Twenty graduates in the LSU Law Class of 2022 have been selected for induction into The Order of the Coif, the highest honor a law student can receive.
Membership into the honorary law fraternity is strictly limited to the top 10% of each graduating class of law students. Of the more than 200 American Bar Association accredited law schools in the country, LSU Law is one of just 86 with a chapter in The Order of the Coif.
“We are extremely proud of each and every one of the 200 graduates in the LSU Law Class of 2022 because all of them worked incredibly hard and made great sacrifices to earn a law degree, which is the most difficult postgraduate degree that one can attain,” said LSU Law Interim Dean Lee Ann Wheelis Lockridge. “Our graduates who have earned membership into The Order of the Coif in addition to their law degrees are most deserving of special recognition. This high honor reflects their unparalleled commitment to academic excellence, and we take immense pride in honoring their great achievement.”
The LSU Law chapter of The Order of the Coif was established in 1942, with a purpose of stimulating scholarly work of the highest order and fostering a high standard of professional conduct. Outside of ordinary membership for law school graduates, honorary membership into The Order of the Coif may be granted in special cases to lawyers, judges, and teachers who have attained high distinction for their scholarly or professional accomplishments.
Robert Darren Guidry | Eunice, Louisiana
What are your immediate career plans?
After taking the bar, I will be working at the law firm NeunerPate in Lafayette.
What are your long-term career aspirations?
Hopefully, in a few years, I will still be working at the same firm and have built my own book of business.
Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received.
- Member of the Board of Advocates
- Judge John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court Competition Team Member 2021-2022
- Tullis Moot Court Competition
- Trial Advocacy Program – Nominated to the Wex Malone Inn of Court
Please tell us about any LSU Law faculty, classes, or other experiences that were particularly impactful on your legal education.
First, Professor Dean Sutherland has had a profound impact on me both through his Admiralty courses and in my time competing in the Admiralty Moot Court Competition. He knows admiralty law inside and out. His teaching of the subject was vital to the moot court competition, and my future practice. Second, is Professor Tom Galligan, particularly the Torts course he taught during my 1L year. During the difficulty of 1L year, his course was the one I always looked forward to. His effective teaching style, ability to always create a joke on the fly, and his capacity to remember anything and everything said by everyone even months later; made his class my favorite part of the week. These qualities shine inside and outside the classroom.
What are your fondest memories from your time at LSU Law?
My fondest memories are the entirety of 1L year (sans COVID of course). While you’re in the middle of it, it feels like you’re drowning and gasping for air. But the fact that not only everyone in your class feels the same way, but those who came before you did as well, helps to put things in perspective that the situation is not nearly as bad as it initially feels. Through that experience, I look back fondly on the camaraderie forged with my classmates and the lifelong friendships I made.
What advice would you give to students entering law school who aspire to become an Order of the Coif member when they graduate?
First, listen to your professors. If you listen in class, professors will either explicitly or implicitly tell you exactly what they want to see on the final exam and the proper format for presenting that information. It is important to remember that your professors are grading the exam, so keep that in mind. Also, as tedious as it is, make your own outlines. The process of distilling everything into one document helps to put everything into a proper perspective. Prior outlines can be useful in crafting your own, but solely relying on them skips the learning process when you make your own. Finally, take care of yourself, grades are important, but they aren’t worth sacrificing your happiness and mental health.
