Practice Tips from the DOAH Judges
Presented by The Florida Bar CLE Committee and the
Environmental and Land Use Law Section
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (EST)
Course Number: 8680
During this course, three Administrative Law Judges will provide practice tips to help improve your skills in final hearings before DOAH. You know what the Florida Administrative Code requires, but now learn how to better present your case with these tips from the DOAH Judges.
SPEAKERS
The Honorable Cathy M. Sellers, Hetal Desai & Suzanne H. Van Wyk
BIOGRAPHY
| Administrative Law Judge Cathy M. Sellers received her Bachelor and Master degrees from the University of Florida and her law degree from the Florida State University College of Law. Prior to being appointed an ALJ, she practiced law in the private sector for 23 years, focusing on environmental, land use, and other areas of administrative law. She is a past Chair of the Administrative Law Section of the Florida Bar, a former member of the Environmental and Land Use Law Section Executive Council, and a past Chair of the Florida Bar’s State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice Certification Committee. She also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida College of Law for 20 years, where she taught Florida Administrative Law. Administrative Law Judge Hetal Desai graduated with Honors from Florida State University with a B.S. in Economics. She worked for a regulatory economist before attending the University of Florida, College of Law, where she was on the Journal of Law and Public Policy and served in the Florida House of Representatives Intern Program on the Rules Committee. After graduating with honors from UF Law School, Judge Desai served as law clerk at the First District Court of Appeal. She practiced commercial and employment litigation in Miami and New York before returning to her hometown of Tallahassee. There she served as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Tallahassee for almost nine years and then worked for Sniffen & Spellman, P.A., handling employment, ethics, public records, education, and land use litigation and issues for local governments and small businesses. She joined the Division of Administrative Hearings in late 2017. Judge Desai currently serves various Florida Bar committees including the Chair of the Florida Bar Grievance Committee for the 2nd Judicial Circuit and is the host of the Center for Professionalism’s podcast, “Never Contemplated.” Judge Desai is an active member of Leadership Tallahassee, Leadership Florida, Village Square, and serves on the board of the North Florida Community Trust Foundation. She was named one of the Top 25 Women to Know in Tallahassee by the Tallahassee Democrat in 2024. Administrative Law Judge Suzanne H. Van Wyk became an Administrative Law Judge for the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings in August 2012. She presides in agency rule challenges, bid disputes, and a wide variety of cases from Florida’s state agencies and school districts. Judge Van Wyk was formerly a shareholder with Bryant Miller Olive in the firm’s Tallahassee office, where she focused her practice on land use law, primarily for public clients. Prior to entering private practice, Judge Van Wyk was an Assistant County Attorney in Leon County, legal counsel to the Florida Building Commission, Staff Attorney for the Senate Committee on Community Affairs, and Assistant General Counsel for the former Department of Community Affairs. Judge Van Wyk is a Board-Certified Specialist in City, County and Local Government Law. She is a passionate advocate for access to justice and is the immediate Past-President of FFLA, formerly the Florida Bar Foundation, where she has served as a Director since 2014. She is a Past-President and Emeritus Member of the Florida State College of Law Alumni Association, and recently established the Van Wyk Scholarship in Administrative law at FSU College of Law. Judge Van Wyk served on the Florida Bar Administrative Law Section Executive Council from 2013 to 2022 and held leadership positions from 2020-2022. She also formerly served on the Florida Bar Professionalism Committee, the Voluntary Bar Liaison Committee (past-chair), and the City, County, and Local Government Law Certification Committee. She is an active member of Tallahassee Women Lawyers, the Florida Governmental Lawyers Association, and the Tallahassee Bar Association. Judge Van Wyk volunteers in the community through Good News Outreach, a faith-based charity providing senior grocery deliveries, a food pantry, affordable rental housing, and other services to underprivileged members of the Tallahassee community. |
COST: $45 Members (Live Program) / $85 Non-Section Members
ACCREDITATION
GENERAL – 1.0
COURSE LEVEL: ADVANCED