NEW ORLEANS – Recently retired Louisiana Supreme Court Associate Justice Jeannette Theriot Knoll ’66, J.D. ’69, is the recipient of the 2017 St. Ives Award, the highest honor awarded by the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Alumni Association. Justice Knoll will be honored next month at a luncheon hosted by the association.
Named for the patron saint of lawyers, the St. Ives Award has been awarded annually since 1995 to one College of Law alum who represents the highest standards of the profession, has volunteered service to the university and college, and has furthered the mission of the College of Law and Alumni Association in significant and meaningful ways. Justice Knoll, a two-time alumna of Loyola, is an Emeritus Member of the Law Visiting Committee; a former Women in Law Committee member and a former member of the Loyola Alumni Board.
A resident of Marksville, LA, she will be honored at the annual Law Alumni Cocktail Hour and Luncheon to be held Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. The event begins with a cocktail hour at 11:00 a.m. at the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans, 921 Canal St. The luncheon program begins at 12:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at alumni.loyno.edu/lawlunch2017 through Wednesday, Jan. 25, or by calling Allison Hotard at (504) 861-5741.
William “Billy” Gaudet, J.D. ’82, as president of the Loyola Law Alumni Association, will give the welcome. University president the Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., will deliver remarks and Fr. Lawrence Moore, S.J., interim dean of the law school will provide a report on the College of Law. At the event, Loyola will also recognize past alumni association president Stephen Hanemann, J.D. ’02, and receive a report from the nominating committee.
Justice Knoll will be presented the St. Ives Award by her husband of nearly 50 years, Jerold Edward “Eddie” Knoll, J.D. ’66, who retired in 2003 as the 32nd District Attorney of Avoyelles Parish and the longest-tenured district attorney in Louisiana.
“I have so many wonderful memories associated with my times at Loyola,” said Justice Knoll. “Receiving the prestigious St. Ives Award is truly an honor and a blessing coming from the institution that prepared me for my career and has already given so much.”
Justice Knoll, who retired from the bench in December, served Louisiana as a member of its judiciary for 34 years. In 1983, she became the first woman in the history of Louisiana to be elected to a reviewing court when, shortly after the birth of her youngest of five sons, she vigorously campaigned for and won a seat on the Third Circuit Court of Appeal. In 1996, she was elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
From Jan. 1, 1997, through Dec. 31, 2016, Justice Knoll devoted herself to serving the court, the judiciary, and the people of Louisiana. Now, in her retirement, she plans to remain “solely focused” on her large and loving family.
Throughout the course of her impressive 20-year career as a Louisiana Supreme Court justice, Justice Knoll read and voted on more than 58,000 writ applications and authored 184 full Louisiana Supreme Court opinions—a number that does not include the countless per curiam opinions, concurrences, and dissents that she penned. When you add to this number the 856 opinions she wrote during her 14-year tenure on the Third Circuit Court of Appeal, it is difficult to overstate Justice Knoll’s contribution to the development of Louisiana law.
“The St. Ives Award is one of the highest honors bestowed by the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Alumni Association, and this year the association is pleased to honor Justice Knoll, a leader in the courts and a leader of women,” said the Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., university president. “Through her service to Loyola, to the courts, to the legal profession, and to Louisiana, Justice Knoll has served as an important role model to Loyola law students and Loyola law alumni throughout the nation. Through her work, her civic engagement, and her devotion to family, she has exemplified a commitment to excellence and the motto ‘men and women with and for others.’”
