Loyola Lawyer Summer 2015

SUMMER 2015

Alumnus Richard Busch, J.D. ’90, wins a landmark copyright case.

INSIDE: ••••• Centennial coverage ••••• Incubator Program debuts ••••• Dean López joins faculty; Fr. Moore assumes interim deanship.

Letter from the Dean As the 2014-15 academic year draws to a close, I am pleased to share the highlights of our productive and innovative centennial year. I want to thank the entire Loyola Law community for their continued support throughout our celebration of 100 years of academic rigor, pursuit of justice, and service to others. The article on page 6 tells the story of our centennial year.

As part of the centennial celebrations, we honored alumnus and civil rights icon Judge J. Skelly Wright ’31, J.D. ’34, H ’81, with a law review symposium, memorial, and scholarship fund. We welcomed the Hon. Randall T. Shepard (ret.), former Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court and current chair of the ABA Task Force on the Future of Legal Education, as the Bernard J. Ward Jurist in Residence. Additionally, the College of Law hosted the ABA/LSBA-sponsored Hackcess to Justice NOLA event, the Workplace Justice Project’s Work in the South conference, and the ABA Town Hall on the school-to-prison pipeline. We welcomed the ABA/AALS Site Visit Team for its March visit and seven-year accreditation and inspection of the law school. A group of alumni met with the team, and the early reviews are very positive.

Now I move to some news of my own. After careful deliberation and following four years on the job, I have decided to step down as dean of the College of Law on Aug. 1, 2015, to spend more time with family. After taking a one-year sabbatical, I will return to Loyola’s law faculty in the fall of 2016.

Rev. Lawrence W. Moore, S.J., our longstanding and respected associate dean at Loyola Law, has been appointed interim dean for a two-year term. I am confident in Fr. Moore’s leadership and am very pleased to leave the College of Law in his very capable hands.

The law school’s strategic plan was developed as a collaborative effort among Loyola law faculty, alumni, and other volunteers and has set a clear course that places bar preparation and practice readiness among the school’s highest priorities. An example of our practice-ready model is the Incubator Program, which you can read about on page 8. Finally, with a 70 percent pass rate on the February 2015 Louisiana Bar Exam, Loyola is now No. 2 for bar passage in Louisiana. Thanks to your support, Loyola’s College of Law is well-placed to thrive amidst the rapid changes in law practice that we are all encountering.

My time as dean has been filled with both triumphs and challenges, but I am most proud of my work to integrate the College of Law with the university and New Orleans communities. I was the first law faculty member invited to the Ignatian Faculty Fellows Program, an opportunity which allowed me to explore the history and educational mission of the Jesuits through spirituality and pedagogy. I have regularly taught a course in the University Honors Program, bringing the study of law to our most promising undergraduate students. We are now exploring partnerships, including an inaugural one with Warren Easton High School, with secondary schools, an effort that I hope will inspire the youth of New Orleans to explore legal principles, educational opportunities, and career paths.

Finally, I am proud of the successes seen in our LL.M. program in U.S. Law for International Students. We plan to welcome our largest class of foreign attorneys in fall 2015. We will also launch our Individualized Study LL.M. for U.S. J.D. graduates in the autumn.

As I transition to a new role at the College of Law, please accept my sincere thanks for your ongoing support, leadership, and engagement. It has been my honor to serve as dean, and I look forward to working with our new administration to ensure the College of Law’s continued success. Our alumni are valuable and essential as we begin a second century of legal education in a position of strength. I encourage you all to visit the College of Law in person, explore our website for the latest updates and our new video, and continuously inspire our current students through your achievements and service to the community. ¡Hasta luego!

Sincerely,

—María Pabón López Dean and Judge Adrian Duplantier Professor of Law

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FEATURES

6..................100 Years of Progress The College of Law celebrates its centennial by honoring local civil rights leaders.

Vol. 11 • No. 1• Summer 2015• www.law.loyno.edu

Loyola University New Orleans President

The Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J. College of Law Dean

María Pabón López Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs

The Rev. Larry Moore, S.J. Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Academic Affairs

8..................Incubating Success The College of Law’s Incubator Program gets under way with its inaugural class.

John Lovett Senior Development Officer-College of Law

Marcelle Highstreet, J.D. ’91 Law Alumni and Annual Giving Officer

Allison Hotard Director of Editorial Services

Eve C. Peyton Loyola Lawyer Designer

Craig Bloodworth Photo Contributors

Kyle Encar Kalin McKivergan Contributors

Fritz Esker ’00 Sarah Ravits James Shields Christine Fontana Wegmann, J.D. ’97

10................Righting Copyright Wrongs Richard S. Busch, J.D. ‘90, visited his alma mater to share his interesting story of how hard work and the simple act of sharing a cab on a snowy day in New York City all led to his remarkable career as one of the nation’s most prominent music and entertainment litigators.

DEPARTMENTS

15................Alumni Events 18................Alumni News 23................Memorials

Loyola Lawyer is published annually for Loyola University New Orleans College of Law alumni and friends.

Please address correspondence to: Loyola Lawyer 7214 St. Charles Avenue, Box 909 New Orleans, LA 70118 News and photographs for possible use in future issues may be submitted by readers.

Loyola University New Orleans has fully supported and fostered in its educational programs, admissions, employment practices, and in the activities it operates the policy of not discriminating on the basis of age, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex/gender, or sexual orientation. This policy is in compliance with all applicable federal regulations and guidelines.

To demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the environment, this publication is printed using vegetable-based inks on paper that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and comes from responsibly managed forests, with fewer impacts on people and biodiversity.

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NEWS & EVENTS Loyola University New Orleans College of Law student Sophia Mire was honored with the 2015 Louisiana State Bar Association’s Law Student Pro Bono Award during a ceremony on May 19 at the Louisiana Supreme Court in New Orleans.

The award is given annually in Louisiana to a student from an American Bar Association-accredited law school who has demonstrated dedication to providing legal services to the poor.

Mire was nominated by Davida Finger, associate clinical professor in the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice.

Mire, who graduated this semester, was the recipient of the 2013 Helena Rubenstein Fellowship for Women’s Justice, given by the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York. Through the center’s Ella Baker program, made possible by the fellowship, Mire served as an intern in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with the Avocates Internationaux/Institute for Justice and Democracy, the premier human rights legal organization in the country. Her work consisted of pursuing legal remedies for the country following the cholera epidemic, continuing rape accountability efforts in the internally displaced camps, and efforts for right to health care in prison facilities.

Mire is no stranger to public interest. She has worked to organize law students to participate in Clean Jacket Day, which helps low-income people in New Orleans obtain criminal expungements. The project is done through Justice and Accountability Center of Louisiana.

Since 2000, she has been an executive board member of the Haiti Outreach Program in Knoxville, Tenn. She also

A Loyola alumnus and retired trial lawyer, who this past December opened the first museum dedicated solely to the history of slavery in the U.S., presented a free campus lecture on April 29 in Nunemaker Auditorium.

John Cummings, M.B.A. ’61, J.D. ’61, owner of the Whitney Plantation Museum in Wallace, La., spoke about his vision for the museum, which tells the story of some of the darkest moments in U.S. history. He was joined by Ibrahima Seck, Ph.D., director of research at the Whitney.

During their talk at Loyola, Cummings and Seck discussed the plantation’s role in Louisiana history, the process by which it was acquired, and the challenges in bringing the museum to reality, as well as the community response.

Located an hour west of New Orleans, the Whitney Plantation encompasses 250 acres of land and once served as a home to one of the largest slaveholders in the state, the Haydel family. The museum consists of exhibits, memorial artwork, and hundreds of first-person slave narratives. Cummings, who is also a real estate investor, invested millions of his own dollars to make the museum a reality, including the purchase of several historical buildings and artifacts that he had transported to the Whitney grounds. Cummings and Seck were recently featured in an in-depth article in The New York Times.

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interned with the International Rescue Committee where she co-taught daily English, vocational, and life skills classes for 35 to 50 refugees from Burma, Nepal, Sudan, Somalia, Haiti, and the Middle East.

She also served as an intern to the U.N. Special Envoy Office to Haiti for the William J. Clinton Foundation in 2010.

There she provided written and verbal communications and talking points for Clinton, as well as worked to coordinate and facilitate immediate and long-term redevelopment efforts with international partners and donors, such as the World Food Programme, United Nations Development Programme, and TOMS shoes.

In addition to all her accomplishments, Finger believes that Mire is more than deserving of the award because of her commitment to give back to the community.

“Sophia demonstrates a strong commitment to social justice and has made great contributions to the community particularly in Haiti and New Orleans,” Finger says. “Her legal skills will be an incredible asset, and I look forward to seeing all that she will continue to accomplish.”

No matter where she ends up post-graduation, you can expect Mire to build more bridges as she plans a diverse and meaningful career.

“My interests are as varied as they are numerous – everything from immigration law to criminal defense to civil and human rights law,” she says. “I plan to do some reflection in the coming months and figure out where and how my skills and talents can be best served.”

John Cummings, M.B.A. ’61, J.D. ’61

Assistant Clinical Professor of Law Stephen I. Singer has received the Orleans Public Defenders 2015 Clyde Merritt Award. Established in 2012 to honor Clyde Merritt, one of the stalwart advocates for public defense, the award recognizes commitment and fight for the cause of public defense in New Orleans.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Singer led the effort to rebuild, restructure, and reform the public defenders’ office, establishing the high level of client-centered vertical representation of OPD today. He was instrumental in moving the office from a part-time contract structure to a full-time, fully staffed office. He remains a staunch advocate for indigent defense and the continued reform of New Orleans’ criminal justice system. As Singer put it in 2006, “We are fighting for real justice for real people for the very first time.”

Singer also supervises the criminal defense clinic at the College of Law.

February 2015 bar passage results were released in late April, and Loyola has moved to second place in Louisiana, with a 70 percent bar passage rate.

Several strategies put in place over the past couple of years by the College of Law have started to yield impressive results. In 2013, alumna Suzanne Scalise, J.D. ‘03, was hired as director of bar exam preparation and learning initiatives. Scalise set in motion a number of measures to give students the necessary tools to be successful in law school and to be practice-ready for what is one of the most difficult bar exams in the country.

