Attention All Students! Attend Miami-Dade FAWL’s Annual Speed Mentoring Event

Mark your calendars and please join us on October 27, 2015 for Miami-Dade FAWL’s highly regarded Annual Speed Mentoring Event.

UM law students are invited to the sixth annual Speed Mentoring Event, which will be held on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 at Shook, Hardy & Bacon’s Miami office located at 201 S. Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 3200, Miami, FL 33130, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The event provides a fun-filled, low-pressure environment for law students to connect with highly respected lawyers and judges who practice throughout South Florida.

Modeled after “speed dating,” the Speed Mentoring Event gives law students the opportunity to meet with judges and attorneys in five-minute intervals to seek advice or simply get to know that practitioner.  The Mentoring Committee will subsequently pair students with mentors based on preferences expressed by the participants and the similarities between a student’s interests and the mentor’s practice area(s). Members from the judiciary and lawyers from within the public and private sectors have participated in large numbers in past years. Register for the event before Friday October 23, 2015 using this link.

RSVP by Friday, October 23, 2015 to Ari Amar via email.

 

Drinks and appetizers will be served.

Jameson Crane III Disability and the Law Writing Competition

Thomas Jefferson School of Law is pleased to announce the second Jameson Crane III Disability and the Law Writing Competition. Made possible by the generous gift of Thomas Jefferson School of Law alumnus Jameson Crane III, this competition seeks to encourage outstanding student scholarship at the intersection of law and medicine, or law and the social sciences. The competition promotes an understanding of these topics, furthers the development of legal rights and protections, and improves the lives of those with disabilities. Submissions will be judged anonymously by an independent panel of experts.

For further details, please consult the competition webpage.

Who Can Participate:  Currently enrolled law students, medical students, and doctoral candidates in related fields who attend an accredited graduate program of study in the United States.

What Topics:  Any topic relating to disability law, including legal issues arising with respect to employment, government services and programs, public accommodations, education, higher education, housing, and health care.

What is the Deadline:  By Midnight (Pacific Standard Time) on January 15, 2016.

Where do I submit:  Electronically here.

What Do I Win:   $1,500 cash prize and Thomas Jefferson Law Review (TJLR) will consider the paper for publication under the TJLR’s editorial standards.

Two second place winners will each receive a $1,000 cash prize.  (Preference for these additional winners will be given to submissions from disciplines not represented by the grand prize winner.) 

When Are Winners Announced:  April 15, 2016.

QuestionsProfessor Susan Bisom-Rapp.

 

This Week at the CDO (Week of September 28, 2015)

Tuesday, September 29, 2015:

  • Nuts & Bolts Application Workshop 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m., Law Campus Room A-110 – Workshop designed to provide an overview of the different types of judicial clerkships and the application processes.

Michael Weiner Scholarship for Labor Studies

All Major League baseball players, through the Major League Baseball Players Trust, honor the life of former MLBPA Executive Director, Michael Weiner, through the “Michael Weiner Scholarship for Labor Studies.”   This scholarship seeks to recognize and support the efforts of graduate and/or law students dedicated to improving the lives of workers, by awarding up to five $10,000 scholarships annually.

To be eligible for an award, individuals must be graduate or law students enrolled in an accredited educational institution in the United States or Canada and must have a demonstrated interest in, and wish to make a career out of, working in the labor movement and on behalf of workers’ rights. To receive an award, eligible candidates must meet a combination of criteria identified below:

  • A superior academic record
  • Demonstrated commitment to the labor movement
  • A strong recommendation from an academic or a labor/workers’ rights practitioner
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills

Preference will be given to those who can demonstrate financial need through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) scores or otherwise.

Scholarship applications are being accepted through Monday, November 2, 2015.

Each student selected as a Michael Weiner Scholarship for Labor Studies recipient will receive a $10,000 scholarship. Up to five awards will be presented annually, and the winners will be notified in February 2016.

For more information, please click here to visit the website.

 

K&L Gates Public Interest Fellowship Program of the K&L Gates LLP Fund 2015 – 2016 Application Guidelines

The Pittsburgh Foundation and K&L Gates LLP are proud to offer the K&L Gates Public Interest Fellowship Program. The fellowship was established in September 1999 to offer law students the opportunity to assist public service organizations located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2016, the program will award one successful candidate a fellowship that enables them to spend eight weeks of their summer working at Neighborhood Legal Services Association.

Neighborhood Legal Services Association is a private, non-profit Pennsylvania corporation established in 1966 to provide free legal services in civil cases to low-income people. The program serves the residents of four counties in Western Pennsylvania. The program’s mission is to meet the civil legal needs of the poor and vulnerable in our community through effective legal representation and education. For more information, please visit the website.

In 2016, the fellowship recipient will be paid a stipend of $1,000/week (less applicable taxes) for his or her public interest service. All stipend checks will be made payable to the student and mailed to Neighborhood Legal Services Association.

To be considered for a fellowship award, candidates must complete and submit an application on or before October 16, 2015.

Subject to the approval of the Board of Directors of The Pittsburgh Foundation, an Advisory Committee will recommend the fellowship winners based upon academic merit, demonstrated commitment to public service, other information provided through the application process and interviews with finalist candidates. Family members of Advisory Committee members are not eligible for this fellowship. The Pittsburgh Foundation will notify chosen fellowship winners of its decision.

