LSU Law rises seven spots to No. 84 in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Law Schools in America rankings | | |
LSU Law surged to No. 84 in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Law Schools in America rankings, rising seven spots from the year previous and marking an impressive ascent of 25 places from its No. 109 ranking in 2022.
LSU Law’s rise reflects its strength in the outcome-focused metrics that have carried greater weight in the rankings since 2024. Nearly 60% of the formula now evaluates law schools on bar passage rates and successful job placement of recent graduates. LSU Law consistently leads Louisiana law schools in bar passage rates, and an impressive 90% of graduates find jobs within 10 months of earning their degree each year, on average.
“Providing our students with a world-class legal education that prepares them to pass the bar on their first try and immediately launch a successful legal career is among our highest priorities,” said LSU Law Dean Alena M. Allen, who began her tenure on July 1, 2023. “Our steady advancement in the U.S. News rankings is further testament to the outstanding legal education and exceptional value we offer students at LSU Law.”
Another key contributor to LSU Law’s upward momentum is its dramatically improved student-to-faculty ratio. Under the leadership of Dean Allen, LSU Law recently completed its most ambitious and successful faculty recruitment campaign in recent history, welcoming nearly one dozen new faculty members to the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center during a single academic year.
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| | LSU Law faculty unanimously approves sweeping changes to first-year curriculum | | |
For the first time in 40 years, the curriculum for first-year LSU Law students will see some sweeping changes beginning in the 2026-27 academic year.
In March, the LSU Law faculty unanimously approved the changes, which are designed to enhance LSU Law’s existing bijural legal education while strengthening its foundation in comparative legal analysis. The new curriculum will emphasize building bijural bridges across courses, rather than focusing solely on substantive common law courses during one semester of the academic year and predominantly civil law courses during the other.
“The crown jewel of the new first-year curriculum will be an intensive, year-long, five-credit comparative course that explores common law contracts and civil law obligations, with a separate companion course in comparative methodology and legal systems,” said LSU Law Professor Maggie Thomas, who chaired the LSU Law Curriculum Committee in 2023-24, when the committee made significant progress on the project.
“A large group of dedicated faculty is building new courses with shared materials reflecting an innovative, collaborative approach between faculty experts in both civil law and common law,” added Professor Tom Galligan, who chaired the Curriculum Committee in 2024-25.
The effort to improve the curriculum for first-year LSU Law students began a decade ago and intensified under the leadership of Dean Alena M. Allen since she began her tenure on July 1, 2023. Along with investing in a comprehensive outside review of the effectiveness of the curriculum through the American Association of Law Schools (AALS), LSU Law alumni were invited in the fall of 2023 to participate in a survey that focused on employers’ expectations of recent graduates.
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| | LSU Law launches Low Income Tax Clinic (LITC) to provide free legal assistance to members of the public with IRS disputes | | |
The LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center has been selected to join a national network of legal service providers supported by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Taxpayer Advocate Service to help low-income taxpayers resolve disputes with the IRS.
“We have been in discussions with the IRS since my arrival at LSU Law in the summer of 2023 and we are extremely proud to have been chosen to host this important clinic, which will provide our students with real-world legal experience as they help underserved members of our community resolve their outstanding tax issues,” said LSU Law Dean Alena M. Allen.
Allen has appointed Professor Cherish van Mullem as director of the LSU Law Low Income Tax Clinic (LITC). van Mullem is an LSU Law Class of 1998 alumna who has served as an adjunct faculty member at her alma mater since 2019. After graduating from LSU Law, she earned a Master of Laws in Tax from the New York University School of Law in 1999 and has since worked as a tax practitioner at the IRS and several prestigious Louisiana law and accounting firms.
LSU Law secured a nearly $100,000 grant from the IRS to launch the clinic, with the potential for a $200,000 grant renewal next fiscal year. Beginning in the fall semester, the LSU Law LITC will enroll upwards of eight second- and third-year LSU Law students who will represent clients under van Mullem’s supervision. The students will earn credit for their participation in the clinic while helping clients resolve their disputes with the IRS.
The clinic is accepting applications from prospective clients at law.lsu.edu/forms/litc.
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| | LSU Law celebrates Class of 2025 at May 16 commencement, confers 203 degrees | | |
LSU Law has conferred degrees to 203 students who graduated as members of the Class of 2025.
Among the graduates, 154 earned a Juris Doctor and optional Graduate Diploma in Comparative Law (JDCL), while 34 earned a Juris Doctor (JD), and 15 earned a Master of Laws (LLM). Twenty-five graduates also earned an optional Graduate Certificate in Estate Planning and Taxation (GCEPT), and 10 earned an optional Graduate Certificate in Energy Law and Policy (GCELP).
