April 2019
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LSU Law celebrates 2019 Alumni of the Year
Former president and managing partner of Liskow and Lewis Gene Fendler and LSU Law professor Frank Maraist highlighted the roster of notable alumni honored at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center’s 2019 Distinguished Alumni Celebration. Fendler and Maraist were named Alumni of the Year and three other LSU Law graduates were named Distinguished Achievement honorees at a ceremony March 22 at the InterContinental New Orleans.

LSU Law’s 2019 Distinguished Achievement honorees were Tim Daniels, member of the Irwin Fritchie Law firm in New Orleans; Christine Lipsey, member of the commercial litigation team in the McGlinchey Law Firm in Baton Rouge; and John T. Nesser III, co-founder, manager, co-chief executive officer and director of All Coast, LLC


Law professor Michael Coenen to deliver 2019 Commencement Address
Former LSU Law and current Seton Hall Law professor Michael Coenen will deliver the main address at the LSU Law Center’s 2019 Commencement ceremony, scheduled for Friday, May 24, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Coenen taught at the LSU Law Center from 2013-18. A favorite among students, Coenen was voted Professor of the Year by LSU Law students in 2014-15 and 2017-18.

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LSU Law team places third for 2019 Scribes Brief-Writing Award
LSU Law 2018 graduates Jessica Finley and Sara Kuebel and current 3L student Jacob Cunningham tied for third place for the prestigious 2019 Scribes Brief-Writing Award.

Cunningham, Finley, and Kuebel were members of the team that won the 2018 John R. Brown National Admiralty Law Moot Court Competition as well as the competition’s Maritime Law Association of the United States Award for the Best Brief.

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LSU Law named Most Outstanding school in national competition
LSU Law was named the national John R. Brown National Admiralty Law Moot Court Competition's Most Outstanding Law School for placing two teams in the top four. The Law Center’s Gold team placed runners-up, while the Purple team placed as national semifinalists.

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Students take on the faculty in Cheney Joseph Charity Mock Trial
LSU Law students faced off against faculty members on March 28 in the inaugural Cheney Joseph Memorial Students vs. Faculty Charity Mock Trial. The students won over 11 of the 12 jurors, but it was ultimately a Not Guilty verdict for the faculty.

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William VanDehei wins 2019
Dean’s Cup Competition
LSU Law 3L student William VanDehei won the 2019 Dean’s Cup Moot Court Competition on March 26 in the Robinson Courtroom of the LSU Law Center. Molly Reinhardt finished runner-up. The case was judged by the Honorable John W. deGravelles, the Honorable Toni Higginbotham, and Elizabeth Merrill.

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Joshua Newville named 2019 Advocacy Coach of the Year
Joshua Newville (LSU Law '12) was named the recipient of the 2019 Kalinka Award for Coach of the Year at the Law Center's annual Advocacy Programs Banquet on April 9. Newville is one of the coaches of the Law Center's Costello Criminal Trial Team, which this year took home the national championship title.

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Students prepare more than 150 tax returns during VITA program  
LSU Law’s Tax Law Society and Public Interest Law Society (PILS) hosted a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at the Law Center and helped more than 150 tax returns for lower-income taxpayers. The Tax Law Society has hosted a VITA site for a number of years aimed at assisting foreign students, faculty, and others in the LSU community prepare their taxes.

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May 24: Commencement
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Professor Ed Richards was interviewed by NPR Morning Edition for its story "14-Year Oil Spill In The Gulf Of Mexico Could Go On For Decades."
Professor Raff Donelson's article "Legal Inconsistencies" was accepted for publication in the Tulsa Law Review.
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Professor Greg Smith is quoted by New Orleans CityBusiness for its article "State bar opinion guides lawyers on technology."
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Professor John Costonis' article “The BP MDL and Its Aftermath: Whither OPA’s Displacement Jurisprudence?" was published in the 93 Tulane Law Review 511 (2019).
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Reunion weekend for the LSU Law classes of 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999 and 2009 will be held Oct. 25 and 26. We need volunteers to serve on reunion committees. Contact Missi Lightfoot ( mlightfoot@lsu.edu ) if you are interested in serving on a committee or if you have any questions.

Find out about the latest news and accomplishments of your classmates.


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