Chancellor Jack Weiss announced the formation of a newly created Young Alumni Leadership Council. The council, comprised of 20 members representing alums from the past 10 graduating classes, “will offer feedback on ways in which the Law Center can be responsive in preparing students for the ever-changing practice of law,” said Chancellor Weiss. He asked the group to serve as “the eyes and ears for the law school in their worlds.”
The group will also serve as ambassadors who can testify to the value of an LSU Law legal education; bring new ideas to LSU Law from their respective regions; and assist in recruitment of outstanding students to the Law Center.
The distinguished membership hails from five states, in addition to Louisiana, and represents a wide range of practice areas. The group held its first meeting in Baton Rouge on December 7 – 8.
Seventeen of 20 members met for dinner and were addressed by Kimberly Robinson (’98), Special Counsel to Governor Kathleen Blanco, who shared a fascinating, first-hand account of the realities of working with the federal government in the days and months following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The following morning, members heard from LSU Law Professors Chris Pietruszkiewicz on changes in the demographics of law school applicants and Professor Lucy McGough who discussed the Law Center’s plans for clinical legal education. Irina Fox (1L), one of the founders of the Law Center’s new International Law Society, unveiled the Society’s plans for promoting the international applicability of the study of civil law.
John Spain, executive vice president of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, gave members a first look at an exciting new campaign for south Louisiana, tentatively referred to as, “To Bring Energy to Life.” Focused on the I-10/12 corridor, the program is directed “outward and inward,” according to Spain, “with a message that both heralds and supports economic development of the corridor from Lake Charles through the Northshore.”
The Council returns to campus in the spring.
Alums named to the Council are:
1998
Catherine Maraist
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Baton Rouge, LA
Kimberly Robinson
Office of the Governor
Special Counsel
State of Louisiana
Baton Rouge, LA
1999
Jeffrey B. Norman
City of Atlanta
Department of Law
Atlanta, GA
Melanie Mulcahy
Derbes Law Firm, L.L.C.
Metairie, LA
2000
Norma Bennett
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Houston, TX
Kevin Ainsworth
Jones,Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrère & Denègre
Baton Rouge, LA
2001
Raley Alford III
Stanley Flanagan & Reuter
New Orleans, LA
Laurence J. Centola
Martzell & Bickford
New Orleans, LA
2002
Annie LeBlanc
Jackson & Walker
Dallas, TX
Russell Mosely
Mosely Law Firm, LLC
Baton Rouge, LA
2003
Stephen LaFleur
Gold, Weems, Bruser, Sues & Rundell
Alexandria, LA
Kyle Bacon
Perrett Doise APLC
Lafayette, LA
2004
Dallon Bush
Percy & Percy
Gonzales, LA
Oscar M. Gwin, IV
Christovich & Kearney
New Orleans, LA
2005
Julie Baxter
Moore, Walter, Thompson, Thomas, Papillion & Cullens
Baton Rouge, LA
Kerrie Crockett
Miami Dade State Attorneys Office
Miami, FL
2006
Nathan Gaudet
Sullivan, Stolier & Resor
New Orleans, LA
Brian Su
Howrey Law Firm
Washington, DC
2007
Slattery Johnson
Blanchard, Walker, O’Quin & Roberts
Shreveport, LA
Lucie Kantrow
Phelps Dunbar
Baton Rouge, LA
