NEW ORLEANS – Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Madeleine M. Landrieu has been named the new dean of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Landrieu, a 1987 alumna of the law school and an honorary degree recipient, will begin serving as dean and Judge Adrian G. Duplantier Professor of Law of her alma mater in summer 2017. As dean, Landrieu will bring to Loyola’s law school a wealth of experience as a lawyer, judge, scholar, and administrator.
“My law degree from Loyola is one of my life’s most treasured blessings,” Judge Landrieu said. “As a student at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, I came to truly understand the Jesuit principles of academic rigor, pursuit of justice and service to others. I am thrilled to join a remarkable faculty and administration and look forward to playing a small role in educating the next generation of legal professionals committed to using the law to make a difference in the world.”
Judge Landrieu earned her bachelor of arts degree in history from Louisiana State University in 1984 and received a juris doctor degree from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 1987. As a law student, she worked in the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice, served as a member of Law Review, and sat on the law school’s Moot Court Board, among other accomplishments.
Landrieu has been a member of the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, Thomas More Inn of Courts since 1988, and served on the executive committee from 2012 to 2016. Her work as president from 2013 to 2015 helped the Inn achieve the highest ranking in the country, said Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Marc Manganaro in a letter to the Loyola community. Judge Landrieu also served a dozen years on the law school’s Visiting Committee, from 2000 to 2012 and currently serves on the committee as emeritus. In 2005, Loyola University New Orleans honored her with an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service.
“It has been my honor to serve in the Louisiana judiciary for the past 16 years,” Landrieu said. “As I take this next step, I am reminded of a core value instilled in me by my parents and the Jesuits: ‘Go where you can best serve.’”
Prior to her first judicial election, Landrieu worked 14 years as a litigator at the New Orleans law firm Gainsburgh, Benjamin, David, Meunier and Warshauer, where she served 10 years as partner. In 2001, she was elected trial court judge on the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, where she served 11 years. Since 2012, Landrieu has served as a judge on the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal.
Landrieu served the Louisiana Judicial College as President in 2012 and has served as chair of its New Judges’ Orientation since 2008. She has also served on the operations committee of the LSBA Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program, as co-chair of the Department of Children and Family Services External Advisory Committee, as board chair of Covenant House New Orleans, and as a founding board member of the Louisiana Institute for Children in Families. Judge Landrieu has also held key roles on the Louisiana Law Institute Special Committee on Summary Judgment; the Louisiana District Judges Association Executive Committee; and the Pro Bono Project, New Orleans.
Landrieu has published in the Louisiana Bar Journal and the Tulane Maritime Law Journal and has authored numerous judicial opinions, Manganaro said. Landrieu has also taught at Tulane University Law School, LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, and Loyola law school’s Summer Abroad program in Spetses, Greece.
Her many achievements include receiving the President’s Award from the Louisiana State Bar Association in 2009; the Pro Bono Project’s Distinguished Jurist Award in 2006; the New Orleans Association of Women Attorneys’ Michaelle Pitard Wynne Professionalism Award in 2013; the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center’s Public Service Award in 2002; the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Award and Young Lawyers’ Section Pro Bono Award, both granted in 1998.
“Loyola University New Orleans College of Law has a long legacy of excellence, integrity, and commitment to social justice,” University President the Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J. said. “Judge Landrieu is the perfect leader to engage future generations embarking on their legal careers.”