Alena Allen has returned home to Louisiana to assume leadership of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center as dean of LSU Law.
Allen’s appointment officially began on Saturday, July 1. She formerly served as deputy director for the Association of American Law Schools and professor of law at the University of Arkansas School of Law.
“At the core of the mission of the law center is a commitment to providing meaningful access to a rigorous legal education so that graduates are empowered to succeed at the highest levels,” Allen said. “I am thrilled to serve as dean, and I look forward to working with the staff, students, faculty and stakeholders to continue to advance the mission and to enhance the law school’s reputation nationally.”
Allen has been engaging with LSU Law faculty, staff, and alumni throughout the summer as she prepared for her new role. She attended the Louisiana State Bar Association 82nd Annual Meeting in Destin, Florida, in June, where she met dozens of LSU Law alumni and heard presentations by members of our faculty who were instructors for several of the continuing legal education programs.
She also discussed her research and career in a brief Q&A with the LSU Office of Academic Affairs, as well as the LSU Scholarship First Agenda and how LSU Law can continue to impact and serve Louisiana as the state’s flagship law school.
“Law permeates everything,” Allen said. “The Law Center is well positioned to align with all five points of President Tate’s Scholarship First Agenda. As a health law teacher, I am most excited about biomedical collaborations. Louisiana has one of the highest child poverty rates in the nation. A medical legal partnership between the law school and an area hospital has the potential to be really impactful. Many healthcare issues are intertwined with legal issues.”
On Friday, Sept. 8, Allen will present a continuing legal education course at the Baton Rouge Bar Association, at which she will analyze the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down affirmative action in college admissions, declaring race cannot be a factor.
At the University of Arkansas, Allen held several leadership positions, including associate dean for research and faculty development and interim dean. Prior to joining the University of Arkansas, Allen was a tenured associate professor at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, where she was awarded Professor of Year in 2013, the Farris Bobango Faculty Scholarship Award in 2019, and the MLK 50 Faculty Service Award in 2021. She also served as director of diversity, director of research and was elected to serve in the faculty senate. Allen taught courses in health law, health law finance, torts and family law.
Allen’s scholarship focuses on health policy and tort law and it has been published in the North Carolina Law Review, the Fordham Law Review, the Ohio State Law Journal, the BYU Law Review and the Cardozo Law Review. She was named an American Society of Medicine, Law and Ethics Health Scholar at the Center for Health Law Studies, St. Louis University School of Law.
“We set out to find an exceptionally talented leader committed to legal education, scholarship and practice,” said LSU President William F. Tate IV when Allen was named the next dean of LSU Law in late February. “Ms. Allen’s experience has the depth and breadth we need to take the Paul M. Hebert Law Center to the next level of excellence.”
Allen earned her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Loyola University New Orleans. She is a graduate of the Yale Law School, where she was the articles editor of the Yale Journal of Regulation. She was a law clerk for Judge Samuel H. Mays, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, then for Judge Paulette J. Delk, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee. She worked as an associate in the healthcare group at Arnold & Porter’s Washington, D.C. office and the employee benefits group at Baker Botts in Houston.
LSU conducted a national search for the dean of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center and invited four candidates to campus for interviews and open forums with students, faculty, and staff. Troy Blanchard, dean of the College of Humanities & Social Sciences, chaired the search committee.
Interim Dean Lee Ann Wheelis Lockridge completed her tenure on Friday, June 30, after serving in the role since Jan. 2, 2020. LSU Law faculty, staff, and alumni gathered at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center on Thursday, May 11, for a special reception to honor the exemplary leadership and dedicated service of Lockridge.