Scalise not only created and supervised specialized law courses specifically designed to increase bar passage, but she also coordinated the efforts to improve passage by identifying students

Stephen I. Singer

most at risk of not passing the exam.

The College of Law also increased the number of writing and skills-based assignments required in courses, renewed its free graduate supplemental bar review program, and created a special ad hoc committee on bar passage to study the issue and provide recommendations for improvements.

With the assistance of the dedicated faculty and staff of the College of Law, including the hard work of Professor Kathryn Venturatos Lorio, J.D. ’73, and Associate Dean John Lovett, the bar exam preparation office developed tutoring, counseling, and advising programs to improve students’ chances of success and created an online bar exam resource page for current Loyola law students and recent graduates.

LOYOLA LAW BY THE NUMBERS

139

Number of students in the August 2014 incoming class. Half of our first-year students had an LSAT score of 153 or higher and a GPA of 3.15 or higher.

73% Loyola’s July 2014 overall passage rate on the Louisiana State Bar Examination, our highest pass rate since 2006.

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5 Recent Loyola Law graduates participating in the Incubator Program, founded with a grant from the ABA’s Legal Access Job Corps initiative. Out of 97 applicants, the College of Law was one of only seven programs and two law schools selected to receive such funding. See p. 8.

New academic certificate programs established in 2014-15.

These include the Social Justice, Health Law, and Immigration and Citizenship Law and Practice certificates.

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Number of law student volunteers in the 2015 VITA Program. Volunteers prepared 745 tax returns this season.

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100 Years of Progress THE COLLEGE OF LAW CELEBRATES ITS CENTENNIAL BY HONORING LOCAL CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS.

By James Shields, Communications Coordinator Last January, the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law kicked off the year-long celebration of its 100-year anniversary by honoring one of its most important and influential graduates, former New Orleans Mayor Maurice “Moon” Landrieu ’52, J.D. ’54, H ’79, H ’05. Landrieu, who was instrumental in the fight to desegregate city government and public facilities in the 1970s, received the St. Ives Award, the College of Law’s highest honor.

Following his graduation from the College of Law, Landrieu served in the U.S. Army and practiced law until 1970, when he was elected mayor of New Orleans. From 1960 to the present, he served in positions of public service as a Louisiana state legislator, councilman at large for the city of New Orleans, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the cabinet of President Jimmy Carter, and finally judge of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal for the State of Louisiana.

Landrieu says receiving the St. Ives Award during the College of Law’s centennial “makes me feel very grateful to Loyola for the education that I received and for the life lessons that I was taught by the Jesuits.”

The former mayor’s passion for equal rights parallels many of the other students and faculty who have walked the halls of the College of Law, including desegregation advocate the Hon. Herbert W. Christenberry Sr., LL.B. ’24, who both graduated and taught at Loyola, and Jack Nelson, J.D. ’50; Lolis Elie, J.D. ’59; and Janet Riley, J.D. ’52, H ‘05, all of whom played major roles in the fight against segregation in New Orleans. Riley was also the college’s first tenured female professor. Current Xavier 6

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University president Norman C. Francis, J.D. ’55, H’82, was the first African-American to graduate from the College of Law. In October, the College of Law continued its celebration of its significance in equal rights history during the past century by honoring the legacy of alumnus Judge James Skelly Wright, LL.B. ’34, a trailblazer who devoted his entire public life to protecting the poor and fighting to end racial segregation.The College of Law honored Wright with the unveiling of a new bronze bust memorial, created by local sculptor Thomas Bruno, which was placed at the entrance of the school. Loyola professor M. Isabel Medina spearheaded the effort to fund the memorial. The unveiling followed the daylong symposium “In Pursuit of Justice, Service to Others, and Dignity for All: A Mission Made Manifest in the Work of Judge J. Skelly Wright.”

“I believe Judge Wright represents the essence of what the College of Law is about – a commitment to social justice and the public interest – and his work is a testament to the Jesuit ideals,” says College of Law Dean María Pabón López, J.D. “The bronze sculpture and symposium are important recognitions of what this student, graduate, teacher, and jurist meant to Loyola, New Orleans, Louisiana, and the United States.”

Speakers at the symposium, including many leading faculty from law schools nationwide, discussed Wright’s contributions to constitutional law in the context of individual rights and equal protection, his views on campaign finance and political equality, his personal sacrifices made as a result of his decisions regarding desegregation and civil rights, and his contributions to and work in federal administrative law. A number of Wright’s

Former New Orleans Mayor Maurice “Moon” Landrieu ’52, J.D. ’54, H ’79, H ’05, the recipient of the 2014 St. Ives Award, the College of Law’s highest honor, speaks at the unveiling of the bronze bust of alumnus Judge James Skelly Wright, LL.B. ’34, a trailblazer who devoted his entire public life to protecting the poor and fighting to end racial segregation. Also pictured, from left, are speakers Ruby Bridges Hall; Mary Ann Vial Lemmon, J.D. ’64; and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite. former law clerks participated in the symposium.

Wright, a native of New Orleans, was appointed to the federal bench in 1949. Barely a year into his service on the U.S. District Court in New Orleans, he began the work of enfranchising blacks in Louisiana and desegregating New Orleans and state institutions including Louisiana State University and New Orleans public schools. President John F. Kennedy recognized his work when he appointed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit in 1962.

The J. Skelly Wright Memorial Fund also has been established, which will support a College of Law scholarship.

The College of Law’s 100-year history dates back to 1914 when it was established at Baronne and Common streets in downtown New Orleans, admitting a class of 42 students that fall. Judge John St. Paul served as founding dean for the College of Law until 1918. He remained at Loyola as a professor, and in 1922 he was elected associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. After it moved to Loyola’s main campus in 1915, the College of Law remained there until moving to its current location on Loyola’s Broadway campus in 1986 to accommodate its growth. Today, the College of Law occupies two buildings on that campus, including the Broadway Building, which houses the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice.

Under the leadership of former Dean Marcel Garsaud ’54, J.D.

’59, H ’04; professor Keith Vetter; and former professor Buddy Lemann Jr. the College of Law brought clinical legal education to Louisiana with a Ford Foundation Grant in the 1970s.

In the past century, the College of Law has served as a legal training ground for leaders such as Landrieu and other top legal professionals in the political, business, arts, and academic arenas, and many graduates are serving as judges at the federal and state levels.

“When I became dean four years ago, I was humbled to be given the opportunity to join the ranks of educational leaders of the College of Law and help continue its path of diversity and innovation,” says López, who made history at Loyola in 2011 by becoming the first Latina law school dean in Louisiana, as well as the first female law dean in the state.

The year of centennial festivities concluded with the 2015 Law Alumni Luncheon on Feb. 6 at the Ritz-Carlton in New Orleans. Norman C. Francis was the recipient of the 2015 St. Ives Award. “I am most grateful to be a recipient of the St. Ives Award and humbled to be listed with the distinguished past honorees,” Francis said. “Loyola University contributed to my growth and development at an important time of my life. I will never forget the privilege to be educated with my remarkable colleagues and the courageous mentors and supporters, all of whom are part of this recognition.” www.law.loyno.edu

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Incubating Success

By James Shields, Communications Coordinator

THE COLLEGE OF LAW’S INCUBATOR PROGRAM GETS UNDER WAY WITH ITS INAUGURAL CLASS. The College of Law has announced its inaugural group of participants for the Loyola Incubator Program, an intensive, yearlong mentorship and skills program for recent graduates in their first three years of solo practice. The program is funded by an American Bar Association “catalyst” grant given through the Legal Access Job Corps initiative, as well as the generosity of a local donor. With 25 percent of participants’ time devoted to pro bono legal work, the Incubator Program addresses the unmet legal needs of poor or moderate-income individuals in the Greater New Orleans area. The first year of the two-year pilot program began in January and runs through December 2015, and the program has received additional funding for three years.

The following alumni have been selected: • Lori Noto Alphonso, J.D. ’12, focuses on family law matters, such as divorce, child custody, and child support. Her pro bono practice focuses on helping domestic violence victims.

• Jonah Freedman, J.D. ’14, focuses on family law, estate planning, and property law. Prior to attending law school, he served his clients' financial needs as a certified financial planner for more than 10 years. He was a student practitioner in the family law section of the law clinic.

• Anna Lellelid, J.D. ’13, focuses on criminal appeals, post-conviction, and civil rights cases.

Through the Education Justice Center, Lellelid will provide holistic, wrap-around education advocacy, represent students in school disciplinary and special education proceedings, and work to end the school-to-prison pipeline in Louisiana.

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She was a student practitioner in the criminal section of the law clinic.

• Nadia G. Madary, J.D. ’13, focuses her practice on family law, successions, and elder law. Madary worked as a student practitioner in the family law section of the Loyola law clinic.

• Peter D. Russell, J.D. ’14, worked as a student practitioner in the criminal law section of the law clinic and focuses his practice on criminal law, family law, and personal injury.

Incubator Program participants receive free office space in the College of Law Broadway Building to independently operate their own law firms.

“This program will offer me luxuries rarely enjoyed by a starting solo practitioner: the ability to focus primarily in my areas of legal interest and the fortune of providing a

Back row, from left: Peter D. Russell, Jonah Freedman, Dean María Pabón López, Associate Clinical Professor Judson Mitchell. Seated, from left: Anna Lellelid, Nadia G. Madary, Lori Noto Alphonso, Associate Clinical Professor and Incubator Program Director Davida Finger. substantial community service from the very start,” Freedman says.

The Incubator Program also includes a pro bono lawyering requirement that at least of a quarter of participants’ time be spent, free of charge, on cases for low-income people. Participants receive a modest stipend to support the year of pro bono work.

“The demand from graduates is great; an increasing number of law graduates are interested in combining social justice and solo practice, especially in the context of challenging employment rates,” says Davida Finger, associate clinical professor in the law clinic and the Incubator Program’s inaugural director. “The Incubator Program will go a long way toward teaching law graduates while providing a critical service in the local community for low- and middle-income people who cannot otherwise afford attorneys

and access to justice.”

Finger has become a leader in incubator programs and is scheduled to present at an ABA roundtable this fall.

In partnership with the Office of Skills and Experiential Learning, the Incubator Program will provide regular skills courses for participants to support development of the solo practice/social justice path including instruction in law practice management, ethics, and professionalism. Other program features include pro bono case referrals, mentorship, and access to a variety of resources including research and case management tools.

