Mr. Laborde recently pledged $2 million to support the new energy law initiative.  The gift is the largest gift and pledge in the history of LSU Law.  Mr. Laborde’s gift is comprised of a double endowed chair and a programmatic endowment to support operations of the center.

“We are proud to hoist the Laborde ‘flag’ over our new Energy Law Center,” said LSU Law Center Chancellor Jack Weiss.  “John Laborde’s landmark gift will benefit generations of LSU Law students and the growth of our state’s economy. It is hard to think of another graduate whose leadership in the energy sector, in our state, and at LSU better exemplifies the ideals of LSU Law or who is more deeply devoted to LSU,” Weiss added.

“Given my lifetime career in the energy service industry, and recognizing how my law degree served me well in navigating the complexities of running a public company in the international arena, I am pleased to give back to the school that has given me so much,” said John P. Laborde.  “My gift will establish the Energy Law Center, and, hopefully, serve as the catalyst for future growth and perfection in the energy law field.”

John P. Laborde graduated from Louisiana State University with B.A. and J.D. degrees.  He has served in multiple leadership roles with the Law Center, and was honored as the LSU Law Center’s Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 1993.  He has been a longtime member of the Law Center’s Chancellor’s Council, a former member of the Law Center’s Alumni Board of Trustees, and a member of the Law Center’s Forever LSU Campaign Steering Committee. Mr. Laborde served as Chair of the Law Center’s Annual Fund Campaign from 1999 – 2003. 

Upon entering LSU as an undergraduate student, Mr. Laborde was an active participant in the ROTC program until he was called to active duty in 1943.  Before leaving LSU, he successfully acquired the rank of Cadet Colonel, Infantry Regiment of the LSU ROTC.  Mr. Laborde served in the United States Army (Infantry) in the Pacific in World War II, where he attained the rank of captain.  He also served on the Adjutant General’s staff of General Douglas MacArthur. 

After his graduation from LSU Law, Mr. Laborde spent 40 years of his career as the head of Tidewater Marine until his retirement in 1994. He has served as chairman of Stewart Enterprises, Inc., VT Halter Marine, Inc., Laborde Marine Lifts, Inc., Laborde Products, Inc., Lab-More Properties LLC, and Laborde Integrated Services, Inc.  He has served on the boards of several major corporations and is a well-known and respected business and civic leader in New Orleans and throughout Louisiana.  In 2000, Louisiana Public Broadcasting honored him as a “Legend of Louisiana” and in 2003, Junior Achievement honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.  Most recently, he was recognized by LSU A&M as the Peoples Health “Illustrious Alumnus of the Game” during the LSU-Kentucky game in 2011.

The Laborde family is deeply rooted in the success of LSU.  Mr. Laborde’s son, Cliffe, has a long record of service to and support of LSU.  He is former Chair of the LSU Law Alumni Board of Trustees, a longtime member of the Chancellor’s Council, as well as a member of the LSU Foundation.  He holds both an undergraduate and J.D. from LSU.  Mr. Laborde’s son, Gary, received his undergraduate degree from LSU and is a member and Chair-elect of the LSU Foundation.  He served on the Forever LSU Campaign Cabinet, is a member of TAF, and serves on the Coast and Environment Advisory Council. Mr. Laborde’s son, John Tracy Laborde, received a Business degree from LSU and is also an LSU supporter. Son, John Peter Laborde and daughter, Adrienne Laborde, are graduates of Tulane University.  Mr. Laborde’s granddaughter, Celeste Claire Laborde McNulty, is a 2008 LSU Law graduate.  He is married to Sylvia Laborde, and they reside in New Orleans.

Robert D. Sloan, Director, LSU Energy Law Center

LSU Law Center Chancellor Jack Weiss has announced the appointment of Robert D. Sloan as the first director of the LSU John P. Laborde Energy Law Center and as Professor of Professional Practice. The appointments were effective November 1.

The Laborde Center, formally approved by the Louisiana Board of Regents in August, is the first such center in Louisiana and one of a handful in law schools nationwide.  The Center will prepare lawyers and leaders for the complex world of 21^st century energy law and business.     

“With 40 years of legal experience across the globe, Bob Sloan will bring a broad professional and international perspective to the Laborde Energy Law Center,” Weiss said. 

“LSU Law’s already considerable contributions to the State’s economic development can only grow as we ramp up our educational focus on energy.  The Center will train students to understand and to advance responsible energy-related commerce.  We believe that the job market will value their skills greatly,” said Weiss.  “Bob Sloan is the perfect choice to lead these efforts.”

Sloan served most recently as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Entergy Corporation, based in New Orleans. Prior to joining Entergy, Sloan served as Vice President and General Counsel at GE Industrial Systems from 1998 to 2003, a subsidiary of General Electric Company that employs 40,000 people worldwide. As the former managing partner in the Brussels office of McKenna Long Aldridge from 1993 to 1998, Sloan’s practice focused on a broad range of transactions, principally in the United States, Western Europe, and Asia. 

Sloan is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Harvard Law School.  He also serves on the Advisory Board at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) and has been voted to become an EPIC Senior Fellow.

