THE MAGAZINE OF THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW Fall 2005 NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID COLLEGE OF LAW TALLAHASSEE, FL FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY PERMIT NO. 55 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32306-1601 FSU LAW • WINTER 2005 PLUS • WINTER 2004 GENE STEARNS 2004–2005 ANNUAL REPORT FSU LAW Ideas into Action 1 2 442433-FSU2433-FSU LLAWAW CCOVER.inddOVER.indd 1-21-2 112/1/052/1/05 88:31:35:31:35 AMAM The Future is Bright for the The Florida State Law Network: It Works When You Work It! e have a delightful and about a lateral move, please feel free to Florida State College of Law unusual way of recruiting do so. Wtop students to our law If you are willing to serve as a Place- school. When they come to campus, ment Mentor, please let us know. A we hand them a list of the 500 of our Placement Mentor is someone who will alumni who have volunteered to serve give advice to a student interested in as Placement Mentors. We proudly tell practicing in your substantive area or in prospective students—and the world— your community. We will let you con- from the dean from the that our network of highly successful trol how often you will be contacted. If and extremely supportive alumni is one you are interested, please email Rosanna of the great strengths of our school. We or me, [email protected]. also make clear that we stand ready to If you plan to be in Tallahassee and provide cradle-to-grave job placement are willing to speak with our students, and other professional services to all our please let us know. Alumni meet with students and alumni. our students in a wide variety of set- We hope that all our alumni know tings, from small-group “Network that it is important to us to help you to Noshes” to large, panel-type discus- fi nd new lawyers when you are in the sions. hiring market, whether you are looking If you are referring legal or other at students or for lateral hires. We also business, please send it to an alum by welcome want you to know that we are delighted using either one of the two alumni di- to help our alumni make lateral moves. rectories on the “Alumni and Friends” We very much want our alumni section of our web site, www.law.fsu. involved in the life of the school in a edu. variety of ways. If you would like to have a faculty Please contact us with any job member serve as a speaker for a profes- opening you have, whether it is for sional or other voluntary association, an entry-level position or for a lateral please let me know. To get an idea of position. You can reach our Place- the range of topics on which our faculty ment Director, Rosanna Catalano, at are public experts, click on the “Faculty [email protected] or 850-644-7471. and Administration” section of our We are proud of our law school, which continues to rise rapidly We will advertise the position, whether web site, www.law.fsu.edu, and click or not you wish to come to campus to “Recent Faculty Presentations.” Many in national rankings, and excited about its future. Here’s why: interview. of our faculty are nationally or interna- If you are seeking to move laterally, tionally active as speakers and would be Our 750 students hail from 34 states, 12 countries and in the nation. We also have program strength in International please let us know. Again, Rosanna is delighted to serve in your community. 209 colleges and universities, including Brown, Harvard, Johns Law and in Business Law and Economics. the best person to contact. Among oth- We are strongest when we are pull- Hopkins, Notre Dame, the University of Pennsylvania, Princ- er things, Rosanna will help you gain ing together, and pulling together also eton, Stanford and Virginia, among others. Our job placement record is truly remarkable. Ninety- access to the Placement Offi ces of other makes things a lot more fun. nine percent of the class of 2004 was placed within nine months law schools or review your resume. If Our gifted faculty members are nationally recognized of graduation. you feel more comfortable calling me scholars, known for their interdisciplinary work in areas such as economics and law and psychology. Many of them recently have Our law school has been lauded for its diversity both by U.S. served as visiting professors at other top law schools, including News & World Report and by Hispanic Business magazine. Thanks! Berkeley, Cornell, Texas, UCLA, Vanderbilt and Virginia. Our well-connected alumni are noted members of the Our academic programs are top-notch. The U.S. bench and bar and leaders in the private and public sectors—and News & World Report rankings show us rising rapidly in reputa- they are enthusiastic about helping our law students succeed Don Weidner tion