For more information or to refer cases, contact Davida Finger at dfinger@loyno.edu or (504) 861-5596. Prospective program participants can apply at the website at www.loyno.edu/lawclinic/incubator-program starting Oct. 1, 2015.

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Righting Copyright Wrongs Richard S. Busch, J.D. ‘90, visited his alma mater to share his inspiring story of how hard work and the simple act of sharing a cab on a snowy day in New York City launched his remarkable career as one of the nation’s most prominent intellectual property and entertainment litigators.

by Christine Fontana Wegmann, J.D. ‘97 When College of Law alumnus Richard S. Busch, J.D. ‘90, came to New Orleans to serve as keynote speaker at the Entertainment Law Symposium held at the College of Law last year, his primary objective was to share with the audience his path to a specialized career in music and entertainment law. Indeed, Busch’s story of how a Loyola graduate ends up on both the Billboard 2012 Power 100 List of the most influential people in the music business, and on the Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers List from 2012 to 2015 as one of the most influential litigators in the music business is truly inspirational.

STARTING OUT AND THE DISCOVERY OF A CONSPIRACY Busch graduated from Augustana College in 1987 with a degree in history and from Loyola’s College of Law in 1990.

He then clerked for the Hon. John V. Parker, chief judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana for a year. “After I clerked for a federal judge in Baton Rouge, I went to Nashville, [Tenn.], just because it seemed like a fun place to live,” Busch says. He was hired to work in the labor department at King & Ballow, the same firm where he is a partner in the litigation section today and the head of its intellectual property and entertainment law section. “It seemed like an interesting law firm, and when I interviewed with them in 1990, they hired about 25 associates because they were in the midst of handling a massive labor strike at the New York Daily News, which had spawned all kinds of litigation. It seemed like there would be plenty of work for quite some time. I was going to start at the firm in September of 1991, but the problem was that in March or April of 1991, the strike was settled and all the litigation went away, so here come all these newly hired lawyers from all around the country and little work to do. I wondered: ‘What am I going to do? What are we going to do? What have I done?’ But I enjoyed the firm, and the people were very nice

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to me, and I liked it, so I decided to give it my all and see what happened.”

Busch continued working at King & Ballow, and, in 1993, about a year-and-a-half after he started, senior partner Bob Ballow informed him that they needed to go to New York because there were issues with workers’ compensation claims. “Basically everyone who was working at the New York Daily News was claiming that they lost their hearing because of the presses, even if they were drivers who never saw a press.

The owner of the New York Daily News during the strike, the Tribune Co., was self-insured, and the employees were directing the claims against the Tribune Co., even though they had by then sold the newspaper. Tribune had paid out millions of dollars to settle many of the claims, but there were millions of dollars of claims remaining,” Busch recalls. “I was going to spend a week in New York just looking at files and investigating, but after that week or two, I called up to Mr. Ballow and said, ‘I believe this is all fraudulent; I think this is a conspiracy; I think this may be a good RICO case.’ I went to the county lawyers’ association library in NYC and read and studied the cases, learned everything I could about the RICO statute, and then I recommended that we file against everybody – the unions, the doctors, the lawyers, the employees, everyone involved. I will never forget Mr. Ballow’s words: ‘We are going to do what you recommend, Richard, but you better be right.’

I was 27 years old and was about to start a war in New York.”

SETTLING A HUGE RACKETEERING CASE, SHARING A CAB RIDE A 600-defendant racketeering case was filed. “I had the evidence because when you work at a newspaper you have to take a hearing test every six months, and many of these people had perfect hearing six months before, but now those same people were all supposedly deaf!” Busch moved to New York and lived there for five years prosecuting that case to a successful ending. “We settled it right before trial, and I was

Photo by Joe Buglewicz.

going to move back to Nashville,” he estimation, 90 percent of the cases. His says. But then a seemingly mundane cases established important law appliact helped to catapult Busch into the cable to the music industry for those successful career in entertainment litcases that did go to trial, including a igation he enjoys today. copyright infringement action against “On my last day in New York, I Bad Boy Records, the record label was waiting outside my building,” owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs. That Busch says. “It was a snowy day in case yielded a $4.4 million jury award January of 1998, and I couldn’t get a in favor of Bridgeport and Westbound taxicab with such bad weather. I was and found willful copyright infringement waiting next to this guy, and we’re against the defendants, all arising from waiting and waiting and waiting – the “sampling” of Bridgeport and Westand there’s no cab. Finally I said, ‘Lisbound’s music in the Notorious B.I.G. ten, let’s share the first cab that comes.’ song “Ready To Die.” Busch convinced When we get in the cab, he asks me the jury to award his clients 100 percent what I’m doing in New York, and I of the defendants’ profits from the song kind of tell him my story, and I tell as well as punitive damages, both of him I’m moving back to Nashville, which are highly unusual – if not nearly and he says, ‘Interesting, my wife is impossible – to obtain in a copyright Richard S. Busch in the music business, and we go to infringement case.

Nashville from time to time – give Other cases involved a landmark me your card, and next time we’re in town, we’ll have dinner.’ ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that the de I had one card on me, and I gave it to him never expecting to minimis doctrine does not apply to the copying of a master hear anything else.” recording and a jury finding and affirmance by the Sixth Circuit that the copying of a common word like “dog” can THE PATH TO BECOMING A PREMIER constitute copyright infringement when used in a new song MUSIC LITIGATOR in the same compositional manner that it was used in the Back in Nashville, Busch pondered what he would do original song. In 2012, Busch secured a $2 million willful next as a lawyer, and a few months later, the man in the cab copyright infringement jury verdict for Al Bell, the former telephoned Busch to invite him to join his wife and him for owner of the legendary Stax Records, and most recently, as dinner in Nashville. “It turns out his wife is the copyright ad- discussed below, a now-world-famous $7.4 million copyright ministrator for Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records, a infringement jury verdict in favor of the family of Marvin record company and a publisher out of Detroit that owned the Gaye against Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke relating to rights to funk music from the ‘70s, such as George Clinton and the copying of “Got To Give It Up” by “Blurred Lines.”

Funkadelic, Parliament, and the Ohio Players, and at the time many in the rap industry were sampling their music without THE GO-TO GUY FOR THE HITMAKERS It’s the next groundbreaking lawsuit that Busch tackled paying, and they had about 600 infringing songs identified, and they wanted to launch this enormous litigation.” Although with aplomb that earned him the reputation of being a preBridgeport and Westbound had its own cache of lawyers in eminent source for popular musical artists to call on to help New York and elsewhere, Busch traveled to Detroit to talk his them sort out serious royalty conundrums. In 2007, F.B.T., way into landing the gig. He was hired on a leap of faith. Eminem’s former production company, which discovered the “Armen Boladian, the owner of Bridgeport and Westbound, artist and co-wrote and produced some of his biggest hits, believed in me from the beginning,” Busch says. “His other wanted to file a lawsuit against its record label, Aftermath lawyers, of course, told him I was too young to handle this. But Records, and its parent company, Universal Music Group, behe told me he saw something in me. I owe him and Mr. Ballow cause iTunes had launched, and they believed they were unjust about everything as they both saw something in me and derpaid royalties because their agreement with Universal was that they would receive 50 percent of Universal’s net receipts trusted me, and I will forever be grateful to them both.

“I didn’t know anything about entertainment law or intel- when Universal licensed a master sound recording to a third lectual property,” Busch continues, “but, like I did with RICO, I party. “The issue was that in a record contract, the artist is studied, read every case on every potential issue that might arise paid in one of two ways: If the record label sells the record, in these cases, and mastered the subject. Around a year later, we you get paid a smaller record royalty, maybe 10 or 15 percent filed about 500 lawsuits against the entire rap music industry.” of the retail price, but if they license it to a third party and Over the course of the next six or seven years, Busch litigated the third party sells it, they split revenue with the artist those cases; won every case that went to trial; and settled, by his 50-50 because when you license it, you have no manufac-

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turing or distribution costs since the third party does all the work. With iTunes, record companies took the position that they were selling through iTunes, and we said, ‘No, it’s a license.’ They hired me because these guys, Joel Martin and the Bass brothers, Jeff and Mark, grew up in Armen’s studio in Detroit, and they mentioned wanting to do this to Armen, and he told them they needed to hire me since I won the cases for him, so they came down to Nashville, and we met, and they hired me, and I am so appreciative they did.”

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed with Busch and his clients and, in a landmark decision, rendered judgment in favor of F.B.T. and found that the agreements between record label Universal and digital distributors such as iTunes are licenses as opposed to sales and that Eminem’s recording agreement entitled him and F.B.T. to the bigger royalty payment of 50 percent of Universal’s net receipts for sales by iTunes.

“Now every artist in the world wants the same thing,” Busch says. “We have pursued other similar cases for the likes of James Taylor, Peter Frampton, and many others, and now I’m pretty much known as the lawyer who represents artists going against record labels for underpayment of royalties and complicated intellectual property issues. We’ve brought and settled many cases, and we’re litigating many more. But none of this happens if I don’t share a cab with a guy in New York on a snowy day.”

Last year, Busch filed a case against Sony Music rife with complicated issues concerning American Idol winners, in which he is representing artists such as Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood and the company that owns American Idol, 19 Entertainment. The suit alleges that Sony breached licensing contracts and denied the former Idol contestants and 19 Recordings royalty payments of a minimum of $10 million.

The discrepancies were discovered after two different accounting firms conducted audits.

A GOOD EDUCATION + HARD WORK = THE SKY’S THE LIMIT Busch, a native of Miami, chose to attend Loyola because he thought New Orleans would be a fun place to attend law school. “But I took out loans and had to pay for everything myself, so I realized right away that fun had to take a back seat because I better be able to get a good job when I graduated in order to pay everything back,” Busch recalls. “I worked very hard, and I graduated fourth in my day school class, and I believe I was ninth overall.”

During his studies at Loyola, Busch won several awards, including the Fishman Award for being the top transactional law student and the American Jurisprudence Award for Secured Transactions. Busch was on Law Review and the Moot Court Board, serving as Spring National Team coach.

“That was a lot of fun,” he says.

