JEAN MARIE
DOWNING
is a solo
practitioner
accepting
cases in the
areas of:
family law
(with a
focus on
father's
rights),
federal
criminal law
(felonies
and
misdemeanors),
appeals, and
civil
rights/employment
law.
She
graduated
from
Stetson
University
College of
Law
in December
1999 in the
top 5% of
her class.
While at
Stetson,
Mrs. Downing
won a
third place
award
in the
Carlton
Fields
appellate
advocacy
competition
for the
first year
students.
Mrs. Downing
was a tutor
for
Contracts,
Real
Property,
and
Civil
Procedure.
She was a
research
assistant
for then
Professor
Darby
Dickerson
(now Dean of
the School),
Professor
Daryl Wilson,
and
Professor
Roy Gardner.
As a
research
assistant,
she assisted
in Professor
Gardner's
article on
wetland fee
mitigation,
"Money for
Nothing?
The Rise of
Wetland Fee
Mitigation,
19 Va. Envtl.
L.J. 1
(2000)"
about the
payment of
money to
"mitigation
banks" by
developers
to develop
environmentally
protected
areas.
Professor
Gardner has
continued to
explore this
practice in
his many
other
publications.
As a tutor
(for
freaked-out
first-year
Real
Property
students
trying to
figure out
remainders
and the Rule
Against
Perpetuities)
and as a
research
assistant,
Mrs. Downing
assisted
Professor
Wilson in
his
illustrative
article
entitled
"Waltzing to R.A.P."
Mrs. Downing
was a
research
assistant
for
Professor
Dickerson
who was the
head of the
Research &
Writing
program at
Stetson.
Mrs. Downing
created
research and
writing
assignments
for first
year
students.
As a Civil
Procedure
Teaching
Fellow for
Professor
Finch,
Mrs. Downing
was
responsible
for teaching
a group of
students
about the
proper
methods for
filing
documents
compliant
with the
rules of
procedure in
Florida and
Federal
Court.
Mrs. Downing
has
continued
her desire
to assist
others in
learning
about the
legal system
by being an
adjunct
professor
teaching
first year
students
about
research and
writing at
Florida
Coastal
School of
Law
in
Jacksonville,
Florida in
2001-2002.
Currently,
Mrs. Downing
teaches at
Gulf Coast
Community
College in
the
legal
assistant
program
or in
pre-law.
She teaches
or has
taught Real
Property and
Legal
Research and
Writing.
Mrs. Downing
understands
the unique
inner
workings of
the federal
court
system.
While in law
school, Mrs.
Downing was
a federal
intern for
the
Honorable
Mary S.
Scriven,
a United
States
Magistrate
Judge in
Tampa,
Florida.
She was
responsible
for research
and case
preparation
for a
variety of
civil cases
and for
social
security
disability
review.
After law
school and a
year of
private
practice,
Mrs. Downing
achieved a
highly
sought after
position as
a federal
judicial law
clerk.
While
clerking,
Mrs. Downing
worked
on many
cases for
the
Middle
District of
Florida,
Jacksonville
Division.
While
employed as
a law clerk,
Mrs. Downing
assisted in
research and
writing for
several
District
Judges: the
Honorable Ralph
W. Nimmons,
the
Honorable
Harvey
Schlesinger,
and the
Honorable
Henry
Adams. She
was also
able to
assist (then
Magistrate
now District
Judge) the
Honorable Timothy
Corrigan.
The
experience
of working
"behind the
scenes" for
five
different
Federal
Judges has
given her a
unique
perspective
on the
Federal
Court
system.
Law clerks
are an
integral
part of the
federal
system and
make many
important
decisions in
the cases
before the
Court that
affect the
litigants.
Since
beginning
private
practice,
Mrs. Downing
has been a
trial
attorney and
has handled
hundreds of
cases in
these areas:
-
State
Criminal and
Civil
-
Federal
Criminal and
Civil
-
Family Law:
Divorces,
Child
Custody,
Modification,
and Support
-
Employment
Law
-
Real
Property Law
-
Election Law
-
Contract Law