January 2020
DEAN’S COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP REPORT
December is the time when the largest number of our members renew so this month’s list of renewals and new members is long—and we are most grateful. The unrestricted gifts from our Dean’s Council members help underwrite more than $5 million in scholarships for students in every class. Thank you Dean’s Council members!
Welcome new members: Michael A. Grace, ’18; Howard S. Linzy, ’71; T. Coulter McMahen, ’17; Justin Maninno, ’13 and Katherine Cicardo Maninno, ’13; William H. Patrick IV, ’19; and Kevin Tauzin, ’90.
Renewing memberships at year-end were: Erin McCall Alley, ’94; Ricardo A. Aguilar, ’86; Rodolfo J. Aguilar Jr., ’82; Mathile W. Abramson, ’88; W. Brian Babin, ’65; Paul A. Broman, ’93; Professor Paul R. Baier; Judge Eugene W. Bryson, ’69; John A. Braymer, ’88; Jane Politz Brandt, ’86; Robert W. Barton; W. Bradley Bickham, ’94; John C. Blackman, ’69; Gregory E. Bodin, ’88 and Kathleen Gendusa Bodin, ’03; David F. Butterfield, ’83; Mark Bodron, ’90 and Katherine Bodron, ’91; Vicki M. Crochet, ’80; Linda Law Clark, ’93; James C. Carver, ’89; Professor William R. Corbett; Paul M. Cooke, ’72; Anne J. Crochet, ’83; Michael A. Cromwell, ’97; Amy Collier Lambert, ’96; William M. Comegys, ’74; John T. Cox, ’68; Nancy C. Dougherty, ’79; Timothy F. Daniels, ’85; Professor John Devlin; M. Taylor Darden, ’77; J. Robert Fitzgerald, ’64; S. Gene Fendler, ’73; Brett Furr, ’86; Eugene R. Groves, ’70; Michael A. Golemi, ’99; G. Gregory Green, ’86; John M. Grand, ’06; Vance Gibbs, ’82 and Deborah Parker Gibbs, ’82; Gary Graphia, ’91; Douglas V. Getten, ’06; Ann M. Halphen, ’86; Timothy F. Hand, ’96; Rebecca M. Hinton, ’06; Paul J. Hebert, ’75; Jan M. Hayden, ’79; C. Michael Hart, ’84; Joseph L. Hargrove, ’75; Philip T. Hackney, ’01; John W. Joyce, ’00; Allison A. Jones, ’82; Jennifer A. Jones, ’81; Robert E. Kleinpeter, ’76; Elisabeth Chappuis Kraft, ’75 and Ralph E. Kraft, ’75 ; Katherine King, ’81; Henry A. King, ’77; Winfield E. Little, ’74; Lloyd J. Lunceford, ’83; Professor Lee Ann Lockridge; Pete Lewis, ’77; Stephen A. Lafleur, ’03; R. Kay Long, ’87; David C. McMillin, ’88; Charles McCowan, ’67 and Mary H. McCowan; Drew McCollam, ’83; W. Shelby McKenzie, ’64; John F. McDermott, ’78; Kathleen A. Manning, ’77; Michael Mengis, ’86; James R. Madison, ’74; John M. Madison, ’69; Henry J. Miltenberger, ’77; Barrye Miyagi, ’92; Judge Susie Morgan, ’80 and Larry Feldman, ’74; Mark Menezes, ’81; Jennifer E. Michel, ’87; Mark J. Neal, ’96; Patrick S. Ottinger, ’73; David M. Oliver, ’98; Cyd S. Page, ’84; J. Michael Parker, ’78; Harry J. Philips, ’83; E. F. Preis, ’74; Alex W. Rankin, ’67; Mike J. Remondet, ’91; Robert K. Reeves, ’82; James R. Raborn, ’74; Michael H. Rubin, ’75; P. Ragan Richard, ’93; Justin P. Ransome, ’91; Judge Anne L. Simon, ’56; Alan Schwartzberg, ’76; Robert G. Szabo, ’72; Robin P. Toups, ’06; Quentin F. Urquhart, Jr., ’84; In Honor of Professor Paul R. Baier, R. Patrick Vance, ’75; Edward J. Walters, Jr., ’75; Conlee S. Whiteley, ’93; Frank R. Whiteley, ’90; Michael S. Walsh, ’83; John M. Wilson, ’67; J. Randy Young, ’93 and Constance G. Young, ’93; Stephen R. Yancey, ’73; J. David Ziober, ’78 and Emily P. Ziober, ’79; and Mark A. Zametto, ’97.
