College of Law Faculty
Nicholas W. Allard
Randall C. Berg Jr. Dean
J.D., Yale Law School
M.A., Oxford University
Telephone number Office Phone: (904) 256-7033
Email address Email: nallard@ju.edu
Dean “Nick” Allard joined Jacksonville University as the Founding Dean of the College of Law. He previously served as Dean of Brooklyn Law School (2012 - 2018) where he also concurrently served as President (2014-2018 and Professor of Law (2012-2020).
Nick is a distinguished attorney, having held leadership positions in some of the most highly regarded firms in the world. Most recently, Dean Allard has been Senior Counsel based in the Washington, D.C., office of Dentons US LLP, the largest law firm in the world. He has received recognition as a leading lawyer and awards as a “Visionary” for his work in public policy and counseling clients in the fields of privacy, telecommunications, advanced broadband networked communications, technology, health, energy, environmental law, compliance, and higher education.
Nick has been a member of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Government Affairs, chaired its Communications Committee, and currently chairs its Standing Committee on the Law Library of Congress. Dean Allard holds prominent volunteer leadership positions at Princeton University, Oxford University, the Rhodes Scholarship Trust, Cambridge University, Catholic University of America, and is a long-time Trustee of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. He received his JD from Yale Law School and holds a BA from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.
He is a Rhodes Scholar and holds an MA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from Oxford University. Dean Allard’s legal education continued during clerkships with the late U.S. Chief District Judge Robert F. Peckham (N.D. CA) and the late U.S. Appellate Judge Patricia M. Wald (D.C. Cir.).
Courtney A. Barclay, APR
Associate Dean of Academic and Faculty Affairs
Professor of Communication and Law
Ph.D., University of Florida
J.D., University of Florida
Telephone number Office Phone: (904) 256-7114
Email address Email: cbarcla1@ju.edu
Dr. Courtney Barclay has nearly 15 years of experience in higher education. Dr. Barclay joined the faculty at JU as professor in the Department of Communication, specializing in public relations and media law. With an interdisciplinary focus, she holds a joint faculty appointment in Communication and Law. Dr. Barclay's research analyzes First Amendment implications of law and policy impacting the emerging uses of technology and new media platforms, including chat bots, online data tracking, drones, and social media. She has presented this research at national and international conferences, and is the author of "Commercial Speech in a Social Space," a chapter in the third edition of Social Media and the Law (2023). She also holds a national Accreditation in Public Relations. Before joining the faculty at JU, Dr. Barclay taught media law at Syracuse University and, in 2009, served as a Visiting Scholar at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, mentoring summer law clerks and directing a modernization of the organization's tracking of Freedom of Information requests, appeals, and litigation.
Margaret Dees
Vice Dean, Adjunct Professor
J.D., UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
B.M., JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY
Telephone number Office Phone: (904) 256-7885
Email address Email: mdees@ju.edu
Margaret Dees, Esq. is a Jacksonville University alumna and has served the university as a member of the Board of Trustees and in key senior leadership positions. Dees serves as Vice Dean, overseeing business operations, accreditation, legal community, and governmental relations for the College of Law. She additionally serves as the lead on external relations for the University. Previously, Dees served as Senior Vice President of Economic Development & External Engagement where she managed Jacksonville University’s external relationships with state and local government and acted as liaison to both public and private economic investment entities, community grant-making agencies, and institutes. In an earlier role, Dean Dees served as head of Enrollment Management & Communications for the University, overseeing admissions, financial aid, international recruitment, and marketing & communications. Dees served as Director of Institutional Advancement for Florida Coastal School of Law before returning to her alma mater to serve under President Tim Cost. Dean Dees began her career in law with nearly ten years at Holland & Knight, LLP, practicing in employment, higher education, government relations, and litigation. In her community, she has served on numerous boards and initiatives, including the Jacksonville University Board of Trustees. Dean Dees is a member of Leadership Jacksonville Class of 2007 and a past recipient of the Jacksonville Business Journal Women of Influence Award. She received a JD from the University of Florida and a bachelor's degree in music from Jacksonville University.