The LSU Law Class of 2025 represents 21 states, seven foreign countries, one U.S. territory, and 28 Louisiana parishes.
LSU Law held commencement exercises for the Class of 2025 on Friday, May 16, in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on the LSU campus. The Hon. Piper Griffin of the Louisiana Supreme Court, a member of the LSU Law Class of 1987, delivered the commencement address.
Read the full story and see the full list of Class of 2025 graduates.
Watch the May 16 commencement exercises and see a photo gallery.
| | 20 LSU Law Class of 2025 graduates selected for The Order of the Coif | | |
Twenty graduates in the LSU Law Class of 2025 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 of law students. Of the nearly 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. The LSU Law chapter was established in 1942, with a purpose of stimulating scholarly work of the highest order and fostering a high standard of professional conduct.
This year’s inductees into The Order of the Coif are:
Read more in the 2025 LSU Law Order of the Coif booklet.
| | 12 Class of 2025 graduates selected for The Order of the Barristers | | |
Twelve members of the LSU Law Class of 2025 have been selected for induction into The Order of the Barristers, a national honorary organization encouraging the development of oral advocacy and brief writing skills through effective law school oral advocacy programs.
Approximately 100 law schools have chapters of The Order of the Barristers. LSU Law is allocated a very limited number of inductees into its chapter each year, with the number corresponding to the number of students who participate annually in LSU Law intramural and interscholastic advocacy competitions and advocacy-related coursework.
Each year, graduating students who have excelled in moot court, mock trial, brief writing, oral advocacy, and other advocacy programs throughout their time at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center are invited to apply for membership in the LSU Law chapter. Applications are reviewed by a faculty committee, which then recommends candidates for induction to the dean.
This year’s inductees into The Order of the Barristers are:
Read more in the 2025 LSU Law Order of the Barristers booklet.
| | 152 LSU Law students earn academic honors for Spring 2025 semester | | |
Sixty LSU Law students have been named Paul M. Hebert Scholars for their academic achievement in the Spring 2025 semester, and 92 have been named Dean’s Scholars.
The Paul M. Hebert Scholar is awarded to the top 10% of LSU Law students earning 12 or more credits during an individual semester, and the Dean’s Scholar is awarded to the remaining top 25% of students who meet the same credit criteria. The awards are noted on students’ transcripts.
See the full listing of students who earned academic honors in the Spring 2025 semester.
| | Tom Galligan selected as LSU Law professor of the year for seventh time | | |
For the seventh time in his more than 20-year tenure on the LSU Law faculty, Professor Tom Galligan has been voted professor of the year by members of the graduating class.
“I am extremely honored,” said Galligan, who returned to the faculty in the fall of 2022 after serving as interim LSU president from January 2020 through May 2021. “Returning to full-time teaching is one of the best decisions I ever made. Thanks to all who picked me and thanks most of all to my students—you are why I am here.”
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| | LSU Law Class of 2025 selects Judge Guy Holdridge (’78) as adjunct professor of the year | | |
Judge Guy Holdridge (ret.), an LSU Law Class of 1978 alumnus, has been selected by the students in the Class of 2025 as adjunct professor of the year.
Holdridge, who has served on the adjunct faculty for more than 25 years, was recognized by LSU Law Dean Alena M. Allen during commencement exercises for the graduating class on May 16 and presented with a crystal award.
“Congratulations to the Class of 2025, who have continued to focus on their academic and career goals with good humor and great patience,” said Holdridge. “It was my honor to teach and spend time with this outstanding class.”
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| | Energy law and academic coordinator Norma Marsh selected by Class of 2025 as staff member of the year | |
Shortly after Norma Marsh was promoted to energy law and academic coordinator in November 2024, she also stepped up to take on planning and logistics for all Law Center events during the first quarter of 2025 while one of her colleagues was on maternity leave.
“I encounter so many students who are navigating the tough challenges of law school with grace, while still volunteering, and doing everything they can to have a positive impact on our community,” said Marsh, who joined the LSU Law staff as an academic coordinator in 2023. “It’s my pleasure to help them in their journey in any small way I can.”
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| | Class of 2025 graduates Justin Benton Alford Jr., Daniel Gunn, and Kayla Kennedy Meyers honored with inaugural Dean’s Awards | | |
LSU Law Dean Alena M. Allen has announced that Class of 2025 graduates Justin Benton Alford Jr., Daniel Gunn, and Kayla Kennedy Meyers have been selected for the inaugural Dean’s Awards.