Busch is appreciative of how Loyola prepared him for future career opportunities and how his professors took a real

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interest in him and his success. “Loyola was a great place to go to law school,” he says. “Professors were willing to help you and answer questions if you had the interest, the desire, and the motivation. If you have a bad attitude and you just sit around and you think the school owes you something or you think that no matter what you do you’re not going to make it or you’re going to get a C and it’s not worth it, then you are quitting on yourself. But if you’re willing to have a good attitude and you’re willing to show interest, and you’re willing to work hard, it’s there for you. Pat Hugg and Mike Vitiello, who is a good friend of mine, and Henry Gabriel were all very good to me. I was thinking about getting an LL.M. at Harvard, and Dean James Klebba wrote a beautiful letter for me that my mother loved so much she still keeps it. The school was willing to help in any way that they could.”

Before he appeared at Loyola’s Entertainment Law Symposium, Busch stressed how hard work and determination can help to achieve a sky’s-the-limit type of career in law. “What I’ll tell the students of Loyola is that they can do it. Are the people who graduate from Ivy League schools better? The answer is no, but you have to be willing to work and actually know about every detail of your case, more than anyone else.

You have to make it your life. It’s not just law school or work but everything in life. I learned that from some lawyers early on who I dealt with that life is really all about relationships. You have to let your clients know that they are the most important people in the world to you and that you consider them one of your best friends because there’s a lot of people they can choose from, so they better know you have an interest in them and that you will pick up the phone at 2 o’clock in the morning if need be. And if you’re willing to do those things, then you can accomplish anything because I’ve gone up against every major entertainment firm and every major law firm in this country, and I’ve beat them. I’m sure at first, people in top law firms representing all these record companies were thinking: ‘Who is this guy in Nashville that’s filing all these lawsuits? Who is Richard Busch, this guy launching this nuclear war?’ But I’ve done it. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been achieved through hard work and believing in yourself and taking the time to understand what you are doing.”

HONORABLE WORK Busch has been extremely flattered to have received the accolades that have been bestowed on him thus far, including making the 2012 Billboard Power 100 List as the only litigator alongside heavy-hitters in the music industry such as Taylor Swift and being one of the 100 attorneys in the country to score a spot on The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers List for 2012 through 2015.

“When you’re honored the way I’ve been honored, it’s more of a chance to reflect on how hard it has been and how you are very appreciative of it,” he says. “There are a lot of lows, too, that you have to be willing to deal with; for instance, in the F.B.T. case, we lost in the trial court level

initially, but we won in the Ninth Circuit with a reversed judgment in our favor. I am very proud to be recognized for my work and just happy that my kids see that their father has done something. I actually have a hard time believing it sometimes myself. I mean, I am best friends now with the guys who wrote and produced some of Eminem’s biggest hits; I deposed Steve Jobs; I was at the great James Taylor’s home, sitting in his kitchen preparing him for his deposition and thought, ‘I am sitting at James Taylor’s kitchen table.’ I have tried cases against Diddy, Pharrell Williams, and many many others. It has been an incredible ride.”

THE GOOD LIFE Speaking of family, Busch has been married to his wife, Lucy Busch ’90 (psychology), for more than 24 years.

Together they have a son, Ryan, 18, and two daughters, Jamie, 16, and Jaxen, 11, and live in Franklin, Tenn.

“I enjoy living in Franklin, which is a very nice place to live,” Busch says. “It’s fun to travel for work – I go to Los Angeles and New York all the time – but it’s always fun to come home.”

PREPARING FOR BATTLE In February 2015, Busch was headed into federal court in Los Angeles to represent the family of the late Marvin Gaye in the newsworthy “Blurred Lines” trial against songwriters Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and Clifford “T.I.” Harris Jr. for the alleged copyright infringement of Gaye’s 1977 classic song “Got To Give It Up” in their mega-hit “Blurred Lines,” the biggest song of 2013. Interestingly enough, it was Thicke, Williams, and Harris who kicked things off by preemptively filing against the Gaye estate, seeking declaratory relief that they did not infringe upon the song. On the eve of battle, Busch explained that the case had become so much more than just a routine copyright infringement trial, thanks to the judge’s ruling not to allow Gaye’s full recording of “Got To Give It Up” to be played to the jury during the trial.

“In order to file a copyright infringement claim, a plaintiff has to have registered his or her copyright with the copyright office and also filed with it a ‘deposit copy’ of the work,” he explains. “Prior to 1978, the owner of a musical composition could only file written notation as the deposit copy. In 1978, that rule was changed to allow for the filing of the recording as the deposit copy of the composition.

‘Got To Give It Up’ was recorded in 1977 and registered with the copyright office that same year. Right before trial, the court ruled that our claim was limited to the elements found in the deposited written notation and that any elements not found within it, even if in the recording, could not be the basis of our copyright infringement claim.

Because the written notation deposited with the copyright office was a simple lead sheet, which is basically shorthand notation, several of the elements we said were copied were only in the recorded composition and not in the deposited

lead sheet. The court therefore ruled that we would not be allowed to play the entirety of the ‘Got To Give It Up’ recording because to do so would be to expose the jury to what he ruled were unprotected elements of the musical composition. This was the first ruling of its kind and obviously changed the scope of our case dramatically.”

That ruling, Busch believes, is wrong. “It could have dramatic consequences and set a dangerous precedent because if what the court is saying is correct, for all compositions written prior to 1978, such as those by Elvis, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and Marvin Gaye, a clever infringer could compare the deposit copy lead sheet filed with the copyright office to the recording, and then anything that was a compositional element in the recording but not in the lead sheet, according to this court’s ruling, could be taken and there would be no consequences for taking it because under this court’s ruling it would not be protected and could not be sued upon. We believe it’s very clear that the purpose of filing the deposit copy is simply to identify the work, not to define or describe the entire scope of the work because think about all the artists who couldn’t afford a transcriber to write down every element or who didn’t have the wherewithal to write down every element and just wanted to get their copyright on file – you’re talking about hundreds of thousands of works and artists that would be affected.”

GOT TO GIVE UP $7.4 MILLION On March 10, 2015, despite Busch’s case being limited to the elements reflected in the deposit copy lead sheet, Busch and his team obtained a jury verdict in their favor. The jury in the “Blurred Lines” trial awarded the Gaye family $7.4 million in damages against Thicke and Williams, while exonerating Harris, due to copyright infringement of “Got To Give It Up.” The verdict reigns as the largest-ever for copyright infringement of a single song, trumping the $5.4 million that Michael Bolton and Sony were ordered to pay for copyright infringement of “Love is a Wonderful Thing” by the Isley Brothers.

The case has raised Busch’s profile even higher and has resulted in a profile of him being published in the New York Times and his picture, together with Jan Gaye, Marvin’s former wife, gracing the front of the Hollywood Reporter’s 2015 “Power Lawyer” edition.

Busch was quoted as saying: “Pharrell Williams and his legal team started the war by filing a pre-emptive lawsuit, but we finished it. We did so despite having the odds stacked against us and not being allowed to play the entire ‘Got To Give It Up’ song. We had terrific musicologists, Judith Finell and Dr. Ingrid Monson, who broke the compositions down and showed the copying, and a very dedicated team who believed in the case. I am grateful to everyone but mostly the Gaye family, who did this for all the right reasons. They fought this fight to protect the legacy and work of the great Marvin Gaye from being taken without credit or accountability.”

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THANK YOU! ADJUNCT FACULTY Raymond Areaux J. Robert Ates H. Ginger Berrigan Virginia Boulet Stephen Broussard Stephen Bullock Jaye Calhoun Michael Carbo James Carriere Richard Chopin Arthur A. Crais Marianne Cufone Mary Dumestre Brett Fenasci Everett Fineran Greg Gagnon Marcel Garsaud Kathleen C. Gasparian Jerry John Glas Timothy Hassinger David D. Haynes Stephen Herman Margaret M. Joffe Calvin Johnson Timothy R.W. Kappel Brian A. Leftwich Anthony Marino David J. Messina Conrad Meyer Stanley Millan Norman Mott Michael M. Noonan Kristen I. Nygren Bryan Reuter Douglas Salzer Lloyd N. Shields Randall Smith Michael D. Spencer Mark C. Surprenant Stephen D. Villavaso James R. Washington Frank Whiteley Michael Williams Gordon Wilson Delcianna Winders Brett Wise L. John Zeller CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION Marco Adame Patrick Babin Michael Baham Hon. Ruben J. Bailey David C. Barnett Hon. Steven Berlin Magdalen Blessey Bickford J. Michael Bowman Beth-Anne Perez Bracey Alan G. Brackett Anne H. Breaux Arthur J. Brewster R. Todd Bruininks Patricia Burke Susan J. Burkenstock Professor Andrea Beauchamp Carroll Professor Dane S. Ciolino Hon. Richard Clark Norman Cole Katherine Conklin Susan F. Desmond Hon. William Dorsey

The College of Law thanks the following distinguished leaders in the legal community for their dedication and service over the past academic year.

John Dudrey David A. Duhon Eric Dupree Jack L. Dveirin Dr. John B. Elstrott Jr. Edward F. Harold Randy Harris Melissa Hill Abraham Feinstein-Hillsman Lewis Fleishman Ian Fraser Rep. Raymond E. Garofalo Jr. Professor Kathleen Gasparian Hon. Jennifer Gee Chris Gleasman Greg Gruzman Jay M. Jalenak Jr. Lindsey M. Johnson Linda Magee-Jones Daisy Gurdian Kane Jeffrey W. Koonce Professor Hiroko Kusuda Raymond P. Ladouceur Annie Lam Hon. Christopher Larsen Robyn Leonard Richard B. Levin Roger Levy Adriana Linares Rep. Joseph P. Lopinto III Mark N. Mallery James M. McGrew Colleen F. Meche Joel A. Mendler Joseph W. Mengis Nina Mitchell Carole Cukell Neff Richard Nielsen Amie Peters Eugene Peterson Marshall E. Pierre Sr. Robert Popich David M. Prados Sandee Olson Charlotte K. Ray Mark Reinhalter Hon. Patrick M. Rosenow Hon. Scott U. Schlegel Stewart Schmidt Charles F. Seemann III Dr. James C. Smith Bruce Spizer Alfred E. “Ted” Stacey IV Hon. Raymond S. “Ray” Steib Jr. J.E. “Buddy” Stockwell III Mick W. Thomas Robert Thomas Renee E. Thorne Frank P. Tranchina Jr. Dawn Treigle, LCSW Lynne Wasserman Richard D. Weeks Hon. Laurie A. White David Widener Marc D. Winsberg Jeffrey Winter For more information on CLE, visit loyno.edu/cle

SPEAKERS AT THE 2015 ANNUAL LONGSHORE CONFERENCE Marco Adame James L. Azzarello Jr.

