LSU Law News
June 2023
Louisiana-born Alena Allen returns home to begin appointment as LSU Law dean on July 1
June 30, 2023Alena Allen has returned home to Louisiana to assume leadership of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center as dean of LSU Law. Allen’s appointment officially began on Saturday, July 1. She formerly served as deputy director for the Association of American Law Schools and professor of law at the University of Arkansas School of Law. “At the core of the mission of the law center is a commitment to providing meaningful access to a rigorous legal education so that graduates are empowered to succeed at the highest levels,” Allen said. “I am thrilled to serve as dean, and I look…
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Independence Day Holiday
June 28, 2023The Law Library will be closed on Tuesday, July 4th in observance of Independence Day. The Law Library will resume exam hours on Wednesday, July 5th. Please see detailed hours for more information.
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Record number of new LSU Law graduates selected for JAG commissions
June 27, 2023(Pictured left to right) Top Row: John Arboleda, Jared Blackburn, Sydney Britt, John Clements, Gabrielle Cox Bottom Row: Darryl Doyle, Broxton Lance Harvey, Andrea Houghtaling, Patrika Marschall, Amelie Whitehurst Gabrielle Cox (from left to right), John Arboleda, Andrea Houghtaling, John Clements, Patrika Marschall, Jared Blackburn, and Broxton Lance Harvey pose on the steps of the Old Law Building one week after celebrating their commencement on May 20. The following LSU Law Class of 2023 graduates have commissioned with JAG branches: Broxton Lance Harvey / Army John Clements / Army Patrika Marschall / Army Darryl Doyle / Army John Arboleda /…
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LSU Law Professor Lisa Avalos’ work on behalf of sexual assault survivors featured in new documentary
June 27, 2023Whether she’s teaching in the classroom, serving as an expert witness in the courtroom, sharing her scholarship at legal symposia around the world—or appearing in a new Netflix documentary—LSU Law Professor Lisa Avalos is driven by an unwavering commitment to the survivors of sexual assault and trafficking. “Anything to get the message out,” said Avalos. “This is all about the survivors.” In “Victim/Suspect,” a documentary that premiered on May 23, Avalos shares her expertise with investigative journalist and co-producer Rachel de Leon, who travels across the country exploring cases in which young women were charged with falsely filing a police…
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2023 Order of the Coif: William N. Mathews
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will start as an Associate at Kean Miller in the firm's Baton Rouge office. I will be practicing in the Mass Torts and Casualty group. What are your long-term career aspirations? I am not sure. Of course, one ultimate career goal is to have a flourishing law practice. One possibility later in my career is serving as a judge. At the start of law school, I was immediately surprised by how many areas of law interested me. Simultaneously, I am intrigued by the theory and developments in the law which judges play a…
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2023 Order of the Coif: Matthew Connor McCain
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? Currently, I am planning on joining Manasseh, Gill, Knipe, and Belanger as an associate with my focus being criminal defense. What are your long-term career aspirations? Long term, I want to have a fulfilling career and try to make a difference in the community. As a former high school teacher myself, I would love to get involved in academia in some capacity down the line. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. As a self-proclaimed glutton for punishment, I was…
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2023 Order of the Coif: Colin M. North
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I have accepted an offer to work at Liskow & Lewis in New Orleans. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I participated in the Robert Lee Tullis Moot Court Competition and served as a member of the Board of Advocates. Please tell us about any LSU Law faculty, classes, or other experiences that were particularly impactful on your legal education. The entire LSU Law faculty was impactful on my legal education. In particular, Professor Maggie Thompson impacted my legal…
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2023 Order of the Coif: John B. McNamara
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will be working at Keogh, Cox & Wilson, Ltd. in Baton Rouge. What are your long-term career aspirations? I hope to find out what I am passionate about and develop a career centered on that. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I earned Paul M. Hebert Scholar academic honors during the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters, Dean's Scholars honors in the Spring 2021, Fall 2022, and Spring 2023 semesters, and I recieved CALI Awards in my Contracts…
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2023 Order of the Coif: Baylee M. Smith
