Professor Mustapha Mekki and LSU Law Dean Alena Allen shake hands after signing the MOU between the INFN and LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center on Tuesday, April 23. Standing behind the two are Professor Philippe Pierre, Professor Olivier Moréteau, and Cultural Attaché Jacques Baran of the Consulate General of France in Louisiana.
In a move that will strengthen ties between the two organizations and help LSU Law recruit international students for its Master of Laws (LLM) program, the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center and French National Institute for the Training of Notaries (INFN) have inked a memorandum of understanding.
The INFN is responsible for coordinating all 16 centers in France that train notaries. In France and many other civil law jurisdictions, notaries are a separate branch of the legal profession, and becoming a notary requires extra training and licensure in addition to obtaining a (LLM). Not only will the MOU with the INFN help LSU Law attract top candidates to its LLM program, but it will also create additional opportunities for future student exchanges and academic activities.
LSU Law Dean Alena Allen met with INFN officials on Tuesday, April 23, to sign the MOU, which is the first of its kind between the institutions. Along with Allen, Professors Nick Davrados and Olivier Moréteau were on hand to represent the LSU Law Center of Civil Law Studies. Representing the INFN at the signing were Professors Philippe Pierre (University of Rennes), Mustapha Mekki (University Pantheon-Sorbonne, Paris 1), Bernard Haftel (University Sorbonne-Paris Nord), and Nathalie Blancas (University Sorbonne-Paris Nord) as well as Cultural Attaché Jacques Baran of the Consulate General of France in Louisiana.
