NSU Horizons Spring 2016

A sk Kerry Valdez about her first day as a student at NSU’s Shepard Broad College of Law, and she’ll describe her first impression of Professor Michael Flynn , J.D. “He told the class that his personality was a mix of Pat Riley and Bobby Knight, two highly successful basket- ball coaches known for their discipline and the high standards they set for their players,” said Valdez, now a third-year law student and editor in chief of the Law Review. “Professor Flynn immedi- ately captivated the room. He’s not afraid to be vulnerable in front of people, or admitting a limited knowledge base in an area of law. In turn, this allows his students to take risks during the learning process,” Valdez added. Taking risks is intertwined with Flynn, who arrived at the Shepard Broad College of Law in 1987, after working in private practice and serving as an assistant attorney general in Washington state, where he developed a passion and an expertise in consumer law. At NSU, he has spent much of his career sharing that expertise with students—teaching courses in consumer protection law, the Uniform Commercial Code, as well as personal injury law, including torts, medical malpractice, and product liability. He has served as director of NSU’s Personal Injury Litigation Clinic and Consumer Protection Clinic, where he oversaw students who conduct field work with consumer affairs investigators in Broward County. “Before the Consumer Protec- tion Clinic, I didn’t know what consumer protection was really about,” said second-year law student Nicolle Pons. “Professor Flynn really taught us the meat of consumer protection. Just about every student saw issues in a way they had never seen before. He asks questions that helped me grasp the material better because I was engaged in the thinking process.” A native of Seattle, Washington, Flynn majored in political science and speech communication at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1973. He graduated from the university’s School of Law in 1977, joining the Washington attorney general’s office in Olympia the same year. By 1981, he was serving as the section chief of the Anti- Trust and Consumer Protection Division in Spokane, overseeing a staff of 15 involved in the enforcement of state antitrust and consumer protection laws in eastern Washington. “I’ve seen people’s lives ruined because of greed and scams,” said Flynn, who was named the 2016 Professor of the Year for NSU’s College of Law. “I don’t have any trouble with anybody making a profit, but you’ve got to do it fairly. If you don’t do it fairly, that hurts all of us. We’re all consumers.” Consumer law was a magnet for Flynn because he could have an impact on people’s lives. “If you’re a lawyer representing consumers or businesses who have been ripped off, there is some nobility to that. People have A Passion for Teaching, Learning, and Consumer Law BY KATHLEEN KERNICKY FACULTY PROFILE 36 NSU HORIZONS