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? Working as an associate attorney at Mang, Bourgeois, Callaway, and Thomas, LLC in their Baton Rouge office, practicing in medical malpractice What are your long-term career aspirations? I would like to practice as a litigation attorney, argue before the Louisiana Supreme Court, serve the Louisiana legal community through pro-bono and volunteer opportunities, and continue my legal scholarship. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I was a member of the Louisiana Law Review, in which I served as Production Editor…
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17 Class of 2023 graduates selected for The Order of the Coif
June 22, 2023(Pictured from left to right) Top Row: Baylee M. Smith, Jacob H. Bryant, Kimberly Cook, Emily Vest, Andrew D. Hughes, Tyler Frederick Middle Row: Matthew Connor McCain, John B. McNamara, colin M. North, Lily Pavy, Joshua M. Pruett Bottom Row: Blake Vick, Fallon A. Voltolina, Jack Aguillard, William N. Mathews, William M. Wade, Trent Tucker Seventeen graduates in the LSU Law class of 2023 have been selected for induction into The Order of the Coif, the highest honor a law student can receive. Membership into the honorary law fraternity is strictly limited to the top 10% of each graduating class…
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2023 Order of the Coif: Jack T. Aguillard
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will be joining Kirkland & Ellis as a corporate associate in the firm’s Houston office. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I was a recipient of 10 CALI Awards, I served on Louisiana Law Review as a Senior Associate—I also had a comment selected for publication—and I earned Paul M. Hebert Scholar academic honors. Please tell us about any LSU Law faculty, classes, or other experiences that were particularly impactful on your legal education. Professor Maggie Thomas served…
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Order of the Coif: Jacob H. Bryant
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? After passing the bar exam, I will be joining Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in the firm’s Houston office. What are your long-term career aspirations? I hope to grow my skills as a corporate attorney and be involved in my community. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I was a Senior Articles Editor for Volume XI of the Journal of Energy Law and Resources, and I had the privilege of putting together our annual symposium. I received several CALI awards…
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2023 Order of the Coif: Kimberly H. Cook
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? After taking the bar exam, I will be clerking in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and then upon completing my clerkship, I will be joining Simpson Thacher & Barlett in their Houston office as a corporate associate. What are your long-term career aspirations? After learning as much as I can from practice, I would love to eventually teach a class or become a law professor. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. This past year,…
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2023 Order of the Coif: Tyler Frederick
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will begin my career as a trial attorney at Broussard David & Moroux. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I was the 2021 Tullis Moot Court Competition champion and won Best Brief, I had an article published in Volume 83 of Louisiana Law Review. I was also a quarterfinalist in the John R. Brown Admiralty Competition, Paul M. Hebert Scholar, and Board of Advocates member. I earned CALI Awards in Maritime Commerce, Federal Courts, Antitrust, Louisiana Civil Procedure…
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2023 Order of the Coif: Andrew D. Hughes
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will be joining Liskow & Lewis as a litigation associate in their Lafayette office. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. During law school, I served as a Senior Editor for the Louisiana Law Review, a member of the John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court team, Executive Treasurer for SBA for two years, and a member of the Board of Advocates. My Admiralty moot court team placed as quarterfinalists in this past year's competition. My partner, Will Mathews, and…
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2023 Order of the Coif: Lily P. Pavy
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will be working for Kean Miller at their Baton Rouge office in the Energy and Environmental Litigation group. What are your long-term career aspirations? I would like to become a litigator and a trial attorney. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. As a member of the Louisiana Law Review, I served as the Executive Senior Editor, and my comment “Mommy Issues: Louisiana's Gap in Parental Rights for Unmarried, Same-Sex Couples” won the Vinson & Elkins Outstanding Student Casenote…
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2023 Order of the Coif: Joshua M. Pruett
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I accepted a position as a construction litigation associate at Peckar & Abramson starting in the fall. What are your long-term career aspirations? I would like to be a law firm partner and mediator/arbitrator. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I served on the editorial board for the Journal of Energy Law and Resources as production editor. Please tell us about any LSU Law faculty, classes, or other experiences that were particularly impactful on your legal education. Professor Darlene…
