SUB-REGION 1 Academic Retreat Guide

Transcription

1 SUB-REGION 1 Academic Retreat Guide

2 HILAIRE ARMSTRONG Regional Chair NATASHA BANKS Vice Chair ARIANNA BURNETTE Treasurer NYONNOHWEAH SEEKIE Recording Secretaries FRANSHUN VANN Parliamentarian AKIESHA ANDERSON Attorney General J kekky Editor- In- Chief of Southern Journal of Policy and Justice MANDISA STYLES Director of Communications BRANDI RUSSELL Historian MARCUS SANDIFER Community Service Director ARIANNA BURNETTE Director of Alumni Affairs Greetings! It is with great pleasure and honor to serve as Sub-Regional 1 Director of the Sophisticated Southern Region of the National Black Law Students Association for the year. I am proud, humbled and excited to serve the great states of Tennessee and Arkansas. My main goal this year is to host a successful academic retreat with stellar programming that will enhance the academic and professional development of our members. It is without a doubt that this year s retreat will serve as a true motivation and inspiration for all attendees. Be ready! SRBLSA s Sub-Region Academic Retreats give SRBLSA members an opportunity to join fellow law students and legal practitioners to receive useful information, tools, and resources to hone their skills, excel in the academic year, and further the legal profession. This year s Sub-Region 1 Academic Retreat will take place in Knoxville, TN on September 25 th September 26 th at the University of Tennesse College of Law. I look forward to seeing you there! In SRBLSA Service and Love, KRISTEN TAYLOR Sub-Region 1 Director NESHARIANNA TONEY Sub-Region 2 Director IRIS DEWITT Sub-Region 3 Director JENNIFER BLACKMON Sub-Region 4 Director SHAQUANA ELLISON Sub-Region 5 Director KETIENE TELEMAQUE Director of Mock Trial ASHELY BREAUX Mock Trial Specialist BRANDON COOPER Director of Programming Programming Specialist SHANICE BAILEY Director of Pre-Law Division NEENA SPEAR CHARLES MCGEE Co-Director of Pre-Law Division MARIA LUNGU Director of Moot Court LUCY BOATENG Moot Court Specialist JASMIN MORRIS Director of Membership JERAI GREEN Community Service Specialist Kristen Leandra G. Taylor Director of Sub-Region 1 Southern Region of the National Black Law Students Association University of Tennesse College of Law, JD Candidate 2016

3 Sub-Region I (Tennessee/ Arkansas) Academic Retreat Presented by The Sophisticated Southern Region of the National Black Law Students Association Schedule of Events Friday, September 25 th, 2015 Sub-Region I Happy Hour/ Networking Event Barley s Taproom and Pizzeria, Knoxville, Tennessee- Attire is Business Casual 6:30pm-9:00pm: Please join the Southern Region of the National Black Law Students Association for a happy hour at Barley s Taproom and Pizzeria in the Old City (200 E Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37915). This is an opportunity for students attending the retreat to network with local attorneys and meet new students from different law schools. Attire is Business Casual. Sub-Region I Academic Retreat Saturday, September 26 th, :45am 9:15am 9:15am 9:30am 9:30am 10:30am 10:30am 11:45am 11:45am-12:15pm 12:15pm 1:15pm 1:30pm 2:30pm 2:30pm 2:40 pm Third Floor Rotunda- Breakfast and Check- In Room 346- Welcome: Sub Regional Director Kristen Taylor Room Bar Prep Mrs. Kelly Gibbs, Barbri Representative, & Mrs. Torin Asbill, Kaplan Representative Room 346- Panel on What You Need To Know About The First Years of Practice Rotunda- Lunch provided by the University of Tennessee College of Law Room 346- Keynote Address- Mr. Arthur Horne, Horne and Wells, PLLC Room 346- The Importance of Networking and Professionalism - Mrs. Tasha Blakney, Eldridge & Blakney, P.C. Room 346- Closing Remarks- Sub Regional Director Kristen Taylor

4 Meet the Speakers Mrs. Kelly Gibbs earned her B.A. from Virginia Tech and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. She is a Director of Legal Education for BARBRI, Inc. for schools in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, and is barred in the state of North Carolina. Before moving to Charlotte in 2012, she worked for BARBRI out of Washington, D.C., helping students in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C schools. She counsels hundreds of students each year in bar exam preparation and has lectured on program study methods. Mrs. Torin Asbill earned her B.A. in History from Clemson University and her J.D. from Charleston School of Law. She was a Kaplan Bar Review rep during her time in law school and also took Kaplan for her own bar review course and passed on the first try. She is licensed to practice law in South Carolina. After the bar exam she moved to New York City and began working for Kaplan in product and operations. She is now the Regional Director for Alabama and Tennesse and currently lives in Nashville. Mrs. Asbill is passionate about Kaplan s product and helping students pass the bar.

