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Originally Posted On: https://law.fsu.edu/faculty/adjunct-faculty

 

The College of Law is proud to offer an unusually rich set of course offerings taught by adjunct professors. These instructors, though not on the regular faculty of the law school, bring a diversity of experiences and talents to the school and a very high degree of professional accomplishment and expertise.

Spring 2022

Erica Bartimmo is a member of Jabil’s Global litigation team. She is a creative problem solver, legal strategist, and committed advocate. She provides high quality legal advice and litigation support to a leading provider of worldwide manufacturing services and solutions currently ranked No. 121 on the Fortune 500® with 200,000+ employees in 29 countries. Prior to joining Jabil, Bartimmo was a member of Holland & Knight’s Litigation Section, where she represented multinational corporations in a broad range of complex commercial litigation. Before joining Holland & Knight, Bartimmo served as a law clerk to a federal judge in the Middle District of Florida. She will be teaching Discovery Skills this spring.

Tim Bass will teach Space Law this semester. He has served as the assistant chief counsel for NASA-KSC Launch Services Program since 2009. Prior to that,  Bass was a law clerk for NASA. Bass earned his J.D. from the University of Mississippi in 2009.

David Bedingfield will be a visiting professor from the United Kingdom. He will be teaching Immigration Law and Comparative Family Law. Bedingfield has published extensively both in the UK and in the USA, where he previously practiced before moving to the United Kingdom in 1990. He was appointed a recorder in 2009, and sits in family, civil, and criminal cases. His textbook, “The Child in Need: Children, the State and the Law,” was called an “essential purchase for child care professionals.” Bedingfield has developed courses in advocacy techniques and has lectured extensively regarding international movement of children, the adoption and placement of abused children, and human rights in the family law context.

The Honorable Stephen Brown will teach Jury Selection this semester. He recently retired after serving for twenty one years as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Florida, the last three as the Chief United States Magistrate Judge. Prior to that, he was a partner in a Miami law firm where he was a civil trial lawyer for nineteen years. He has taught a Trial Advocacy Program at the UM Law School, CLE Courses, and has spoken before bar associations throughout the United States and overseas.

Tristin Brown will be teaching Bias Law & Policy at the College of Law. Prior to becoming the Policy & Program Director at PPP, Brown was an associate counsel at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. She first joined the committee as the Small, Webber, Spencer Litigation Fellow of the Georgetown Women’s Law & Public Policy Fellowship Program. Tristin graduated summa cum laude from Florida A&M University with a B.S. in public relations and earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. At Georgetown, Tristin was the president of the Black Law Students Association, a public interest fellow, student ambassador, and online editor and special projects chair of the Georgetown Journal of Law & Modern Critical Race Perspectives. She was also recognized as a Pro Bono Pledge Honoree and Dean’s Certificate recipient for her special and outstanding service to the Law Center community and elected by her peers to represent her class as a 2019 student commencement speaker. Additionally, at Georgetown, Brown represented clients in the DC Superior Court as a student attorney in the Domestic Violence Clinic.

Gio Bush received his undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida and law degree from Florida State University College of Law. While in law school, Bush served as the editor-in-chief for the Journal of Transnational Law & Policy and was a member of the Florida State College of Law Moot Court Team. Additionally, he served as a judicial intern for the Honorable George S. Reynolds, III of the Second Judicial Circuit of Florida and received the Distinguished Pro Bono Service award for his commitment to those who cannot afford legal services. He also served as a student ambassador for the law school and was privileged to attend the Florida State University Law Conference at Oxford University. Following his graduation from law school, Giovanni interned for the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute in London, England. He will be teaching Universal Human Rights Systems this spring.

Dr. Jules Coleman received his B.A. from Brooklyn College of CUNY in 1968, his Ph.D in Philosophy from Rockefeller University in 1972, and his M.S.L. from the Yale Law School in 1976. He taught classes at Yale on philosophy of law, torts, law, language and truth, political philosophy, and rational choice. Coleman briefly served on the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley and returned there later in his career to teach philosophy in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program. In 1988, he received the Brooklyn College Distinguished Alumni Award and was granted a Guggenheim Fellowship. He was selected to deliver the Clarendon Lectures at the University of Oxford. This semester he will be teaching Everyday Ethical Issues in Law.