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2023 Order of the Coif: Trent S. Tucker
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will begin my career as a corporate associate in the Dallas office of Kirkland & Ellis. What are your long-term career aspirations? My long-term career goals are to find work that I enjoy and to retire early. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I was a member of The Journal of Energy Law and Resources and The Board of Advocates and served as an academic tutor as well as a research assistant. I graduated Summa Cum Laude, was…
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2023 Order of the Coif: Emily Vest
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? My immediate career plan is to relocate to Dallas, Texas, and join Holland & Knight LLP as a first-year associate with the firm's litigation practice group. What are your long-term career aspirations? At this time, I am not sure what my long-term career aspirations are. I'm really excited to have such a great opportunity with Holland & Knight and picture myself trying to achieve partnership in the years to come. Before I came to law school, my goal was to have my own plaintiff's firm one day. So perhaps I will have my own…
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2023 Order of the Coif: Fallon A. Voltolina
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will join Phelps Dunbar LLP to work as an associate attorney in the litigation group. What are your long-term career aspirations? As for now, I aspire to become an ethical and dynamic trial attorney. I am looking forward to learning what it takes to achieve the best results for my future clients. Further, I would like to continue dabbling in academic research, potentially in areas of national security law and cybersecurity. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. As…
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2023 Order of the Coif: Blake G. Vick
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? After taking the Texas Bar Exam in late July, I will return to Texas after seven years in Baton Rouge to begin my career as a transactional attorney with a firm in downtown Houston. What are your long-term career aspirations? I hope to have a long, successful, and impactful career in transactional law. Along the way, I hope to assist LSU Law students in the same way that members of our great alumni network have assisted and positively impacted me during my time as a student. Please tell us about the organizations and activities…
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2023 Order of The Coif: William M. Wade
June 22, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will be working as a State Attorney for INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I was involved with the Business Law Society, and I received CALI awards in Obligations and Contracts II. What advice would you give to students entering law school who aspire to become an Order of the Coif member when they graduate? Hold yourself accountable and be willing to put in the time but do not stress yourself out so…
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LSU Law alumni honored with awards at LSBA Annual Meeting
June 21, 2023Several LSU Law alumni were honored with awards at the Louisiana State Bar Association 82nd Annual Meeting, while others were installed into LSBA leadership positions. The annual meeting and the LSBA/Louisiana Judicial College Joint Summer School were jointly held in Destin, Florida on June 4-9. Judge Jay C. Zainey (’75) and Judge Darrel J. Papillion (’94) each received President’s Awards for their ongoing commitment to the legal profession. Judge Zainey was also recognized for his leadership of the Support of Lawyers/Legal Personnel – All Concern Encouraged (SOLACE) Program, which he co-founded in 2002. He has been instrumental in developing programs…
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2023 Order of the Barristers: Hannah E. Cottrell
June 21, 2023What are your immediate career plans? After graduation, I will be a law clerk in the chambers of the Honorable Christian N. Weiler at the U.S. Tax Court. I am so grateful and excited for the opportunity to begin my career in tax law! What are your long-term career aspirations? I would like to continue working in tax law. I am especially interested in working for the government. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I was the Director of External Dispute Resolution Competitions for LSU…
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2023 Order of the Barristers: Ryan York
June 21, 2023What are your immediate career plans? After taking the Louisiana Bar Exam, I will be working as a judicial law clerk at the 1st Judicial District Court in Shreveport. What are your long-term career aspirations? After my clerkship, I want to be a litigator. After I get some initial experience practicing, I want to open my own law firm. I am not sure of what practice areas I would offer, but I have always considered family law and immigration law as possible practice areas. I am open to anything. Ultimately, I want to be a judge. Please tell us about…
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2023 Order of the Barristers: Scott G. Wheat Jr.
