Vivian Cortes Hodz has become chair of Bay Area Legal Services board of directors for 2024. Posted 4.3.24

Tara Poole is a partner at Taylor, Day, Grimm & Boyd, which was recently ranked 74th on the Seminole 100 list. Posted 3.6.24

Vivian Cortes Hodz is the founding partner of Cortes Hodz Family Law and Mediation, P.A., in Tampa with her husband Lawrence Hodz ('01), which was recently ranked 90th on the 2024 Seminole 100 list. Posted 3.6.24

Jeanne Curtin has been named as one of the 2023 Circle of Gold Honorees by the FSU Alumni Association. The FSU Alumni Association’s Circle of Gold recognizes worthy individuals who, through their service and achievements, personify the university’s tradition of excellence. It is given to those alumni and/or friends of FSU who, through their dedication and loyalty to the University, exemplifies the Alumni Association’s core values of Tradition, Leadership, Family, Spirit and Greatness. Posted 2.7.22

Heather Stearns was recently reappointed to the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission by Governor Ron DeSantis. Posted 8.22.22

Christine Davis has opened Davis Appeals, PLLC, a boutique appellate litigation law firm specializing in civil appeals and extraordinary writ proceedings in state and federal court. Posted 4.18.22

Vivian Cortes Hodz is the founding partner of Cortes Hodz Family Law and Mediation, P.A., which was recently ranked 81st on the Seminole 100 list. Posted 3.2.22

Lawrence Jacob Hodz is a partner at Cortes Hodz Family Law and Mediation, P.A., which was recently ranked 81st on the Seminole 100 list. Posted 3.2.22

Jeanne Curtin co-authored a book titled "Making the Metaverse," which is an introduction to the amazing promise and opportunity presented by the next version of the internet. The book presents the basics of what the metaverse is, what it might become, and why people and businesses should pay attention to this emerging billion-dollar market.  Readers do not need to be technology experts to understand these building blocks of the metaverse or to participate in the exciting developments the metaverse has in store. Posted 2.7.22

Vinette D. Godelia has joined the Tampa office of Stearns Weaver Miller as a shareholder. She represents private and public sector clients before local, regional and state agencies, courts, and elected bodies regarding land use and real estate development issues. She focuses her practice on the defense and negotiation of complex approvals under Florida’s growth management laws and local government regulations. Posted 9.10.21

Carlos E. Moore will be inaugurated as the 79th president of the National Bar Association in New Orleans on July 29, 2021. Posted 5.20.21

 Ron LaFace has been named to the 2020 edition of The INFLUENCE 100: The Most Influential People in Florida Politics. Posted 10.28.20

Carlos E. Moore was named to the Rising Stars section of African Leadership Magazine's 2020 Top 100 Most Influential African American Leaders List. Posted 10.12.20

Carlos E. Moore was elected president of the National Bar Association for 2021. Moore will serve as president-elect for 2020 and then be sworn in as president at the 96th annual National Bar Association convention July 29, 2021 in Memphis, Tennessee. Moore is managing partner of The Cochran Firm – Mississippi Delta. Posted 8.20.20

Vivian Cortes Hodz was named a 2020 recipient of the President’s Award of Merit by Florida Bar President John Stewart, in recognition of her service as chair of both the Annual Convention and Voluntary Bar Liaison committees. Posted 7.1.20

Heather Beato was appointed to fill a Tenth Judicial Circuit judge vacancy. Beato has been an assistant state attorney since graduating in 2002. She is one of 10 prosecutors in the circuit’s Highlands County office. Gov. DeSantis selected her from a list of six candidates chosen by the circuit’s Judicial Nominating Commission. The Tenth Judicial Circuit includes Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties. Posted 6.23.20
 

Robert G. Churchill, Jr. was presented a Florida Bar pro bono award at the Supreme Court of Florida on January 30. Churchill has his own practice with offices in Tallahassee and Tampa. Posted 1.30.20 

Vivian Cortes Hodz, of Cortes Hodz Family Law & Mediation, P.A. in Tampa, was presented the Luis A. “Tony” Cabassa Award by the Tampa Hispanic Bar Association for her contributions to the association and the Hispanic community. Hodz is the founding partner at Cortes Hodz Family Law and Mediation, P.A. in Tampa. Posted 11.22.19