Terence C. “Terry” Coonan is the executive director of Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights as well as an associate professor of criminology at Florida State University. He leads the multidisciplinary center’s efforts to educate and train a new generation of human rights advocates, track human rights issues, and serve as an advocate for human rights nationally and internationally. Professor Coonan has served as the managing editor of the “Human Rights Quarterly.” He also has worked at the Department of Justice in the Executive Office of Immigration Review, litigated asylum and immigration cases nationwide, and has worked on various United Nations human rights projects.

Bruce Culpepper is teaching Trial Practice. Judge Culpepper currently serves as an administrative law judge for the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings, a position he has held since 2015. Judge Culpepper attended the University of Florida for both his undergraduate and law degrees. He began his legal career in the U.S. Air Force as a judge advocate. Thereafter, he spent a number of years in private practice, before venturing back into public service with the Florida Department of Financial Services, as well as the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Judge Culpepper is a member of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary, for which he serves on the Board of Governors.

Jeffrey P. Dambly will teach Surveillance & Intelligence Law this semester. Dambly is a senior attorney for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and before that was a criminal prosecutor. He has participated in the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, coached competition teams, and judged in regional and international rounds for the competition. Dambly received his J.D. from the University of Florida and his LL.M. in National Security and U.S. Foreign Relations Law from the George Washington University. He previously taught international law at the University of Central Florida.

Ralph Demeo is a shareholder at Baker Donelson’s Tallahassee branch. His experience includes environmental, land use, administrative, occupational health and safety, toxic torts, brownfields, construction defect, transportation and aviation, energy, local government, aquaculture and pesticides, and animal law, with emphasis in civil and administrative litigation. He represents industry, businesses, landowners, corporate and individual clients, as well as local governments, throughout Florida and the southeastern United States. He also represents clients in state and federal courts, and before agencies and the legislature. Ralph has served as environmental and land use counsel on more than $3 billion in projects and transactions in his career, including some of Florida’s most significant projects. He has also served as counsel in several high-profile cases in Florida, including the leading case on primary administrative jurisdiction and the leading case on right to privacy. This spring he will be teaching Animal Law Litigation, Legislation, & Policy.

Mark Ellis is a graduate of the Florida State University College of Law. He served as executive director of the American Bar Association Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI) before becoming executive director of the International Bar Association in 2000. He will be teaching Introduction to International Criminal Law: War Crimes, Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity this spring.

The Honorable Martin Fitzpatrick will teach Florida Civil Practice this semester. He was previously a judge for the Second Circuit Court of Florida. In April of 2020 he became a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Florida. He received his undergraduate degree from Stetson University and his J.D. from Florida State University.

Jonathan Grossman took the Florida Bar the first time in 1989, and after not studying much at all, failed. “So why did I take it? To keep my parents happy and quiet, as they could not understand why I went to Law School and did not want to be a lawyer. It is true that I never wanted to practice law anyway, so I went into private business and never looked back. I was fortunate to pass the February 2002 exam, and soon thereafter was offered the chance to work with a few students who had recently not passed. I agreed to and found out that not only would the students get the same questions wrong… they would all pick the same wrong answers! When I read their essays, they would all look exactly the same! So I began to “study” the questions and essays and analyze ‘WHY’ we all pick the same answers and make similar mistakes. Next, I developed techniques that any student can pick up and use no matter what subject or how good or bad they feel about the material.” In addition to being an adjunct professor at Nova, Grossman has taught the MBE course at FIU since 2014 and at University of Miami since 2015. Additionally, he teaches workshops and review classes at other Florida law schools, as well as out-of-state schools such as South Texas College of Law. This spring he is teaching Topics II: MBE.

Dr. Randall Hanna has served as the dean and chief executive officer of Florida State University Panama City since 2016. He previously served as chancellor of the Florida College System and a member of the board of trustees of Florida A&M University, the University of West Florida, and Tallahassee Community College. He also served as a member and chairman of the Florida State Board of Community Colleges. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his doctorate of education, Hanna earned a Juris Doctorate with high honors from Florida State University. He received a MBA from Goizuetta Business School at Emory University and a bachelor of science from the University of Florida. He was recognized for his outstanding service with the receipt of the Grad Made Good Award from FSU in 2014. In addition to serving as dean of FSUPC, Hanna serves as the dean of the College of Applied Studies for FSU. This spring Hanna will teach Education Law.

