NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID TALLAHASSEE, FL PERMIT #55 FLORIDA STATE LAW Inside O’Connor Named Dean Alumni Recognitions News & Events ALUMNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2016 Message from the Dean Ending a Great Year and Beginning a New Era with Dean O’Connor! This has been a year of many of their remarkable careers. I know that they retire with the outstanding student successes. Our respect, thanks and admiration of tens of thousands of people. successes in advocacy competitions As of the end of June, I end my time as dean. I will be on and on the Job Placement front lead a two-semester sabbatical and then will return to the faculty the way. to teach. I could not transition out on a happier note—by In terms of advocacy, this past passing the baton to our extraordinary new dean, Erin year, our Mock Trial Team won first O’Hara O’Connor—she was everyone’s first choice! She is place in two national Mock Trial a first-class scholar, a proven administrator and a wonderful Competitions! In the process, our person. Erin is currently the Milton R. Underwood Chair in teams defeated teams from some of Law and director of graduate studies for the Ph.D. Program the nation’s top schools. Similarly, this spring, two BLSA in Law and Economics at Vanderbilt Law School. She will teams won the BLSA regional competitions both in Moot begin serving as our Dean in July. Erin has been teaching at Court and in Mock Trial. Vanderbilt Law School since 2001. She is a noted scholar in On the job placement front (the most important area from several areas, including conflict of laws, arbitration and the my point of view), we are the #1 law school in Florida in terms law market. She served as associate dean for academic affairs of the percentage of 2015 graduates employed 10 months after for Vanderbilt Law School from 2008 to 2010. She has been graduation in full-time, long-term, bar passage-required or active in law reform, serving as an advisor to the American J.D.-advantage jobs (according to American Bar Association Law Institute’s Restatement of the Law Third, Conflict of data made public in April). Those are a lot of qualifying words Laws. She received her J.D. magna cum laude from George- to narrow the focus to the jobs our students most want: full- town, where she was a senior articles selection editor on the time jobs for which a law degree is required or preferred. The Georgetown Law Journal. Upon graduating from law school, 2015 graduates themselves deserve special congratulations and Erin clerked for Chief Judge Dolores K. Sloviter, of the United thanks! Each and every one of them had to seize his or her States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She also has own opportunity. But thanks also go to all the alumni who experience teaching at other law schools, including George brought job possibilities home to Florida State, and to Rosanna Mason, Georgetown, and Northwestern. I am so looking Catalano and Nathan Moon, for heading up an outstanding forward to her arrival! placement office. Special thanks go to the alums who served on the Search On a very related note, over the years, our very wonderful Committee, namely Mark Ellis, John Frost, Sean Pittman, alums Nancy Daniels and Willie Meggs have led their offices Tom Spulak, Gene Stearns, Vicki Weber and Florida State’s to do more than their share of hiring (and inspiring) our stu- General Counsel Carolyn Egan. dents and our graduates. Our thanks go to them for keeping It has been an honor to have served the school for 40 years, the law school close to their hearts! More broadly, they deserve 15 as a faculty member and the last 25 as dean. I look forward all our thanks for the wonderful service they have performed to a sabbatical year and then to returning to my role as a full- for our community over the many years of their dedicated and time faculty member. Thank you all so very, very much for distinguished service. This issue tells just a piece of the stories all your kindness. Don Weidner Dean and Alumni Centennial Professor Table of Contents Contents DEAN AND ALUMNI CENTENNIAL PROFESSOR Features Donald J. Weidner ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS Alumni Focus Manuel A. Utset, Jr. ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR 2 Nancy Daniels: Passionate Public Servant STUDENT AFFAIRS Nancy L. Benavides ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR 4 Willie Meggs: Leaving a 50-Year Legacy PLACEMENT Rosanna Catalano 6 Alberto Dominguez: An Inspired Leader ASSISTANT DEAN FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS 8 Matt Rearden: Janeia Daniels Ingram ASSISTANT DEAN FOR Making A Splash at SeaWorld ADMINISTRATION Catherine J. Miller Faculty Focus ASSISTANT DEAN FOR DEVELOPMENT Jeanne B. Curtin 01 A Q&A with Professor Erin Ryan DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI AFFAIRS & ANNUAL FUND 12 A Q&A with Professor Steve Johnson Becky B. Shepherd DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DEPARTMENTS Christi N. Morgan 14 Noteworthy PHOTOGRAPHY Bill Lax Dean O’Connor, Alumni Profiles, Philanthropy, Events WRITERS 24 Class Action Christi N. Morgan Alumni Notes Rachael Seitz Katie Plaia 38 For the Record GRAPHIC DESIGN Faculty News and Notes Perry Albrigo, Pomegranate Studio 46 Around the Law School College of Law News Please send editorial contributions, including Class Action submissions and changes of name and address to Office of Development and Alumni Affairs, College of Law, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1601, e-mail: [email protected]. SPRING 2016 1 Alumni Focus Nancy Daniels: Passionate Public Servant By Christi N. Morgan courtroom defending clients, Daniels has been able to help her constituents by teaching other attorneys how to get the best results for their clients. “I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to hire many very talented and hard-working lawyers over my 26 years and to work with colleagues that are absolutely top-notch, including a lot from Florida State.” In addition to employing graduates of the College of Law, multiple law students work at the Public Defender’s Office each semester through FSU’s externship program. Daniels also has made a huge impact through programs she helped create that allow many people to obtain much needed treatment for a variety of issues. She was instrumental in the creation of juvenile drug courts, adult drug courts and a mental health court. Most re- s a reporter for the Jacksonville ida for 26 years. She was first elected to cently, Daniels was part of a team that Journal covering a high-pro- the office in 1990 and was re-elected for implemented a veterans’ court. Afile death penalty case, Nancy six additional terms. Daniels realized In addition, much of Daniels’ work Daniels was drawn to criminal law. early in her first term that although she for the past two-plus decades has Although she thought journalism would loved trying criminal cases and getting revolved around legislative advocacy. be her life-long profession, Daniels the “best possible result” for her clients, From her downtown Tallahassee office, applied to law school after her editor that could not be her first priority. Daniels has a clear view of the Florida remarked that Daniels had a strong “When I first started, I labored under Capitol. aptitude for legal issues. While studying the misconception that I could do both “I review all of the substantive bills at the Florida State University College substantial amounts of case work and that deal with criminal practice, and of Law, Daniels loved her classes in the the management of the office,” said also bills dealing with mental health area of criminal law and during her first Daniels, who served for six years as an issues and juvenile issues,” said Daniels legal job – clerking at the First District assistant public defender in the same of her legislative work on behalf of the Court of Appeal – she gravitated to office she now runs. “I quickly learned Florida Public Defender Association. criminal cases. that I couldn’t do both responsibly, so I She prepares background information Daniels’ passion for her practice area focused on the administrative respon- on bills, testifies on legislation and has fueled her service as public defender sibilities.” attends countless legislative meetings. for the Second Judicial Circuit of Flor- Although she is not often in the Daniels will do some legislative work 2 FLORIDA STATE LAW Alumni Focus “Daniels” continued from page 2 “It pains me deeply that so many people don’t have a for the association in 2017, but the 2016 legislative session was Daniels’ last as good opinion of public defender lawyers – people in the public defender, as she will retire from general public as well as clients. Within the court system, office at the end of this year. we are well respected, but unfortunately, the media “I have aging parents that I don’t get portrayal of public defenders has given us a very poor to spend as much time with as I’d like to, and a desire to do some traveling and street credibility and it’s not only painful, it’s damaging more recreational activities than I have because the average client starts with the assumption time to do now,” said the 1977 College that they’re not getting a very good lawyer.” of Law graduate. “But I don’t intend to retire entirely from law and from legislative work. I intend to do some, with them and gradually got to see that and give constructive critiques on their what I call, ‘justice projects.’ One goal they weren’t being taken care of and performances and I loved that.” I definitely will try to satisfy is to work they were hungry.