Patrick J. Babin Rich Baudry Jonathan S. Beiser Helen Boberek Arthur J. Brewster R. Todd Bruininks Richard W. Bunch Paul M. Doolittle Clancy DuBos David A. Duhon Tommy Dulin David B. Groeneveld Allen D. Hemphill John F. Karpousis John E. Kawczynski Theresa Magyar Kevin A. Marks Hon. Larry W. Price Mark Reinhalter Antonio Rios Richard V. Robilotti Hon. Lee J. Romero Jr. Hon. Patrick M. Rosenow Richard P. Stanton Jennifer Valdivieso Aaron L. Walter David Widener LAW SKILLS & EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING Mary Garvey Algero, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Johanna Averill, Gilsbar Inc. Timothy F. Averill, Louisiana Supreme Court Brian C. Barnes, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Philip J. Borne, Christovich & Kearney LLP Jeff Briscoe, Law Office of Arthur J. Brewster Dante Butler, Rome, Butler & Rome LLC Michael Calogero, Law Offices of Michael G. Calogero LLC Tiela Chalmers, Alameda County Bar Association Justin M. Chopin, Carver, Darden, Koretzky, Tessier, Finn, Blossman & Areaux LLC Sandra K. Cosby Arthur Crais Jr., Adjunct Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Jauna A. Crear, The Crear Law Firm John H. Denenea Jr., ShearmanDenenea LLC Davida Finger, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Marc Frischhertz, Frischhertz, Poulliard, Frischhertz Impastato Greg Gagnon, The Offices of Greg Gagnon Law Victor Glorioso, The Glorioso Law Firm Lauren Godshall, Curry & Friend PLC Judge John C. Grout Jr. (ret), Louisiana Workers Compensation Stephen D. Hebert, Stephen D. Hebert LLC Nicholas Hite, The Hite Law Group

Dominick F. Impastato III, Frischhertz, Poulliard, Frischhertz, Impastato William N. King, Louisiana State Bar Association Kevin Klibert, Becnel Law Firm LLC Hiroko Kusuda, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Alex Lambert, Alex D Lambert APLC Judge Madeleine M. Landrieu, Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit Richard Lemmler Jr., Louisiana State Bar Association Justice Harry T. Lemmon (ret), Louisiana Supreme Court Chunlin Leonhard, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Chanel Long, Orleans Public Defenders Jeffrey I. Mandel, Juge, Napolitano, Guilbeau, Ruli & Frieman Alison McCrary, Independent Police Monitor Kevin M. McGlone, Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbert LLC Diana Mercer, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Lawrence W. Moore, S.J., Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Matthew Moreland, Becnel Law Firm LLC Seth M. Nehrbass, Garvey, Smith, Nehrbass & North LLC Warren Perrin, Perrin, Landry, Delaunay, Dartez and Ouellet Cayce C. Peterson, The Lambert Firm APLC Bradley S. Phillips, Phillips Law LLC Roy Ponthier, Ph.D., Ed.D., DREI, CDEI, ProEducate Emily Posner, Recirculating Farms Coalition Gregory F. Rouchell, Adams and Reese LLP Katie Schwartzmann, American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana Lauren L. Tafaro, Adams and Reese LLP Charles O. Taylor, Chehardy Sherman Law Nikki Thanos, Bridge the Gulf Project Bonycle Thornton, Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office Bernard K. Vetter, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Monica Hof Wallace, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Deneen Warmington Duke Williams, Williams Law Group LLC Charlsey Wolff, Law Firm of Wolff & Wolff For more information on Law Skills and Experiential Learning, visit loyno.edu/lawskills

ALUMNI EVENTS

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The LAW CLASSES OF 1964 AND 1974 held their reunion luncheons at Antoine’s Restaurant in the French Quarter on Oct. 10, 2014.

1) Back row, from left: John David Malone III, J.D. ‘65; The Hon. Gerard Hansen ‘61, J.D. ‘64; Walker Drake, J.D. ‘64; The Hon. Mary Ann Vial Lemmon, J.D. ‘64; Dr. Ronald Jung ‘62, J.D. ‘64, M.B.A. ‘69; Joseph Taranto ‘60, J.D. ‘65; James Blazek, J.D. ‘64.; and Stanley Jacobs, J.D. ‘64 Front row, from left: The Hon. Gerard W. Caire ‘59, J.D. ‘64; Evangeline M. Vavrick ‘54, M.E. ‘50, J.D. ‘64; and Victor Koock, J.D. ‘64 2) From left: Michael Katz, J.D. ’74; Allan Berger, J.D. ’74; Judge Robert Murphy, J.D. ’74, and his wife, Julie; Richard Katz, J.D. ’74; and Ret. Judge Niles Hellmers, J.D. ’74 3) Judge Ivan Lemelle, J.D. ’74, and Gayle Reynolds, J.D. ’74 The LAW CLASS OF 1979 held its 35-year reunion on Nov. 14 and 15, 2014.

4) From left: Michael S. O’Brien ‘76, J.D. ‘79; Gregory De Keyzer, J.D. ‘79; Gen. Harris Kline, J.D. ‘79; Sadye Bernheim, J.D. ‘79; and Michael Gatto, J.D. ‘79 www.law.loyno.edu

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ALUMNI EVENTS

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2 1) The annual LAW ALUMNI LUNCHEON was held on Feb. 6, 2015, at the Ritz-Carlton in New Orleans. Xavier University President Norman C. Francis, J.D. ‘55, H’82, the first African-American to graduate from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and the longest-sitting university president in the U.S., was the recipient of the 2015 St. Ives Award, the highest honor awarded by the College of Law Alumni Association.

2) The current and incoming LAW ALUMNI BOARD members: Top row, from left: Douglas S. Hammel, J.D. ’00; William “Billy” Gaudet, J.D. ’82; Jay Alan Ginsberg, J.D. ’82; The Hon. Kern A. Reese, J.D. ’77; Michael R. Sanchez, J.D. ‘03; Douglas J. Moore, J.D. ’01; Charles “Chuck” Bourque, J.D. ’90; President-elect Stephen C. Hanemann, J.D. ’02; Benjamin B. Saunders, J.D. ’69; The Hon. Carl J. Barbier, J.D. ’70 Bottom row, from left: The Hon. Robin D. Pittman ’91, J.D. ’96; Krystle M. Ferbos, J.D. ‘10; Loretta O. Hoskins, J.D. ’06; President Sharonda R. Williams, J.D. ’01; Leila A. D’Aquin, J.D. ’88; and Mark E. Morice, J.D. ’98. Could not be in attendance: H. Michael Bush ’91, J.D. ’94; Cheri Cotogno Grodsky, J.D. ’82; Justin Harrell, J.D. ’02; Samuel “Tab” Singer, J.D. ’72.

The Law Alumni Association would like to give special thanks to the sponsors: Adams and Reese LLP; Alvendia, Kelly and Demarest LLC; Baker Donelson; Baldwin Haspel Burke & Mayer LLC; Betty Jane Nolan Charitable Trust; Law Office of Bruce Betzer and Douglas Hammel; Calogero/Landrieu Joint Sponsorship; Chaffe McCall LLP; Cummings Cummings & Dudenhefer; Davis, Saunders, Miller & Oden Law Firm; Dugan Law Firm; Entergy; Fowler Rodriguez; Gordon, Arata, McCollam, Duplantis & Eagan LLC; Herman, Herman & Katz LLC; Irwin, Fritchie, Urquhart & Moore LLC; Kean Miller; Liskow & Lewis; Morris Bart LLC; Seth M. Nehrbass, Patent Attorney; Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbert LLC; Smith Stag LLC; St. Martin and Bourque APLC; Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann LLC; Whitney Bank; Womac Law Firm 16

LOYOLA LAWYER • Summer 2015

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2 1) A portrait of Professor Kathryn Venturatos Lorio, J.D. ’73, interim dean at the College of Law from 2010 to 2011, was unveiled on Sept. 25, 2014, on the fourth floor of the College of Law. In attendance were, from left, Professor Emeritus David Normann, associate dean for Academic Affairs from 1989 to 1992 and 1994 to 1995; Professor Emeritus Marcel Garsaud Jr. ‘54, J.D. ‘59, H’ 04, dean from 1970 to 1981; Professor Emeritus James Marshall Klebba, interim dean from 1989 to 1990 and from 1999 to 2001 and dean from 2001 to 2003; honoree Professor Lorio, and current Dean María Pabón López.

The WOMEN IN LAW LUNCHEON was held on April 15, 2015, at the home of Yulia and John Houghtaling, J.D. ‘97 2) Pictured, from left, are host committee members Sandra Diggs Miller, J.D. ‘98; Alexandra Serpas, J.D. ‘14; chair Evangeline “Eve” Vavrick, J.D. ‘01; Marcia King Reck ‘79, J.D. ‘82; The Hon. Robin Pittman ‘91, J.D. ‘96; and Sharonda Williams, J.D. ‘01. Special thanks to the host committee members who could not attend: The Hon. Jeannette T. Knoll ‘66, J.D. ’69; The Hon. Mary Ann Vial Lemmon, J.D. ’64; The Hon. Madeleine M. Landrieu, J.D. ’87; The Hon. Mary Hotard Becnel, J.D. ’80; Linda Nelson Barnett, J.D. ’77; and Heather Gattuso Lambert, J.D. ’04.

