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SULC Activities

The Law Center plans and organizes events and programs intended to enrich the educational experience for students, as well as to provide opportunities for alumni and the general public to attend. Some of these events include:

Annual Speakers Series—features three to four guest speakers throughout the fall and spring semester to address a wide range of topics of interest that broaden the curricula and professional knowledge of audiences. The programs are typically held on Friday at noon. Presenters have included former U.S. Solicitor General Drew Days, III; Assistant Attorney General and U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division chief Ralph Boyd; Stanford School of Law professor William B. Gould, IV; University of Tulsa School of Law professor Paul Finkelman; University of Pennsylvania professor Kenneth Shropshire; University of San Francisco School of Law professor Peter Jan Honigsberg; and Alabama civil rights attorney J. L. Chestnut, Jr.

Annual J. J. McKernan Lecture Series—established in 2004 thanks to a generous donation by Joseph J. “Jerry” McKernan of the McKernan Law Firm of Baton Rouge. The goal of this series is to provide an opportunity for law students, members of the bench and bar, and the Baton Rouge community in general to hear lectures on cutting-edge issues from outstanding individuals in the legal profession and promote dialogue with these persons on their views. Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree gave the inaugural address entitled “All Deliberate Speed—Reflections on 50 years after Brown.”

Fall and Spring Convocations—Louisiana practitioners are called upon to address students and other members of the Law Center family on current legal issues. The convocations are usually held at noon on the second Wednesdays in March and October.

Alumni Hall of Fame Banquet—begun in 2003 recognizing Law Center luminaries who are inducted annually in the Alumni Hall of Fame.

Chancellor’s Golf Scramble—initiated in 2005 as a major fund-raising event during the annual Alumni Round-Up weekend.

Simulated Trial Competitions—held in November, gives third-year students the opportunity to prepare their case and case brief as a team, and subsequently present it to the judges’ panel for a decision. The teams are responsible for an opening statement, direct and cross-exam of witnesses, and a closing statement. All rules pertaining to the simulated jurisdiction are to be followed, essentially putting the students in a real courtroom scene.

Spring Commencement—held on the second Saturday morning in May of each year. National speakers who address the law graduates and their families and friends have been U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas); Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Roger Gregory; U.S. Congressman Albert R. Wynn (D-Maryland); FBI national spokesperson Cassandra Chandler; and Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Bernette Johnson.