Fun at the First Annual Veteran Luncheon on campus.

Dear Friends, 

The holiday season is in full effect. We hosted our annual Soup Cook-Off for staff and faculty, an event enjoyed by all each year. Faculty and staff members enter their famous soup recipes into a contest, which are voted on by an appointed judging committee.
 
Congratulations to our winners of the Soup Cook-Off: 
1st place: Research, Writing and Advocacy Assistant Iris Zamora for her Honduran soup
2nd place: Assistant Director of Career Services, Experiential and Professional Development  Cameron Colledge for his Chicken Noodle soup
3rd place: Director of Student Financial Services Kevin McGowan for his Gazpacho soup
 
During the event, I announced our next Dean's Excellence Award winner, Ms. Mary Ruggeri, who is our Registrar. Thank you, Mary, for all of your hard work and commitment to Ave Law.
 
On behalf of the staff and faculty at Ave Law, we wish you a very happy Thanksgiving holiday.
 
God Bless you and your families during this season of thanks.
  



 
Kevin Cieply
President and Dean
For more information on Ave Maria School of Law news and events, visit our website . 
2017-18 Dean's Delegates
I'm proud to announce this school year's Dean's Delegates. 

The Ave Maria School of Law Dean's Delegates Program is an established opportunity for students to serve as official student representatives on behalf of the law school and myself at a variety of campus and community functions.

The Dean's Delegates showcase the excellence of Ave Maria School of Law to the community and are role models of professionalism, hospitality and character.

                                                       A few of the Dean's Delegate group at the Veterans Memorial Law Library
Jay Hamilton '18, Kathleen Mullally '18, Eve Kosciuszko '19, Sarah Sulsona '18
Daisy Gonzalez '18, Victor Bermudez '18, Michael Ball '18, Jennifer Heemstra '18

Olivia Bach, Class of 2019
Michael Ball, Class of 2018
Victor Bermudez, Class of 2018
Courtney Brevard, Class of 2018
Danielle Clark, Class of 2018
Katherine Cook, Class of 2019
Thérèse Desilets, Class of 2018
Daisy Gonzalez, Class of 2018
Stephanie Graham, Class of 2018
Jay Hamilton, Class of 2018
Jennifer Heemstra, Class of 2018
Eve Kosciuszko, Class of 2019
Meredith Lunde, Class of 2019
Sean Lux, Class of 2018
Kathleen Mullally, Class of 2018
Daniel Pardo, Class of 2019
Mellissa Stubbs, Class of 2019
Sarah Sulsona, Class of 2018
Dayanna Vasconcelo, Class of 2018

1st Annual  Veteran Luncheon

Ave Law Faculty and Student Veterans attending the luncheon
L to R: Dean Emeritus Gene Milhizer, David Soldano, Veteran Outreach Specialist, Sean Lux '18, Jennifer Clare '19, Dean Cieply, 
Joe Bare '19, Dayo-Felix-Doyle '20,  Diego Gil '19. Theodore Forlenza '20, David Idler '20, Professor Kevin Govern, Professor Brett Brosseit, Rachel Weismann '20,  Ricardo Casasola '20, Taryn Vaughn, '20, Jamel Johnson '20

Tabitha Canalda, Associate Director of Admissions and Veteran Outreach, led Ave Law's First Annual Veteran Luncheon that took place in the Dean's Suite in our Administrative Building. Students, staff and faculty veterans, along with U.S. M arine Veteran and Founder Tom Monaghan, were invited to get to know one another. The veteran comm unity is such a special community and we're proud to have this ever-growing group at our school.
 
Thank you to Tabitha and the Admissions team for your hard work in putting together this event. We look forward to making this an annual occasion. Ave Maria School of Law is committed to honoring our nation's veterans.
 
Things got a little silly at the photo booth...


Always an Honor

In honor of Veterans Day and every day, Ave Maria School of Law continues to pay tribute to our nation's veterans. We have a special community of veterans at Ave Law including our Founder, Tom Monaghan, faculty members, staff, students, alumni, myself, and Board of Governors who are all veterans. Thank you for your service to our country.
 
Have you read my article on why I feel veterans make great lawyers? Read my article here.

A Very Special Tribute

I had the pleasure of attending the Wounded Warriors of Collier County dinner event where Polly Crews, a ninety three year old mother of fallen solider SGT Robert Lewis Crews, was the special honoree. Polly's son Robert was a local hero killed in action in Vietnam. The Wounded Warriors of Collier County have dedicated/donated a plaque on Ave Law's Veterans Wall of Honor in the Veterans Memorial Law Library in honor of SGT Crews. 

This was my first time meeting Ms. Crews and I presented her a framed certificate of honor on behalf of the law school, sharing that her's son's memory will live on in our library's tribute to military veterans. 

I would like to extend a special thank you to Dale Mullin, President of the Wounded Warriors of Collier County, and his entire organization for inviting me to honor Polly and for your support of our school. 



Ave Law Named  #1 Most Conservative Law School
We're extremely proud to announce that Ave Law was named a "best" law school by The Princeton Review in the 2018 release of its annual feature.