Vivian Cortes Hodz, of Cortes Hodz Family Law & Mediation, P.A. in Tampa, will serve as chair of The Florida Bar Voluntary Bar Liaison Committee and chair of the Annual Convention Committee of The Florida Bar. In her local community, she will continue to serve on the board of directors of the Hillsborough County Bar Association and Bay Area Legal Services, as well as on the advisory board of the Tampa Hispanic Bar Association. Posted 9.5.19

Christine R. Davis has been reappointed to the First District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission. Davis is the managing shareholder at Carlton Field's Tallahassee office. She concentrates her practice on administrative litigation, complex commercial litigation, medical malpractice, personal injury, health care, product liability, constitutional litigation, and insurance coverage issues, including bad faith actions. Posted 7.30.19

Nhan T. Lee has joined Goldberg Segalla’s Trucking Practice Group in Orlando. He focuses his practice on commercial disputes, insurance litigation, construction litigation, product liability, general business law, and high-exposure complex claims involving catastrophic personal injury and death. Posted 3.13.19

The Honorable Carlos E. Moore is now the managing partner of The Cochran Firm, one of the largest plaintiffs firms in the country, in Grenada, MS. Posted 1.29.19

Marc A. Huling was recognized as one of the 2019 Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation. He is partner-in-charge at Roetzel & Andress in their Naples office. He practices business litigation, representing clients in a variety of matters involving business tort and contract litigation. Posted 9.14.18

Sean M. Ellis has been elected to serve as president of the Southwest Florida Real Estate Council. He is a partner at Roetzel & Andress in their Fort Myers and Naples offices. Ellis focuses his practice on condominium and community association law, and real estate law. Posted 8.27.18 

Jeanne B. Curtin was elected to the Florida State University Alumni Association National Board of Directors. She began a three-year term on July 1, 2018. Curtin is the deputy general counsel of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. Before her current role, she served as the assistant dean for development at the FSU College of Law. Posted 7.26.18

Melissa N. VanSickle, partner at Broad and Cassel LLP in Tallahassee, has been elected to the Executive Committee of The Florida Bar Board of Governors. Additionally, she was elected chair-elect of the Leadership Tallahassee Board of Governors, a twenty-member board governing the program of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. VanSickle represents buyers and sellers in all aspects of the sale and acquisition of commercial property, and developers in commercial and residential projects. She also serves as an adjunct professor at FSU Law. Posted 7.20.18

Vinette D. Godelia, of Hopping Green & Sams in Tallahassee, has been recognized in Florida Trend's 2018 Legal Elite. Her practice focuses on the negotiation of approvals under the state’s growth management laws and local government land development regulations. Posted 7.5.18

Adam C. Sabocik was promoted to partner at Boyes, Farina & Matwiczyk, P.A. in Palm Beach Gardens. He focuses his practice in the areas of probate and trust litigation, guardianship litigation and administration, and estate planning and administration. Posted 6.11.18

Vivian Cortes Hodz received the 2016-2017 Diversity Leadership Grant Outstanding Program Award from The Florida Bar Standing Committee on Diversity and Inclusion at the 2017 Tampa Bay Area Voluntary Bar Leaders’ Summit. She was also recognized by the Florida Association of Women Lawyers as a 2017 Leader in the Law. Additionally, Cortes Hodz was appointed as a liaison to The Florida Bar Board of Governors on behalf of the Tampa Hispanic Bar Association for 2016-2017. She practices family law at Cortes Hodz Family Law and Mediation, P.A. in Tampa along with her husband, Lawrence J. Hodz ('01). Posted 12.11.17

Irene E. Vander Els has been recognized as a 2017 Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Star. She is senior counsel at Hartman Simons & Wood LLP in Atlanta, GA, where she practices in state and federal courts. Posted 10.13.17

Marc A. Huling was recognized as one of the 2018 Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation. He is partner-in-charge at Roetzel & Andress in their Naples office. He practices business litigation, representing clients in a variety of matters involving business tort and contract litigation. Posted 8.18.17

Sean M. Ellis has been named president-elect of the Southwest Florida Real Estate Council. He is a partner at Roetzel & Andress in their Fort Myers and Naples offices. Ellis focuses his practice on condominium and community association law, and real estate law. Posted 8.10.17 

Mary L. Pankowski, adjunct professor at FSU Law, was honored by FSU with a dedicated entrance at the Augustus B. Turnbull Conference Center. Posted 2.14.17