Scott DeVito
Associate Professor of Law
J.D., University of Connecticut
PH.D. IN PHILOSOPHY, UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
Telephone number Office Phone: (904) 256-8865
Email address Email: sdevito@ju.edu
Lindsay Head
Assistant Professor of Law
J.D., FLORIDA COASTAL SCHOOL OF LAW
Ph.D. in ENGLISH, LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Telephone number Office Phone: (904) 256-8858
Email address Email: lhead@ju.edu
Dr. Lindsay Head is an active member of the Florida Bar and practiced general civil litigation and family law at a medium-sized law firm in South Florida, where she directed and supervised the firm’s internship program. Recognizing her passion for teaching, she later returned to academia and earned a Ph.D. in English—with a concentration in Writing, Rhetoric, and Culture. Her scholarship and teaching focus on the intersections of rhetorical theory and legal discourse, criminal procedure and Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, rhetoric of citizenship and identity, composition theory, oral advocacy, and legal writing pedagogy. Dr. Head regularly presents her research at local, national, and international conferences, and she founded the Legal Writing and Rhetoric Standing Group for the national Conference on College Composition and Communication. She previously taught at St. Thomas University College of Law, Florida International University, and Louisiana State University.
Trace Jackson
Adjunct Professor
J.D., University of florida
B.S/B.a., UNIVERSITY of Florida
Email address Email: tjackso47@ju.edu
Katelyn Johnston
Adjunct Professor, Mock Trial Coach
J.D., Stetson university college of law
m.p.a. Florida StaTE UNIVERSITY
Email address Email: kjohnst8@ju.edu
Katleyn Knaak Johnston has been an assistant state attorney with the Fourth Judicial Circuit for over ten years and is a Board-Certified Specialist in Criminal Trial Law. She attended law school at Stetson University College of Law where she graduated with a concentration in advocacy. She recently graduated from Florida State University with a master’s in public administration. While at Stetson Professor Johnston was a member of the Trial Team winning multiple national and state championships including the National Trial Competition in 2010. As an ASA she has prosecuted a wide range of cases from misdemeanor to complex multi-defendant homicide including trying over 50 jury trials. Professor Johnston was named Division Chief of County Court in 2017 supervising, training, and mentoring young lawyers within the office. Professor Johnston serves on the Florida Bar’s standing Code and Rules of Evidence Committee and the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee.
Lauren Knight
Assistant Professor of Law
Associate Dean for Student Success & Bar Prep
J.D., FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
B.A., UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
Telephone number Office Phone: (904) 256-8859
Email address Email: lknight4@ju.edu
Professor Lauren Knight began her legal career practicing in Jacksonville, Florida. She has recently served as the Chief Operating Officer for a law firm in Savannah, Georgia. As a law professor, she has taught and tutored law students and undergraduate students in academic success, LSAT and Bar preparation, criminal law, legal writing, professional responsibility, and remedies. Professor Knight’s research centers on the student experience in law school and legal training. She previously taught at Mercer University School of Law, Savannah Law School, and South University.
Scott Makar
Adjunct Professor
J.D., University of FLorida
m.A. in economics, University of florida
mBA, University of florida
Email address Email: smakar@ju.edu
Judge Scott Makar serves on Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal in Florida. He was initially appointed to the First District Court of Appeal by Governor Rick Scott on February 6, 2012, and later recommissioned by Governor Ron DeSantis on January 1, 2023, when Northeast Florida was made a part of the Fifth District.
Prior to his appointment as a judge, he served as the Solicitor General for the State of Florida from 2007 to 2012, appointed by Attorney General Bill McCollum and reappointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi. In that position he argued five cases in the United States Supreme Court, four in a single term, which is a record for state solicitors general. He also served as the Chief of the Appellate Division in the Office of General Counsel for the City of Jacksonville from 2001 to 2007. His private practice experience includes nearly two decades with Holland & Knight in Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Tampa. He also clerked for Thomas A. Clark of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and interned for the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division.