According to The Princeton Review's Editor-in-Chief, "We recommended Ave Maria School of Law as one of the best institutions to earn a law school degree. We chose the 169 schools in this cohort based on our high regard for their academics and our assessment of institutional data we collect from the schools. We also solicited and greatly respect the opinions of 19,900 students attending these schools who reported on their experiences at their schools on our 80-question student survey for the book."
 
We ranked in the following categories: #1 Most Conservative Students, Most Chosen by Older Students.

Moot Court Competition
This year's Robert H. Bork Moot Court Internal Appellate Competition began in early October. Our student competitors have spent long hours researching and writing their briefs.

The competitors participated in the preliminary round and gave their arguments for both parties in front of local attorneys and alumni. We're proud of everyone who took part in this event.

The Semi-Finalist teams were:
Ryan Murphy '18 and Eve Kosciuszko '19
Kathleen Mullally '18 and Chris Fiore '19
Thérèse Desilets '18 and Jay Hamilton '18
Jacee Broadway '19 and Chris Stipek '19
                                                                                          
Our student finalist teams, Kathleen Mullally and Chris Fiore and Eve Kosciuszko and Ryan Murphy, competed on Wednesday, November 15 in the Moot Court Room on our campus.
 
Congratulations to Eve Kosciuszko and Ryan Murphy for being selected as the winning team at the competition!

Congratulations to Chris Fiore for being named Best Oralist and Kathleen Mullally for a strong argument.

We're extremely appreciative to Judge Chappell, Judge Steele, and Judge McCoy for volunteering their time to be with us for this event.

Thank you to the Moot Court Board, including President Hershal "Tripp" Spangler and VP of Internal Competitions, Stephen Ewers for arranging such a successful event and to everyone involved for your support. A special thank you to Professor Mark Bonner, Faculty Advisor to the Board, for your insight, expertise and support to the group. 
Ave Law Gives Back: Wills for Heroes

The Elder Law and Estate Planning Association, along with the Career Services team, did an excellent job in organizing student volunteers, over 20 in total, for Legal Aid's "Wills for Heroes" Pro Bono Event on November 11, Veterans Day.
 
In partnership with the Trusts & Estates Section of the Collier County Bar Association, Legal Aid Service of Collier County conducted its 6th Annual "Wills for Heroes" event to prepare wills, living wills, and related basic estate planning instruments free of charge for some of the "heroes" living or working in our community - including veterans, reservists, police officers, firefighters, EMTs/first responders, and the spouses of all of these individuals.
 
A sincere thank you to everyone who was involved in participation.
 
Also, here is a look at this school year's Elder Law and Estate Planning Association Team:

2017-2018 Officers:
President: Elza Grigoryan, Class of 2018
Vice-President Operations I: Leslie Martin, Class of 2018
Vice-President Operations II: Danielle Clark, Class of 2018
Vice-President Finance: Kristin Miller-Patton, Class of 2019
Secretary: Jimmie Bailey, Class of 2019
Public Relations Co-chairs: Jeff Fedna, Class of 2018 & Jacee Broadway, Class of 2019
1L Representative Section A:  Nicolette Sellitti, Class of 2020
1L Representative Section B: Marina Moussa
*Kelsie Elmer '19 is in this photo as a special guest/member of the group. 


 
In the Spotlight: Ave Law Alumnus Joshua McCaig

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Ave Law Alumnus Joshua McCaig recently participated in a press conference with the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol regarding the confirmation hearing on Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He was speaking in his capacity as the President of the Catholic Bar Association





Non-Traditional Legal Career Fair
This month our Career Services team hosted a Non-Traditional Legal Career Info Fair on campus. This gave students the opportunity to learn what practitioners have done with their law degree outside of the traditional private firm practice.


Local Veterans Visit Campus


Professor Maureen Milliroand the Development Office welcomed a group of veterans from The Carlisle Group, a retirement community in Collier County, for a visit on campus to tour our school, see the Veterans Memorial Law Library and the Veterans Wall of Honor and share incredible, impactful stories over lunch. 

We're grateful for every opportunity we have to bring veterans on campus and to get to know our veteran neighbors right here in Southwest Florida.

Thank you to Professor Milliron for her continued efforts to bring our community together, to our Development team for their support of this tour, to Ulysses Jaen, Library Director who shared many pertinent details during the tour, to Professor Kirk Miller for having the group observe his class and to Sean Lux '18, for sharing his military story and background. 



100th Anniversary of Balfour
As a special return engagement, the law school hosted Edwin Black, an award-winning New York Times international investigative author on Friday, November 3, 2017 to present "Israel and International Law - The Historical Underpinnings on the 100th Anniversary of the Balfour Declaration." This conversation was nothing short of intriguing and informative and a group of us signed an actual Balfour Proclamation at the end of the event. We had over 100 in attendance, including faculty, staff, students and our Southwest Florida neighboring community members.
 
I would like to thank Mr. Edwin Black and his team - his wife Carol and Sy Stadtmauer, and  Rabbi James Perman. 
 