Thanks to the Women in Law sponsors: Fourth and Fifth Circuit Judges Association; John D. Lambert Jr.; Locke, Lord, Bissel & Liddell LLC; Marcia King Reck; Evangeline M. Vavrick ; The Hon. M. Lauren Lemmon; The Hon. Madeleine M. Landrieu; The Knoll Law Firm; The Hon. Joan Benge; Paula Ates; Erica Lee Cortizas; Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles LLP; Monique M. Lafontaine; Cheryl Landrieu; Sharonda Williams www.law.loyno.edu

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ALUMNI NEWS If you have an accomplishment that you would like publicized, please send it to magazine@loyno.edu or Loyola Lawyer 7214 St. Charles Ave., Box 909 New Orleans, LA 70118

1950s Norman Francis, J.D. ’55, H. ’82, is stepping down from his position as president as Xavier University after 46 years. Francis, who was actively involved in the civil rights movement and was the first black graduate of the College of Law, was widely credited with improving Xavier’s rise in national stature. He chaired the Louisiana Recovery Authority after Hurricane Katrina and has served on more than 50 boards and received 40 honorary degrees. In 1991, he was awarded the Times-Picayune’s Loving Cup, which honors citizens who have worked unselfishly for the community without expectation of public recognition or material reward. In 2006, for his lifetime of service to civic causes, he received the nation’s highest civil honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from then-President George W. Bush, who praised him as “a man of deep intellect and compassion and character.”

1960s John Cummings ’61 (business administration), J.D. ’61, was featured in the New Orleans Advocate and the New York Times, as well as on CBS and NPR, for his work in transforming the circa-1790 Whitney Plantation in Wallace, La., into America’s first and only museum of slavery. The plantation opened in early December 2014.

Donald Jansen ’61 (business administration), J.D. ‘63, received the National Eagle Scout Association Outstanding Eagle Scout Award in May in Houston.

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It is awarded to Eagle Scouts for a lifetime of service to their profession, state, and community.

Jansen is chief tax counsel at the University of Texas System and is a director of the American Women Writers National Museum in Washington, D.C., which was founded by his wife, Janice Law. Bob Duplantis, J.D. ’66, a member of Gordon Arata who works in the firm’s Lafayette office, was named to Acadiana Profile magazine’s Top Lawyers list in the areas of administrative/regulatory law, energy law, and oil and gas law.

Judge Frank Marullo Jr., J.D. ’68, was re-elected to a judicial seat that he has held since 1974.

Robert David, J.D. ‘69, a member of Gainsburgh, Benjamin, David, Meunier & Warshauer in New Orleans, was named one of the Top 10 lawyers in Louisiana by Thompson Reuters’ Super Lawyers 2015.

1970s Richard A. Chopin ’71 (marketing), J.D. ’73, was named to the list of 2014 Top Lawyers by New Orleans Magazine and was named a 2015 Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers. He is a partner at Chopin Wagar Richard & Kutcher LLP in Metairie.

Robert A. Kutcher, J.D. ’75, was named by his peers to the 2015 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for his work in the practice areas of Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Commercial Litigation, and Litigation – Real Estate. He was also selected as a 2015 Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers. He is a partner at Chopin Wagar Richard & Kutcher LLP in Metairie.

Judge Robert A. Buckley, J.D. ’76, retained his seat in the St. Bernard Parish Division A judicial race, winning 76 percent of the vote. He was first elected judge in a special election in October 1993.

LOYOLA LAWYER • Summer 2015

David Haynes, J.D. ’76, has been selected by the board of directors of the Terre Haute, Ind., Chamber of Commerce to serve as president.

James Looney, J.D. ’77, was honored by the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers with the 2014 Justice Albert Tate Jr. Award. The award is presented for outstanding contributions to the Louisiana system of criminal justice and dedication to constitutional principles. The award is designed to honor individuals for dedication to or in defense of those constitutional principles for which Justice Tate stood. This is LACDL’s most prestigious award.

Executive director of the Louisiana Appellate Project since 1996, Looney was honored for his work as a public defender, trial and appellate, in Louisiana and his involvement in national criminal defender organizations, especially in appellate training.

Mark Surprenant, J.D. ’77, an adjunct professor of law at Loyola and the president of the New Orleans Bar Association, received the 2014 Louisiana State Bar Association David A. Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual LSBA Pro Bono Awards Ceremony held at the Louisiana Supreme Court in New Orleans in May 2014. This award is given to a Louisiana attorney who demonstrates a commitment to the provision of legal services to the poor, has made significant contributions to enhance the pro bono movement in Louisiana over their lifetime, and has shown significant leadership and service on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised.

Surprenant was also recognized at the ceremony with an LSBA Pro Bono Century Award for donating more than 100 hours of pro bono service in 2013. Surprenant was further honored with the Glass Honoree award at the 73rd annual meeting of the Louisiana State Bar Association in June 2014. The award recognizes his extensive pro bono work and volunteerism. He is a partner with Adams and Reese in New

Orleans, where he serves as liaison partner of the Pro Bono Services Committee.

Leon Cannizzaro, J.D. ’78, was part of a group of law enforcement officials honored with the FBI’s 2014 Director’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Law Enforcement Community for anti-gang task force work. Task forces in both New Orleans and Baton Rouge have implemented a group violence reduction strategy that urges multiple local, state, and federal agencies to coordinate police work and intelligence to help prosecutors produce conspiracy indictments that take groups of violent offenders off the streets. Cannizzaro is the Orleans Parish District Attorney.

1980s Cecelia Bonin, J.D. ’80, is the new head of the 16th Judicial District public defender’s office.

Following her graduation from Loyola, she worked in private practice in New Iberia, La., for many years and has been with the public defender’s office for two years before taking over her new position.

Paul Dicharry ’69 (political science), J.D. ’81, was included in the 21st edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He is a partner at Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, where he practices in environmental and administrative law.

Paul M. Lavelle, J.D. ’81, has been listed among the world’s leading practitioners in the London-based publication Who’s Who Legal: Products Liability Defence 2014. He is the managing shareholder of Winstead’s New Orleans office and has extensive trial experience in the areas of products liability, admiralty/maritime, commercial disputes, construction, environmental, insurance, and general civil litigation.

Graymond Martin ’77 (criminal justice), J.D. ’81, was part of a group of law

enforcement officials honored with the FBI’s 2014 Director’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Law Enforcement Community for anti-gang task force work. Task forces in both New Orleans and Baton Rouge have implemented a group violence reduction strategy that urges multiple local, state, and federal agencies to coordinate police work and intelligence to help prosecutors produce conspiracy indictments that take groups of violent offenders off the streets. Martin is the First Assistant District Attorney for Orleans Parish.

Robert S. Toale, J.D. ’82, was elected to the 2014-2017 board of directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers at its annual meeting in Philadelphia, making him one of eight criminal defense lawyers across the country to serve on the board. Toale is currently the president of the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the founder of the Law Office of Robert S. Toale in Gretna. He has practiced criminal defense law for more than 30 years and is active in the Louisiana, New Orleans, and Jefferson bar associations.

Nancy Scott Degan, J.D. ’83, has assumed the role of chair for the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation, the ABA’s largest specialty section. She will serve a one-year term and has previously served in various other positions for the ABA Section of Litigation, which has more than 50,000 members.

A shareholder at Baker Donelson in New Orleans, she serves on the firm’s board of directors and is a member of the firm’s Business Litigation Group. She was recognized by Louisiana Super Lawyers as one of the Top 10 lawyers in Louisiana and was named among the Top 250 Women in Litigation by Benchmark Litigation in 2013 and 2014.

The Hon. Jules D. Edwards III ’81 (sociology), J.D. ’84, was elected vice chair of the

Judiciary Commission of Louisiana. In 2007, Edwards retired as colonel of the Louisiana National Guard and was recognized as the best staff judge advocate in the U.S. He has previously served as chief judge of the 15th Judicial District Court and a drug court judge. He also has worked as an indigent defender attorney, assistant district attorney, counsel to the Louisiana Senate’s Select Committee on Crime and Drugs, and a partner at Edwards and Edwards Law Offices.

Ramón A. Abadin, J.D. ’85, Florida Bar president-elect, began serving as a designated director on the board of the Florida Bar Foundation, a statewide charitable organization whose mission is to provide greater access to justice. Abadin is a partner in the Miami office of Sedgwick LLP, where he focuses on complex commercial insurance and litigation matters, as well as specialty tort defense litigation.

He is a past president of the Cuban American Bar Association and has served on the Florida Bar Board of Governors, the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, and the Third District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Committee. He also serves on the board of the Westcare Foundation, where he is the chair of the Risk Management Committee and a member of the Executive Committee. He also has become a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers; he was chosen for his high professional standards and achievements as a trial lawyer. (See profile, p. 20.)

Steve Copley, J.D. ‘85, an attorney and member at Gordon Arata in New Orleans, was recognized by Super Lawyers in the practice area of business litigation.

Robert S. Angelico, J.D. ’86, was elected as the president and managing partner of Liskow & Lewis in New Orleans. Angelico was elected shareholder of Liskow & Lewis in 1993 and has served as head of the firm’s business and

tax section. He works with multinational, national, and local business clients on matters related to Louisiana tax law. He served as president of the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants from 2010 to 2011, is past chairman of the Tax Section of the Louisiana State Bar, and is currently on the board of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.

Judge John Molaison ’83 (general studies), J.D. ’86, has been appointed to the faculty of the National Judicial College, considered the premier training ground for judges in the United States.

David Messina ’84 (piano performance), J.D./M.B.A. ’87, an attorney and member at Gordon Arata in New Orleans, was recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in the practice area of Bankruptcy: Business.

John “Luke” Walker, J.D. ’87, gave a cyberbullying/ Internet safety presentation to parents and students in grades 4 through 12 at the Academy of the Sacred Heart School in Grand Coteau in November. Walker has been with the U.S. Attorney’s Office since 1989 and is assigned to the Criminal Division.

He currently serves the Western District as the Project Safe Childhood coordinator.

Martin Landrieu, J.D. ’88, an attorney and member at Gordon Arata in New Orleans, was recognized by Super Lawyers in the practice area of business litigation.

U.S. Army Col. Brian D. Perry Sr. (ret.), J.D. ’88, the deputy chief of staff for personnel and logistics at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, was elected chapter secretary for the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association in Monterey, Calif.

Steven B. Loeb, J.D. ’89, of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson’s Baton Rouge office was listed in the 2014 edition of Chambers

USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business for Louisiana for construction law.

Scott O’Connor, J.D. ’89, an attorney and member at Gordon Arata in New Orleans, was recognized by Super Lawyers in the practice area of energy and natural resources.