Alford, a Baton Rouge native who served as 2024-25 LSU Law Student Bar Association (SBA) executive president, was selected for the Dean’s Award for Leadership in recognition of his demonstrated leadership and contributions to the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
Gunn, a Baton Rouge native, will receive the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence in recognition of his outstanding academic achievement throughout his time at the Law Center. He graduated as a member of The Order of the Coif.
Meyers, a Prairieville native, was selected for the Dean’s Award for Service/Citizenship in recognition of the extensive pro bono work she completed during her time at LSU Law as well as her commitment to various community service initiatives.
LSU Law students, faculty, and staff submitted nominations for two of the Dean’s Awards this spring. A committee convened by the dean to review the nominations and selected finalists for the awards, and the dean selected the honorees. The LSU Law Dean’s Council is generously funding a $500 award to each of the honorees.
| | Taylor Guice named NALAE National Top 20 Academic All-American Trial Advocate | | |
Just weeks before celebrating with his classmates at commencement, LSU Law Class of 2025 graduate Taylor Guice was informed that he is one of just 29 law students from across the country to be honored by the National Association of Legal Advocacy Educators (NALAE) with an All-American Advocates Award, which recognizes the top law school student-advocates in the nation.
Guice, a Monroe native, is among 20 law students who have been named Academic All-American Trial Advocates by NALAE. Eight other students are being recognized as Academic All-American Appellate Advocates, and one was chosen as an Academic All-American Dispute Resolution Advocate.
“Being recognized as a National Top 20 Advocate is surreal for me,” said Guice, who will begin a yearlong clerkship with the Hon. Jerry Edwards Jr. of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Alexandria this summer. “I am proud and thankful to have spent the past three years of my life pursing my passion at an institution that is devoted to its advocacy program—and I look forward to helping this program continue its success as an alumnus.”
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Learn more about Guice in a “Your Investments in Action” video feature he participated in earlier this year.
| | Revived Vis moot court team at LSU Law takes first place in San Diego, advances to international competition | | |
Aside from his new office, one of the first things LSU Law Professor Nick Davrados looked for after arriving at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center in the fall of 2023 was the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Competition team.
“I asked around and was surprised to learn that we didn’t have a Vis team,” recalled Davrados, who also serves as LSU Law Assistant Director of the Center of Civil Law Studies. “I decided that was one of the first things I wanted to do at the law school—bring back the Vis team.”
In a short time, LSU Law assembled a team consisting of students Tyler Chance, David González, Andrew Kuebel, Christian Lacoste, and Grant Murphy. This new LSU team achieved remarkable success, winning first place at the Michael Thorsnes International Commercial Arbitration Pre-Moot at the University of San Diego in early March. Chance and Lacoste secured first place honors in the final round against UCLA, where they represented the claimant team, and Lacoste was named the best oralist. Meanwhile, González and Murphy argued for the respondent team and placed as semifinalists.
Later, in mid-April, the LSU team participated in the international preliminary round in Vienna, Austria, where they competed against teams from Iran, France, Turkey, and Finland over the course of a week.
Read the full story.
| | | | Professor Nick Bryner directed the LSU Law Summer Program in Lyon, France from June 1-20. | | | | Assistant Dean and Director for the Library and Information Technology Services Monique Gonzalez is a contributing author in the forthcoming book, Law Librarianship Practice: Challenges and Opportunities in Law Firm, Government, and Academic Libraries, which will be published in June. | | | | Professor Tracy Norton was a featured guest on the Lawyerist Podcast where she discussed how tech-savvy law students are uniquely positioned to drive artificial intelligence adoption at law firms and in the legal field. | | | | Professor Ryan Stoa's article, “Vehicles as Weapons,” was accepted for publication with the Belmont Law Review and for presentation with the Belmont Law Review Symposium in September. | | | | Thomas M. Hayes III (’77) is the recipient of the 2025 Louisiana Bar Foundation Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. The award carries a cash stipend of $1,000 to any law-related nonprofit organization providing services in Louisiana. Hayes selected the Northeast Louisiana Bar Foundation’s Pro Bono Project as his recipient. | | | | The Hon. Tony Marabella (’73), an LSU Law adjunct faculty member, was inducted into the Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame on June 6 in recognition of his lifetime contributions to the criminal justice system. His career has included service as a prosecutor, work as a public defender and defense attorney, criminal court judge, and member of the Louisiana Pardon Board and Parole Committee. | | | | Casey O'Banion (’14) has been named CEO of Young Entrepreneurs Academy Baton Rouge, a hands-on program that equips high school students with the tools, mentorship, and experience to launch their own businesses. | | | | Marshall J. Simien Jr. (’91) will be sworn in as mayor of Lake Charles, Louisiana on Monday, June 30. | | | | |