Judge Makar is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Law, where he also earned his Ph.D. in economics, an MBA and M.A. in economics. He received a B.S. in mathematics and economics from Mercer University.
Over the past four decades, he has taught sixteen different law related courses at colleges and universities including the University of Florida, FSU College of Law (where he held the Richard Ervin Chair), Florida Coastal School of Law, University of North Florida and Jacksonville University. He has also published numerous articles on a wide range of topics in law reviews and journals.
Judge Makar was a founding member of The Florida Bar's Appellate Practice and Advocacy Section and the Appellate Practice Section of the Jacksonville Bar Association. He is the Master Lawyer and an alumnus of the William H. Stafford American Inn of Court and the Master Lawyer of the First District Appellate Inn of Court.
Robert Mensel
Professor of Law
J.D., University of Pennsylvania
Ph.D. in History, Rutgers University
Telephone number Office Phone: (904) 256-8863
Email address Email: bmensel@ju.edu
Before going into teaching, Professor practiced in the field of Products Liability. He has taught at a number of law schools, including the Charleston School of Law and, most recently, St. Thomas University College of Law. He has taught Torts, Property, Contracts, Wills and Trusts, and other upper-level courses. During his fourteen years at St. Thomas, he received five Professor of the Year awards. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute. Professor Mensel's research and writing have concentrated on Nineteenth Century legal and cultural history. In particular, he has written about the common law right to privacy, the Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the rise of caveat emptor, and the importance of counterfeiting in antebellum law and culture.
Patrick Murphree
Assistant Professor of Law
J.D., LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
PH.D. IN THEATRE HISTORY, THEORY, & LITERATURE, INDIANA UNIVERSITY
Email address Email: pmurphr@ju.edu
Dr. Murphree’s research into the theatre and drama of the French Revolution first ignited his interest in the law. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Elizabeth Erny Foote of the Western District of Louisiana before joining a plaintiff-side mass tort, class action, and antitrust firm. Alongside his practice, he gave presentations on professionalism to the American Inns of Court and edited the 2023 edition of the Louisiana Legal Services and Pro Bono Desk Manual. Dr. Murphree has taught acting, theatre appreciation, fine arts, public speaking, and LSAT preparation at Indiana University, Tulane University, Northwestern State University of Louisiana, and Kaplan.
Dr. Murphree’s publications have appeared in the UMKC Law Review, the Tulane Journal of International and Comparative Law, the Seattle Journal for Social Justice, and the Loyola Law Review. He is currently studying performative representations of Law and Justice and researching conceptions of federalism in complex litigation and in French and American constitutional law.
Latisha Nixon-Jones
Associate Professor of Law
J.D., SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER
B.S.M. MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE, TULANE UNIVERSITYTelephone numb
Telephone number Office Phone: (904) 256-8857
Email address Email: lnixonj@ju.edu
View Professor Nixon-Jones' CV
Professor Latisha Nixon-Jones is a noteworthy emerging scholar in the burgeoning field of Disaster Law, focused primarily on disaster preparedness and resilience. She served as the Assistant Clinical Professor of the Disaster Law Clinic at Southern University Law Center (SULC) and teaches courses in torts, disaster law, and legal research and writing.
Professor Nixon-Jones' scholarly contributions have earned her a well-deserved reputation
as an expert in the field, and in 2020, she was awarded the prestigious COVID-19 Research
Innovation Award from the University of Oregon. Her research also explores the intersection
of administrative and insurance law as they pertain to disasters and community resilience,
with a focus on addressing the challenges faced by communities in accessing adequate
insurance coverage and navigating the complexities of administrative systems in the
wake of a disaster.
Professor Nixon-Jones is licensed to practice law in Louisiana and, in addition to
her role at SULC, taught at Mercer University School of Law and the University of
Oregon.
