Class of 2009

"I’ve been blessed to get to know some really great people while in law school; people I hope will be lifelong friends and colleagues. The student body represents a variety of different personalities and backgrounds, but we share the common bond of having endured the tough (and funny!) aspects of law school together." read more...

The LSU Law Center has provided more partners for the top 10 Louisiana-based law firms than all other Louisiana law schools combined.

Support LSU Law

The financial support of alumni and friends is more critical to the future of the LSU Law Center than ever before. Charitable gifts make a lasting impact on the lives of students, while also bringing great rewards to you—our donors. There are numerous ways to give to the LSU Law Center. We invite you to explore the avenue that best meets your philanthropic goals.

The LSU Foundation

We always ask that you make your gift in a check payable to the LSU Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and specify the Law Center as your “beneficiary unit.” We do this because if you give a gift to “LSU” or the “LSU Law Center,” your gift becomes property of the State of Louisiana and is subject to the same spending rules as a state appropriation. We may not be able to use the money in the way you intended. Moreover, the state is not a charitable organization, so you may have unanticipated tax consequences.

The Language of Giving

The Law Center receives gifts in many combinations of donor preference. Restricted gifts are used for purposes specified by the donor such as scholarships, professorships, and support of individual programs. These gifts are usually a substantial size and frequently not only restricted in purpose, but endowed by the donor, which means they are permanently invested, with a portion of the investment income (never the corpus of the gift) made available every year to the Law Center. A portion of the investment income is reinvested to help protect the corpus in a difficult market and to grow the corpus (and subsequent spendable income) over time. In order for a gift to be endowed, the donor must agree for it to be endowed, and certain minimum thresholds apply.

When a donor makes an unrestricted gift, he or she allows the Chancellor to apply the gift to the areas of greatest need. Unrestricted gifts can be large or small, are occasionally endowed, and are used to underwrite things like student financial aid, student special interest organizations, enhancements to student life, Trial Advocacy and Moot Court activities, communications with and gatherings for alumni, Law Library services to attorneys and the general public, noted speakers, and other special events.

Annually recurring gifts to the Annual Fund, including leadership level gifts whose donors are designated members of the Chancellor’s Council, represent our major source of unrestricted revenues. There is a strong correlation between the growth in this type of giving and our standing in the national rankings.

Planned gifts are usually in the form of wills, trusts, and other estate gifts which allow you to both provide for your family and leave a legacy to LSU while taking into consideration the tax consequences of distributing different kinds of assets. LSU Law Center and LSU Foundation staff can work with you and your estate planner to suggest ways to maximize your legacy at LSU.

Make a Gift to LSU LAW