Faculty & Staff

FAMU College of Law has assembled a strong team of legal scholars who are uniquely qualified to provide the academic leadership necessary to equip students for a fulfilling legal career. Nationally recognized and highly regarded in legal education, the faculty has earned distinction in teaching, scholarship and professional service. 

Fully engaged to help ensure the professional growth of our students, the faculty are accessible to students inside and outside the classroom. Each student is assigned a faculty advisor, allowing for personal attention to student concerns. In addition, several first-year courses include an average of 30 students.

 

   

 

Faculty Profiles

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Professor of Law

Patricia Broussand

Professor of Law

Robert Abrams

Robert Abrams is an expert in both Water Law and Environmental Law. He is co-author of a leading casebook in each field: Legal Control of Water Resources (with Barton Thompson, Jr., John Leshy, & Sandra Zellmer, 6th ed. 2018) and Nature Law & Society: A Coursebook on Environmental Law & Policy, (with Zygmunt Plater, Robert Graham, Lisa Heinzerling, David Wirth, & Noah Hall (5rd ed. 2016). He is editor and a contributing author of a book that blends the two fields, Water Rights and Environmental Regulation: A Lawyer’s Guide (2018).

Professor Abrams attended law school at both Stanford University where he was a member of the Law Review and the University of Michigan. He holds his J.D. cum laude (1973) and A.B. with distinction (1969) from the latter. In addition to his areas of specialization, Professor Abrams also teaches the first year Civil Procedure class.

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Scholarly Commons

(407) 254-4001

robert.abrams@famu.edu

Puja Bhatavdekar : 407-254-3270

puja.bhatavdekar@famu.edu  

Patricia Broussard

Professor Patricia Broussard joined the faculty of Florida A&M University College of Law after teaching at Howard University School of Law for seven years. She teaches Constitutional Law I and II, First Amendment, Advance Appellate Advocacy, and Advance Topics on Women and the Law. Professor Broussard began her legal career clerking for the Honorable George W. Mitchell of the District of Columbia Superior Court. She writes in the area of Human Rights with a specialty focus on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

She is committed to service and while at Howard received the Warren Rosmarin Award for outstanding teaching and service. She regularly coaches moot court and client counseling teams and serves as a commissioner for the City of Orlando Mayor’s Martin Luther King Commission. She developed and implemented an annual neighborhood service project entitled “Clean- Up Parramore Day” for the law school. She is a four time recipient of the Percy Luney Spirit of Service Award and a five time recipient of Professor of the year. Professor Broussard believes that the success of her students is her greatest accomplishment in academia.

Professor Broussard has a J.D., cum laude, from Howard University School of Law and a B.S. degree from Northwestern University.

Curriculum Vitae

Scholarly Commons

407 254 3293

patricia.broussard@famu.edu

Latonya Wilson: 407-254-3234

latonya.wilson@famu.edu

 

Jeffery M. Brown

Associate Professor of Law

Eunice Caussade-Garcia

Associate Instructor, Legal Clinic

Jeffery M. Brown

Associate Professor Jeffrey M. Brown joined the College of Law as a permanent member of the Faculty in the fall of 2010 after serving as a Visitor during the 2009-2010 school year. Prior to joining the College of Law he served as an Assistant and then Associate Professor of Law at Northern Illinois University College of Law from 1999 until 2009.

His current research interests include assessing the capacity of regional courts to promote more effective development and human rights paradigms in failed states like Haiti and identifying effective normative and institutional frameworks to empower NGOs in the developing world.

He has consulted on USAID and State Department-funded rule of law initiatives in China and Russia for Vermont Law School and occasionally returns to Russia to guest lecture and conduct research. As a member of a consortium of Chicago-area law schools, he helped to coordinate a USAID-funded rule of law assistance program designed to bolster Palestinian legal education.

Professor Brown is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School.

 

Scholarly Commons

(407) 254 3253

jeffrey.brown@famu.edu

Latonya Wilson: 407-254-3234

latonya.wilson@famu.edu

Eunice Caussade-Garcia

Associate Instructor Eunice Caussade-García has taught in the Legal Clinic and Field Placement Program at the College of Law since 2006. She teaches and directs the Mediation Clinic, Homelessness and Legal Advocacy Clinic and Housing Clinic, as well supervises students in the Field Placement program. In addition to experiential courses, Prof. Caussade-García also teaches practical skills courses such as Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiations. Before teaching law, she was a staff attorney with Greater Orlando Area Legal Services, Inc. and an associate with the firms León, Gillespie & Associates, P.A. and Checchio & Stone, P.A., focusing mainly on family law and bankruptcy. Professor Caussade-García holds a J.D. degree from Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law, a B.A. degree from the University of Puerto Rico, and is a Florida Supreme Court certified County and Family Mediator.

