Heritage of Leadership

To permanently honor outstanding and notable alumni of the University of Florida Levin College of Law and their contributions to the state and University, the Law Center Association Board of Trustees established the Heritage of Leadership Recognition Society. The Selection Committee determined the initial classes of inductees, barring exceptional circumstances, would be honored posthumously.

Class of 2024

E.G. “Dan” Boone

Class of 1954. March 25, 1927 – December 24, 2019
After serving in the U.S. Army Air Force, Boone went on to earn his bachelor’s and law degrees from UF. A proud Double Gator, Boone graduated from UF Law in 1954. His legal career spanned 65 years, 63 of which were spent at his law firm in Venice, Florida. He continued to practice law, alongside his sons and grandchildren, into his 92nd year. Boone’s contributions to the Venice community were vast and helped shape the city as it is today.

James D. Camp, Jr.

Class of 1951. February 3, 1928 – June 1, 2023
A native of Fort Lauderdale, Camp earned his bachelor’s degree from UF in 1949 and his law degree from UF Law in 1951. After graduating, Camp joined McCune Hiaasen Crum Ferris and Gardner, leaving in 1988 to establish Camp and Camp, P.A. He was committed to serving UF and the legal profession. Camp served on the UF Foundation Board of Directors and the UF Law Center Association Board of Trustees. He was a member of The Florida Bar Board of Examiners and Chairman of The Florida Bar Probate Rules Committee. Camp also served as a Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, as President of the Ft. Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, and as a decades-long member of the Knights of Columbus.

The Hon. William J. Castagna

Class of 1949. June 25, 1924 – December 18, 2020
After serving in WWII, Castagna went on to earn his law degree from UF Law in 1949. Upon graduation, he worked in private practice in Miami before establishing his own practice in Clearwater. In 1979 Castagna was appointed as a U.S. District Court Judge, Middle District of Florida, by President Jimmy Carter. Throughout his 41 years on the bench and over 70 years in the legal profession, Judge Castagna served with the utmost integrity and humility.

Karen C. Dyer

Class of 1987. September 17, 1963 — June 15, 2022
Dyer was a highly regarded trial lawyer, whose passion and skill was known nationally. A Double Gator, Dyer graduated from UF Law in 1987 and went on to clerk for U.S. District Court Judge G. Kendall Sharp. After working with Carlton Fields, Dyer became a founding — and the first female — partner of Boies, Schiller and Flexner, and later became a shareholder of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP. Her relentless preparation, wit, and courtroom determination established her as one of the top female trial lawyers in the county.

Robert E. Glennon, Jr.

JD class of 1974. LLM class of 1975. April 23, 1948 — August 7, 2023
Glennon earned both his JD and LLM in Taxation from UF Law. After graduating, he served as one of UF Law’s first tax law professors. In 1976, Glennon joined the Washington, D.C., lobbying firm Williams & Jenson, launching a nearly half-century career in legislative policy and strategy work. He later became partner in the firm, and subsequently a partner at Mayer Brown and Hogan Lovells. Glennon was involved in every major tax bill brought before the U.S. Congress in the last 45 years. A member of the UF Law Center Association Board of Trustees, he endowed the Helen Blechman Award, given annually to the top student in both pro-bono hours and community service work.

Steven J. Uhlfelder

Class of 1971. May 20, 1946 – February 11, 2023
A Double Gator, Uhlfelder graduated from UF Law in 1971. He gained experience at prestigious Florida law firms before opening his own firm in Tallahassee in 2003 as an attorney and lobbyist. Throughout his career, Uhlfelder was sought after by Florida governors, U.S. presidents, and political leaders for his leadership and advocacy. Among his many leadership roles, Uhlfelder was most proud of his work that impacted underprivileged children and families. His exemplary example of public service will continue to inspire those who knew him.

The Florida Constitutional Law Endowment in memory of Justice Ben F. Overton was created by Judge Karen Miller in 2013. This fund supports lectures and presentations by Justices of the Florida Supreme Court at the Fredric G. Levin College of Law.

HISTORY

Justice Overton, who earned his B.S. in 1951 and his Juris Doctor in 1952 from the University of Florida, was the first merit appointment to the Florida Supreme Court. Throughout his career he was active in legal education and served as an Adjunct Professor at the Levin College of Law through December 2012, the month of his death. Although he resided at Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, a continuing care retirement community developed in cooperation with UF, he also considered the Florida Supreme Court “home.” Among the high points of his later years was hosting Justices of the Florida Supreme Court in Gainesville and taking his class to Tallahassee to hear oral arguments at the Florida Supreme Court.
Judge Miller, who earned her B.S. cum laude from New York University in 1974 and her Juris Doctor from New York Law School in 1977, served as Chief Administrative Law Judge of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, New York City’s business regulatory agency, before she retired to Oak Hammock at the University of Florida. Having accompanied Justice Overton on his excursions to Tallahassee and joined him in welcoming guests to Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, she created the endowment in memory of Justice Overton to ensure that the Levin College of Law continues to have the funding necessary to continue and enhance the interaction between its students and the Florida Supreme Court.

Judge Miller remembered the event that motivated the endowment.

Prior to a dinner at the home of Dean Robert Jerry and Lisa Jerry shortly after Justice Overton’s death, Justice Barbara Pariente and I were discussing a suitable memorial. Justice Pariente, who had been Justice Overton’s colleague on the Florida Supreme Court and who understood the importance to him of the interaction between his students and the Court, suggested the outline of what has become the Overton lectures. Dean Jerry, who has since retired, as has Dean Emeritus Jon Mills, who assumed responsibility for implementing the Overton lectures, were very supportive from the beginning. Since Dean Mills’ retirement, Professor Timothy McClendon, who assisted both Justice Overton and Dean Mills teaching Florida Constitutional Law and who co-authored the recent Florida Constitutional Law casebook, has continued the Overton lectures with the support of Interim Dean Merritt McAlister and CGR director, Professor Danaya Wright.

Justice Overton was a devoted jurist, educator, and ethical leader of the Florida legal profession. The Overton Lecture Series brings Florida Supreme Court Justices to the University of Florida, Levin College of Law, and serves to introduce students to the inner workings of the Court. CGR and the students of the College of Law extend our deepest gratitude to Judge Karen Miller for making the Overton Lectures possible in perpetuity.

You can watch an interview for the Florida Historical Society by Mary Adkins, professor emeritus of the UF Levin College of Law, with Justice Overton here.

Justice Overton was also interviewed for the Samuel Proctor Oral History Project and a transcript of his interview is available at the Smathers Library, and here.
Justice Overton sat on the Constitution Revision Commission of 1977-78 that proposed a right to privacy in the Florida Constitution. Although it failed as part of the Constitution Revision Commission recommendations, it passed in 1980 when proposed by the legislature. The bill was co-sponsored by our very own Jon Mills. The privacy provision prevailed by greater than 60%. Justice Overton then wrote a concurrence in a critical reproductive rights case in 1989 affirming that the privacy provision of the Florida Constitution included the right to obtain an abortion. That decision was overruled in Planned Parenthood of SW and Central Florida v. Florida. You can read about the role of Justice Overton, Jon Mills – director emeritus of CGR, and the history of the 1989 case here.