For a copy of the application materials, please visit the K&L Gates website or contact your advisor at the CDO.

 

2015-2016 Beveridge & Diamond Constitutional Environmental Law Writing Competition

Organized by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and The National Association of Environmental Law Societies (NAELS):

The U.S. Constitution has long been interpreted by judges and understood by most Americans to support comprehensive environmental protection. However, arguments questioning the constitutional legitimacy or application of environmental law continue to be made. ELI and NAELS invite law students to submit papers exploring current issues of constitutional environmental law. This annual writing competition is made possible through the generous support of Beveridge & Diamond PC, one of the premier environmental law firms in the nation.

THE BEVERIDGE & DIAMOND CONSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW PRIZE: The author of the article deemed best by a panel of judges will receive $2000 cash, an offer of publication in the Environmental Law Reporter, and a one-year individual membership to ELI.

TOPIC: Any topic addressing developments or trends in U.S. environmental law with a significant constitutional, “federalism,” or other cross-cutting component.

ELIGIBILITY: Students currently enrolled in law school (in the U.S. or abroad) are eligible, including students who will graduate in 2016. Any relevant article, case comment, note, or essay may be submitted, including writing submitted for academic credit. Jointly authored pieces are eligible only if all authors are students and consent to submit. Previously published pieces, or pieces that are already slated for publication, are ineligible.

DEADLINE: Entries must be received no later than 11:59 pm ET on Monday, April 4, 2016. Please email entries (and any questions) to Talia Fox. You will receive a confirmation of receipt by email.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

Cover page. This separate page must include the following information:

Title;

Author’s name, year in law school, and expected graduation date (to facilitate impartial judging, the author’s name and law school must NOT appear anywhere else in the entry, other than on this cover page);

Law school name and address;

Author’s permanent and school mailing addresses, email address, and phone number (IMPORTANT: indicate effective dates for any contact information that is subject to change);

Abstract (limited to 100 words) describing the piece; and

Certification that the article has not been published and is not slated for future publication (while authors may submit their articles to other publishers or competitions, acceptance for publication elsewhere will disqualify an entry from further consideration).

Format. Submissions may be of any length up to a maximum of 50 pages (including footnotes), in a double-spaced, 8.5 x 11-inch page format with 12-point font (10-point for footnotes, single-spaced). Citation style should conform to the Bluebook. Submissions must be made by email attachment in Microsoft Word format, with the cover page as a separate attachment.

CRITERIA & PUBLICATION: The prize will be awarded to the student work that, in the judgment of our reviewers, best advances the state of scholarship and informs the debate on a current topic of constitutional environmental law. ELI reserves the right to determine that no submission will receive the prize. While only one cash prize is available, ELI may decide to extend multiple offers of publication in the Environmental Law Reporter. For more about ELI, including the results of past writing competitions, please visit the website.

Welcome to Our “Coffee Connectors” Program!

We are pleased to introduce you to our Coffee Connectors Network, created to provide law students with opportunities to connect with Miami Law alumni across the country. Through our network of alumni, you can connect with a diverse group of attorneys, learn about different practice areas and ultimately better transition from law school into practice.

With more than 18,000 alumni worldwide, the Miami Law alumni network is an amazing resource – professionally and personally.  Click here to view the Coffee Connectors Network.

We hope you will take advantage of this great resource and pay it forward when you join our distinguished group of Miami Law alumni.

 

This Week at the CDO (Week of September 21, 2015)

Monday, September 21, 2015:

  • Young Alumni Career Panel 12:30 p.m. – 1:50 p.m., Law Campus Room F-309 – A panel with young alumni to discuss career opportunities beyond on campus interviews. The event is being sponsored by CDO and the Alumni Office. For further information contact Brenda Louard in the CDO.

Thursday, September 24, 2015:

  • Career Opportunities in Real Property, Probate and Trust Law 12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m., Law Campus Room A-110 –For further information contact the CDO.

Monday, September 21, 2015 through Friday, September 25, 2015:

  • Fall Recruiting Program Continues

 

 

The American Bar Association, Section of Intellectual Property Law (ABA-IPL) is Now FREE to Law Students!

The American Bar Association, Section of Intellectual Property Law (ABA-IPL) is now FREE to law students. Any law student can sign up for five Sections free of charge in addition to free ABA membership. Please share this news and the links below with your law school students who are interested in intellectual property law. Some of the many benefits that law students will receive when they join the Section include:

Below are some links of interest:

The Council of School Attorneys (COSA) Invites Law Students to Attend its 2015 School Law Practice Seminar in Miami, Florida

The Council of School Attorneys (COSA) cordially invites local law students to attend its 2015 School Law Practice Seminar in Miami, Florida on October 22-24, 2015. The School Law Practice Seminar draws attendees from across the U.S. and Canada and is specifically designed for attorneys who represent public schools.

This in-depth Seminar allows school attorneys the unique opportunity to dive into substantive issues, to discuss shared challenges, and to grow in their practice. Law students are invited to learn from leaders in the field of school law and participate in interactive discussions on hot school law topics.

Students considering a career in school law can meet and interact with current school lawyers at the seminar. The practice of school law allows unique and rare opportunities to advise and litigate fascinating areas of the law including constitutional issues like search and seizure, free speech, and due process.

To learn more and to register, please visit this website.