FSU Law will celebrate the 2024 Alumni Awards with a virtual presentation on Tuesday, October 29, from 6-7 P.M. (ET) and live presentation on Friday, November 22, during the Law Alumni Reunion Reception at Meenan, P.A.
Distinguished Alum Award
This award recognizes a Florida State University College of Law graduate who is distinguished professionally and who has rendered outstanding service to the community as well as to the College of Law. Factors considered in selecting the winner include professional distinction, good citizenship, and significant contributions benefiting the community, state, and nation.
Justice Alan Lawson (’87) of Tallahassee, Florida
Justice Alan Lawson is a founding shareholder of Lawson Huck Gonzalez PLLC, where he focuses on appellate practice. Prior to founding the Lawson firm, Justice Lawson served for six years as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida. He also served on the Fifth District Court of Appeal for eleven years and four years as a Ninth Judicial Circuit judge. Earlier in his legal career, Lawson practiced as an associate and partner with Steel Hector & Davis and with the Orange County Attorney’s Office. In these capacities, he has handled a wide array of case types in state and federal court and before administrative agencies, including construction, government procurement, eminent domain, contract claims, public utility regulatory proceedings, business disputes, and class action defense, attaining a Martindale-Hubbell “AV” rating. This rating reflects a peer-review ranking at the highest level of professional excellence for legal knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards. In addition to his extensive 35-year legal and judicial career, Justice Lawson is also widely known for his charitable pursuits, including work with impoverished communities in Central America. Lawson and his wife, Julie, made frequent trips to Honduras where they volunteered with surgical and medical assistance relief teams, Hope for Honduras, and Mi Esperanza. Justice Lawson has served as a member of the law school’s Alumni Association Board of Directors. He has been a keynote speaker for the law school’s commencement. He is also an incredibly popular adjunct faculty member who teaches leadership skills, and serves as a mentor to both students and alumni.
Alumni Association Service Award
This award recognizes a Florida State University law school graduate who has rendered distinguished service to the College of Law over an extended period of time.
Fred Karlinsky is a shareholder and chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Global Insurance Regulatory and Transactions Practice Group. He has over 30 years of experience representing the interests of insurers, reinsurers, and a wide variety of other insurance-related entities. Karlinsky is nationally recognized for his work in insurance law and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, Florida Trend 500, and Florida Trend’s “Legal Elite.” Karlinsky is recognized as the only Band 1 Florida insurance regulatory lawyer by Chambers & Partners and one of the most influential leaders in Florida politics by City & State Florida and Influence magazine. His practice focuses on the areas of insurance law, government relations, and administrative law. Karlinsky has been involved in revisions to the Florida automobile insurance law, worker’s compensation laws, and medical malpractice laws. Since 2014 Karlinsky has served on and currently chairs the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC), where five of the seven current sitting Justices of the Florida Supreme Court have been appointed during Karlinsky’s tenure on the JNC. Karlinsky is the current chair of the law school’s Board of Visitors. Karlinsky teaches an annual spring break course entitled Law and Risk Management to J.D., J.M., and LL.M. students. He is also a major donor, contributing to multiple funds benefitting the law school and its students, and he has hosted an alumni reception. Karlinsky champions the law school at Greenberg Traurig, leading to event sponsorships and job opportunities for students.
Everyday Hero Award
This award recognizes a Florida State University College of Law graduate who is an early- to mid-career public servant who enthusiastically uses their legal training to make a more just and equitable society.
Lolia Fernandez is an assistant public defender for Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit, where she serves as a felony division chief. She is an active member of the Tallahassee legal community, having served on the boards of Tallahassee Bar Association, Tallahassee Women Lawyers, and Legal Aid Foundation of Tallahassee. Fernandez has also served on the Florida Bar Board of Governors Young Lawyer Division. Currently, Fernandez serves as the chair for one of The Florida Bar's Grievance Committees. In 2020, she received the Thomas M. Ervin Jr. Distinguished Young Lawyer Award. Fernandez regularly engages with and advises students, serving as a panelist during 1L orientation and as a speaker for the Donald J. Weidner Summer for Undergraduates Program. She has also served as a member of the law school’s Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Class of '66 Award
This award recognizes a non-Florida State University College of Law graduate who has rendered distinguished service to the law school and to the community. Each recipient is inducted into the Class of 1966 to commemorate the year that the Florida State University College of Law opened its doors.
Donna Christie graduated with a B.S. and J.D. from the University of Georgia. After graduating with her J.D. degree, Christie held a post-doctoral fellowship in marine policy and ocean management at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She joined the law school as an assistant professor in 1981, and during her tenure served as director of the Policy Studies Clinic, associate dean for academic affairs, associate dean for environmental programs and associate dean for international programs. Christie currently has professor of law emerita status. She is a co-author of the leading casebook in the field, Ocean and Coastal Law, as well as the author of numerous articles and reports exploring ocean policy, fisheries management, and coastal management. Christie is a leading authority on legal issues surrounding ocean and coastal management law. She has spearheaded the efforts of two Florida governors in developing state ocean policy. At the national level she was a co-author of the Review of U.S. Ocean and Coastal Law, prepared for the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, and which provided the legal analysis for the development of President Obama’s national ocean policy. Internationally, she has advised and provided legal frameworks for the governments of Belize and the OECD countries to further their coastal and ocean policies. Christie was essential to the development of law school’s environmental and international programs. Even after retirement, Christie continued to teach, write and provide guidance for the programs, and she regularly attends program events.
Exemplary Public Service Career Award
This award recognizes a Florida State University College of Law graduate who has dedicated their career to public service and who has demonstrated exceptional character, integrity, humility, and professionalism, as well as the highest regard for ethics.
Helaine Blum ('78) began her career with a short stint in private practice before serving the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association and her co-founding of what is now known as Pathlight Home. Since 2000 she has been instrumental in Pathlight Home’s delivery of housing and services to homeless and low-income individuals of Orange County. Pathlight Home has developed over 650 unit of affordable housing since inception and through a “housing first” approach has changed the lives of countless individuals and families.
Thompson began his career as an Assistant State Attorney and went on to serve as a judge at every level within the state of Florida. He was first appointed to as a County Judge in Orange County, FL, served as Chief Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, and eventually served as Chief Judge of the Fifth District Court of Appeal. He has also served the legal community through his many volunteer roles throughout the state, including as Florida Bar Foundation President. As one of his many nominators stated, “Judge Thompson’s career has greatly inspired and impacted many in the legal profession, particularly African American lawyers and judges who have looked up to him.”