Joe Jacquot will be co-teaching with Ray Treadwell, Judicial Power: Role of a Judge. Jacquot is a business litigation shareholder who focuses his practice on representing clients in complex state matters involving litigation and appellate work, as well as counseling companies on various regulatory issues. Having served in high-level public sector positions, Jacquot is dedicated to bringing his insight and experience with judicial and government systems to help clients. Jacquot served as the general counsel to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, from the governor’s inauguration in January 2019 through October 2020. In this capacity, Jacquot was responsible for all litigation and legal matters of the governor and state executive agencies. Jacquot handled cases on behalf of the governor and his administration before federal and state courts, including five matters before the Florida Supreme Court on matters of statewide significance. Jacquot led the governor’s legal team through the COVID-19 pandemic, including drafting and implementing the governor’s executive orders including the reopening plan.

Tor J. Friedman is serving as the co-director of the FSU Trial Team and has served as a coach of the Trial Team since 2007. He is the managing partner of Friedman & Abrahamsen Law Firm in Tallahassee, which specializes in DUI & criminal defense, personal injury and wrongful death litigation, and employment discrimination sexual harassment cases. He is a former felony prosecutor at the Leon County State Attorney’s Office and has handled over 100 trials. He has been named to Florida Trend’s Legal Elite in the categories of Criminal Defense and Government Attorneys from his time at the State Attorney’s Office. He has been quoted in the New York Times and Washington Post for his legal experience. You can learn more about him at www.torfriedman.com.

Fred Karlinsky will teach Law & Risk Management. Karlinsky is a shareholder with GreenbergTraurig. His practice focuses on the areas of insurance law and administrative law. Karlinsky has been involved in revisions to the Florida automobile insurance law, worker’s compensation laws, and medical malpractice laws. Karlinsky earned his J.D. from Florida State Law in 1992.

Patrick T. Kinni presently serves as general counsel to the Blueprint Inter-government Agency, a special district focusing on both infrastructure improvements and economic development for the Tallahassee Community. Previously, he served as deputy county attorney for Leon County, where he practiced for over 20 years. He has litigated employment, land use, contract, class action, and other matters related to local governmental disputes at both the trial and appellate court levels. Prior to his work for Leon County, Kinni was a municipal prosecutor for the City of Fort Lauderdale from 1990-96. He received his B.S. in political science from Jacksonville University and his J.D. from NSU College of Law. Kinni has been an adjunct professor at the Florida State University College of Law since 2007, teaching a course on civil pretrial practice and as a coach of the Florida State Law Mock Trial Team since 2014. He has been recognized by the Florida Association of County Attorneys for numerous awards and has been published in The Florida Bar Journal. For more information, call 850.219.1060 or e-mail Kinni at [email protected].

Jonathan Klick is the Charles A. Heimbold, Jr. Professor or Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carry Law School. Prior to becoming a professor at UPenn Law, Klick was an assistant professor of law at the FSU College of Law. Klick’s work focuses on identifying the causal effects of laws and regulations on individual behavior using cutting-edge econometric tools. His scholarship has been published in numerous peer-reviewed economics journals, including The Journal of Economic Perspectives, The Journal of Law & Economics, The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, and The Journal of Legal Studies. He has also published papers in The Stanford Law Review, The Columbia Law Review, and The University of Chicago Law Review. His four sons think he is the funniest person in the world, while his wife will only commit to him being in the top ten. This semester, he will be teaching a Crime & Police Policy Seminar at the College of Law.

Alyssa Lathrop will be teaching the Judicial Externship Perspectives Seminar this semester. She graduated with highest honors from the Florida State University College of Law in 2009, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Florida State University Law Review. After graduation, she worked as a staff attorney for Justice Barbara Pariente at the Florida Supreme Court and then joined the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation as an assistant general counsel. She is currently a hearing officer at the Public Employees Relations Commission.

John Lazzara has served as judge of compensation claims for over 28 years, first in Tampa and then in Tallahassee, Florida. Lazzara is a certified mediator with extensive knowledge and experience with helping parties reach resolution of complex and challenging issues. Lazzara has served the workers’ compensation community in organizations such as the National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary, the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, and the American Bar Association. Lazzara has lectured extensively on the law, professionalism, and mediation.

Robert A. McNeely, a practicing attorney at Messer Caparello, Esq., will reprise his popular Entertainment Law course this spring. McNeely is an alumnus who has worked and published on topics in the areas of entertainment law, family law, legislative practice, intellectual property, and appellate practice.

