The John P. Laborde Center sponsored a field trip for LSU law students to Entergy’s River Bend nuclear plant. The students were able to observe Entergy employees responding to a hypothetical nuclear incident in River Bend’s control room simulator, as well as tour the actual control room. Students further toured the diesel backup generator facilities and the spent waste repository, the latter being the subject of ongoing legal dispute between the U.S. federal government and the nuclear industry. Students gained insight into how federal regulation intersects with engineering and science related to nuclear energy generation.

Special thanks to Entergy’s Russell Zahorchak for taking us on the tour!

From left: Professor Blake Hudson, Director of the John P. Laborde Energy Law Center; Professor Jim Rossi; Robert Angelico, President and Managing Partner, Liskow & Lewis; Tom Galligan, Dean of the LSU Law Center

On Thursday, March 23 Professor Jim Rossi delivered the annual Liskow & Lewis Visiting Professorship in Energy Law Lecture at the LSU Law Center. The lecture, Federalism Battles in Energy Transportation, addressed emerging federal/state conflicts over the transportation of energy resources and how those conflicts can be ameliorated. The Wednesday prior, Professor Rossi delivered a guest lecture in Professor Ed Richards’ Climate Change Law & Policy course. It was a delight to have Professor Rossi invest his time and expertise into our academic community.

The Liskow & Lewis Visiting Professorship in Energy Law was established through a generous gift from the Liskow & Lewis law firm. The Professorship provides funds for the John P. Laborde Energy Law Center to bring distinguished scholars in energy law and closely related fields to the Law Center on an annual basis.

Jim Rossi is nationally recognized for his research on administrative and energy law topics. His recent articles focus on the role of public utility doctrines and principles in modern energy markets, as well as federalism and other shared jurisdictional issues affecting agency regulation. His books include Energy, Economics and the Environment (4th edition, Foundation Press, 2015, with Joel Eisen, Emily Hammond, David Spence, Jacqueline Weaver and Hannah Wiseman); Regulatory Bargaining and Public Law (Cambridge University Press, 2005); and an edited collection of essays, Dual Enforcement of Constitutional Norms: The New Frontier of State Constitutionalism (Oxford University Press, 2010, with James Gardner). Professor Rossi served as a consultant to the Administrative Conference of the United States’ Committee on Collaborative Governance project on Improving Coordination of Related Agency Responsibilities, which resulted in a set of recommendations adopted by the conference on how agencies should coordinate. Before joining Vanderbilt’s law faculty, he was the Harry M. Walborsky Professor and associate dean for research at Florida State University College of Law. Professor Rossi has also taught as a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, the University of Texas School of Law and the University of North Carolina School of Law. Before entering the legal academy, he practiced energy law in Washington, D.C. Professor Rossi was the law school’s 2013-14 FedEx Research Professor.

About Liskow & Lewis

From the firm’s seminal work during the formative years of Louisiana mineral law to today, Liskow & Lewis has defined business and energy law along the Gulf Coast. Whether negotiating multi-state commercial transactions or upholding the firm’s long-standing tradition of community service, the lawyers of Liskow & Lewis have distinguished themselves with professionalism and integrity. Today, with 140 attorneys and offices in New Orleans, Lafayette, and Houston, Liskow & Lewis represents clients throughout the Gulf Coast and beyond.

The John P. Laborde Energy Law Center, in conjunction with the Journal of Energy Law and Resources, held a writing workshop on March 11, 2017 for LSU Environmentors students. EnvironMentors* is a science and environmental science-based mentoring program, which works to support and strengthen high school student success in science and environmental fields. A select group of students from Scotlandville Magnet High School work one-on-one with a mentor to develop and conduct an environmental research project over the course of the academic year. Mentors guide their student through all stages of the scientific method including posing a question, completing background research, designing and conducting an experiment, and presenting the findings at the EnvironMentors Science Fair.

The writing workshop educated Environmentors students on the role of legal journals like JELR and on the importance of writing as a life skill. Students played a “grammar game” utilizing clicker polling technology to explore common grammatical mistakes in writing and how to avoid them. Students were also presented with their own copy of The Elements of Style and taken on a guided tour of the law center.

Thanks to all the mentors and JELR students who attended the program and helped make it a success.

*Interested in becoming a mentor? Contact the coordinators at lsu.environmentors@gmail.com

Make a Donation to LSU EnvironMentors!

On March 9 and 10, the LSU Law Center hosted the 64th Annual Mineral Law Institute. The Mineral Law Institute, under the directorship of Professor Keith Hall, is the second oldest annual mineral law program in the country and draws oil and gas lawyers and landmen from Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, and other states. The Mineral Law Institute plays an integral role in making LSU Law School a premier location for energy law education and scholarship. The brochure containing the program schedule and topics covered can be found here.

LSU Law Center’s LL.M. program has been ranked among the top 10 LL.M.’s globally for students interested in energy law, according to LLM Guide. The ranking states about LSU:

Although LSU does not offer a specialized LL.M. in Energy Law, LL.M. students can take a number of classes in the space. LSU hosts a number of energy law resources, including the Energy Law Center and the student edited LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources.

LSU Law joins domestic programs like those at California Berkeley, University of Texas, and University of Houston, as well as international programs at the University of Aberdeen, University of Dundee, University of Melbourne, University of Groningen, University of Calgary, and Queen Mary University of London on the list.

The ranking can be found here.