June 2021
20 LSU Law students selected for induction into The Order of the Coif
Twenty students in the LSU Law Class of 2021 have been selected for induction into The Order of the Coif, the highest honor a law student can receive.

“The Order of the Coif denotes a very high level of accomplishment during law school, and we at the Law Center take great pride in recognizing the graduates of the Class of 2021 who earned membership this year,” said LSU Law Interim Dean Lee Ann Lockridge.

The Louisiana chapter of The Order of the Coif, a member honorary law fraternity, was established in 1942. Its purpose is to stimulate scholarly work of the highest order and foster and promote a high standard of professional conduct. Of the more than 200 American Bar Association accredited law schools in the country, LSU Law is one of just 86 with a chapter in The Order of the Coif.

Ordinary membership in The Order of the Coif is strictly limited to the top 10% of each graduating class. In special cases, honorary membership may be granted to lawyers, judges, and teachers who have attained high distinction for their scholarly or professional accomplishments. The 2021 LSU Law inductees of The Order of the Coif (pictured left to right, top to bottom) are:

  • James B. Babington
  • Anne Wilhelmina Boudreaux
  • Andrew James Crayden
  • Emiley Elizabeth Dillon
  • Joseph R. Dronet
  • Braxton Anthony Duhon
  • John D. Frey
  • Alexis Korrin Friedman-Benton
  • Katherine E. Fruge
  • Mallory A. Guillot
  • Rachel E. Hart
  • Anna Elyce Ieyoub
  • Andrew G. Jarreau
  • David Thomas Judd
  • Hailey Manint
  • John M. Parker
  • Camille F. Schwaner
  • Manfred Max Sternberg
  • Laura L. Tracy
  • Brittany Ellen Williams
LSU Law awards 180 degrees to Class of 2021, holds commencement exercises
LSU Law awarded 180 degrees to graduates in the Class of 2021, including 179 Juris Doctor (JD) degrees and one Master of Laws (LLM) degree. Additionally, 136 students who earned a J.D. also earned a Graduate Diploma in Comparative Law (CL) and nine students earned a Graduate Certificate in Energy Law and Policy (GELCP). The LSU Law Class of 2021 represents two countries, 22 states, and 36 Louisiana parishes.

LSU Law held a commencement ceremony for Class of 2021 and Class of 2020 graduates on Saturday, May 15, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick of the United States District Court, Middle District of Louisiana, delivered the keynote address, and other speakers included Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Weimer, LSU Law Interim Dean Lee Ann Wheelis Lockridge, and LSU President Tom Galligan.
10 LSU Law students selected for induction into The Order of the Barristers
10 LSU Law students in the Class of 2021 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 (pictured left to right, top to bottom) are:

  • Jessica Dell Brewer
  • Hannah Michelle Dardar
  • Emiley Elizabeth Dillon
  • Kaylin Jolivette
  • Mary Katherine Loos
  • Kaitlyn Marie Mistretta
  • Morgan Taylor Sharp
  • Christopher Wagner
  • Stephanie Wartelle
  • Jordan Paul Zeringue
LSU Law student selected for prestigious 2021 Rural Summer Legal Corps Fellowship
When Casey Hardaway began her studies at LSU Law, she planned on pursuing a career in the transactional field because it would complement her undergraduate degree in Marketing and Corporate Relations. That changed in the Fall 2020 semester when she participated in the Parole and Reentry Clinic.

“I found that public interest is my calling,” says Hardaway, a rising 3L from Sharon, Mississippi, of the experience. “I am passionate about public interest because it is not only a way to give back to communities that lack legal resources, but it is also a way to promote equality and equity, which I find to be the most important tools in cultivating change and growth.”

Hardaway is now planning to work with nonprofits or local government after she graduates next spring. This summer, she is working with clients at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, which fights for fairness in the justice system and provides free legal services to low-income people across 22 parishes in southeast Louisiana. Hardaway’s work with SLLS is the result of her being selected as one of just 35 law students from across the U.S. for the prestigious 2021 Rural Summer Legal Corps Fellowship.