 

 

 

(407) 254 3285

eunice.caussade@famu.edu

Monica Delacruz: 407-254-4036

monica.delacruz@famu.edu

 

 

Ann Marie B. Cavazos

Professor of Law

Denise Cespedes

Instructor, Legal Research and Writing

Ann Marie B. Cavazos

Professor Ann Marie Cavazos, a Professor of Law, has been expanding student knowledge for Florida A&M University College of Law for over a decade. Joining the faculty team in 2005, under her visionary leadership the Clinical Program ranked 7th nationally for “Best in Practical Training.” She is committed to service, scholarship, and teaching. Cavazos serves as President of the FAMU Faculty Senate and teaches Florida Constitutional Law, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Prosecution Clinic, Transactional Law, and Florida Practice. To support the endeavor of pedagogy reform for the 21st Century legal education she spearheaded, co-wrote and published two books that can immediately equip law students with practical legal skills in the classroom, namely, “Florida Family Law and Tort Law Practice and Skills Workbooks." 

Prior to joining the faculty, she was pro bono manager at Greater Orlando Area Legal Services and Director of the Alianza for Fair Housing Program of Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida. She also worked as a staff attorney with the Brooklyn Legal Aid Society and was appointed to the bench as a referee in the Brooklyn and Bronx Family Court. She holds a J.D. from Temple University School of Law and a B.S. from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

 

Scholarly Commons

(407) 254 4007

ann.cavazos@famu.edu

Iana Hair: 407-254-4022

Iana.hair@famu.edu

 

Denise Cespedes

Professor Cespedes was born and raised in Miami, Florida. She obtained her undergraduate and master’s degrees in Criminal Justice summa cum laude from the University of Central Florida. She graduated summa cum laude from FAMU College of Law where she was an editor of the FAMU Law Review, a Holland & Knight Scholar and recipient of the Certificate of Excellence and Florida A&M University Merit Scholarship. She received the esteemed honor of speaking on behalf of the newly inducted lawyers at the 5th District Court of Appeal’s induction ceremony after having earned one of the highest scores on the July 2013 Florida Bar Exam.

Professor Cespedes formerly served as an adjunct instructor at the FAMU College of Law teaching Multistate Bar Law & Skills and Florida Practice. Prior to beginning her career in academia, Professor Cespedes practiced civil defense litigation representing owners, developers and general contractors in connection with major construction defect claims. She has also litigated a variety of cases surrounding wrongful death, premises liability and personal injury matters. She remains an active member of the Florida Bar.

 

 

 

Daexia Modeste: 407-254-3297

daexia.modeste@famu.edu

 

 

 

Kara Consalo

Assistant Professor of Law

Markita D. Cooper

Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law

Kara Consalo

Assistant Professor Karen “Kara” Consalo joined the FAMU College of Law in 2022.  Prior to joining the College of Law, she served as a Lecturer and then Associate Lecturer in the Legal Studies Department at the University of Central Florida and as an Adjunct Professor at Barry University School of Law.  In private practice, Professor Consalo was a partner in the Consalo Law Firm, PA through which she served as a Special Magistrate for the cities of Casselberry and Oakland and represented various citizens and homeowner groups in conservation and development matters.  Professor Consalo has previously served as in-house counsel to the City of Orlando and Seminole County, representing these local governments on land development matters.  She also worked as a litigator at the Ackerman Senterfitt, PA law firm.  While in school, Professor Consalo interned at the Florida Supreme Court under Justice Peggy Quince and served as a Florida Bar Fellow in the water resources division of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.  She also served in the Americorps childhood education program.

Professor Consalo earned her J.D. with Honors from the University of Florida and her LL.M. with Honors from Boston University.  She holds certification from the Florida Bar as an expert in City, County & Local Government Law, as well as certification from the University of Florida in Land Use & Environmental Law.  She is admitted to the Florida Bar and the Middle District Court of Florida.  Her research interests include the affects of land development patterns and climate change on urban communities.

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(407) 254 3276

kara.consalo@famu.edu

Iana Hair: 407-254-4022

Iana.hair@famu.edu

Markita D. Cooper

Markita D. Cooper is the associate dean of Academic Affairs. This is a role she held previously at FAMU Law.

Professor Cooper joined the faculty of FAMU College of Law after 17 years on the faculty of Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco, California. ​At Golden Gate, Professor Cooper served as associate dean for J.D. Program Academic Affairs and Faculty Chair. Her primary teaching and scholarship interests include torts, defamation, privacy, and employment law. Her publications have focused on workplace defamation, employment references and referrals, the intersection of defamation law and workplace violence, and historical perspectives on invasion of privacy and technology.

Professor Cooper holds an A.B. degree, with distinction, from Stanford University and a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

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Scholarly Commons

(407) 254 3201

markita.cooper@famu.edu

Juliana Martinez: 407-254-3267

Juliana.Martinez@famu.edu 

Kim Crag-Chaderton

Instructor, Legal Clinic

Mark Dorosin

Director of Legal Clinic and Field Placement Program and Associate Professor of Law

Kim Crag-Chaderton

Kim Crag-Chaderton was named Interim Director of Legal Clinic and Field Placement in October 2019 and served until July of 2021.

Kim Crag-Chaderton, Esq. joined the Florida A&M University College of Law faculty team in 2018 as an instructor. She teaches the Criminal Defense and Guardian ad Litem Clinics as well as oversees the Field Placement studies. Attorney Crag-Chaderton obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of the Virgin Islands and went on to graduate from Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis.