Matthew Reiber
Associate Professor of Law and Public Policy
J.D., Columbia University School of Law
LL.M in Taxation, New York University School of Law
Telephone number Office Phone: (904) 256-7928
Email address Email: mreiber@ju.edu
Professor Reiber began his legal career as an Associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore where his practice emphasized securities, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial litigation. He then became a partner at Gordon, Thomas, Honeywell where his practice emphasized commercial and professional negligence litigation. Professor Reiber also clerked for the Honorable Ronald B. Leighton, United States District Court, Western District of Washington. Professor Reiber has taught a variety of first-year and upper-level law courses at Seattle University School of Law and Florida Coastal School of Law. He also has lectured on federal and state civil procedure for BarBri and served on the Washington State Bar Association’s Committee on Bar Examiners and Committee on Civil Rules.
Nathan Richardson
Professor of Law
J.D., University of Chicago
B.S., GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Telephone number Office Phone: (904) 256-8866
Email address Email: nrichar8@ju.edu
View Professor Richardson's CV
Nathan Richardson is a University Fellow with Resources for the Future. He was raised in Jacksonville, where he attended Stanton College Prep. Before joining Jacksonville University, Professor Richardson was a Professor of Law at the University of South Carolina. He is an expert on regulatory environmental law, especially climate change and air pollution, and on institutions, regulatory design, and administrative law. His research has examined the ongoing transition to green energy, carbon pricing, and the relationship between law, regulatory institutions, and policy design. Other interests include law and economics, European environmental and energy policy, and the effects of climate change on the Southeast. His research has been cited by the Supreme Court and has been published in the Virginia Law Review Online, Vanderbilt Law Review, Administrative Law Review, Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Stanford Journal of Environmental Law, Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law, Columbia Journal of Environmental Law, and many others.
Chad Roberts
Adjunct Professor
J.D., FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW
B.S., GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Email address Email: crobert35@ju.edu
Chad Roberts serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law and co-Instructor in an advanced Civil Procedures course focusing on modern Electronic Discovery. In 2014, after a successful twenty-year career representing consumers in complex litigation, Mr. Roberts established a law firm focusing exclusively on Electronic Discovery practice.
A frequent lecturer at leading national conferences in Electronic Discovery, Mr. Roberts holds an Engineering Science degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and graduated with high honors from Florida State University College of Law. He has been a litigation partner at both a large, multi-national law firm (Holland & Knight, LLP) as well as a small boutique trial firm (Spohrer & Dodd, LLP) and has won multi-million dollar trial verdicts as lead trial counsel.
For the last decade, Mr. Roberts’ national practice has been to counsel litigation parties and Courts facing the most challenging, cutting-edge tasks of modern electronic discovery in civil litigation.
Colleen M. Skinner
Director of Law Library, Assistant Professor of Law
J.D., Florida Coastal School of Law
M.L.I.S., Florida State University
Telephone number Office Phone: (904) 256-8862
Email address Email: cskinne4@ju.edu
Colleen Skinner has been a law librarian since 2008. In that role, she has provided research support in many areas, including immigration and externship clinics, foreign and international law, and being an embedded Librarian for administration and faculty research needs. She also has extensive research skills in Westlaw, Lexis Nexis and teaching research workshops. Ms. Skinner enjoys sharing her skills with students and helping them become expert researchers.
Natalie Tuttle
Adjunct Professor
J.D., Florida STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW
B.A. IN POLITICAL SCIENCE, Florida State UniversityTelephone number
Email address Email: nnice@ju.edu
Natalie Tuttle currently serves as a General Magistrate/Hearing Officer for the Fourth Judicial Circuit presiding over family law matters. Magistrate Tuttle has been a member of the judiciary since 2017. Prior to becoming a member of the judiciary, Magistrate Tuttle was a full time Professor, and later, the Supervising Attorney/Professor of Law for the In House Family Law Clinic at Florida Coastal School of Law. During her fifteen years of teaching, Magistrate Tuttle, has taught first year and upper level Legal Writing Courses, Florida Practice and Procedure Courses, including Florida Civil Procedure, Florida Criminal Procedure and Florida Family Law Practice and Procedure. Magistrate Tuttle has also taught Family Law (doctrinal course) and family law related Alternative Dispute Resolution courses.