1990s Richard S. Busch, J.D. ’90, was profiled in the New York Times on March 15 after he won a nearly $7.4 million copyright suit against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams by convincing the jury that Thicke and Williams’ 2013 hit song “Blurred Lines” too closely copied Marvin Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give It Up.” Busch, a partner in the Nashville, Tenn., firm of King & Ballow, has won numerous cases with huge implications for the music industry. (See story p. 10.)

Marcelle Casadaban Highstreet, J.D. ’91, has accepted the position of development officer for the College of Law at Loyola. She previously acted as the director of institutional advancement at Mount Carmel Academy in New Orleans and formerly served Loyola as director of prospect research during the Thresholds campaign.

Rene Paysse Jr., J.D. ’91, was promoted to partner at Johnson, Yacoubian & Paysse in New Orleans.

Judge Perry Nicosia, J.D. ’92, was elected as the first new district attorney of St. Bernard Parish in more than three decades. Nicosia resigned from his local Division C seat in August in order to qualify for the race.

The incumbent, Jack Rowley, did not run due to health concerns and died the day after the election at the age of 83, and so Nicosia was sworn into office just 10 days after the election. He officially served out the remainder of Rowley’s term before being sworn in on Jan. 12, 2015, to begin his own term.

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ALUMNI NEWS Stephen M. Gele ’90 (political science), J.D. ’93, has been named a partner in the law firm of Smith & Fawer LLC in New Orleans. He also serves as an elected member of the Orleans Parish Republican Executive Committee and on the board of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy.

H. Michael Bush ’91 (finance and economics), J.D. ’94, a partner at Chaffe McCall in New Orleans, was recognized by Super Lawyers.

Harold J. Flanagan ’84 (marketing and management), J.D. ’95, was named to the 2015 edition of Best Lawyers for his work in appellate practice, commercial litigation, insurance law, oil and gas law, and construction litigation. This is the fifth time he has been named to the prestigious listing.

Steven W. Hays, J.D. ’95, became a shareholder at the law firm of Howard & Howard in Royal Oak, Mich. He concentrates his practice in all aspects of patent and trademark law, including preparation, prosecution, and litigation.

Vallie Schwartz Dugas, J.D. ’96, has joined Leake & Andersson LLP in New Orleans as an associate.

John Mason ’92 (history), J.D. ’96, has been appointed president of the board of directors of Washington Lawyers for the Arts. WALA provides pro bono legal services for hundreds of artists, including filmmakers, painters, and graphic designers, and holds more than 40 annual lectures for educational purposes.

Mason is the owner of Copyright Counselors LLC and Mason Literary in Washington, D.C., and is an art and entertainment and intellectual property attorney, as well as a literary agent.

The Hon. Robin D. Pittman ’91 (sociology), J.D. ’96, became a member of the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Alumni Board of Directors and was also appointed by the

20

LOYOLA LAWYER • Summer 2015

Ramón Abadin, J.D. ‘85

by Fritz Esker ‘00 Ramón A. Abadin, J.D. ‘85, president-elect of the Florida Bar, recently added another honor to his impressive list of accomplishments when he became a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, or ACTL, one of the nation’s premier legal associations.

An audience of 585 people witnessed Abadin’s induction into the ACTL during the 61st Annual Spring Meeting of the American College of Trial Lawyers at the Ritz-Carlton in Key Biscayne, Fla., on Feb. 28.

The ceremony was a tremendous honor for Abadin, whose time at Loyola’s College of Law laid the foundation for his future successes. His experiences with mentors, professors, and friends had a profound effect on the lawyer he became.

“Loyola unquestionably had a huge impact on my career,” Abadin says. “I had top-notch professors in every class, and I developed a number of friendships with classmates with whom I am still close today.”

Calvin Johnson, a retired judge, an adjunct professor with Loyola College of Law, and recipient of the College of Law Alumni Association’s 2009 St. Ives Award, served as a valued mentor for Abadin in the college’s Trial Advocacy Program. Johnson helped Abadin make a smooth transition from studying law to practicing law.

“Most influential … was the tremendous guidance and tutelage of Calvin Johnson through the Trial Advocacy Program,” Abadin says. “These opportunities truly sparked my passion for trying cases, and the advocacy skills I learned there are skills I still use every day.”

Abadin is a partner in the Miami office of Sedgwick and a past president of the CubanAmerican Bar Association. He also worked with the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, where he and 14 other lawyers evaluated prospective nominees to the federal bench in the 11th Circuit. His induction into the ACTL is a testament to his exceptional achievements and high standards as a trial attorney.

Founded in 1950, the ACTL consists of the best of the trial bar in the United States and Canada. Its membership cannot exceed 1 percent of the total lawyer population in any state or province.

Lawyers with a minimum of 15 years of trial experience earn fellowship by invitation only after careful investigation. Each member should exhibit the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility, and collegiality.

There are approximately 5,860 current members of the ACTL in the U.S. and Canada.

The ACTL draws membership from all types of trial attorneys. By selecting a diverse group of lawyers, they are able to have a balanced voice on important legal issues. The membership consists of active fellows, emeritus fellows, judicial fellows (members who are appointed to the bench after induction), and honorary fellows.

chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court to the Louisiana Judicial College Board of Governors for a term running from December 2012 to September 2015. Judge Pittman currently serves as judge in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, Section F, where she began her second six-year term as a district court judge in January 2015.

Kernan “Kerry” Hand Jr., J.D. ’98, has been appointed by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to the Board of Tax Appeals. Hand is an attorney in the New Orleans office of Coats Rose, where he concentrates in the areas of real estate and taxation. He is a board-certified tax law specialist and has extensive experience in tax litigation and corporate finance.

2000s Nick Chauvin, J.D. ’00, has joined Perrier & Lacoste in New Orleans as special counsel.

Marrick Armstrong, J.D. ’01, opened his solo practice, Armstrong Legal PLLC, in Houston. He will focus on arts law, entertainment and sports law, business legal and regulatory consulting, construction, contracts, criminal records expunction, immigration, personal injury, and real estate and property law.

Stephen D. Hébert ’98 (political science), J.D. ’02, a New Orleans-based sole practitioner, has been named by New Orleans Magazine as a top lawyer in criminal defense for 2014. This is the third consecutive year that he has earned this distinction from New Orleans Magazine, having been recognized for criminal defense and personal injury litigation in 2012 and 2013, respectively. He was also recognized by Super Lawyers.

Allison Hymel, J.D. ’02, joined the St. Louis law firm of Brown & Crouppen PC as an attorney handling matters related

to personal injury and workers’ compensation.

Laura M. Mayes, J.D. ’03, has joined the firm of Perrier & Lacoste in New Orleans as an associate.

Maurice Ruffin, J.D. ’03, was hired as an attorney at Johnson, Yacoubian & Paysse in New Orleans.

Scott A. Shelton, J.D. ’03, recently took over as managing partner of Cole, Scott & Kissane’s Orlando, Fla., office. Cole, Scott & Kissane is a civil defense litigation firm based out of Miami with approximately 250 attorneys and 11 office locations. Shelton originally became a partner in the firm’s Tampa office before being asked to open and manage the firm’s brand-new office in Naples, Fla. Two years later, he was asked to take on the role of managing partner at the Orlando office. He defends all types of civil claims, with a focus on those involving professional liability, wrongful death, construction defects, medical malpractice, and products liability.

Philip deV. Claverie Jr., J.D. ’04, was elected to partnership at Phelps Dunbar’s New Orleans office. He has practiced with Phelps Dunbar since he received his J.D. in 2004, focusing in the areas of banking, finance, commercial transactions, real estate, leasing, and probate. He is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, American Bar Association, and Louisiana Bankers Association, as well as Phelps Dunbar’s Small and Emerging Business Team.

Jacques DeGruy, J.D. ’04, has been elected partner at Fowler Rodriguez in New Orleans. He handles diverse matters with respect to personal injury defense, including charter agreements, master service agreements, and other contracts on behalf of clients.

He established his practice in litigation, primarily in the areas of admiralty and maritime law, general insurance defense, and asbestos defense. He is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeal for the Fifth

Circuit; the United States District Courts for Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana; and all Louisiana state courts. He is an active member in several trade organizations, including the Greater New Orleans Barge Fleeting Association and the Mariners’ Club.

Jessie Schott Haynes, J.D. ’04, has taken a new position as Deputy to the President – Civic & Philanthropic Affairs with Helis Oil & Gas Co. LLC. She was formerly the program director for Louisiana Appleseed and a former associate with Galloway Johnson Tomkins Burr and Smith. She has remained active with Loyola since graduation and has recruited Loyola students for positions at her former places of employment.

Derek Houston, J.D. ’04, has joined Adams and Reese as special counsel in the firm’s St. Petersburg, Fla., office. Houston has practiced since 2004 and focuses his legal practice on lending, commercial real estate, and real estate development transactions and construction contracting. He is also the president-elect and a member of the executive committee of the Suncoasters of St. Petersburg Inc. and a member of the board of directors for the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership.

Ronald P. McClain, J.D. ’04, has been named the executive director of the Institute of Mental Hygiene and will begin his duties in September. Previously, he was the president and chief executive officer of Family Service of Greater New Orleans and the Children’s Bureau of New Orleans.

Judge Karelia Stewart, J.D. ’04, was elected in August and sworn in Oct. 1, 2014, to the First Judicial District Court. She is the youngest female, second AfricanAmerican, and first-ever second generation to be elected to the court; her father and uncle both previously served on the court.

Adrienne White-Woodard, J.D. ’04, was appointed to the position of Louisiana State Bar

Association delegate for the 42nd Judicial District, De Soto Parish.

She also continues to serve as the president of the De Soto Parish Bar Association. She and her father, attorney Murphy J. White, are partners at the Law Offices of White & White in Mansfield. In conjunction with her private law practice, she is a special assistant attorney general for the state of Louisiana.

Rebecca I. Gumaer, J.D. ’05, just opened her own law firm, Front Range Family Law LLC in Denver. She focuses on the practice of family law and the healthy transition of families through the litigation process.

Carrie Tournillon, J.D. ’05, was made partner at Kean Miller’s New Orleans office. She joined the firm in 2012 and practices in the utilities regulation, oil and gas, and pipeline groups.

She is licensed to practice law in Louisiana and Texas and has more than nine years of experience in administrative and public utility law.

