The Faculty
The faculty of the LSU Law Center teach, write, consult, and advise. Their teaching, scholarship, and public service benefit students, legal academicians, members of the bench and bar, and government officials.
The faculty consider teaching their first responsibility, and they devote most of their time to teaching students. Not only do faculty spend much time preparing for classes, but they also conduct review sessions, meet with individual students and study groups, and advise students on individual projects.
The faculty are known statewide, nationally, and internationally for their scholarship. They have published more than 100 law books and treatises and published articles in law reviews throughout the United States and abroad. The writings of the LSU law faculty are often cited by the Louisiana courts in their decisions. Many faculty members have written the principal Louisiana treaties in their areas of expertise.
LSU law faculty members serve on state, national, and international law study and law reform organizations. Faculty members advise and consult in their areas of expertise, providing valuable service to the legal community and the state and federal governments.
In addition to the full-time faculty, the LSU Law Center has been fortunate to have a number of adjunct faculty members from the bench and bar who teach courses in their areas of expertise. The curriculum is enriched by the teaching of these judges and lawyers.
The Academic Program
Since its founding, the Law Center has provided a legal education characterized by hard work and academic excellence. Louisiana’s unusually diverse history and culture are an integral part of the LSU Law Center’s foundation. In contrast to most states where only the Anglo-American common law prevails, Louisiana’s legal system is based not only on the early Spanish and French law, but includes the most substantial elements of the common law as well. LSU law students are trained to master not one, but two legal systems.
This crossroad curriculum provides a unique and intense legal education that gives LSU law graduates qualifications not developed by other American law schools.
LSU law students are required to take 94 hours of credit for graduation, one of the most demanding curriculums in the nation.
The faculty includes members who are primarily trained in civil law, and others who primarily have a common law background and areas of interest. This dual focus requires an unusual degree of logical insights gained from applying social policy to the resolution of diverse legal problems in the context of both common law precedent and civilian legislation.
In the first year, courses such as common law, contracts, torts, civil procedure, constitutional law, and criminal justice are required, along with the Louisiana law of obligations, torts, and a study of the civil law system. This selection of courses offers extensive comparison of the law under the two systems. After the first year, a wide variety of electives are available.
The Law Center’s civilian tradition is especially advantageous in the field of international law. The Roman Law doctrine is codified in the Napoleonic Code of France and Las Siete Partidas of Spain. It has been the cornerstone of the law of Louisiana and of many countries throughout the world, such as Canada, Japan,Thailand, the Philippines, Egypt,Turkey, all the countries in the western, central, and southern regions of the continent of Europe, most countries in Central America, and all the countries in South America. With increasing world trade, the need for understanding our foreign trading partners’ legal systems is vital to America’s economic interests and requires lawyers skilled in those legal theories. This has led many American law schools to begin to develop courses in comparative law.
At LSU, students study comparative law in each class. The comparativist perspective provides students with a broad vision and an ability to analyze legal problems from many angles.
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