Prior to teaching, Magistrate Tuttle was a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Douglas B. Shivers and Larry G. Smith at the First District Court of Appeal, Tallahassee, Florida. While serving as an Adjunct Professor and before becoming a full time Professor, Magistrate Tuttle continued to practice in the area of complex commercial litigation, appellate litigation, and family law, actively litigating cases in both Federal and State Courts.
Magistrate Tuttle is a Certified Family, Appellate, and County Mediator and has conducted over 800 mediations in Northeast Florida. Magistrate Tuttle has also served as a Custody Evaluator/Social Investigator and Guardian Ad Litem for the Fourth Judicial Circuit and surrounding circuits and Southeast Georgia. She has performed over 150 evaluations and has appeared as an expert in State Court on numerous occasions.
Lisa Varon
Adjunct Professor, Reference Law Librarian
J.D., Florida STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW
B.S. IN Public relations, university of floridaTelephone number
Email address Email: lvaron@ju.edu
Lisa Varon is a highly experienced trial lawyer with over 30 years of practice in criminal and civil law. She has tried more than 50 felony jury trials to verdict and has extensive knowledge of Florida statutes, case law, and rules of evidence.
Prior to joining JU Law, she was a partner at Fallgatter Catlin & Varon, PA in Jacksonville, representing clients in juvenile, criminal, civil, and post-conviction matters. She has defended juveniles in delinquency court and adults in misdemeanor and felony cases, while also handling civil injunctions and family law issues.
Previously, Varon served as an Assistant Conflict Counsel and an Assistant Public Defender. Lisa earned her Juris Doctorate from Florida State University College of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from the University of Florida. She is an active member of the Florida Bar and various professional associations, including the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, where she served as President.
Alexandra Yelderman
Assistant Professor of Law
J.D., University of Chicago
B.A., NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Telephone number Office Phone: (904) 256-8861
Email address Email: ayelder@ju.edu
Professor Alexandra Yelderman researches online platforms, black markets, technology ethics, and crime-adjacent speech. Her work explores how intermediary liability affects illicit commerce on the internet, with a recent focus on regulations that lead to increased crime. She has previously written about the role of the internet in combatting sex trafficking and other forms of exploitation.
Professor Yelderman was Senior Staff Attorney and continues to serve as Special Counsel at the Human Trafficking Legal Center in Washington, DC. She has previously taught at Notre Dame Law School, University of Lucerne, and at St. Thomas University School of Law's Human Trafficking Academy.
Vanessa Zboreak
Associate Professor of Law
J.D., Wake Forest University School of Law
B.A., GRINNEL COLLEGE
Telephone number Office Phone: (904) 256-8861
Email address Email: vzborea@ju.edu
Professor Zboreak teaches and researches subjects related to Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Environmental Law, and Remedies. Her research focuses on administrative procedure, particularly the public comment process and agency interactions with scientific and other technical expertise, and constitutional questions related to administrative decision-making. She also has an interest in legal pedagogy and legal communication and is an experienced teacher of Legal Writing and Research. Professor Zboreak was previously an Assistant Professor of Law at Elon University School of Law, an instructor at Vermont School of Law, and a Professor of the Practice at Wake Forest University School of Law. She is a commissioner on the North Carolina General Statutes Commission.
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Accreditation Information
Accreditation is the hallmark of quality and high standards for legal education and admission to the Bar. The Jacksonville University College of Law is provisionally approved by the American Bar Association (Council of the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, 321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654, 312-988-6738), and, in accordance with ABA rules, will continue to pursue full accreditation. Law schools that are provisionally accredited are entitled to all the rights of a fully approved law school. Similarly, from an ABA perspective, graduates of provisionally approved law schools are entitled to the same recognition that is accorded graduates of fully approved law schools.
Jacksonville University
General Counsel
2800 University Blvd N, Jacksonville, FL 32211
904-256-7549