Ryan Newman served as counselor to the United States Attorney General for national security and international affairs before serving as general counsel for Governor Ron DeSantis. He also served as the deputy general counsel (legal counsel) for the Department of Defense, where he was the senior lawyer in charge of litigation for the department. Prior to serving at the Pentagon, he was the acting assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice, where he was responsible for coordinating department-wide policy initiatives, including the attorney general’s Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety, the attorney general’s memorandum on “Federal Law Protections for Religious Liberty,” and the attorney general’s policy restricting settlement payments to third parties. Newman graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1998. He earned his law degree with high honors from The University of Texas School of Law in 2007, where he was admitted to the Order of the Coif and served on the editorial boards of the Texas Law Review and the Texas Review of Law & Politics. This semester he is co-teaching Judicial Power with Joe Jacquot and Ray Treadwell.

R. Scott Palmer will teach Antitrust this semester. An employee of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs, Palmer holds board certifications in Antitrust and Trade Regulation law. From 1997-2007, he headed the Antitrust Practice at Berman DeValerio; from 1988-1997, he served in the Economic Crimes Division of the Attorney General’s Office, where he oversaw its complex litigation; and from 1982-1986, he was the chief prosecutor of the Statewide Grand Jury, responsible for the prosecution of multi-circuit organized crime cases. Palmer earned his J.D. with honors from the University of Miami and his B.A. from the University of Michigan. For more information, contact Palmer at [email protected].

Robert A. Pierce, a shareholder of Ausley & McMullen law firm in Tallahassee, will teach Estate Planning. He has previously taught several tax related courses at the law school. He is a 1973 graduate of the Florida State College of Law, and a 1976 graduate of the graduate tax program at the University of Florida. He previously served as general counsel of the Florida Department of Revenue. He has a broad-based practice that includes estate planning, wills and trusts, state and federal tax planning, business planning and transactions, and mergers and acquisitions.

The Honorable Ricky Polston of the Florida Supreme Court will teach Florida Constitutional Law this semester. Justice Polston, an alumnus of Florida State Law, is a certified public accountant and was previously a certified circuit court mediator and judge on the First District Court of Appeal. Prior to becoming a judge, he practiced public accounting for seven years as audit manager with Deloitte Haskins & Sells, C.P.A.s, and law for 14 years (commercial litigation in federal and state courts throughout Florida). For more information, e-mail Justice Polston at [email protected].

Bob Rice will be teaching The Law & Business of Investment this semester. Rice is the founder and managing partner of Tangent, as well as the consulting affiliate for Rice Partners. His unique perspectives stem from an unusual combination of careers: Wall Street financial products law partner; Justice Department trial attorney; technology entrepreneur; public company CEO (of the successor to his startup); investment advisor; and venture investor. He is also a senior advisor to Neuberger Berman and Wilshire Funds Management, and serves on the boards of Nasdaq Private Markets and the Investment Advisor to the Value Line Funds. He is the best-selling author of the Alternative Answer and Three Moves Ahead, a contributing editor to Investment News, and appears frequently across the business media.

Capt. Alan S. Richard is a captain with the Division of Law Enforcement for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission and is a 1994 graduate with highest honors from Florida State Law. He is teaching Admiralty Law, a topic on which he has published extensively and taught previously at the law school. As a student, he was a member of the Florida State University Law Review and the Journal of Land Use & Environmental Law, and graduated as a member of the Order of the Coif.

Timothy Riley is an attorney at Dean Mead. Riley advises and represents clients on matters of state and federal environmental law, particularly regarding construction activities within wetlands and other environmentally sensitive areas, oil and gas development, and water use. Timothy’s clients are primarily from the manufacturing and public utility industries, but he also advises real estate developers, commercial wetland mitigation banks, and agricultural enterprises. Raised in the heart of Texas, Riley believes that his past experience as a municipal environmental resource manager and regulatory director enables him to find no-nonsense, science-based solutions to his clients’ complex legal problems.