and as having the 14th best environmental law program in their careers. Dean and Alumni Centennial Chair 442433-FSU2433-FSU LLAWAW CCOVER.inddOVER.indd 3-43-4 112/1/052/1/05 88:31:49:31:49 AMAM FSULAW CONTENTS The Magazine of the Florida State University College of Law DEAN AND ALUMNI CENTENNIAL CHAIR Donald J. Weidner ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR FEATURES ACADEMIC AFFAIRS Mark Seidenfeld ALUMNI FOCUS ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ADMINISTRATION 2 Ideas into Action Stephanie Williams Gene Stearns, ’72, is a visionary who helped shape Florida’s history ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR and then built one of the most successful law fi rms in the state. STUDENT AFFAIRS Nancy Benavides 6 A Rising Star in the Colorado Legislature ASSISTANT DEAN FOR Denver Democrat Anne McGihon is making a name for herself by DEVELOPMENT fearlessly defending her convictions. Mark Pankey DIRECTOR OF 8 And the Winner Is… COMMUNICATIONS Orlando litigator Kurt Bauerle takes a top prize at the Marco Island & EDITOR Film Festival. Barbara Ash 2 PHOTOGRAPHY 10 The Change Agent Ray Stanyard Lobbyist Pamela Burch Fort has forged an impressive career in law, WRITERS public service and advocacy. Dave Fiore Barbara Ash 12 Hail to the Chiefs GRAPHIC DESIGN Three of fi ve chief judges of Florida’s District Courts of Appeal Perry Albrigo, started their law careers at FSU. Pomegranate Studio STUDENT FOCUS 20 It’s (Still) Who You Know 12 When it comes to fi nding a job, the old-fashioned way FSU Law is published still works best. by the Florida State University College of Law, and is distributed to alumni, faculty, students, staff and friends of the DEPARTMENTS College. Please send editorial contributions, including Class Action and changes of name 18 NOTEWORTHY and address to FSU Law, Offi ce of Development Alumni Profi les, Philanthropy, Events and Alumni Affairs, College of Law, Florida 26 CLASS ACTION State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306- LAW FSU 1601, e-mail: alumni@ 34 FOR THE RECORD law.fsu.edu. If you have Faculty News, Publications, and Activities a disability requiring accommodations for ■ events mentioned in 20 AROUND THE LAW SCHOOL 38 FALL 2005 FSU Law, please call the College of Law. FSU Law is also available in alternative format upon request. COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY RAY STANYARD 1 442433-01-27.indd2433-01-27.indd 1 112/1/052/1/05 99:35:37:35:37 AMAM focus alumni “My Dad considers it his greatest accomplishment that all three of his children graduated from FSU.” –Jennifer Stearns Buttrick FALL 2005 FALL 2005 Andrew Stearns, ■ ■ Class of 2003 FSU LAW FSU 2 442433-01-27.indd2433-01-27.indd 2 112/1/052/1/05 99:32:25:32:25 PMPM ALUMNI FOCUS ■ Gene Stearns Gene Stearns A Visionary Who Helped Shape Florida’s History BY BARBARA ASH lorida lawmakers of the late 1960s and early 1970s still staff to Richard Pettigrew, whose term as House Speaker began refer to those years as a period of “great intellectual en- just as Reubin Askew was sworn in as Florida’s Governor in F ergy,” a “magical time” and the “most dynamic period in January 1970. Florida’s political history.” Askew, who fi rst got to know Stearns when the former was They point with pride to landmark legislation that shaped representing Pensacola in the state legislature, said: “I was im- Florida’s future: the Constitutional Revision session of 1967 that mensely impressed with Gene, and came to rely on him and his resulted in the Florida Constitution of 1968, the 1969 reorganiza- political judgment and counsel more than just about anybody. tion of the executive branch of government, the modernization of He was a very, very bright young man, very remarkable in his the judicial branch, passage of pivotal environmental legislation political instincts.” and the restructuring of Florida’s state and local tax systems in the 1970s. ‘A Prototype of a Key leaders of the day—Reubin Askew, Richard Pettigrew, Brilliant Young Intellectual’ Marshall Harris, Sandy D’Alemberte, among others—acknowl- Askew continues to credit Stearns and a small group of edge a small group of young legislative aides whom they say were Stearns’ colleagues (including FSU alums Greg Johnson and indispensable to them as they tackled those historic issues. Among Jim Smith) for helping him become governor in 1970. “I was the members of that group of standouts—many who later rose to not seen as someone who was supposed to win. In fact, Lawton the heights of political power in Florida—was Gene Stearns, an Chiles (who was running for U.S. Senate) and I were supposed FSU law student in his early 20s who had acquired the respect to fi nish not just last, but a poor last.” and attention of powerful men.