Prior to joining the faculty, she was a Senior Attorney for the Department of Children and Families for thirteen years where she earned numerous awards and commendations. Prior to her work with the Department of Children and Families she worked as a defense litigator for five years with the Office of Public Defender – Ninth Circuit. She has also worked as a law clerk at the Territorial Court of the Virgin Islands where she drafted opinions and orders; researched, reviewed, and analyzed memoranda of law; and mediated small claims matters

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Monica Delacruz: 407-254-4036

monica.delacruz@famu.edu

Mark Dorosin

Mark Dorosin is an Associate Professor of Law and the Director of Legal Clinics and Field Placements. He has been a civil rights lawyer for over 25 years, working to address the continuing impacts of racial segregation and exclusion, including in housing, employment discrimination, environmental justice, restrictions on political participation, and racial disparities in education. Prior to joining FAMU, Professor Dorosin served as the Managing Attorney of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law-North Carolina Regional Office, and before that as co-Director of the Julius L. Chambers Center for Civil Rights. He also led the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Law Center for Civil Rights for 10 years.

Professor Dorosin’s areas of expertise include civil and constitutional rights, education law, fair housing, and environmental justice.

Professor Dorosin received his J.D. from UNC Law School (1994), an M.A.in history from UNC-Greensboro (1989), and a B.A. from Duke University (1987).

Curriculum Vitae

Scholarly Commons

407-254-4043

mark.dorosin@famu.edu

Monica Delacruz: 407-254-4036

monica.delacruz@famu.edu 

 

 

Jonathan Fineman

Associate Dean for Student Learning and Assessment and Associate Professor of Law

Ronald C. Griffin

 Professor of Law

Jonathan Fineman

After earning a J.D. from Columbia University, Jonathan Fineman spent several years in private practice litigating a wide range of business-related disputes. Before joining the FAMU faculty, he taught Employment Law and Comparative Employment Law as a Research Fellow at the University of Colorado School of Law. Professor Fineman’s scholarship focuses on workplace issues, and includes a recent article in the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law.

 

Scholarly Commons

(407) 254-3202

jonathan.fineman@famu.edu

Juliana Martinez: 407-254-3267

Juliana.Martinez@famu.edu 

Ronald C. Griffin

Ronald C. Griffin has served as a professor of law at FAMU since 2009. He has taught Commercial Law, Consumer Law, Contracts, Consumer’s Rights, International Transactions, and Secured Transactions.

As a visiting professor of law at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Professor Griffin served as a scholar and consultant in the specialized field of international trade and sales. He was invited to observe the hearings of the Meech Lake Accord, Canada’s process for reconstructing its Constitution. His international study of law and culture has also included extended visits to Scotland, Ireland, South Africa and Japan.

Professor Griffin has published several articles including: Republicanism (Comment): How Can Blacks Revive a Constitutional Dream; Hill’s Account: Law School, Legal Education and the Black Law Student; and Broadcast Advertising: What Has It Done to the Audience, A Prairie Perspective on Global Warming and Climate Change.

He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and an Associate Fellow at the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska.

Professor Griffin received his LLM from the University of Virginia and his JD from Howard University.

 

(407) 254 3223

ronald.griffin@famu.edu

Iana Hair: 407-254-4022

Iana.hair@famu.edu

 

Priscilla Harris

Interim Director of Legal Research and Writing and Instructor

William Henslee

Professor of Law

Priscilla Harris

Priscilla Norwood Harris has taught law for over twenty years. Currently, she is serving as the Interim Director of the Legal Research & Writing Program (LRW) and is excited to be working on reinvigorating and revamping the LRW Program and as well as implementing the newly required third semester of LRW, Appellate Advocacy.   

Earlier, as a 2016-2017 U.S. Core Fulbright Scholar, she taught undergraduate and graduate students at Vilnius University and worked with Lithuanian courts, including the Lithuania Court of Appeals and the Lithuanian Supreme Court. She has also taught undergraduate business students in China. In addition, she has taught graduate students at several American law schools, including LL.M. students at Vanderbilt Law School. Besides teaching, she has conducted public health field research in Appalachia funded by a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program. Her research interests include public health law, environmental law, and legal research and writing. 

She received her J.D. from University of Pennsylvania Law School and her B.A. from Florida State University. Before teaching, she practiced law for over ten years in Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C, in firms of all sizes as well as worked in a state appellate court. She is still an active member of the Florida bar.

Curriculum Vitae 

Scholarly Commons

407-254-3269

priscilla.harris@famu.edu 

Daexia Modeste: 407-254-3297

daexia.modeste@famu.edu

William Henslee

Professor Henslee is founding faculty member. He came to the College of Law from Pepperdine University, where he taught for 12 years. Winner of the Clark Award for Creative Writing, Professor Henslee is the author or editor of seven books. He teaches a range of courses, including copyright, trademarks and unfair competition, sports and entertainment law. Professor Henslee holds a M.F.A. in film from U.C.L.A., a J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law, and a B.A. in English from the University of Hawaii.

