Allison C. Adger
Shreveport, Louisiana
- Juris Doctor, Graduate Diploma in Comparative Law
- Dean’s Scholar
- 2024 CLIC Competition winner
- 2022 Robert Lee Tullis Moot Court Competition winner
- Board of Advocates Board Member
- Undergraduate: Louisiana Tech University, Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education
What are your immediate career plans?
After taking the bar I will return to Longman Jakuback, ALPC—where I worked during law school—as an associate on the Post-Conviction & Pardon and Parole team.
What are your long-term career aspirations?
My long-term career aspirations are to not only become a leader in the field of post-conviction law but to also play a role in building, collecting, and distilling institutional knowledge for post-conviction attorneys in the state. Post-conviction relief is a complex area of law and there are few attorneys in the state dedicated solely to this type of work, creating a disparate patchwork of expertise. With the legislature constructing more and more barriers to relief for individuals, I want to make sure that lawyers throughout the state who are willing to do this work have the resources to best equip them to fight for their clients.
Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received.
During the spring semester of my 1L year, I won the CALI award in Obligations and then served as an academic tutor for the course the following spring. As a former teacher, this was an exceptionally fun experience. I was also a mentor in the SBA Student Mentor Program, which allowed me to meet and assist 1Ls below me navigating their first year of law school.
Within the Advocacy Program, I won the 2022 Robert L. Tullis Moot Court Competition, was selected for the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition Team in 2023 and returned to lead the team with my previous partner in 2024. I was invited into membership into the Wex Malone Inn of Court based on my performance during Trial Advocacy Week prior to the start of 3L year. And, this past spring, I won the first ever Criminal Law Interviewing and Client Counseling Competition.
I was a member of the Board of Advocates, Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (LACDL), Public Interest Law Society, and Women’s Law Students Association.
Please tell us about any LSU Law faculty, classes, or other experiences that were particularly impactful on your legal education.
I’ve loved most of the classes I’ve taken here at LSU Law. I do not take lightly the luxury of having so many competent women who are leaders in their fields of law teach us and set a standard to aspire to—including Professor (Andrea) Carroll, Professor (Darlene) Goring, Professor (Melissa) Lonegrass, and Professor (Caprice) Roberts. I’ve learned so much just by watching them command the rooms they step into. The two courses that had the biggest impact on who I believe I will be as an attorney were the Criminal Litigation Simulation taught by Judge Anthony Marabella (’73) and Judge Fred Crifasi (’92) and the Wrongful Conviction Clinic led by the New Orleans Innocence Project. The practical knowledge I gained from these experiences was invaluable.
What are your fondest memories from your time at LSU Law?
My fondest collective memory is getting to witness my friends succeed and accomplish the things they set out for during our time here and getting to share in their accomplishments. A few of the dearest friends I’ve made in law school are also being awarded Order of the Barristers this year. I count myself so fortunate to have had a front row seat to both the losses and the ultimate wins—winning with them as their partner, traveling with them to externals, playing witness for them in their competitions—and just living life alongside people I deeply love and respect and have watched work so incredibly hard these past three years. In a program that is designed to breed competition, it is a breath of fresh air knowing that there is room for all of us.
What advice would you give to students entering law school who aspire to become Order of the Barristers members when they graduate?
I’ll say the same thing I tell 1Ls doing oral arguments for the first time: Things that seem daunting and impossible at the starting line will feel so small and natural from the finish line as you look back. So take advantage of every opportunity to grow that’s put in front of you—competitions, simulations, clinics, Trial Advocacy Week. Do them all, and do them scared if you have to. You will be a better attorney for it in the long run.