5 Mrs. LaToyia Trotter is an associate at Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan, PLLC in the Knoxville, Tennessee She practices primarily on general civil litigation. She is originally from Heidelberg, Mississippi. Ms. Trotter graduated magna cum laude from Tennessee State University in Nashville in 2009 with a degree in Political Science. She obtained her Masters in Public Administration from Tennessee State University in She graduated from The University of Tennessee College of Law in May While in law school, she participated in various activities, such as Mock Trial and the Frederick Douglass Moot Court and served as the President of the Black Law Students Association. She received the Julian Blackshear Outstanding Student Award, the Avon Williams-Robert Lillard Award, and First Place and Best Brief in the Advocates' Prize Moot Court Competition. Mr. Jarrod Blue attended Davidson College and received a Bachelors of Science in Biology. After graduation, he attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and received a Masters of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. After a one-year period as a schoolteacher, he returned to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville to receive his Juris Doctorate. While in law school, he interned with the Honorable Eugene E. Siler of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Also, while in law school, he had the opportunity to work for the Department of Interior. After graduation, Jarrod worked for the Tennessee Court of Appeals for the Honorable Thomas R. Frierson and currently works for the City of Knoxville Law Department.

6 Mr. George T. Underwood, Jr. has been practicing law over twenty years. After getting his undergraduate degree from ETSU in Johnson City, Tennessee and, thereafter, his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville, Tennessee, he began his career as a prosecutor in Hamilton County (Chattanooga, Tennessee) as an Assistant District Attorney General. He prosecuted hundreds of child support, criminal contempt, and visitation and paternity cases. He later returned to Knoxville as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Knoxville Law Department and developed additional experience in such areas as: employment law, employment practices, Title VII, race discrimination, sex discrimination, disability discrimination, worker's compensation, contracts, vehicle liability, civil rights, police misconduct, among others. In 1999, he left the public sector and went into private practice where he has been since. In addition to continuing to practice in the listed areas above, Attorney Underwood also expanded his practice areas to include: criminal defense (federal & state; felonies & misdemeanors), Wills & Estates, probate litigation, family law, father's rights, contested divorce, insurance defense, insurance subrogation, premises liability, products liability, construction litigation and representation of professional athletes.

7 Mrs. Valeria Gomez is an Americorps Equal Justice Works Legal Fellow and Clinical Lecturer with the University of Tennessee College of Law Immigration Clinic. As an EJW Fellow, Valeria primarily represents unaccompanied immigrant children in Immigration Court and before federal immigration agencies. Valeria is a 2013 graduate of the College of Law. Before becoming an EJW Fellow and UT Clinical Lecturer, she practiced with the firm of Butler Snow LLP in Nashville, Tennessee, where her practice focused mostly on employment litigation defense, employment guidance and counseling, and regulatory proceedings before the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. Valeria is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, and the Tennessee Bar Association. Ms. Tasha Blakney is engaged in criminal defense and general civil litigation on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, primarily in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, workers compensation, medical malpractice, contract disputes, employment law, and business litigation. Ms. Blakney currently serves as President of the Knoxville Bar Association and as a member of the Board of Governors of the Tennessee Bar Association. Along with David M. Eldridge, Ms. Blakney formed the practice of Eldridge & Blakney, P.C., in September of Ms. Blakney graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law, with honors, in 1999, and has practiced law in Knoxville since her graduation. A Martindale Hubbell AV Preeminent rated lawyer, Ms. Blakney s work has been recognized by her peers, having been voted as a Knoxville CityView Top Attorney throughout the years in the following categories: Wrongful death Plaintiff, Appellate Practice, Constitutional Law/Civil Rights, Criminal Defense, DUI Defense, Juvenile Defense, Labor & Employment Law Employee, Personal Injury Automobile Accidents, Federal Court Practice, and Workers Compensation.

8 Keynote Speaker Mr. Arthur E. Horne III was born in Marshallsville, Georgia, November 21, Education: Germantown High School graduate, Germantown Tennessee; Eastern Michigan University, B.S., 1995; University of Arkansas School of Law, JD, In August of 2002, Arthur started Horne, Gilluly & Wells, PLLC, now Horne & Wells, PLLC; admitted to practice in the United States District Court, Western District of Tennessee, 2000 and the State of Tennessee Supreme Court, Arthur s practice is varied, i.e., civil litigation, with a concentration of personal injury, wrongful death, premises liability, business litigation, Federal and State Criminal defense and class action. Arthur is also a member of the National Trial Lawyers Association, the National Criminal Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Tennessee Bar Association, the Memphis Bar Association, the National Bar Association, the Local Ben Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Memphis Delta Boule Chapter and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

9 Thank you to all 2015 Sponsors of the Sub-Region 1 Academic Retreat: