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Image of Book cover of the Research Handbook on JurislinguisticsProfessors Olivier Moréteau (LSU Law) and Mariano Vitetta (Austral University, Buenos Aires) just published a book chapter titled Translating the Civil Code of Louisiana into French and Spanish: A Jurilinguistic Exercise. The text is published in the Research Handbook on Jurilinguistics (Anne Wagner and Aleksandra Matulewska eds., Edward Elgar, 2023).

Mariano Vitetta, LL.M. LSU 2020, a former Research Associate of the LSU Center of Civil Law Studies, has completed the Spanish translation of the Code, partly published on the Louisiana Civil Code Online database and in the Journal of Civil Law Studies. The French translation is available online and in print.

The CCLS and International Law Society present a conversation with Dan Stigall, alumnus of LSU, DOJ attorney (National Security Division). He will discuss current issues in national security and national security careers, Friday, October 20, at 12:40 PM, Room 212.

After wrapping up a virtual presentation to a group of LLM students at LSU Law about internship and career opportunities with Air France, Lionel Bros—who earned his LLM at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1997 and serves as general counsel for the global airline—was asked by a student to talk a little bit about how his Master of Laws degree from LSU Law has benefitted his career.Photo of Lionel Bros taken at LSU Law in 2022

“It has really provided me with a lot of leverage in my career for a number of reasons,” Bros responded. “Firstly, I was not a native English speaker, so it was very valuable for me to get first-hand experience with the language. Having the opportunity to study a mix of civil and common law was also very important, because most international transactions fall under common law jurisdiction and if you don’t have experience studying it as a law student it can be very difficult to do international law.”

As valuable as the legal education he received at LSU Law was for launching and advancing his career, Bros said the time he spent at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center was equally important in his personal development.

“Studying internationally gives you invaluable opportunities to experience life in another country and interact with people from many different cultures,” he said. “And it also requires you to be far away from your family, likely for the first time in your life, which really opens up the world to you in a way that is important for your personal and professional development.”

Bros earned his law degree at Aix-Marseille University in Lyon, France, which has been the host university of the LSU Law Summer in France program for decades. After earning his LLM from LSU Law in 1997, Bros launched his career in the Paris offices of Linklaters, one of the oldest international business law firms in France. He would go on to work for LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, Alstom Holdings, and Thales Defense Mission Systems before joining Air France in late 2019.

“I spent many years working in Amsterdam, Switzerland, and the U.S., with people from more than 50 countries who had different values, culture, and lifestyles,” Bros said. “My LLM and experience studying at LSU Law was good preparation for that kind of environment.”

Bros was also asked about the importance of soft skills in career advancement and professional development.

“With your LLM from LSU Law, you will be among the top of your peers in terms of your legal studies and preparedness,” he said. “So, that expertise will be key to your success, but after you get years and years into your career you will find that if you don’t have good soft skills, it will be very difficult for you to interact and work alongside people in a way that instills confidence or loyalty.”

Last year, Bros visited LSU Law in person to speak about internship opportunities with LLM students, as it was the first year that a new Air France internship was offered to an LLM student at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center through a tripartite agreement between LSU Law, Aix-Marseille University, and the airline.

“It’s wonderful to have you share your experience, and our students in the LLM program are so lucky to have this exposure,” Professor Olivier Moréteau, who serves as Assistant Dean for International Programs, told Bros at the conclusion of the students’ visit with him. “I just wish that I would have had opportunities like this when I was in law school.”

Lila Tahidousti, who earned her LLM from LSU Law in December 2021, was the first to land an internship through the tripartite agreement and she is currently working for Air France USA in New York. Sigrid Soetaert, a Norway native who is currently completing her LLM at LSU Law, has been selected for the next Air France internship through the  agreement.

Steve Sanoski 

Louisiana is the topic of an international conference organized in Lyon, March 20 and 21, 2023, by the Institut international pour la francophonie, University Jean Moulin. Click here to access the program. 

Dans le cadre du mois de la Francophonie, le Service Général des Relations Internationales de l’Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 et l’Institut international pour la Francophonie vous invitent à célébrer la Francophonie les 20 et 21 mars 2023. Cette année, la Louisiane est à l’honneur !

Professor Olivier Moréteau will present on the Louisiana Civil Code, addressing its French substance, also showing how the French language shapes the civil law English terminology used in the current Civil Code and how French comes back via the Code recent translation, accessible here.

Professor Olivier Moréteau: Bonjour Noémie, thank you for visiting LSU Law where you joined us as an LL.M. candidate in 2018-2019, graduating in May 2019. Tell us what you have accomplished in the meantime.

Portrait photo of Noemie Le ColleterNoémie Le Colleter: After graduating, I took advantage of the academic training program under the J1 visa, which allows you to stay in the US for employment for up to 18 months. I was hired by a capital defense law firm in Baton Rouge. For a year and a half, I assisted attorneys with the litigation of death penalty cases in Louisiana trial courts, which is with no doubt the most impactful experience I’ve had so far.

After moving back to France, I took the New York bar exam and was admitted as an attorney in October 2021.

Wanting to finish my legal education in France, I pursued a Master’s degree in Human Rights at Université Grenoble Alpes with the intention of working for an international organization or NGO.

I had the chance to be selected for an internship with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to work on combatting human trafficking and migrant smuggling issues, and after with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office of the Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings. I am hoping to continue working on human rights and criminal justice issues at the international level.

OM: Did the LL.M. help you in any of these great ventures?

NLC: I am convinced that the LL.M. and the doors it has opened for me after graduation played a big part in where I am now. As an LL.M. student, I had the opportunity to intern with the Public Defender’s office in Baton Rouge during my second semester, and to take several classes related to criminal law and criminal justice, including on capital punishment. Those were of a great help when I started working on capital cases. While I’m not practicing law at the moment, there are many skills I gained thanks to the LL.M. that prove useful every day from being able to analyze cases and pieces of legislation, and adapting to different legal systems, to skills like organization and handling a heavy workload.

OM: Is there a particular memory that you would like to share?

NLC: Prior to studying at LSU, I never visited the Southern United States. I cherish many memories from my time in Louisiana, from meeting new friends, exchanging with great Professors, and enjoying Louisiana food and culture. Mardi Gras is an experience not to be missed! But coming to the LL.M. program, I remember the trip to to New Orleans during Orientation, to visit the Supreme Court of Louisiana with Professor Moréteau. There, we were given a tour of the courthouse and the library, where I could hold in my hands the original edition of the French Code Civil, an experience I never had in France!

 

Noemie Le Colleter at the Louisiana Law Library in New Orleans, holding an original copy of the French Civil Code

OM: Do you have a message or advice to prospective candidates who may hesitate to apply?

NLC: The LL.M. at LSU is a small program compared to other law schools, which allows for students to bond relatively quickly. The sense of solidarity I developed with other LL.M. students made a great difference in my overall experience. The LL.M. program at LSU Law offers great opportunities that candidates may not think of. If you are interested in gaining experience in legal practice, you can combine classes with a part time internship or participate in one of the legal clinics offered. Just like me, you can also decide to stay after graduating for a substantial professional experience. The LL.M. prepares you really well for the New York Bar Exam while making room for classes you are really interested in. The agreement LSU has with Université Grenoble Alpes (my home university) helped tremendously and I am ever so grateful for the opportunity to study at LSU Law.

THE JUDGE ALLEN M. BABINEAUX INTERNATIONAL CIVIL LAW SYMPOSIUM

Fleur de lys

“Commemoration of the Tricentennial of New Orleans Being Named the Capital of the Louisiana Colony (1723-2023)”

On February 1, 2023 from noon to 5 pm, the Francophone Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association, will celebrate the Commemoration of the Tricentennial of New Orleans Being Named the Capital of the Louisiana Colony (1723-2023) at the Eason Weinmann Center for International and Comparative Law, Tulane Law School, 6329 Freret St., New Orleans, LA.

Featured topics and presenters will include:

  • Civil Codes: Ten Interesting Things You Probably Didn’t Know by Tulane Law Prof. Vernon Palmer
  • The Multiple Languages of the Louisiana Civil Codes: Connecting Past and Future by LSU Law Prof. Olivier Moreteau
  • Recent Developments Between Louisiana and the Francophone World By the Honorable Lieutenant Governor William “Billy” Nungesser
  • The History of the Capital of the La. Colony by Howard Margot, Archivist The New Orleans Historic Collection
  • Who was Bienville? By Jason Berry, investigative reporter, author of City of a Million Dreams: A History of New Orleans at Year 300, and documentary filmmaker.
  • The symposium will conclude with a panel discussion on mediations by Stacey Marcel and Maurice Hebert led by moderator Louis R. Koerner Jr.