“Stepping up” at renewal time were: Jennifer L. Anderson, ’95; Michael R. Fontham; Kathleen A. Gallagher, ’88; L. Andrew Melsheimer, ’02; Mark Schroeder, ’83; and Angela S. Teer, ’02;
To see who else is a member of the Dean’s Council, visit our membership roster. To join the Dean’s Council, visit our online giving page.
COUNCIL EVENTS COMING THIS SPRING
Dean’s Council recruitment events will be held this spring in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Monroe. Details to come for members in those geographic areas.
DEAN’S COUNCIL SPOTLIGHT
Taylor Porter
Baton Rouge-based law firm Taylor Porter has many close connections to LSU Law that date back decades. Approximately 75% of its attorneys are LSU Law graduates, several of whom are adjunct faculty members who also regularly volunteer to lend their expertise during Apprenticeship Week, the Trial Advocacy Program, moot court competitions and other events at the Law Center.
The firm annually funds a scholarship named in memory of its late partners Benjamin B. Taylor Sr. and Charles V. Porter, and each year its summer law clerk program provides many LSU Law students with hands-on experience and professional mentoring at the firm.
And among all the law firms that are represented on the LSU Law Dean’s Council, Taylor Porter has the largest number of members from any single firm—currently 23.
One reason for the firm’s high rate of Dean’s Council participation is that it incentivizes attorneys to join by providing a three-to-one financial match for membership. The idea for the match came from former Taylor Porter Managing Partner Shelby McKenzie, a 1964 LSU Law graduate who retired about five years ago. He brought the idea to his fellow partners at the firm shortly after the Dean’s Council was established in 1999.
“My heart has always been with the LSU Law school, which I’ve always felt provided me with a great education that was extremely important to the success of my career,” says McKenzie, who graduated first in his class, has served as an adjunct faculty member and was a Distinguished Alumni of the Year honoree in 2005. “So I’ve always felt deep in my heart that I should give them all the support I can, and when I brought the idea for the Dean’s Council match, the other partners were all for it because they also had relationships with LSU that went way, way back.”
Dean’s Council membership continued to grow during the nine years that Harry J. “Skip” Philips served as managing partner of Taylor Porter. Philips, a 1983 LSU Law graduate and Order of the Coif member, has been a very active adjunct faculty member for the past 30 years. He currently teaches one course each semester, he annually leads classes during Apprenticeship Week and the Trial Advocacy Program, and each fall he teaches a CLE course during Reunion Weekend.
“The majority of our attorneys are graduates and they’re inclined to support LSU Law—though we also have some who aren’t even alums who are Dean’s Council members—but I think the match is what really makes this work,” says Philips. “If we could get some of the other major firms to do the same thing or something similar, we could really increase membership.”
When Bob Barton became managing partner about a year ago, he says there was never a question that the match program would continue.
“Everyone here, even those like me who didn’t go to LSU Law, recognizes the value of our relationship with the law school and our participation in the Dean’s Council,” says Barton, who earned his undergraduate degree at LSU and is an adjunct faculty member at the law school. “LSU Law is critical to our success. We always do on-campus recruiting at the law school, and a lot of our summer associates and new attorneys come from LSU Law—and we’ve always been very happy with the quality of lawyers that we’ve hired.”
Taylor Porter lawyers who are members of the Dean’s Council include: Bob Barton, Anne Jordan Crochet (’83), Vicki M. Crochet (’80), Nancy C. Dougherty (’79), Brett Furr (’86), Michael Grace (’18), Eugene R. Groves (’70), Ann M. Halphen (’86), C. Michael Hart (’84), Rebecca Hinton (’06), Amy Collier Lambert (’96), Lloyd J. Lunceford (’83) Justin T. Mannino (’13), John F. McDermott (’78), W. Shelby McKenzie (’64), T. Coulter McMahen (’17), Barrye Miyagi (’92), J. Michael Parker (’78) William H. Patrick IV (’19), Harry J. “Skip” Philips Jr. (’83), David Shelby (’93), Michael S. Walsh (’83) and Robin P. Toups (’06).
