Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 LSU Law Catalog 
    
2022-2023 LSU Law Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center


As the state’s flagship public law school, the mission of the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center is to prepare a well-qualified and diverse group of people to be highly competent and ethical lawyers through a demanding and comprehensive program of legal education; to be leaders in private practice, public service, and commerce; and, to serve the cause of justice and advance the common good, consistent with the rule of law.

From its founding in 1906, the Law Center has offered its students a legal education recognized for its high standards of academic excellence, an outstanding teaching and research facility, and integrated programs in Louisiana civil law and Anglo-American common law. Students at LSU Law are trained rigorously in the same common law and federal law subjects that are taught at other leading American law schools. The curriculum also reflects the Law Center’s role as a curator of the civil law.

The LSU Law Center derives its designation as a Center from the centralization on its campus of the J. D. and post-J.D. programs, several specialized Centers and Institutes; the Louisiana Law Institute, which provides assistance to the Louisiana Legislature; and the Louisiana Judicial College, which provides continuing education for the state’s judges.

As a law school that strives to embody excellence in legal education, the Law Center seeks to create a vibrant, stimulating, diverse, and challenging educational environment through the admission of an exceptionally well-qualified and broadly diverse student body. The student body is drawn from a rich cross-section of backgrounds, talents, experiences, and perspectives from throughout the State, the nation, and other jurisdictions, including those that share our Civilian heritage.

The student body is enriched by the commitment of the Law Center to support and assist in the continuing professional endeavors of our alumni; to service members of the legal profession of the State, the nation, and the global community; to provide scholarly support for the continued improvement of the law; to promote the use of Louisiana’s legal contributions as reasoned models for consideration by other jurisdictions; to develop the Law Center as a bridge between the civil law and the common law; to facilitate the exchange of ideas among legal scholars; and to embrace the responsibilities of a public law school to the varied segments and regions of the State.

Each year, the faculty members of the LSU Law Center chapter of the Order of the Coif may induct students who rank in the top 10 percent of each graduating class as members of the Order. The purpose of the Order is to stimulate academic work of the highest order and foster and promote a high standard of professional conduct. The LSU Law Center also recognizes outstanding academic achievement by awarding the J.D. degree summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude to students graduating with the requisite rank in class for each honor.

The LSU Law Center is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). The Law Center also is a member of The Association of American Law Schools (AALS).