples of how I use costumes in the classroom, check out photos the College of Business featured earlier this year.”
| |
Alum Profile: Bailey Howard (’17)
| |
Bailey Howard is a judicial clerk for the Honorable Mark Walker, chief judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. He previously served as a staff attorney for Justice Jorge Labarga of the Supreme Court of Florida from August 2017–July 2019. During law school, Howard worked at Gunster in Tallahassee and Wicker Smith in Fort Lauderdale, and served as a judicial extern for the Honorable M. Casey Rodgers, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. He is a member of the Appellate Practice Section of The Florida Bar and the First District Appellate Inn of Court. Howard remains engaged with the law school and volunteers his time as a coach for the Moot Court Team, for which he was a Final Four competitor as a law student member. He also volunteers at Alaqua Animal Refuge in Walton County, Florida.
| |
“Through externships, academic programs and community engagements, FSU Law connected me with rewarding professional opportunities and gave me the resources I needed to succeed. A good law school prepares you to be an attorney, but a great law school—a school like FSU Law—prepares you to thrive as an attorney.”
| |
|
Student Profile: 3L Caitlin Harden
| |
Desired Practice Location: Tallahassee or surrounding areas, including rural communities
Expected Graduation: May 2020
Field of Law Sought: Family law, contract review, or various areas of civil litigation
Originally from Lamont, Florida, Caitlin Harden earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a minor in philosophy and religion studies from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. She will graduate from FSU Law in May 2020. From May 2019 to October 2019, Harden clerked at Thompson, Crawford & Smiley, where she participated in all aspects of family law cases, including drafting pleadings, trial preparation and research on complex issues. During the spring semester of her 2L year, Harden participated in the FSU Public Interest Law Center Gender and Family Justice Clinic. She conducted family law workshops for women in the local jails and prisons, and conducted client intake for family law issues such as divorce and paternity. Harden also participated in Alternative Spring Break in Apopka, Florida, where she learned more about the challenges facing migrant farmworker communities. During the fall semester of her 2L year, Harden volunteered as an intake specialist for the Legal Aid Foundation. The summer after her 1L year, Harden externed for Legal Services of North Florida, where she worked primarily on domestic violence and family law cases, performing client intake and assisting attorneys with trial preparation. Harden is an FSU Law Preeminent Scholar. She serves as a student ambassador for the FSU Law Admissions Office and is a member of the Black Law Students Association, where she served as member-at-large chair during her 1L year. Harden is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the William H. Stafford American Inn of Court. If you are interested in hiring Harden after graduation, visit her LinkedIn profile.
| |
“From giving birth to my daughter during 1L year to now, FSU Law has supported me in my journey to being the first lawyer in my family. I feel confident that I am ready to walk across the stage, knowing that I have become a driven and passionate advocate for my future clients.”
| |
|
|
|
|