 

Scholarly Commons

(407) 254 3220

william.henslee@famu.edu

Puja Bhatavdekar : 407-254-3270

puja.bhatavdekar@famu.edu  

 

 

Areto Imoukhuede

Professor of Law

Darryll Jones

Professor of Law

Areto Imoukhuede

Professor Areto Imoukhuede earned a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was awarded the Dean’s Certificate for Outstanding Service.  He earned a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University where he was awarded the Golden Bear Award for Financial Acumen.   

Professor Imoukhuede researches fundamental rights as duties under the U.S. Constitution with his primary focuses being on education and homeland securityHe has presented his academic research across the nation and overseas, including in Athens, Greece and Rome, Italy. 

He teaches U.S. Constitutional law and upper-level, advanced courses on constitutional theory. His other JD courses include administrative law and contracts, and has taught courses in education law, federal privacy law, and employment discrimination. Professor Imoukhuede has extended his teaching mission internationally, teaching courses on International Justice, The Human Right to Education, and an Introduction to U.S. Constitutional Law in Barcelona and Granada, Spain; Rome, Italy; and in the Hague in the Netherlands. 

His national service includes serving as one of the John Mercer Langston, Black Male Writing Workshop founders and as a site inspector for the ABA accreditation process for law schools. Professor Imoukhuede served as chair of his past institution’s promotion and tenure committee and was appointed to serve on several other committees, most notably: strategic planning, ABA Self-Study, and program review committees.  

He has previously served as Investigative Counsel for the House Homeland Security Committee. His other federal service includes work as a Congressional Fellow in the U.S. House, where he conducted extensive research on U.S. education policy, and an internshipwith the U.S. DOJ Antitrust Division.  

Professor Imoukhuede practiced law with a large, Chicago-based, international law firm where he represented several Fortune 100 clients in major complex litigation matters involving antitrust, insurance coverage, pharmaceutical, and franchising disputes. 

Professor Imoukhuede is a member of the Bars of Illinois, the District of Columbia, and the Northern District of Illinois.  He is a proud Eagle Scout.

 

Curriculum Vitae

 

Latonya Wilson: 407-254-3234

latonya.wilson@famu.edu

Darryll Jones

Darryll K. Jones is a Professor of Law. He previously served as the Director of Legal Clinics and Field Placement.

Jones assumed the duties of Interim Dean on July 1, 2015, after serving as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs since 2012.   Jones joined the College of Law in July 2009 as Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development.  In that role, he helped to successfully guide FAMU Law through its first post-accreditation review. He received his LLM (Tax) and JD degrees from the University of Florida.

From 1993 to 2006 he taught at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where he also served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2003 until 2006. From 2006 to 2009, Professor Jones served as Professor of Law at Stetson University College of Law where he was selected for the Homer & Dolly Hand Award for Excellence in Faculty Research and the Outstanding Faculty Service Award.

He is the author of “K-Rations” a column on partnership taxation appearing monthly in Tax Notes magazine and co-editor of the Nonprofit Law Professors Blog. Prior to becoming a full-time tax law scholar, Professor Jones served as General Counsel at Columbia College Chicago and Associate General Counsel at the University of Florida. He also served for five years in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corp.

 

Curriculum Vitae

 

407 254 3264

darryll.jones@famu.edu

Puja Bhatavdekar : 407-254-3270

puja.bhatavdekar@famu.edu  

 

Yolanda Jones

Director of Law Library and Associate Professor of Law

Deidré A. Keller

Professor of Law

Yolanda Jones

Dr. Jones teaches courses in Legal Bibliography and Advanced Legal Research. Prior to joining the faculty, her professional experience includes service in Law Libraries at Wayne State University, Villanova University, Indiana University, and the University of Miami. She received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. She earned her M.S.L.S. from the Clark Atlanta University School of Library and Information Science and her Ph.D. in Information Science and Technology from Drexel University.
Curriculum Vitae

(407) 254 3231

yolanda.jones@famu.edu

Puja Bhatavdekar : 407-254-3270

puja.bhatavdekar@famu.edu  

 

Deidré A. Keller

Deidré A. Keller is the immediate past dean of the Florida A&M University (FAMU Law) College of Law in Orlando. Her tenure began on July 1, 2020. Prior to joining FAMU Law, Keller was the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law. Dean Keller began her academic career at ONU as an Assistant Professor in 2010. While there she taught Property, Intellectual Property, Law & Literature, and the Legal History of Montgomery, Alabama, among other property, intellectual property, and academic success courses. For three years Keller taught undergraduates in ONU’s PLUS program, which was aimed at preparing students underrepresented in the profession for law school. Keller was also the co-Chair of the ONU’s inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission. Her work in the DEI space also included organizing conferences with colleagues from across the academy, including, MOSAIC: Diverse Voices in Intellectual Property, an annual conference which recently had its eighth annual meeting; and RACE + IP, a semiannual, interdisciplinary conference, the fourth meeting of will take place at University of Pittsburgh School of Law in April 2023.  

Dean Keller writes and speaks at the intersections of pedagogy, intellectual property, personhood theory, critical race theory, and the Constitution. Her current work is focused on inclusive pedagogies and diversifying the legal profession. She is also active in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the community. In that capacity, she has served on the DEI taskforce of the Orlando Economic Partnership. Dean Keller also serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Parramore Community Engagement Council.

