LSU Law News
January 2006
Law Center Welcomes New Staff, Recognizes Service
January 4, 2006The Law Center recognized six staff members for their years of service to LSU and welcomed several new staff members at the annual Back-to-School Breakfast held on August 16. Staff joining the Law Center over the past year include: Eric Eden - Director of Admissions Leslie Schiff - Major Gifts Officer, Alumni Relations Cheryl Griffin - Graphic Designer, Publications Christine Bergeron - Coordinator, Career Services Annie LeBlanc - Counselor, Career Services Carmel Cucinotta - Administrative Assistant, Instructional Support Karen Taylor - Administrative Assistant, Instructional Support Vickie Landry - Administrative Assistant, Law Review Hilary Leeds - Research Associate, Law Science, and…
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Visiting Scholars Announced for 2005-06
January 4, 2006The Law Center has announced its list of distinguished visiting scholars for the 2005-06 academic year. Noted figures from around the globe will teach courses ranging from three weeks to an entire semester. The scholars are an elite cadre of the world's leading figures in bi-jural and comparative law scholarship. Joining the Law Center this year are: Honorable Laetitia Brunin, Secretary General to the Chief Justice, Supreme Court of France, teaching Comparative Criminal Procedure. Professor Sefa-Marianne Franken, University of Tilburg, Netherlands, teaching Comparative Aspects of Venture Capital. Professor Werner Meng, University of the Saarland, Germany, Director, Europa Institut at University…
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Law Center Continues Study Abroad Success
January 4, 2006Approximately 80 first-year LSU Law students participated in the study abroad program held in Lyon, France this summer. This summer marked the 20th consecutive year that students studied abroad, and the third year in Lyon. The host institution, Université Jean Moulin, is an innovative and ambitious university that, in partnership with LSU Law, allows our students to earn up to seven course credits in a comparative law curriculum.
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Law Center Names 23 to Louisiana Law Review
January 4, 2006Congratulations to the 2005-2006 junior associates for the Louisiana Law Review: Kimberly Brame, Bradley Carson, Amanda Coney, Prentiss Cutshaw, Jason Doré, Melanie Goolsby, Katie Grissel, Rebecca Hall, Jacob Kantrow, Lucie Kantrow, Scott Ledet, Tommy Leslie, Ray Lewis, Erin Lutkewitte, Ashley Marino, Alexander Mijalis, Stacy Morse, Alison Nunez, Brad Resweber, Rebecca Schambach, Traci Shirley, Stuart Welch, and Jennifer Wise.
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Law Center to Celebrate 100-Year Anniversary in 2006
January 4, 2006The LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center will mark its centennial year in 2006! The Law Center's 100 years of scholarship, teaching, and service will be celebrated throughout the centennial year. Numerous activities and events will commemorate our historic achievements, including a gala celebration on September 15, 2006, premier of the LSU Law Magazine, dedication of the newly renovated Centennial Plaza and rooms throughout the Law Center, as well as wonderful reunion celebrations. From its humble beginnings with just 19 students and one professor to today's vibrant and highly regarded faculty and student body, LSU Law has a history that…
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Law Center Welcomes New Faculty Member - Lee Ann Wheelis Lockridge
January 4, 2006Lee Ann Wheelis Lockridge, former visiting professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, is the Law Center's newest faculty member. Professor Lockridge's areas of research interest and teaching include intellectual property and contracts. She graduated from Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, B.A. summa cum laude, 1995, Phi Beta Kappa. She earned her J.D. from Duke University School of Law magna cum laude, 1998, and was associate editor of Law and Contemporary Problems. She was a member of Order of the Coif and Community Service Coordinator for the Duke Bar Association. Professor Lockridge was former judicial clerk to the Honorable…
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McKenzie Named LSU Law Center Distinguished Alumnus
January 4, 2006W. Shelby McKenzie has been named the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center's 2005 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. Law Center Chancellor John J. Costonis made the announcement at the spring meeting of the Law Center Alumni Board of Trustees. McKenzie will be honored at the Distinguished Alumnus Breakfast to be held on the LSU Campus on Saturday, October 15, 2005. W. Shelby McKenzie was born in Baton Rouge. He received his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University and then entered the LSU Law Center. He is a 1964 graduate of the Law Center where he was Editor-in-Chief…
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Olivier Moreteau Named Holder of First Law Center Chair
January 4, 2006The LSU Law Center is very proud to announce that distinguished comparativist Olivier Moreteau has been named the first holder of the Russell B. Long Eminent Scholars Academic Chair. He joined the Law Center faculty this fall at the rank of Professor of Law with tenure and will direct the Center of Civil Law Studies. Reflecting the late senator's enduring devotion to LSU, the Russell Long Chair was created to attract a scholar of sufficient distinction to enhance the national and international reputation of the Law Center and the university. Professor Moreteau satisfied this criterion with distinction. Formerly a Professor…
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Law Center Releases Fall 2005 Class Profile
January 4, 2006The LSU Law Center has released statistics on the incoming Fall 2005 first-year class. The size of the entering class is 219 students. The median LSAT of the entering students is 156, while the GPA of incoming students averages 3.47. Students hail from 68 undergraduate schools throughout Louisiana and the nation. Eighty-nine of the admitted students are graduates of LSU. Forty-nine percent of the students are female while 51 percent are male.
