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Brandy Shafer '17, Brittney Davis '17

Brandy Shafer '17, The Honorable Judge Steele, Brittney Davis '17

Brittney Davis '17, Brandy Shafer '17, The Honorable Judge Steele, Michelle Hurvitz '17, Charles Demchak '17

F ollowing preliminary rounds at the Collier County Courthouse, the Championship round of the St. Thomas More Trial Competition was held a few weeks ago in the Ave Maria School of Law Moot Courtroom, presided over by The Honorable John E. Steele, U.S. District Judge (MD FL), and scored by Ave Law faculty (Professors Daniels, Miller, and Bonner). The trial was of a criminal case on charges of possession with intent to distribute heroin, and included a psychiatric defense.

 

WINNING TRIAL TEAM: Brandy Shafer '17 and Brittney Davis '17

FINALISTS: Michelle Hurvitz '17 and Charles Demchak '17

BEST ORALIST: Brittney Davis

Congratulations to each of them, and to all who competed in this year's internal trial competition. I would like to extend a sincere thanks to the Ave Law personnel who worked to make the competition a success, and especially to Professor Bonner, Moot Court Faculty Advisor and Aimee Schnecker '17, Moot Court Board Vice-President for Internal Competitions, who managed the competition again this year.

The Honorable Sheri Polster Chappell, Christopher Fiore '19, Katherine Cook '19, Meredith Lunde '19, Eve Kosciuszko '16, The Honorable Mac R. McCoy, and The Honorable Douglas N. Frazier.

 

This month we caught up with our Director of Bar Preparation, Christopher Buscaglia. He's been a game-changer for Ave Law and is leading quite an important program at the law school.

Q: Do you have a specific game plan you suggest to students studying for the bar exam?

A: Although every student is different and has different study habits, experience suggests to me that every student must establish a study routine. This requires that each student recognize the importance of every study day between the end of their final exams for the semester and the first day of the bar exam. Each day is precious. If one is wasted, that time cannot be retrieved. Every day must be planned in advance. There are at least a couple ways to accomplish this. First, the bar companies have a detailed syllabus that guides students in establishing a study routine. Second, here at Ave Law we have a Supplemental Bar Prep Program that runs in parallel to the commercial bar prep programs. This Program is intended to supplement and enhance the commercial programs by directing students' efforts toward the most highly tested subjects/areas on the bar exam. Our Supplemental Program also has a detailed syllabus that further directs students in establishing an efficient study routine.

 

Q: It's been said that you have patience and a special dedication to tutoring students one-on-one. What made you decide to take this path in your career and what is one of the favorite aspects of your job?

A: Our Supplemental Bar Prep Program also includes individual tutoring of students. Many students are hesitant to discuss specific issues in a group setting.  Some students may be having difficulty in a particular area that is not addressed by the commercial bar companies or by our Supplemental Program. These students benefit from one-on-one instruction.  Now that we have hired an Assistant Director of Bar Preparation in the person of Holly Paar, we have effectively doubled our tutoring resources. Consequently, any student requested tutoring will receive tutoring.

 

Q: What is the best piece of advice you would give to students preparing for the bar?

A: If I had to give one piece of advice to a student preparing for the bar exam it would be this: before you walk into that room to take the bar exam, make sure that you did everything humanly possible to prepare yourself for the exam. You never want to say these words: "If only I had studied harder...."  

Alan Gassman, a nationally respected  leader in the asset protection field has graciously offered to present this Professional Acceleration Workshop to our law students, alumni and experienced professionals.  This CLE approved interactive workshop that will cover personal goal setting, how to handle practical challenges and obstacles, strategies

for business and personal relationships, and client interaction techniques commonly used by the most successful professionals. The workshop will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on August 25. For more information on registration please contact:  Amy Howarth, Assistant Director  of Alumni Affairs and Outreach, Ave Maria School of Law, (239) 687-5355 or e mail her at  alumniaffairs@avemarialaw.edu . Click here for a flyer on the program.

Ave Maria School of Law's annual Commencement Exercises will be held on Saturday, May 13, 2017, at 1:00 p.m. at Artis-Naples. We are pleased to welcome Reverend Mitch Pacwa, SJ, President and Founder of Ignatius Productions and EWTN personality, as our Commencement speaker.  We will also celebrate a  Baccalaureate Mass on Friday, May 12, at 6:00 p.m. at St. Agnes Catholic Church.  The Very Reverend Robert Kantor, Pastor of St. Agnes Catholic Church, will celebrate Mass. An alumni reception is also planned at the Law School immediately following Mass. Congratulations to the Class of 2017!  We look forward to celebrating this momentous occasion with you and your families.

The International Law Journal (ILJ) hosted a banquet this month and they honored Judge Fred Seraphim, a district court judge in Miami Dade country, for his work with sponsoring children's education in Haiti.

 

This year's ILJ issue contained five articles by authors from five different regions (American, Brazilian, French, Italian and African) on human rights related topics. They also published one student note by Mr. Michael Solomatin on cultural property in the Syrian War.  You can find the issue here .

Ave Maria School of Law alumna Christina Marie Martin, Class of 2008, was a featured speaker in March at Ave Law events in Jupiter and Palm Beach, Florida.  Christina addressed a gathering of friends of the law school from the Boca Raton, Jupiter and Palm Beach Florida communities. Christina spoke about the excellent legal training she received and her work as a Staff Attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation Atlantic Center. Pacific Legal Foundation is a nonprofit, public interest organization that represents clients without charge. Christina litigates cases in federal and state court to protect constitutional rights, including property rights, and free speech. We are very grateful to   Christina and to  Mr. and Mrs. James A. Patterson  of  Palm Beach  and to  Dr. and Mrs. Walter Knysz, Hobe Sound for hosting the events. Please refer to the masthead photo to see a group of event guests.   

 

 

It's that time of year again and we're offering a variety of courses for our existing and visiting students.

A PROMOTION ANNOUNCEMENT

I am pleased to announce that Amy Howarth has been promoted to Assistant Director for Alumni Affairs. In this role, Amy will assist with the coordination and administration of Alumni Affairs, and she will continue outreach to alumni and students for career and alumni events, counseling, and networking.

 

Please join me in congratulating Amy on her new role and recognizing her outstanding work on behalf of Career Services, Alumni Affairs, and Ave Maria School of Law.

Professor Maureen Milliron recently spoke at the  annual meeting of the Paralegal Association of Florida Southwest Chapter. Janet Poklemba is the president of this chapter. Professor Milliron spoke on the topic of plain English and clarity in legal writing.

We are thrilled to welcome Brandon Cohen, owner of State of Mind Test Prep, back to our campus this weekend to host his second LSAT Prep Course on our Naples Campus. For further information about this course or potential future dates, please contact our Admissions Department at    info@avemarialaw.edu  or call (239) 687-5420.

 Still Time to Visit Campus

 

Do you know anyone considering law school? Our Open House events hosted by the Admissions office have been in full swing this season. We invite all those interested in visiting our Southwest Florida campus, so they may discover why Ave Maria School of Law is the best law school choice for them. We have two more open houses remaining on May 19 and June 16.

For further information, our Admissions Department can be reached at  info@avemarialaw.edu   or call (239) 687-5420.