To register or become a sponsor of the event, email Warren Perrin at perrin@plddo.com or call (337) 456-7729.

Sponsors for the event are: Canadian Consulate of Dallas, Eason Weinmann Center International and Comparative Law Tulane Law School, Perrin Landry deLaunay Law Firm; Acadian Museum; Louis Koerner Law Firm; Andrepont Printing; Parlons Café LLC/Edwin Fleischmann, PDG; Karsman, McKenzie & Hart; Broussard & David, LLC; and Gachassin Law Firm.

The Journal of Civil Law Studies, Volume 14 (2021-2022) is now online.

In a three-page Avant-Propos, the Editor-in-Chief explains:

Volume 14 of the Journal of Civil Law Studies is published one year behind schedule, proving the fragility and the resilience of the operation. Fragility, as it was hit by a series of events, such as the COVID pandemic that paralyzed many human ventures all over the world. Fragility, because human causes impacted the personal life of its major actors, such as the Editor-in-Chief’s unexpected long-time leave and the Managing-Editors moving to other places. Resilience, because editing continued thanks to devoted LL.M. graduates who answered the call and joined the Center of Civil Law Studies as Research Associates. Resilience, because the team did not give up and the venture is too successful to fail. Volume 14 of 2021 comes out as Volume 14 of 2021-2022. After Volume 15 of 2022-2023, the Journal will try to come back to two annual issues matching the calendar year.

Articles:

  • In Penalty Default Rules in Quebec Contract Law, Zackary Goldford brings a civil law voice to a U.S. conversation of default rules that thus far focused on economic analysis.
  • In Performatives in Argentine Supreme Court Dissents: A Jurilinguistic Proposal for Civilian Change Based on the American Common Law, Mariano Vitetta uses the U.S. experience to improve the publication of Argentine Supreme Court dissents.
  • David Marrani uses his experience as former dean of the Jersey Law Institute to enrich a philosophical discussion of legal education in micro jurisdictions.
  • Mariusz Fras connects business associations and civil liability in a comparative discussion of the doctrine of veil-piercing liability in Poland and Selected Countries.

Civil Law Translations:

  • The entire Book II of the Civil Code of Louisiana (Things and the Different Modifications of Ownership) is published in English and Spanish.
  • The Civil Code of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is published in Korean and in English with an Introductory Note by Joseph Cho, the translator.

Civil Law in the World features three national reports:

  • Codification of Civil Law in Azerbaijan: History, Current Situation and Development Perspectives, by Natig Khalilov
  • Natural and Artificial Neural Networks: The Chilean Legal Framework, by Carlos Amunátegui Perelló
  • The Constitutional Reshaping of South Africa’s Succession Laws, by François du Toit

Rediscovered Treasures of Louisiana Law publishes a letter by Colonel John H. Tucker, jr., on the 1969 Reprint of the de la Vergne Volume (Digest of 1808), with an introduction by Olivier Moréteau and Agustín Parise.

Three case notes by LSU Law graduates are published in the Civil Law in Louisiana feature, and two book reviews complete the volume.

Click here to access the Journal of Civil Law Studies.

Click here to access the CCLS December 2022 Newsletter.

The Journal of Civil Law Studies welcomes submissions for volume 15: email moreteau@lsu.edu.

Book cover of Comparative Perspectives on Law and LanguageAgustín Parise & Olivier Moréteau (Eds.), Comparative Perspectives on Law and Language, Maastricht Law Series, Eleven, 2022.

 

Law finds its roots in human experience and its expression in language. It cannot be administered, studied or taught without the instrumentality of language. The focus on language enlarges and deepens comparative studies. This volume features a wide array of comparative perspectives encompassing Law and Language, inviting readers to deepen their understanding of their many interactions, casting new lights that benefit jurists and linguists alike. It invites to interdisciplinary collaboration, focusing on the centrality of language in law making, solving legal problems and making sense of the law.

