STUDENT•SPOTLIGHT Family Day Awards ceremony
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ore than 100 law students were honored for outstanding academic work at the annual Family Day Awards ceremony in November. In addition to several named scholarships that honor students in such categories as the best oral advocacy and legal writing, the School of Law gave Distinguished Academic Achievement Awards to law students who earned the highest grade point average in each section of a course during the previous academic year.
At left: Professor Robert Farrell congratulates Colleen Kozicz ’10 on her distinguished academic achievement award; Jennifer Brady, recipient of the James DeFonce Memorial Scholarship, with Robert and Roberta DeFonce; Parthiban Mathavan with his wife and daughters.
From left: Allan Song, Erin Sheets, Robert Shepherd, Chris Smedick and Jonathan Sliva with Dean Brad Saxton. They received distinguished academic achievement awards.
Team No. 1 in FINRA competition
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he Society for Dispute Resolution fielded two teams in the Second Annual Securities Dispute Resolution Triathlon competition sponsored in October by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, also known as FINRA. The team of Alexandra Buenaventura ’12, Nicole Fernandes ’11 and Taryn Porzio ’12 finished first in the mediation portion, besting 21 other teams in the challenging, two-day competition that attracts law students from around the country. Quinnipiac University was matched against teams from Texas, Florida, New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania and others. Abraham Hurdle ’10 coached the winning team. That team and a second QU team composed of Elana Bertram ’11, Caitlin McGrory ’11 and Carminia Munoz ’11 were recognized for their collaborative methods, preparation and professionalism. Cara Platt ’11 coached the second team. FINRA challenges competitors’ advocacy skills in negotiation,
community service chairs. mediation and arbitration. The “In the alternative dispute competition focused on the securesolution community, our teams rities issues of investment suitabilhave established a good reputaity, portfolio diversification, risk tion, not only for our continued and return profiles, the fiduciary success, but also for our quality duties of a broker/dealer, conflicts demeanor toward our competiof interest arising between the tors,” said Porzio. broker-dealer and issuer, and the Porzio said the team receives obligation of broker-dealers to invaluable guidance from faculty conduct reasonable investigations advisers Carolyn Wilkes Kaas, in Regulation D offerings. Jennifer Gerarda Brown and Porzio serves as president of Charles H. Pillsbury. the Society for Dispute Resolution Executive Board. Other officers are Platt, vice president of external competitions; Adam Larue, vice president of internal competitions; Tiffany Sabato, vice president of membership development; Courtney Dillon, treasurer; Buenaventura, secretary; Fernandes and Alex Copp, competition chairs; and Melissa Showing off their medals, from left: Taryn Porzio ’12, Roy and Dan Schofield, Nicole Fernandes ’11 and Alexandra Buenaventura ’12. SPRING 2011 • QUINNIPIAC LAW
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