John Creevy, J.D. ’06, has been named partner at Herman, Herman & Katz LLC in New Orleans. He joined the firm as an associate in 2007 and currently handles cases for plaintiffs and defendants, including personal injury, construction litigation, property litigation, business disputes, class actions, and multidistrict litigation. He also serves on the Finance Committee of the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity.

Claire Samuels Geier, J.D. ’06, became a member of James, McElroy & Diehl PA in Charlotte, N.C. Collette R. Gordon, J.D. ’06, has been elected as a shareholder in New Orleansbased Liskow & Lewis’ energy and natural resources law and business law sections. Her practice in energy focuses on oil and gas acquisitions and divestitures, energy-related contract drafting, onshore and offshore title examination, and pipeline issues. Gordon has been

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ALUMNI NEWS recognized by Louisiana Super Lawyers and New Orleans Magazine for her legal acumen and professional achievements.

Bryan Jeansonne, J.D. ’06, was elected chairman of the East Baton Rouge Parish Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The board licenses and regulates all businesses serving alcohol in the parish.

Kassie L. Kargis, J.D. ’06, a law clerk for Judge John Walker of Houma, has been appointed to serve on the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division Council.

Ralph Aucoin, J.D. ’07, was hired as an associate at Carver, Darden, Koretzky, Tessier, Finn, Blossman & Areaux in New Orleans.

Justin Chopin, J.D. ’07, was hired as an associate at Carver, Darden, Koretzky, Tessier, Finn, Blossman & Areaux in New Orleans.

Julie Deshotels Jardell, J.D. ’07, a member of Gordon Arata who works in the firm’s Lafayette office, was named to Acadiana Profile magazine’s Top Lawyers list in the area of energy law. She also was recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in the practice area of energy and natural resources.

Barrett Stephens, J.D. ’07, was hired as an attorney at Lewis & Caplan law firm in New Orleans.

Stephen Wiegand, J.D. ’07, has been elected as a shareholder in New Orleansbased Liskow & Lewis’ environmental section and assists clients with permitting, compliance, transactional, and litigation issues. Prior to joining Liskow & Lewis, he served as a judicial clerk to the Hon. Ivan L.R. Lemelle, J.D. ’74, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, from 2007 to 2008.

Matt Miller ’03 (accounting), J.D. ’08, was promoted to partner at Baldwin Haspel Burke & Mayer LLC in New Orleans.

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LOYOLA LAWYER • Summer 2015

Lynsey Johnson Wallace, J.D.’14

by Sarah Ravits Lynsey Johnson Wallace, J.D. ’14, is a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Economic Resilience. In this prestigious position, Wallace serves as the subject matter expert in disaster recovery and climate resilience.

Some of her projects include coordinating the National Disaster Resilience Competition and HUD’s Resilience Council, as well as the implementation of the department’s Climate Adaptation Action Plan. She also staffs the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, a multi-agency effort involving the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and HUD that aims to coordinate federal place-based initiatives.

A native of Stevens Point, Wis., Wallace believes her time at Loyola University College of Law was instrumental to her career path.

“During my time in New Orleans, I had a chance to volunteer and work in several nonprofits, such as the Junior League of New Orleans, Make It Right, Legal Aid Bureau, and Southeast Louisiana Legal Services,” she says. But by far, she adds: “The most impactful experience was participating in Loyola’s Community Justice Law Clinic, taught

by Professor Davida Finger. Through the clinic, I was able to work with vulnerable populations and clients who are disproportionately impacted by disasters. I learned how to be more compassionate and considerate of vulnerable populations, and those interactions are now impacting my work at the federal level.”

While at Loyola, Wallace received a Gillis Long Poverty Law Center Public Service Award, won first place in an essay contest in the Environmental Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association, earned the Association of State Floodplain Managers’ Nick Winter Memorial Scholarship, served as both vice president and then president of the Public Interest Law Group, and served as a member of the Environmental Law Society.

Her work has appeared in a number of environmental legal publications, including the Loyola Journal of Public Interest Law, the John Marshall Law Review, and the Environmental Law Institute’s National Wetlands Newsletter.

Patrick “Rick” Shelby, J.D. ’08, an attorney and member at Gordon Arata in New Orleans, was recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in the practice area of Bankruptcy: Business. Shelby was also recently elected to membership at the firm and recognized as a member of the Leadership in Law Class of 2015 by New Orleans CityBusiness. Focusing his practice in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, oil and gas litigation, commercial litigation, and corporate governance, Shelby has successfully represented debtors, debtors in possession, creditors, and trustees in bankruptcy under chapters 7, 11, and 13. In 2013, he was recognized as a Top Lawyer

by New Orleans Magazine. In 2011, he received the Pro Bono Century Award by the New Orleans Pro Bono Project.

Tiffany Thomas Smith, J.D. ’08, has joined Leake & Andersson LLP in New Orleans as an associate.

Brett Horton, J.D. ’09, director of Floor Operations and Counsel, joined the Office of the Majority Whip after serving as policy director and counsel with the Republican Study Committee under House of Representatives Majority Whip Steve Scalise.

Prior to that, he served as legislative counsel to Rep. Scalise.

Anne Marie Morris, J.D. ’09, is assistant Manatee County attorney in Bradenton, Fla. She married Sean Kersting in 2014 at the Holy Name of Jesus Church on Loyola’s campus.

2010s Whit Remer, J.D. ’10, recently accepted a position as the senior manager of federal government relations for the American Society of Civil Engineers in Washington, D.C. Amanda Sullivan, J.D. ’10, has joined McCranie, Sistrunk, Anzelmo, Hardy, McDaniel & Welch in New Orleans.

Evan J. Bergeron, J.D. ’11, joined Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles in New Orleans as an associate in the civil litigation department.

Reed Morgan Coleman, J.D. ’11, has joined King, Krebs & Jurgens’ New Orleans office as an associate. She will focus primarily on litigation, ranging from complex commercial matters to casualty, fraud, and bad faith claims.

Andrew Legrand, J.D. ’11, and Chadwick Tobler, J.D. ’11, recently formed the Spera Law Group LLC, a New Orleansbased firm dedicated to using the latest technology to improve efficiency, transparency, and

responsiveness. The cloud-based and paperless firm strives to eliminate the billable hour with flat rates and counsels smallbusiness owners on a wide variety of legal matters, including licensing, business startup and formation, real estate, and the general day-to-day concerns of running a business.

Mirais Holden, J.D. ’13, joined the New Orleans office of Liskow & Lewis as an associate and will practice in the areas of business and energy litigation.

Prior to joining Liskow & Lewis, she served as a law clerk to the Hon. Carl J. Barbier, J.D. ’70, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Sebastian M. Norton, J.D. ’11, has established The Norton Firm LLC in Alexandria, Va., focusing on criminal defense and juvenile representation in Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia.

Joseph B. Landry Jr., J.D. ’13, joined Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles in New Orleans as an associate in the civil litigation department.

Jennifer I. Tintenfass, J.D. ’12, an associate at Steeg Law Firm LLC in New Orleans has become an alumni board member of Emerging Philanthropists of New Orleans.

Nicole M. Babb ’07 (communication), J.D. ’13, has been hired as an environmental and toxic tort attorney at King, Krebs & Jurgens in New Orleans.

Amy E. Duncan, M.B.A./J.D. ’13, program director and staff attorney for the Louisiana Civil Justice Center in New Orleans, received a Good Apple Award from Louisiana Appleseed for her work on drafting a white paper addressing ongoing systemic issues related to the debt-buying industry in Louisiana.

In Memoriam

Thomas O. Collins Jr., J.D. ‘51 Charles McHale, J.D. ’51 Rene L. Randon Sr. ’48, J.D. ‘51 Edwin J. Prinz Jr. ’50, J.D. ‘52 William A. Glennon Jr. ’52, J.D. ‘53 H. Gordon Hartman, J.D. ‘54 Oliver F. Bradford Jr., J.D. ‘55 John D. Discon, J.D. ‘56 Albert J. Boudreaux, J.D. ‘57 John C. Ciolino, J.D. ‘57 William C. Nelson ’47, J.D. ‘57 Andre Trawick Jr., J.D. ‘59 Fredrick J. Herzog, J.D. ‘60 Marshall J. Favret ’59, J.D. ‘61

Barbara Blumer Rutledge, J.D. ‘61 The Hon. Charles Grisbaum ’59, J.D. ‘62 Ferdinand J. Kleppner ’59, J.D. ‘62 Richard M. Donahue, J.D. ‘65 Floyd J. Logan ’62, J.D. ‘65 Donald G. Perez Sr., J.D. ‘67 William F. Colomb Sr., M.B.A. ’64, J.D. ‘68 The Hon. A.J. McNamara, J.D. ‘68 J. Ernest Prieto, J.D. ‘68 Salvador J. Cangemi, J.D. ‘70 Lynn B. Hughes Jr., J.D. ‘70 Timothy M. Grogan, J.D. ‘73 Victor J. Bradbury ’52, J.D. ‘74 Louis G. Gruntz Jr., J.D. ‘74

Madelyn M. O’Brien, J.D. ’13, has joined Herman, Herman & Katz as an associate. A member of the American Bar and Louisiana Bar Association, she is also a member of the Louisiana Association for Justice and is admitted to practice in all federal and state courts in Louisiana and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Lauren Barrera, J.D. ’14, has joined the New Orleans office of Kean Miller LLP as an associate.

She will practice in the environmental litigation, commercial litigation, and toxic tort defense groups.

Claire Noonan, J.D. ’14, was hired as an associate at Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore in New Orleans.

Clyde P. Martin Jr., J.D. ‘74 Emery N. Voorhies, J.D. ‘74 Lenda Dean, J.D. ‘75 Harold E. Dearie II ’61, J.D. ‘75 The Hon. Thomas F. Daley, J.D. ‘78 David D. Karr, J.D. ‘79 Capt. David J. Alexander, J.D. ‘81 Paul N. DeBaillon, J.D. ‘81 Beryl M. McSmith, J.D. ‘81 Pamela L. Creel Jenner, J.D. ‘85 Dr. E. Ralph Lupin ’52, J.D. ‘88 James P. Roen, J.D. ‘90 James P. Kovata ’91, J.D. ‘94 Brother David G. Andrews, C.S.C., J.D. ‘95

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