This volume displays a variety of approaches to Law and Language, moving from traditional to renewed doctrinal approaches, including case studies and empirical exercises. The chapters move across jurisdictions and time periods, from preconceived ideas to calls for change. This volume takes an innovative and interdisciplinary approach embracing a variety of prisms: translation studies, comparative law, legal history, jurilinguistics, and legal education, to name a few. It is an indispensable companion for anyone interested in these disciplines.

Contents

Law and Language: A Plea for Experts Sans frontières
Agustín Parise
A Twenty-First Century Approach to Law and Language in Europe
Elena Ioriatti
Living Off Translations: The Survival of Civil Law in South Africa and Other
Mixed Jurisdictions
Vernon Valentine Palmer
Research into Legal Translation: An Overview of the 2010s Trends from the
Perspective of Translation Studies
Łucja Biel
Aux sources de la jurilinguistique canadienne: de la lettre à l’esprit du
droit – Crépuscule du terme, primat du texte
Jean-Claude Gémar
Judgments’ Style: An Experience in Reading Civil and Common Law
Cases
Silvia Ferreri
Two Centuries of Legal Translation in Louisiana: Developing and Promoting
the Civil Law English Terminology
Olivier Moréteau
Building the Bridge from Both Sides: Successful Communication Strategies
in Legal Translation and Court Interpreting
Carmen Bestué
The Protection of Regional and Minority Languages
Gerard-René de Groot
Law, Language, and the 50 Years of the Netherlands Comparative Law
Association
Ulli Jessurun d’Oliveira and Lars van Vliet
Fifty Years of Comparative Law in the Netherlands: The Importance of
Translation
Ewoud Hondius
The Wave of Comparative Law
Sjef van Erp

Air France General Counsel Lionel Bros, who earned his LLM from LSU Law in 1997, returned to his alma mater for a two-day visit on March 9-10, during which he interviewed current LLM students who are vying for an internship with the global airline in New York City following their graduation later this spring.

Air France General Counsel Lionel Bros speaks with LSU Law LLM and International Law Society students at the Law Center on Thursday, March 10.

Air France General Counsel Lionel Bros speaks with LSU Law LLM and International Law Society students at the Law Center

“It’s been a joy to be back at the Law Center and to meet the students, and just walk around campus and remember some of the great experiences I had here 25 years ago,” said Bros, a Marseille, France, native and Aix-Marseille University graduate who holds master’s degrees in law, international trade, business law, and insurance law.

Traveling with Bros to LSU Law was Counsel for Air France USA Gregory Kozlowski. LLM students interviewed with Bros and Kozlowski and took a written test for the Air France internship, which is being made available through a tripartite agreement between LSU Law, Aix-Marseille University, and Air France.

On March 10, Bros also made a special presentation to LLM and International Law Society students at the Law Center, during which he talked about his career path and provided an overview of the in-house legal work that’s done at Air France.

[reblogged from LSU Law]

On March 2, 2022, Professor Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens, former Dean of the Faculty of Law and presently Vice Rector of the University of Montreal, presented in French on Legal and Cultural Convergences, Canada, France and Louisiana. The lecture inspired a rich discussion. This was the first interdisciplinary Senghor Chair Lecture given at LSU Law, organized jointly by the Center of Civil Law Studies and the Center of French and Francophone Studies. LSU is the only U.S. holder of one of 21 Senghor Chairs of Francophone Studies. Click here to access the video recording of the lecture.

Photo of Professor Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens giving his lecture

Professor Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens

Photo of Prof. Olivier Moréteau introducing Prof. Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens

Prof. Olivier Moréteau introducing Prof. Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens

Photo of Prof. John Protevi (LSU French Studies), Prof. Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens (Montreal) and Prof. Olivier Moréteau (LSU Law) continuing the discussion under the portrait of the late Prof. Robert Pascal (1915-2018).

Prof. John Protevi (LSU French Studies), Prof. Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens (Montreal) and Prof. Olivier Moréteau (LSU Law) continuing the discussion under the portrait of the late Prof. Robert Pascal (1915-2018).

Photo of Prof. Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens dialoguing with Prof. Adelaide Russo (LSU French Studies).

Prof. Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens dialoguing with Prof. Adelaide Russo (LSU French Studies).