Prior to teaching, Keller practiced law in Atlanta, Georgia, with the firms of Sutherland, Asbill and Brennan, LLP and Seyfarth Shaw, LLP. She specialized in intellectual property. Her experience included patent, copyright, and trademark litigation, procurement, and counseling.

Keller earned her B.A. in English and Sociology from Yale College and her JD from Emory University College of Law. She and her husband have six children.

 

 

Scholarly Commons 

407-254-3200

deidre.keller@famu.edu 

 

Lundy Langston

Professor of Law

Jeremy I. Levitt

Distinguished Professor of International Law

Lundy Langston

Lundy Langston is an inaugural faculty member at the College of Law and previously served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Professor Langston taught at several law schools prior to joining the FAMU faculty. She has lectured or researched in programs in Ghana, West Africa, Spain, and China and has presented her scholarship at a number of leading law schools, including Columbia University Law School, the University of Michigan Law School, Duke Law School, and Howard University Law School. In addition to publishing a number of law review articles, she has also co-authored a torts casebook. Professor Langston holds an LL.M degree from Columbia University Law School and the J.D. and B.S. degrees from North Carolina Central University. While a student at NCCU School of Law, she was Editor-in-Chief of the law journal.  After law school, Langston clerked at the North Carolina Supreme Court with Justice Henry Frye.

 

 

 (407) 254 3246

lundy.langston@famu.edu 

Iana Hair: 407-254-4022

Iana.hair@famu.edu

Jeremy I. Levitt

Dr. Jeremy Levitt is the distinguished professor of international law. A former Fulbright Research Chair in Human Rights and Social Justice at the Human Rights Research and Education Center, University of Ottawa, he was the first Black male to serve as a law dean in Canada and the first African American to serve as dean in Canada in any discipline. He formerly served as associate dean for international programs and founding director of the Center for International Law and Justice at FAMU.

Dr. Levitt is an internationally recognized public intellectual, legal scholar, international lawyer, political scientist and global administrator with a rare combination of experiential and theoretical training and experiences. He is recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities in international law and politics of Africa and is a pioneering scholar-practitioner in international human rights law, conflict and peace studies, transitional justice, and racial justice studies. He is the author and editor of seven books and numerous scholarly works.

Dr. Levitt has extensive field expertise in Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. In 2016, he was a Senior External Scholar at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center in Accra, Ghana. In 2009-2010, Louise Arbour, former UN High Commission for Human Rights nominated him to serve as Head of the International Technical Advisory Committee (ITAC) of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of the Republic of Liberia

(TRC) during the country’s civil war. He was appointed to this position by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia and Africa’s first elected female president. In 2005, he was a visiting fellow at the Lauterpacht Center for International Law at Cambridge University. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute.

Dr. Levitt holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Politics and International Studies from the University of Cambridge, a Doctor of Law from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Arizona State University.

 

Scholarly Commons 

407 254 3248

jeremy.levitt@famu.edu

Latonya Wilson: 407-254-3234

latonya.wilson@famu.edu

 

Reginald J. Mitchell, Sr.

Associate Instructor

LeRoy Pernell

Professor of Law

Reginald J. Mitchell, Sr.

Reginald J. Mitchell, Esq. is currently the FAMU College of Law Director of Academic Success and Bar Preparation Program. He is also volunteering as the FAMU Rattler Boosters, Inc. General Counsel and the FAMU National Alumni Association General Counsel. He is formerly the Assistant General Counsel for Risk of the Florida Department of Children and Families. He was formerly a Medicaid Subrogation Attorney with Health Management Systems, Florida Legal Counsel of People for the American Way (PFAW) as a registered lobbyist with the Florida Legislature, and Florida Election Protection Director of People for the American Way Foundation. Mr. Mitchell also served as an Associate Attorney at Parks and Crump, LLC. Mr. Mitchell’s areas of practice included personal injury, wrongful death and auto-tort litigation.

His professional memberships include the Florida Bar, the Northern Middle & Southern District of Florida Federal Bars, the National Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.

 

Scholarly Commons

Puja Bhatavdekar : 407-254-3270

puja.bhatavdekar@famu.edu  

LeRoy Pernell

LeRoy Pernell is a professor and former dean of Florida A&M University College of Law. He is credited with leading the law school to full accreditation from the American Bar Association in 2009 and reaccreditation in 2014. He is also professor emeritus and former dean of the Northern Illinois University College of Law. 

He began his career in legal education at The Ohio State University College of Law where he served as Professor of Law and Vice Provost of Minority Affairs. Teaching primarily in the areas of Criminal Procedure, Torts and Juvenile Law, he also created clinical education courses at Ohio State in the areas of Mental and Developmental Disability as well as Criminal Appeals and Post-Conviction Relief. At Northern Illinois University, he created the Zeke Giogi Legal Clinic, in Rockford, the first clinical program for the NIU College of Law. Professor Pernell has also held the position of a public defender and served as of counsel to the law practice of the late Otto Beatty, Jr, former Ohio state representative.