Mark Schlakman serves as senior program director for the Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights and as coordinator of its Human Rights & National Security in the 21st Century lecture series. He is regarded as an expert on Florida’s death penalty process and the state’s policy on restoring former offenders’ civil rights. Schlakman served as principal investigator for the Center’s Florida Bar Foundation/Administration of Justice grant-funded projects relating to the American Bar Association Florida Death Penalty Assessment Team report, which examined the fairness, accuracy, and impartiality of Florida’s death penalty process. It also led to a project known as Rethinking Civil Rights Restoration in Florida several years before the ballot initiative that became known as Amendment 4. He will teach Human Rights & National Security this semester.

Kyle Sill, a graduate of Florida Coastal School of Law, is teaching International Sales and Arbitration this semester. He previously served as a law clerk for the Honorable Scott Makar and as senior law clerk for the Honorable Nikki Clark, and currently fills the position of senior law clerk for the Honorable Susan Kelsey. Additionally, Sill has taught as an adjunct professor at Florida Coastal School of Law, Florida State College at Jacksonville, and Universitè d’Auvergne, Facultè de Droit (located in Clermont-Ferrand, France).

Martin B. Sipple, a shareholder with the Ausley & McMullen firm in Tallahassee, will be co-teaching Trial Practice with Bruce Culpepper. Sipple earned his J.D. at Washington University School of Law, where he graduated Order of the Coif in 1991. He is board certified by The Florida Bar in the area of business litigation and regularly represents clients in both state and federal cases involving civil litigation and intellectual property matters. For more information, e-mail [email protected].

Thomas Spulak will be teaching Political Law this semester. As group leader of the King & Spalding Government Advocacy & Public Policy practice, Spulak is actively involved in numerous lobbying efforts on the most pressing issues in Washington, involving tax, health, energy, defense, aerospace, and appropriations. Spulak counsels clients on the full suite of political law issues. He advises clients on complying with federal and state laws that regulate and require the reporting of lobbyist activities, and counsels clients on the ethical considerations involved when corporate representatives and government officials interact. He provides guidance on federal and state election laws, and assists corporations with establishing and administering federal and state political action committees. Spulak assists foreign entities in complying with the Foreign Agent Registration Act.

Susan Stephens graduated with a J.D. from Florida State Law with highest honors. She is a shareholder with Stearns Weaver Miller, P.A. She has extensive experience that includes helping clients decide on property investments and the best utilization of that property and navigating the complex universe of local, state, and federal environmental regulations to achieve the clients’ development goals. This includes working with agencies to develop workable rules, challenging rules that put an unfair burden on business interests, negotiating with stakeholders, and obtaining environmental permits from local, state, and federal agencies. Her experience includes complex administrative hearings to defend permits against legal challenges that involved numerous expert witnesses.

Ray Treadwell serves as a deputy general counsel in the Executive Office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He previously held the position of general counsel at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Before moving to Tallahassee, Treadwell worked at Shutts & Bowen in Orlando and Holland & Knight in Jacksonville. He also clerked for a United States District Court Judge in the Middle District of Florida. Treadwell graduated from the University of Florida and from Yale Law School. In between, he worked for a United States Congressman in Washington, DC. This spring he will be co-teaching with Joe Jacquot the Judicial Power: The Role of a Judge class.

Nate Wadlinger is currently a lecturer of accounting at the University of Central Florida. He received his bachelors of science in accounting, masters of accounting, and juris doctor from the University of Florida. He also received his LL.M. in Taxation from Boston University. In addition, he has a certified public accountant license issued by the State of Florida and is a member of the Florida Bar.

Solicitor General Henry Whitaker served as the principal deputy assistant attorney general, and before that as deputy assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he advised the White House counsel and cabinet secretaries on a range of important constitutional and statutory questions. Prior to that, Whitaker worked on the appellate staff of the Civil Division of the DOJ and, in that capacity, argued more than 40 appeals in the federal courts. He graduated magna cum laude from both Yale College and Harvard Law School. After law school, Whitaker clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. This semester he will be teaching a Law & Religion Seminar at the College of Law.

John F. Yetter is a frequent lecturer for the Florida Bar and judicial education programs. Professor Yetter is the editor of Florida Civil Trial Guide (Matthew Bender & Co. 1990). He teaches Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Florida Criminal Procedure, and Sports and the Law. Distinguished in his service to the Florida Bar, Professor Yetter was awarded the 1998 Selig I. Goldin Award, the highest honor given by The Florida Bar Criminal Law Section, and has also chaired the executive council, Criminal Law Section of The Florida Bar and of the Florida Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, and The Florida Bar Commission on the Practical Aspects of Death Penalty Appeals.