The Rural Summer Legal Corps is a partnership between the Legal Services Corporation and Equal Justice Works that supports dedicated law students who want to spend their summer addressing pressing legal issues facing rural communities. Student Fellows like Hardaway spend eight to 10 weeks during the summer exploring a career in civil legal aid by providing direct legal services and building capacity at the organizations where they serve. Following the completion of 300 hours of service in the program, Student Fellows earn a $5,000 stipend.
Arterburn, Wolk awarded Kalinka Memorial Scholarship, will pursue LLM in Taxation at NYU School of Law
LSU Law Class of 2021 graduates Michael Arterburn and Pearson Wolk, both of whom will begin their studies in the LLM in Taxation program at NYU School of Law this fall, have been awarded the LSU Law Professor Susan Kalinka Memorial Endowed Scholarship/LLM Tax Award.

The Kalinka Memorial Scholarship was established in 2009 in memory of the late Professor Susan Kalinka, who taught courses in a variety of tax law, real estate law, and policy topics. The scholarship was established by friends, family, colleagues, and students, and endowed by her husband, David. This year, LSU Law Professor Elizabeth Carter donated additional funds to increase the financial support the scholarship provides recipients, who must be third-year students who have been accepted and enrolled in an LLM Tax program following graduation.

Arterburn and Wolk credit their LSU Law tax classes for preparing them to be accepted into the highly competitive and prestigious LLM in Taxation program at NYU School of Law.

“LSU Tax Law professors unwind the most complex topics with ease,” says Arterburn. “Learning the intricacies of the tax code from LSU’s professors is incredible because they show the practical application of the classroom material through their years of real-world experience.”
LSU Law 2021 graduates awarded CLEA Outstanding Clinical Student Awards
LSU Law Class of 2021 graduates Lane Simon and David Guidry were recently awarded Outstanding Student Awards from the Clinical Legal Education Association.

Simon was named a recipient of the Outstanding Field Placement Student Award for his work this year at the Louisiana Department of Justice, working with the appellate attorneys in the Criminal Division of that office. The Outstanding Field Placement Student Award recognizes the valuable work for justice that law students do through externships.

Guidry was named a recipient of the Outstanding Student Award for his work in the Juvenile Defense Clinic, where he represented clients in Juvenile Court in East Baton Rouge Parish on five petitions, including delinquent and status offenses.
Borel, Drummond named 2021 recipients of Kalinka Award for Advocacy Programs Coach of the Year
LSU Law alumni Danielle “Dani” Borel (’12) and Doran Drummond (’12) have been named the 2021 recipients of the Kalinka Award for Advocacy Programs Coach of the Year. Borel and Drummond were co-coaches of the LSU Law National Pretrial Competition team, which competed online via Zoom in October 2020.

Named in honor of the late Professor Susan C. Kalinka, the Kalinka Award recognizes a coach of one of LSU Law’s moot court, trial advocacy, or dispute resolution external competition teams who embodies the inspiration and dedication of Professor Kalinka.

The Pretrial team — which included LSU Law students Emiley Dillon, Mary Katherine Loos, Kaitlyn Mistretta, and Franeka Taylor — was one of the first LSU Law advocacy teams to compete online last year due to the pandemic. The team was also impacted by Hurricane Delta and was forced to evacuate Baton Rouge to Shreveport and Jackson, Mississippi, the day before their competition began to avoid the storm and make sure that they had power and internet access so they could compete as planned.

“Dani and Doran checked in with us to offer moral support and encouragement during the memoranda writing stage nearly every day,” says Loos. “When we began practicing, we practiced at least five times a week, at least an hour each time we met. When either Doran or Dani individually couldn’t make a practice with everyone, they made sure they made up for missing a team practice by holding a team practice on their own time that same week.”
LSU Law professor, four alumni named Louisiana Bar Association Distinguished Honorees
The Louisiana Bar Foundation recognized four LSU Law alumni — Judge Guy P. Holdridge (’78), Judge Robert H. "Bob" Morrison III (’70), Linda Law Clark (’93), and Mary Terrell Joseph (’70) — and LSU Law Professor John M. Church as Distinguished Honorees at its 2021 Fellows Gala for their career achievements and bringing credit and honor to the legal profession.