June 21, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will be an associate with Faircloth Melton Sobel & Bash in the Baton Rouge office. What are your long-term career aspirations? My long-term career aspiration is to become a constitutional litigator pushing for more equal treatment under the law for all individuals. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I was Vice-President of External Competitions in the Board of Advocates. I was on the Costello National Criminal Trial team in 2022 and 2023, and we were quarterfinalists during my…
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2023 Order of the Barristers: Hannah Lee Turner
June 21, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will be working at a defense firm in Marietta, Georgia. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. During my 2L year, I was a quarterfinalist and receiving third place brief in the Tullis competition. I also was a semifinalist and receiving the award of fourth place oralist in the Dean's Cup competition. During my 3L year, I served on the Board of Advocates as the Director of Internal Trial Advocacy Competitions. Additionally, I served as Production Editor for the…
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2023 Order of the Barristers: Chad Thornton
June 21, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I am going to work as an associate at Proskauer Rose LLP in the Labor Department, practicing employment litigation. What are your long-term career aspirations? I’d like to get into Federal Appellate work or go in-house counsel with a major sports team. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I was on the winning team for the Fall 2021 Ira S. Flory Mock Trial Competition, and I served on the Journal of Energy Law and Resources and Board of Advocates.…
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2023 Order of the Barristers: Raegan Minaldi
June 21, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will begin working with The Gertz Kelley Law firm, a private criminal defense firm in Beaumont, Texas, on Aug. 1. What are your long-term career aspirations? I hope to become a prominent criminal defense attorney in Texas, with the hopes of spreading my practice to Houston and Austin. As a longer-term career plan, I would like to be a Judge. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I was on the executive boards for the Women Law Students Association…
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2023 Order of the Barristers: Matthew Connor McCain
June 21, 2023What are your immediate career plans? Currently, I plan to work in criminal defense litigation at Manasseh, Gill, Knipe, and Belanger this fall. What are your long-term career aspirations? Long term, I hope to get back involved in academia in some capacity. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. As a self-proclaimed glutton for punishment, I was very involved during my time at LSU. I held an elected or board position in the Student Bar Association, the Public Interest Law Society, the Board of Advocates, and…
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2023 Order of the Barristers: Olivia Day Maynard
June 21, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I’m in the process of interviewing for a few judicial clerkships in Louisiana, and I hope to hear back soon! What are your long-term career aspirations? It is my goal to eventually work for a federal agency such as FERC or the EPA. I am interested in working in any capacity at an agency but particularly interested in creating regulations and enforcement. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. During the fall semester of my second year at LSU Law,…
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2023 Order of the Barristers: Cory A. Lewis
June 21, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will be starting as an associate attorney with Kuchler, Polk, and Weiner in New Orleans. What are your long-term career aspirations? Eventually, I would like to be able to focus on civil rights impact litigation to help LGBTQIA+ people here in Louisiana, as well as the southern United States generally. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I was the President of LSU Law Center's Board of Advocates for the 2022-2023 year, and twice participated in the Philip C.…
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2023 Order of the Barristers: Luke Anthony Dupré
June 21, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will be the judicial clerk for Judge Gerard Caswell, Chief Judge of the 27th Judicial District Court for the Parish of St. Landry, for a one-year term. What are your long-term career aspirations? Even before I began my legal education, I had planned to come back to serve my local community and the entire Acadiana region in a small, diverse practice, focusing on both local government law and general litigation. You won't see me on a billboard! Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any…
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2023 Order of the Barristers: Angelle Boudreaux
June 21, 2023Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. During my time at LSU Law, I participated in external mock trial competitions and was placed on two teams, each of which placed in national competitions. I also participated in internal competitions, and was one of the winners of the Fall 2022 Flory Mock Trial Competition. During Trial Advocacy in the summer of 2022, I was selected for nomination to the Wex Malone American Inns of Court. In spring 2023, I was chosen to participate in filing an amicus…
