Skip to main content
LSU Law Logo

LSU Law announces new faculty hires, promotions for the Fall 2017 semester

LSU Law recently hired two new professors, promoted four others, and announced faculty status changes effective at the start of the Fall 2017 semester.

The LSU Law Center welcomes Lecia Vicente and Raff Donelson as its newest faculty members. Vicente will teach in the areas of business law and civil law, while Donelson, who holds a JD and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Northwestern, is a joint appointment with the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and its Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies.

A collage of four headshot photos of three men and a woman

Clockwise from top left: Ken Levy, Philip Hackney, Chris Tyson and Maggie Thomas.

“This is an important time to be hiring because the pool is very strong and the national decline in law school applications and students means there have been fewer opportunities for great people to obtain employment as law professors,” LSU Law Dean Tom Galligan said. “This is a time of real promise for those law schools able to hire.”

Annie Scardulla will be joining the Law Center this fall as its new Fellow for the Advocacy Programs. Scardulla will work with Professor Jeff Brooks in the administration, coaching, and preparation of students for moot court, mock trial, and alternative dispute resolution competitions. Scardulla graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif in 2014 from the Law Center, where she served as President of the 2013-14 Moot Court Board and was a member of the Louisiana Law Review.  She most recently worked as an associate at McCranie Sistrunk Anzelmo Hardy McDaniel & Welch, LLC in Covington.

Professor Ken Levy was promoted to the rank of professor, and Professors Phil Hackney, Maggie Thomas, and Chris Tyson were granted tenure and promoted to the rank of professor. In addition, Interim Library Co-Director Natalie Palermo was granted tenure and Interim Library Co-Director Will Monroe was moved to the tenure track.

“Our new colleagues and our newly promoted and tenured colleagues make us confident that the great teaching, impactful scholarship, and critical public service you all associate with your law school will continue in the years ahead,” Galligan said.

Finally, LSU Law Professor Emeritus Pat Martin, one of the nation’s foremost experts on oil and gas law and regulated industries, will serve as Interim Director of the thriving John P. Laborde Energy Law Center.

Back