Thank you to the External Affairs team for planning and executing this event and to my Dean's Delegates - Jay Hamilton '18, Daisy Gonzalez '18 and Michael Ball '18 for assisting us with hosting this wonderful group of people.Thank you to Monsignor McGrath for leading us in prayer.  
 
Thank you to our Communications Director for arranging media coverage and to Mr. Black for taking the time to speak with the press. Here are some of the press highlights:




Save-the-Dates

 2018 Signature Event Speaker: Newt Gingrich


We're thrilled to host The Honorable Newt Gingrich as our 2018 Signature Event speaker. We're looking forward to welcoming Speaker Gingrich to Naples to present to our Ave Law community on Saturday, February 17, 2018. Please visit the event website for more event details and online ticket sales are open!  

I would like to thank our generous sponsors: Ave Maria Mutual Funds   is our Presenting Sponsor. Gulfshore Life  and Naples Daily News  are our Media Spons ors. A special thank you to Cohen & Grigsby for representing Ave Law and being a supportive sponsor. 

For more information, please contact Donna Anthus (239) 687-5403 or danthus@avemarialaw.edu.

Honoring Our Vets
Please join us on December 7, 2017 for our Second Annual Veterans Memorial Celebration honoring our nation's veterans, on Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

Date: December 7, 2017
Start time: 5:00 pm
Location: Ave Maria School of Law Campus, 1025 Commons Circle, Naples,  FL 34119
Ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Law Library and Dinner Reception at St. Thomas More Commons 
Ave Law will be awarding the first Annual St. Martin of Tours, Patron Saint of Veterans & Soldiers, Hero Award.  
Master of Ceremonies: Major General J. T. (Mike) Coyne, United States Marine Corps (Retired) 
Guest Speaker: Lieutenant General Richard F. Natonski, United States Marine Corps (Retired)
Special guests: Ladies for Liberty Singing Troupe
RSVP required, Limited Seating---The event is for the Ave Law community, benefactors, friends, veterans and their families.
RSVP to Amber Richards, arichards@avemarialaw.edu(239) 687-5341

Last year, on December 7, 2016, National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, the law school dedicated the school's law library to veterans, renaming it the "Ave Maria School of Law Veterans Memorial Law Library." Inside the library, Ave Law created a Veterans Wall of Honor, located immediately inside the library's front doors. As patrons enter the library, they are greeted by depictions of oversized service members in uniform, representing each of the five military branches. Benefactors, faculty, staff, students, and members of the community may purchase plaques to place on the wall with the name of a veteran. It enables family and friends to memorialize and honor their beloved veterans, keeping the memory of loved ones and their service and sacrifice to our nation alive for many years to come.   

"Can You Honor A Veteran?" You are invited to become one of the 100 founding members of the Veterans Memorial Law Library at Ave Maria School of Law by pledging your support of $50,000 in this lasting tribute to honor and remember our nation's veterans. Your donation helps us honor our veterans, provide full scholarships to veterans and ensure that those who fought for us and protected our freedoms are never forgotten. Pledges can be paid in gifts of $5,000 each year for 10 years, or in a few payments. Veterans Wall of Honor plaques to honor your loved one are available with a $2500 donation. 

For more information, please contact the Development office at (239) 687-5405. 

VETERAN LEGACIES AT AVE LAW  - SNEAK PEEK
 
Veteran Legacies at Ave Law 
is a video tribute project that will officially launch on December 7, 2017 during our Second Annual Veterans Memorial Celebration on campus. Veterans Legacies is meant to capture the essence of our fellow veterans and honor each of their experiences served in our country's military service. Interviews range from student veterans, alumni veterans, staff and faculty veterans, Board of Governors veterans, friends and family of veterans and veterans right here in our Ave Law Community.

To learn more about the project, please contact Kristy Kryszczak, Director of Marketing and Communications/Editorial Director, at  239-687-5404 or  kkryszczak@avemarialaw.edu .

Thank You for Your Participation!

Thank you to everyone who donated to our annual Thanksgiving Food Drive this year. Thank you to our library team - Ulysses Jaen, Rebekah Miller, and Alla Sullivant - for leading the charge. I'm appreciative to all to our students and staff who volunteered your time loading the food and transporting it to our the local Catholic Charities. Every little bit counts and goes a long way. We're proud to give back to our community. 

A special mention to  Chris Stipek '19, head of  Phi Alpha Delta, and to our professors for continuing the Canz Warz tradition & for being such good sports! 


  

 


STAY CONNECTED!

Editor/Writer: Kristy Kryszczak, Director of Marketing and Communications/Editorial Director 
Dean's Introduction Video: Ed Neebling, Director of AV
Design: Gwen Fredrickson
Photography:  Tony Zollo, Bernadette La Paglia, Tabitha Canalda, contributing  community members


Ave Maria School of Law was founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1999, and in 2009 relocated to Naples, Florida. It is licensed by the Florida Commission for Independent Education, License Number 4007, and is fully accredited by the American Bar Association. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the division of consumer services by calling toll-free within the state. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the state. http://www.freshfromflorida.com/divisions-offices/consumer-services 1-800-435-7352.

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