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2023 Order of the Barristers: John Rodrigo Arboleda
June 21, 2023What are your immediate career plans? I will be entering the Army JAG Corps after sitting for the bar exam in Florida. What are your long-term career aspirations? My long-term career aspirations are to work at the U.S. Attorney's Office or as a Criminal Trial Judge sometime in the very distant future. Please tell us about the organizations and activities you participated in at LSU Law, including any awards or honors you received. I was a member of the Board of Advocates, Hispanic Law Students Association, Federalist Society, Running Club, and Veterans Advocacy Club, and I also served as a…
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12 Class of 2023 graduates selected for The Order of the Barristers
June 21, 2023(Pictured from left to right) Top Row: Raegan Minaldi, Chad Thornton, Cory A. Lewis, Hannah Elizabeth Cottrell, Angelle Boudreaux, John Rodrigo Arboleda Bottom Row: Scott G. Wheat, Jr., Luke Anthony Dupré, Matthew Connor McCain, Olivia Day Maynard, Ryan York, Hanna Lee Turner Twelve LSU Law students in the Class of 2023 have been selected for induction into The Order of the Barristers, a national honorary organization whose purpose is the encouragement of oral advocacy and brief writing skills through effective law school oral advocacy programs. The inductees, in alphabetical order by last name and with their hometowns noted, are listed…
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Class of 2023 LLM graduate Sigrid Soetaert taking off for New York City after landing Air France internship
June 6, 2023When Oslo, Norway-native Sigrid Soetaert landed in Baton Rouge last summer to pursue her LLM at LSU Law, her lifelong dream of studying law in the United States had finally come to fruition. Just weeks after celebrating graduation with her classmates at commencement, Soetaert is now preparing to take off for New York City to launch her legal career with Air France USA. “When I found out I landed the internship I was overjoyed. It brought me to tears,” said Soetaert as her selection as just the second LSU Law LLM graduate for a highly coveted one-year internship with Air…
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LSU Law Class of 2023 graduate Stephen Cox awarded Kalinka Memorial Scholarship, will pursue LLM at SMU School of Law
June 2, 2023LSU Law Class of 2023 graduate Stephen D. Cox has been awarded the Professor Susan Kalinka Memorial Endowed Scholarship/LLM Tax Award, which will help fund his studies as he pursues his Tax LLM at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. Established in 2009 in memory of the late LSU Law Professor Susan Kalinka, who taught courses in tax law, real estate law, and policy topics, the scholarship was created by friends, family, colleagues, and students, and endowed by her husband, David. Recipients must be third-year law students who have been accepted and are enrolled in an LLM Tax program…
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LSU faculty, alumni, and staff headed to Destin to present, participate at LSBA Annual Meeting and LSBA/Louisiana Judicial College Joint Summer School
June 2, 2023More than 100 LSU Law faculty, alumni, and staff members will converge in Destin, Florida, during the week of June 4-9 to network with colleagues, make presentations, and participate in panel discussions at the Louisiana State Bar Association 82nd Annual Meeting and LSBA/Louisiana Judicial College Joint Summer School. More than two dozen LSU Law alumni will present and/or participate in panel discussions during the week, and at least a half dozen LSU Law faculty will lead Continuing Legal Education classes. LSU Law Interim Dean Lee Ann Wheelis Lockridge and incoming LSU Law Dean Alena Allen will be on hand, as…
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Gov. John Bel Edwards (’99) and Kimberly Lewis (’98) honored by Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus
June 2, 2023Louisiana Rep. Sam L. Jenkins, Jr. (from left to right) poses with Louisiana First Lady Donna Edwards, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards ('99), and LSU Executive Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer Kimberly Lewis ('98) at the Third Annual Gov. P.B.S. Pinchback Breakfast on May 31. A pair of notable LSU Law alumni were honored by the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus on May 31 at the Third Annual Gov. P.B.S. (Pickney Benton Stewart) Pinchback Breakfast. Gov. John Bel Edwards (’99) was honored as the first ever recipient of the Gov. Pinchback Trailblazer Award for his dedication to diversity and work…
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LSU Law confers 185 degrees to Class of 2023 graduates
June 1, 2023LSU Law has conferred law degrees to 185 students who graduated as part of the Class of 2023. Among the graduates, 137 earned a Juris Doctor and optional Graduate Diploma in Comparative Law (JDCL), 36 earned a Juris Doctor (JD), and 12 earned a Master of Laws (LLM). Additionally, 17 graduates earned an optional Graduate Certificate in Energy Law and Policy (GCELP) and 20 earned an optional Graduate Certificate in Estate Planning and Taxation (GCEPT). The graduates of the LSU Law Class of 2023 represent 23 U.S. states, six foreign countries, and 29 Louisiana parishes. LSU Law celebrated the Class…
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