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Law Professors Excel in Scholarship and Teaching
January 4, 2006Professor Paul Baier appeared as amicus curiae this past May in the Louisiana Supreme Court on behalf of the Louisiana Psychological Association, State of Louisiana v Anthony Scott, No. 2004-KA-1312, a death penalty case, raising questions of appropriate standards for determining mental retardation. Professor John Baker has received a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award to the Philippines for lectures this academic year. He has recently assumed the directorship of the Law Center's Hemispheric Trade Program. Professor Bill Corbett completed the second edition of a book titled, International & Comparative Employment Law: Cases and Materials, co-authored with Roger Blanpain, Susan Bisom-Rapp, Hilary…
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Trial Advocacy Program Trains 247
January 4, 2006LSU Law students had a chance to practice their trial advocacy skills in early August during a unique program involving mentors from throughout the nation. From cross examination to voir dire jury selection, third-year students role played and received critiques from some of the nation's leading experts in courtroom practices. The 13th annual Trial Advocacy program was held August 8-10 at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center. More than 200 third-year law students participated in the program. "Few schools in the United States include this type of program in their curriculum, and probably none have presented a program with…
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VITA Program Wins ABA Outstanding Continuing Site Award
January 4, 2006LSU Laws Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program won the 2005 Best Continuing VITA Site Award presented by the American Bar Associations (ABA) Student Division in August. The award recognizes outstanding VITA efforts at ABA-approved law schools and takes into account student participation, number of years in existence, number of returns prepared, and the students originality, ingenuity, and motivation in providing service to the community and publicizing such programs. Faculty director Susan Kalinka and Tax Club co-presidents Carla Sibille and Michael Arton led the way this year as law students helped 306 taxpayers accurately prepare their forms. Professor Kalinka, coordinator…
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Chancellor Costonis Announces Plans for 2007 Retirement and Return to Teaching
January 4, 2006Law Center Chancellor John Costonis has announced his plans to step down from his leadership role at the Law Center, effective July 1, 2007, at which time he will return to the faculty as Professor of Law. In a prepared statement shared with students, faculty, staff, and alumni, the Chancellor enumerates several factors leading to his decision. Chief among those, according to the Chancellor, is that, "virtually all of the objectives that I set for the Law Center upon my arrival in 1999 will have been achieved by 2007." The Chancellor also described his almost 20 years in leadership roles,…
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Law Center Comes to Aid of Hurricane-Displaced Students
January 4, 2006The LSU Law Center opened its doors to 168 Tulane and Loyola law students whose education has been interrupted because of Hurricane Katrina. The Law Center, working in collaboration with the Deans of the affected law schools, has admitted 128 Loyola and 48 Tulane second- and third-year students. Tuition has been waived, and students have been given visiting, non-matriculating status. The newly admitted students are largely Louisiana residents. Priority enrollment has been given to graduating students who will take the Bar Exam this spring and to second-year students. In deference to the requests of the Tulane and Loyola deans, and…
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Law Center Professors Develop Text for Tort Law Study
January 4, 2006LSU Law professors have combined with two other law professors to produce a unique textbook for the study of tort law, and to save incoming first-year students a significant amount of money. In the past, LSU law students studied Torts I through the use of a national casebook, supplemented by a Louisiana Torts casebook produced by Professor Frank L. Maraist. Professor Maraist and other professors now have combined to produce a unique torts casebook that focuses on Louisiana law but also provides the student with an introduction to the general common law of torts prevailing in the United States. The…
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Professor's Work in Covenant Marriage Draws State and National Recognition
January 4, 2006"Louisiana has been designated as one of eight high activity states nationally as relates to marriage strengthening in a policy paper published by the Center for Law and Social Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank," according to Professor Katherine Spaht. She has recently consulted with several national organizations, including the Institute for American Values and the Office of the Administration of Children and Families of HHS in Washington . ACF is President George Bush's lead agency for his "Healthy Marriage" initiative. In 1997, Spaht's work at the state capitol resulted in the passage of the "Covenant Marriage" law and this…
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Rogers' Article Receives National Honor
January 4, 2006Professor Catherine Rogers has recently completed the third in a series of four related articles that examine the "confused and incomplete" ethical regulation of participants in international arbitration. The article, titled, Regulating International Arbitrators: A Functional Approach to Deriving the Standards of Conduct, was selected as a winner for the 2004 Stanford-Yale Junior Faculty Forum in the category of Law and Humanities and will be published in the Stanford Journal of International Law. Roger' s first two articles considered attorney ethics in international arbitration, while her most recent article turns to the controversies surrounding the regulation of international arbitrators. According…
