Professor Jennifer Martin Appointed Associate Dean of Faculty Development

Associate Dean Jennifer Martin

Jennifer S. Martin, Professor of Law at St. Thomas University School of Law, has been named Associate Dean for Faculty Development, effective July 11, 2018.

In announcing the appointment, Acting Dean Tamara Lawson thanked Martin for her "outstanding scholarship, teaching, and service, and her willingness to support the faculty’s continued commitment to excellence for all our students."

"I am thankful and honored to have the opportunity to serve the Law School in this role." stated Martin. "I wholeheartedly embrace St. Thomas University’s mission in legal education of serving a diverse student body, sensitive to the needs of the underrepresented communities. I look forward to working with my outstanding colleagues as we work collectively to be better scholars, teachers, and mentors."

Martin joined the St. Thomas Law faculty in 2010 after spending a year as a Visiting Associate Professor of Law at the University of Oregon School of Law. She has previously taught at University of Louisville and University of Pittsburgh.

Professor Martin has written over 40 books and scholarly articles, including most recently Contracts: A Contemporary Approach (West, 3d 2018) (with Carol Chomsky, Christina Kuna and Elizabeth Schiltz); Learning Sales Law (West 1st 2016) ) (with Carol Chomsky, Christina Kuna and Elizabeth Schiltz); Uniform Commercial Code Survey: Sales of Goods, 72 BUS. LAW. (forthcoming 2018); and Opportunistic Resales and the Uniform Commercial Code, 2016 ILL. L. REV. 487 (2016). She has also authored numerous podcasts on Contract and Commercial Law available on ITunes at Lawdibles and law tutorials available at cali.org .

Martin is an Elected Member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. She currently serves as the Chair of the Contracts Section of the American Association of Law Schools, is an Editor of the Annual Survey of UCC Law for the UCC Committee of the ABA Section on Business Law (where she also serves on the Working Group to Draft Human Rights Protections in Supply Contracts), and is the President of the Board of Directors of the Computer Assisted Legal Instruction.

She tweets @commercelaw and is the publisher and editor of Commercial Law Blog, a member of the Jurisdynamics Network.

Martin succeeds Dean Tamara Lawson, who served as Associate Dean for Faculty Development since 2015 and is now the Acting Dean for the Law School.

STU Law Student Awarded 2018 Fellowship for Legal Services of Greater Miami

Portia Bethea (3L)

St. Thomas University School of Law Student Portia Bethea (3L) was recently awarded the 2018 Fellowship for Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc. The award was announced at the Gwen S. Cherry Black Women Lawyers Association (“GSCBWLA”) Annual Installation and Awards Ceremony in Coral Gables on June 28, 2018.

The Fellowship will provide the opportunity for Ms. Bethea to continue Gwen S. Cherry’s Legacy of Equal Justice and, at the same time, make it possible for Legal Services of Greater Miami to help more vulnerable individuals and families resolve critical legal problems.

Law student fellows provide important assistance to Legal Services attorneys including interviewing clients and witnesses, drafting legal documents, discovery and briefs, and conducting research and investigations. Law student fellows have frequent opportunities to attend strategy sessions, hearings, mediations, depositions, and community events.

Gwen S. Cherry was a pioneer attorney at Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc. when it was founded in 1966. To honor her, the Gwen S. Cherry Black Women Lawyers Association (GSCBWLA) has established a Law Student Fellowship in her name.

St. Thomas Law had a long history of successful partnership with organizations that assist our communities with legal services; giving voice to the voiceless.