Professor Pernell is a frequent contributor to both national and local print and electronic media on topics ranging from Elections to Criminal Justice. In 2021 he was awarded, along with the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University College of Law, the Telly Award honoring excellence in video and television across all screens for his contribution to Legal Connections: Ocoee Massacre. He has testified before the Criminal Justice Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee of the United States House of Representatives regarding pending federal habeas corpus legislation and its impact on persons of color. He is also the recipient of numerous awards including the CLEO EDGE AWARD and has been inducted into The National HBCU Pre-Law Hall of Fame.

Pernell recently published, along with Professor Omar Saleem, Cases and Materials on Combatting Racism in Criminal Procedure (Vandeplas Press 2020). He has published a wide range of articles and book chapters in the areas of criminal procedure, race and the law, torts and sports law. Among his most recent articles are “In Memoriam: David Williams II – Mentor, Colleague, Friend”, 81 Ohio St. L.J. 11 (2020) and “Racial Justice and Federal Habeas Corpus as Post-Conviction Relief from State Convictions”,69 Mercer Law Review 433 (2018). 

Pernell earned his bachelor’s degree in government from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1971, and received his Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University College of Law in 1974.

Curriculum Vitae

Scholarly Commons

407-254-4034

leroy.pernell@famu.edu

Latonya Wilson: 407-254-3234

latonya.wilson@famu.edu

 

Shiv Persaud

Associate Professor of Law

Cynthia Ramkellawan

Asisstant Professor of Law

Shiv Persaud

Prior to joining FAMU’s faculty, Shiv Narayan Persaud served as a state agency attorney, an assistant public defender, an assistant state attorney and a sole practitioner. In varying capacities at several state agencies, he worked on the State’s highway outdoor advertising program, assisted in the reconstruction of the firefighter certification examination, and streamlined real estate license law prosecutions. With the opportunity to represent indigent and private clients, in addition to the institutional knowledge of being a successful prosecutor, he brings a practical understanding to the classroom which elucidates and strengthens a student’s inferential analysis. Being in academia has also afforded him the opportunity to reach a vast and diverse array of individuals who will eventually become the policymakers and professionals in our legal system. He believes that the College’s commitment to excellence cannot underplay the value of instilling the principles of cultural competence in the legal profession.

In continuing these principles at the College, in 2012 he became the founding faculty member for the Marshall-Bell Law Society. The Society is a student-operated organization with a mission to enhance cultural sensitivity and competency in both legal education and practice. In furthering the principles of liberty and equal justice for all under the law, in the spirit of Thurgood Marshall and Derek Bell, the Society seeks to provide an objective forum for culturally diverse individuals to speak on a variety of issues and address cultural misconceptions. As future legal professionals, students become members because they are committed to promoting those behaviors and attitudes that will enable them and their fellow students to work effectively in cross-cultural situations.

 

 

 (407) 254 4026

shiv.persaud@famu.edu

 

Daexia Modeste: 407-254-3297

daexia.modeste@famu.edu

Cynthia Ramkellawan

Cynthia Ramkellawan is a Florida A&M University College of Law graduate who has remained committed to the College of Law’s Mission. She received the honor of being a Top Honor Graduate upon graduating from the University of Central Florida with her Bachelor of Arts. At the time of her graduation, she was the youngest student to matriculate and receive her Juris Doctorate from the Florida A&M College of Law, magna cum laude. She also earned an LL.M in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center, where she served in the capacity of LL.M Advisor on the Georgetown Journal of International Law.

In May, 2021, Cynthia was honored by the UCF Alumni Association as a recipient of its Seventh Annual 30 Under 30 Award recognizing her professional successes and exemplary service to her community.

Cynthia maintains active bar memberships in Florida and New York.

Curriculum Vitae

Scholarly Commons

Cynthia.Ramkellawan@famu.edu

407-254-4003

Latonya Wilson: 407-254-3234

latonya.wilson@famu.edu

 

Rhonda Reaves

Professor of Law

Maritza Reyes

Professor of Law

Rhonda Reaves

Professor Reaves joined FAMU College of Law after teaching for six years at Loyola University School of Law in Los Angeles. Professor Reaves has written several articles focusing on race and gender discrimination in employment. At FAMU College of Law, she teaches employment law, employment discrimination, and property. She has a J.D. degree from Stanford Law School and a B.A. degree from Yale University.

 

Scholarly Commons

(407) 254 3245

rhonda.reaves@famu.edu

Puja Bhatavdekar : 407-254-3270

puja.bhatavdekar@famu.edu  

 

Maritza Reyes

Professor Reyes earned an LL.M. from the Harvard Law School, a J.D. summa cum laude from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center and a B.S. in Accounting magna cum laude from Florida Atlantic University. She currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the Harvard Latino Law Review. Professor Reyes teaches Civil Procedure, Evidence, Immigration Law, Advanced Topics in Immigration Law, Latinos and the Law, and Professional Responsibility. She also serves as faculty advisor to the Hispanic American Law Students Association. Her areas of research and writing interest include immigration law and policy, crimmigration, ethics, evidence, the federal courts, and Latinos and the law. Professor Reyes is admitted to practice in Florida and before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida.

Professor Reyes believes in the importance of education as a means to improve individual lives and society in general. At Harvard, Professor Reyes served as General Editor of the Harvard Latino Law Review and as External Affairs Coordinator of La Alianza. She held a Harvard Law School Post-Graduate Research Fellowship (2008-2011) and was awarded a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Graduate Scholarship. At Nova, Professor Reyes attended law school on a full-tuition merit scholarship as a Goodwin Scholar, served as Articles Editor of the Nova Law Review, won a Best Brief Award in the Moot Court First Year Appellate Writing Competition and earned membership in the Moot Court Honor Society. She received a Public Interest Pro Bono Award, the Student Bar Association Academic Achievement Award, the National Association of Women Lawyers Outstanding Law Student Award and recognition in Who’s Who: American Law Students (2000 ed.). During her undergraduate accounting studies, she was inducted into the Beta Alpha Psi, Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Societies.

 

 

Scholarly Commons

(407) 254 2470

maritza.reyes@famu.edu

Puja Bhatavdekar : 407-254-3270

puja.bhatavdekar@famu.edu  

 

 

Omar Saleem

Professor of Law

Jennifer Smith

Professor of Law

Omar Saleem

Omar Saleem is a Professor of Law and former founding Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Florida A&M College of Law. He received his B.A. from City University of New York at Queens College and his J.D., cum laude, from North Carolina Central University of Law where he was the editor-in-chief of the law review and received numerous academic awards, including the NAACP National John Warren Davis Award for Academic Excellence, and the North Carolina Board of Governors Academic Award. He received his LL.M. from Columbia University School of Law. He was a law clerk for the Honorable Henry E. Frye, Associate Justice for the North Carolina Supreme Court.

As an assistant public defender he handled criminal proceedings in juvenile, district and superior court, and appeals filed at the North Carolina appellate level. As Legal Services attorney he handled matters involving insurance, domestic violence, housing, consumer fraud, wills, and the uniform commercial code.

He has published on a variety of topics including Cyberlaw, Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, International Environmental Law, Criminal Procedure, and Comparative Law. He taught at North Carolina Central University School of Law and St. Thomas University School of Law, where he was recognized by student organizations for excellence in teaching. He has strong interest in the domestic and global application of laws, with a particular focus on developing countries and racial minorities. His scholarship is cited in over one hundred publications, including the popular Environmental Law textbook by Findley and Farber, Cases and Materials on Environmental Law (5th ed. West 1999). His scholarship appears in law reviews published by John Marshall University, Pennsylvania State/Dickinson University, Columbia University, American University, University of Oklahoma, Southern University, Georgetown University, and the University of Florida.

 

Scholarly Commons

(407) 254 4011

omar.saleem@famu.edu

Latonya Wilson: 407-254-3234

latonya.wilson@famu.edu

 

Jennifer Smith

Jennifer Smith is a professor of law at the Florida A&M University College of Law. Before joining the FAMU College of Law, Professor Smith was a partner with Holland & Knight LLP, an international law firm, where she chaired the law firm’s South Florida Health Law Group. She practiced in both the Washington, D.C. and Miami offices. During that time, the Young Lawyers Division of the Washington Bar Association recognized her as “The Young Lawyer of the Year.” Prior to becoming a partner, she was recognized as an “extraordinary associate” by the law firm. While an associate, she took a leave from the law firm to volunteer as a human rights attorney with the Legal Resources Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Before joining the firm, Professor Smith served as a federal judicial law clerk to former Chief Judge Joseph W. Hatchett on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. She is admitted to practice in Florida, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the Supreme Court of the United States. She holds a B.S. from Hampton University and a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law.

Professor Smith teaches Federal Civil Procedure and several upper-level courses. She continues to represent the underrepresented in pro bono work. She is well-published in several law journals; federal and state court judges have cited her scholarship as authority; and she is a co-author of a recent supplement to Civil Procedure: A STUDENT ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY PRIMER: AN ESSENTIAL COMPANION FOR CIVIL PROCEDURE COURSES (Carolina Academic Press, 2016). The Primer supplements the traditional law school introductory Civil Procedure course by providing a condensed introduction to electronic discovery. In 2017, 2018 and 2021, Professor Smith submitted petitions for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States.

 

 

Scholarly Commons

(407) 254 3256

jennifer.smith@famu.edu

Iana Hair: 407-254-4022

Iana.hair@famu.edu

 

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Instructor, Legal Research and Writing

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Instructor, Legal Research and Writing

Cassandra Harris-Starks

Attorney Cassandra Harris-Starks is joining the Legal Research and Writing team from private
practice as a visiting instructor. She founded the Law Office of Cassandra Harris-Starks, P.A., which
handles matters in the areas of estate planning and immigration, in 2014. Before practicing law,
Cassandra was an Import Trade Analyst with the International Trade Administration in Washington,DC and a Systems Engineer with Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in Troy, Michigan. She started her legal career with UAW Legal Services in Detroit, Michigan. Cassandra is currently a Supervisor on the Celebration Community Development District Board. She also serves the community as a member of the Advisory Council of the Celebration Foundation.

Cassandra holds a J.D. from Mercer University and a B.B.A. degree in International Business fromthe University of Georgia. She is a member of both the Florida and Michigan bar associations.

