Chancellor Jack Weiss has declared 2008-09 the Year of Litvinoff, in honor of the retirement of Boyd Professor Saúl Litvinoff. The announcement was made at an assembly of peers, friends, and family who gathered at the LSU Law Center on Friday, Nov. 14, to celebrate Litvinoff’s 43 years of service to the Law Center.
Litvinoff will assume the status of Professor Emeritus when he steps down after the Spring 2009 semester.
The Law Center’s Chancellor Council will pay tribute to Professor Litvinoff at a gala planned for Friday, March 20, 2009. The Chancellor’s Council is comprised of friends and alumni who annually support the Law Center at the leadership level of the Annual Fund—a contribution of $1,000 or more. Professor Litvinoff has been a member of the council for many years; nearly 240 alums and friends joined the professor as council members this past year.
As a further honor during the November 14 event, Ava Leavell Haymon announced the establishment of the Saúl Litvinoff Distinguished Endowed Professorship. Ava and Cordell Haymon, a 1968 graduate of the Law Center, are lifelong friends of the Litvinoff family. They reside in Baton Rouge.
Chancellor Weiss also presented Litvinoff and his family members with “special edition” purple and gold baseball caps bearing the initials Y.O.L (Year of Litvinoff).
Litvinoff began his career at LSU as a visiting professor in 1965. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1925 and began his legal career there in 1949 as an associate with Ibero Berenguer and Associates. In 1962, he worked as a Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Puerto Rico, earning his LL.M. at Yale University at the same time.
During his time at LSU, Litvinoff’s chief endeavor would be his work with the Louisiana Civil Code. His revisions of the Civil Code’s section on Obligation—one of the many examples of his work on the Civil Code—resulted in it being enacted into law in 1984. Litvinoff also served as dean of the Central American Banking School, which operated under the auspices of LSU, for 20 years. He continues to serve as a consultant to the U.S. State Department, the Louisiana Department of State, and the Central Bank of Honduras.
“Saúl Litvinoff will go down in history as one of the greatest scholars and teachers of Louisiana law,” said Law Center Chancellor Jack Weiss. “He has taught generations of LSU lawyers. His scholarship has shaped our legal tradition for more than 40 years.”