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Center of Continuing Professional Development ( CCPD) to Offer 11 Specialty Programs
January 4, 2006Frank L. Maraist, long-time LSU law professor, agreed to work with existing staff, Glynn Pellegrin, Scott Harrington, Stephanie Lindsly, and Joan Abbott to create a community committee to meet the continuing education needs of our alumni by engaging them in the course work and method of dissemination. Professor Maraist gathered an impressive cadre of bench and bar to aid in the production of some 11 specialty programs per year. The world of continuing education is opening up and LSU law is on the cutting edge of these changes. The Louisiana State Supreme Court has granted approval for offering online presentations.…
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Law Center Receives Congressional Appropriation for Public Health and Latin American Commercial Law Programs
January 4, 2006Federal funding has been received to expand two important initiatives of the Law Center -- the Public Health Law and Latin American Commercial Law Programs. "These initiatives address areas of state and national significance," according to Chancellor John Costonis. The half million dollar appropriation was secured through efforts spearheaded by Representative Billy Tauzin's office and supported by other members of the Louisiana delegation. The goal of the Public Health Law program is to encourage a better understanding of public health law by lawyers and public health professionals. The program will focus on two key areas of public health concern: traditional…
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Law Center Graduate Program Expanding
January 4, 2006Fall 2004 will see a significant advancement and evolution of the Law Center's Graduate Program. In past years, the program consisted of five recommended Fellows who were personally selected by professors of international universities with whom we had an established relationship. Recently, the program was enlarged to a maximum of 30 candidates, with a full file review of applications by the Graduate Admissions Committee. There will be a sustained growth of the program over time, taking up to 15 candidates now with the possibility of greater growth in the future. Also, there are ten approved slots for International Exchange students…
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Law Center Takes Lead in International Programs
January 4, 2006In a recent U.S. News & World Reports issue, an article titled Law Schools Go International captured an emerging trend amongst U.S. law schools. The Law Center, however, is in the enviable position of being well ahead of the national curve in the internationalization of legal education. In 1999, officials at the Law Center sought to make the most of Louisiana's unique juridical juxtaposition at the crossroads of the legal world and develop a network of top international law schools with the purpose of increasing the quality and quantity of international exposure in the students' education. The result is a…
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2004-05 Law Center's Incoming Student Profile
January 4, 2006The Law Center has released the following profile of the incoming class: Total Applications: 1846 Total Accepted: 473 Enrolled: 213 Female: 115 Male:98 Mean GPA:3.46 Mean LSAT: 154 LA. Residents:178 Nonresidents:35 The number of applications for first-year law school admissions has shown a steady increase over the last five years. The mean GPA of first-year applicants has risen to an impressive 3.46 for the class of 2004. While first-year enrollment figures have remained fairly constant over the last five years, interest in the Law Center continues to increase each year as indicated by the ever increasing number of applicants.
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Law Center Welcomes New Faculty and Staff
January 4, 2006The Law Center is pleased to welcome its newest faculty and staff. Ronald Scalise, newest faculty member, has an exceptional law school graduate record from Tulane Law (2000). He graduated Summa Cum Laude, fourth in his class, and furthered his legal education at Trinity College in Cambridge where he earned his LL.M (Comparative Law) in 2003. Professor Scalise joins the faculty as an assistant professor in the areas of Successions and Donations and Legal Traditions. Scalise also served as a clerk to LSU Law alumnus and former Distinguished Alumnus for LSU Law Judge James L. Dennis. Kathleen Miller joins the…
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Law Center Students Garner National Awards
January 4, 2006The Law Center continues to support achievement in advocacy skills for students. This support garnered two coveted national awards this past academic year. In February students Mindy Heidel, Tori Sherer and Megan Terrell placed second in the nation at the Pace University National Environmental Moot Court Competition held at the Pace Law School in White Plains, New York. The teams were coached by Professor Kenneth Murchison and LSU Law alumnus Charles Ellis of Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson. The competition is sponsored by the American Bar Association Section of Environmental, Energy, and Resources and the Environmental Law Institute. For the first…
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Russell Long Chair Receives Regents Matching Funds
January 4, 2006Matching funds for the Law Center's first academic chair in honor of Senator Russell B. Long have been approved by the Louisiana Board of Regents. The $400,000 commitment from the Regents completes the $1 million funding requirement to make the Russell B. Long Eminent Scholars Academic Chair a reality. In recognition of the service of Senator Long as a member of its board of directors, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company established a life insurance policy in 1992 through its MetLife Director Charitable Contribution Program. Upon Senator Long's death in 2003, the life insurance policy provided $600,000 to the LSU Foundation…
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