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Scholarly Commons

Daexia Modeste: 407-254-3297

daexia.modeste@famu.edu

 

Ali Friedberg Tal-mason

 

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407-254-3224

ali.talmason@famu.edu

Daexia Modeste: 407-254-3297

daexia.modeste@famu.edu

Tonya Walker

Associate Instructor, Legal Research and Writing

Marlese Wells

Instructor, Academic Success and Bar Preparation

Tonya Walker

Professor Walker began her career in academia as an Assistant Professor of Lawyering Process at Florida Coastal School of Law (“FSCL”) in Jacksonville, Florida.  At FCSL, Professor Walker taught first-year law students Legal Research and Writing.  In addition, she taught upper-level law students skills courses including: Pretrial Litigation Drafting and Client Interviewing and Counseling.

Professor Walker also practiced appellate law at Korn & Zehmer, P.A., where she represented clients before the Florida state appellate courts on a variety of appellate issues.

Professor Walker received her Juris Doctorate degree from Florida State University College of Law, cum laude. Professor Walker received her undergraduate degree with a major in Criminal Justice from the University of North Florida. Licensed in Florida, she is actively involved in community activities and organizing Team Fox fundraising events for the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

 

 

(407) 254 3211

tonya.walker@famu.edu

Daexia Modeste: 407-254-3297

daexia.modeste@famu.edu

Marlese Wells

Marlese Wells is a Florida A&M University College of Law graduate who has dedicated her entire legal career fulfilling the College of Law’s mission. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Florida Memorial University. Professor Wells is currently an Instructor in the Academic Success & Bar Preparation Department at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University College of Law, where she has taught the following courses: Introduction to Analytical Skills I, Introduction to Analytical Skills II and Advanced Analytical Skills. She has also hosted webinars, workshops and provides bar exam coaching in the Bar Exam Success Training program offered to College of Law graduates and bar examinees.

Professor Wells has over ten years of legal, practice experience, all of which has been dedicated to public service. Prior to joining the College of Law, Professor Wells served as a Senior Law Clerk & Staff Attorney for both the Seventh and Ninth Judicial Circuits Courts, where she advised the judiciary on complex and pending litigation matters. In this capacity, she also prepared orders and appellate opinions for the criminal and civil divisions. For her unparalleled work, Professor Wells was recognized and awarded the Chief Judge’s Commendation for Exemplary Public Service in 2014.

Although she served as an advisor to members of both the criminal and civil judiciary in her role as a Law Clerk, Professor Wells has remained an avid lover of justice in the realm of criminal law and has a dedicated interest in criminal postconviction and death penalty matters.

Professor Wells maintains an active membership with the Florida bar.

Curriculum Vitae

 

Marlese.Wells@famu.edu

407-254-4045

Iana Hair: 407-254-4022

Iana.hair@famu.edu

 

Eurilynne Anise Williams

Interim Director of Academic Success and Bar Preparation and Associate Instructor

 

 

Eurilynne Anise Williams

Eurilynne Anise Williams serves as Interim Director and Instructor of Academic Success & Bar Preparation (ASBP) at FAMU College of Law.  She oversees the administration and operations of the ASBP Department, including the design and implementation of curriculum for first year and upper-level critical skills courses.  She teaches Introduction to Analytical Skills I and II, and Advanced Analytical Skills, which she has taught in a live instruction setting and via online, asynchronous delivery.  Professor Williams also manages the Bar Exam Success Training (B.E.S.T.) Program for the biannual administrations of the bar exam. The program provides graduates with access to supplemental bar preparation resources and tutoring.  Professor Williams conducts bar examination preparedness workshops covering the Multistate Bar Exam, Florida Essay Exam and Multistate Performance Tests, and offers advising on the strategic use of bar preparation resources.

Professor Williams demonstrates her embrace of FAMU College of Law’s mission through her research and presentations that amplify methods for supporting underprepared and underperforming law students to success, and strategies for enhancing law students’ writing.  She has frequently been invited to share her presentations at national conferences hosted by the Association of Academic Support Educators (AASE) and the Legal Writing Institute (LWI).   Professor Williams’ passion for developing a pipeline of future legal professionals is evidenced by her involvement in local public school TEACH-IN events, law school recruitment activities including teaching in the Legal Scholars Summer Program, and through her service on the AASE Diversity Committee’s Adopt-A-School initiative.

Before joining FAMU’s faculty, Professor Williams dedicated eight years to public and private law practice.  As a Senior Attorney with the State of Florida Guardian Ad Litem Program in the 18th Judicial Circuit, she had the privilege of advocating for the best interests of Florida’s children.  Her private practice focused on litigating family law, guardianship, adoption, and dependency cases, building on the foundation she established as an associate with the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel, 5th District.

Professor Williams graduated Cum Laude with a Juris Doctor from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University College of Law where she served as Business Managing Editor of Law Review and Secretary of Moot Court Board.  She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of West Florida.  Professor Williams is admitted to practice in Florida, is a member of the American Bar Association, and the Association of Academic Support Educators.

Curriculum Vitae

 

 407 254 4002

eurilynne.williams@famu.edu

Iana Hair: 407-254-4022

Iana.hair@famu.edu