Every spring, lawyers, judges, and professors from across the state attend the LBF’s Annual Fellows Gala to support its mission to preserve, honor, and improve Louisiana’s system of justice. The LBF is active in funding, developing, and promoting efforts that enhance the legal profession, increase public understanding of the legal system and advance the reality of equal justice under the law.
LSU Law alumna receives Georgia’s highest honor
Lawyer and entrepreneur Juanita Powell Baranco, an LSU graduate who earned her J.D. from LSU Law in 1977, was inducted by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and the Georgia Historical Society as a Georgia Trustee on Saturday, June 5.

Being inducted as a Georgia Trustee is the highest honor conferred by the State of Georgia, and Baranco received it during the first-ever televised broadcast of the Georgia Trustees Gala, which was livestreamed and is available to watch online.

Baranco, who grew up in Shreveport, is executive vice president and chief operating officer of Baranco Automotive Group in Atlanta. She founded the company with her husband, Gregory Baranco, in 1978. It was one of the first African American-owned car dealerships in the metropolitan Atlanta area, and the couple also owns several other car dealerships in Georgia and Louisiana. Along with her career in business, Baranco has also had a successful law career, including having served as assistant attorney general for the State of Georgia. Baranco has generously shared her experience and expertise with LSU Law students through the years, and she has long been a passionate advocate for education.
Professor Christina Sautter presented her co-authored article, “Corporate Governance Gaming,” during the Meme Stocks panel of the National Business Law Scholars Conference. Professor Sautter was also an invited speaker during the "Where Does Corporate Law Go Next?" Roundtable at The Law and Society Association 2021 Annual Meeting.
Professor Elizabeth Carter presented her article, “Are Premarital Agreements Really Unfair? An Empirical Study” 48 Hofstra L. Rev. 387 (2019), to the New Orleans Planning Estate Planning Council. Professor Carter also presented suggested revisions to the ACTEC Commentaries to MRPC 1.8 and 1.9 at the ACTEC (American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel) Summer Meeting.
Professor Michael Malinowski‘s forthcoming book, “How to Regulate a Medical Revolution: The Law and Ethics of Personal Genome Medicine,” will be published by Cambridge University Press. In the book, Professor Malinowski recognizes U.S. market approval of 23andMe’s wholly direct-to-consumer genetic testing for health risks in 2017 as a milestone in the transformation of U.S. health care that predates and transcends that event by decades.
Professor Lécia Vicente presented one of her latest projects, “Should We Call it Moral Money?: Institutional Ownership and Board Diversity,” at the 2021 National Business Law Scholars Conference, as part of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Business Law panel. She presented this project at the 2021 Law & Society Association Annual Meeting and will present it at the 27th International Sustainable Development Research Society Conference hosted by Mid Sweden University.
Registration is now open for our Reunion Weekend and All-Alumni Tailgate on Oct. 1-2!

We'll be honoring our 2021 and 2020 reunion classes (1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2010, and 2011) with a cocktail reception and dinner at the Capitol Park Museum on the evening of Friday, Oct. 1. A free Ethics and Professionalism CLE will take place at the Law Center earlier in the day.

Then, on Saturday, Oct. 2, LSU Law alumni are invited to reconnect with their classmates, honor the LSU Law Class of 2022 during the Hats 'n Canes Toast, and pass a good time at the All-Alumni Tailgate as we cheer on our LSU Tigers before they take on Auburn.

Get all the details and register to join us today. Contact Gigi Gauthier at 225-578-0733 or ggauthier@lsu.edu to volunteer for your reunion committee!
Find out about the latest news and accomplishments of your classmates.


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