“I am very much looking forward to taking on a leadership role at the new LSU Laborde Energy Law Center,” said Sloan.  “Starting with a broad and deep range of new courses and programs focused on energy law, we will be striving to build on the tremendous academic strengths found across LSU.  Our program will have ties to engineering, geology, and other sciences; to coastal studies; to business and finance — all with the goal of providing graduate students with enhanced training opportunities with a practical, cross-functional approach.  At the same time, we aim to make the Center a recognized focal point of academic knowledge, experience, and overall excellence in the energy field.”

The LSU Laborde Energy Law Center will offer a wide range of courses for the concentrated study of energy law.  In addition, the Law Center will develop collaborative and cross-enrollment opportunities with the LSU A&M campus in content areas that will enhance the scientific and technical knowledge base of students concentrating in energy law.  Various cross-enrollment opportunities at the Law Center will also be available to LSU A&M graduate students seeking greater knowledge of legal, policy, and regulatory matters affecting the energy sector. “Our graduates pursuing the study of energy law will be ‘prepared for practice’ and ready to assist with complex projects involving teams of interdisciplinary professionals in the energy industry,” said Weiss. 

The Laborde Center also will offer enhanced continuing legal education of attorneys in the energy field and serve as a repository of research and a source for consultation with law firms and businesses throughout Louisiana and beyond.

Earlier in his career, Sloan was a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Pepper, Hamilton & Scheetz from 1987 until 1992 and was the Vice President and Head of the Sovereign Credit Management Division at the First National Bank of Chicago from 1984 to 1987.  From 1982 to 1984 Sloan served as General Counsel of the Multinational Force and Observers, the ten-nation peacekeeping organization which was established in 1982 to supervise the security arrangements under the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty.

Sloan worked for the U.S. State Department in the Office of the Legal Adviser From 1977 to 1982, where he specialized in the field of nuclear non-proliferation and politico-military policy.  Sloan began his legal career in 1973 as Assistant General Counsel and then General Counsel to the Minority of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. 

“Only a short time ago, the Energy Law Center was only a dream,” said LSU Law Center Chancellor Jack M. Weiss. “Now that dream has become a reality.”

“Legal and regulatory issues in the energy industry have become more and more specialized and complex in the past 30 years,” Weiss said. “The LSU Energy Law Center will have a multidisciplinary and global focus and will foster the highest level of legal expertise in energy law studies, broadly defined.”

The LSU Energy Law Center will offer a wide range of courses never before offered at the Law Center to provide students with the opportunity for the concentrated study of energy law. In addition, the Law Center will develop collaborative and cross-enrollment opportunities for courses with the LSU A & M campus in content areas that will enhance the knowledge base of students in energy law. Potential programs with courses for cross enrollment include Geology, Petroleum Engineering, Nuclear Sciences, Coastal Sciences, Environmental Science and Chemical Engineering, among others.

The Center will provide an integrative, multidisciplinary approach to energy law study that will complement and add to cutting-edge thinking about legal education. “Our graduates pursuing the study of energy law will be ‘prepared for practice’ and ready to assist with complex projects involving teams of interdisciplinary professionals in the energy industry,” said Weiss.

In addition to preparing graduates for practice in complex energy matters, the Center will also provide opportunities for students at LSU A&M to gain an understanding of the legal subject matter relevant to the science, engineering, and other disciplines critical to 21st century energy. The Center also will offer enhanced continuing legal education of attorneys in the energy field. In addition, the Center will serve as a repository of research and a source for consultation with law firms and businesses throughout Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.

LSU Law’s already considerable contributions to the State’s economic development will grow as a result of strengthening its educational focus on energy. The Center will develop competencies in students that will advance energy-related commerce and drive economic success.

Serving as the initial Director of the Energy Law Center will be Robert D. Sloan. With 40 years of legal experience across the globe, Sloan will bring a broad professional and international perspective to the directorship of the Center. Sloan served most recently as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Entergy Corporation in New Orleans. He will join the faculty in November as a Professor of Professional Practice.

A rising star among oil and gas scholars and teachers, Keith Hall joined the faculty as Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Louisiana Mineral Law Institute. Hall will teach a range of courses focusing on, and building from, his core expertise in oil and gas law. As director of the Mineral Law Institute, Hall also will lead this longstanding annual CLE program.

Professor Blake Hudson has also joined the faculty as an Associate Professor of Law. Hudson already has developed a strong reputation as a scholar and teacher of environmental and and natural resources law and policy. Hudson holds a joint appointment with the LSU School of the Coast and Environment. Previously, Hudson taught for three years at Stetson University College of Law.

The Law Center has recently established a new student-edited journal, the LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources, to provide students an opportunity to write and publish in the energy field.

Noah Baker

Jordan Benedetto

Cavarrio Carter

Sam Crichton

Kathryn Dufrene

Joseph Ellison

Zachary Howser

Spencer King

Brian Lindsey

Ross Roubion

Catherine Sens

Chris Smith

The LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources (JELR) is a student edited academic journal focusing broadly on energy and its relationship to other areas of law. The JELR was created to promote the study of energy law and the effects of technological innovation on a local, national and international level.

Chris Caswell and Mark Assad

LSU Law students Mark Assad and Christopher Caswell placed second in the nation at the National Energy and Sustainability Law Moot Court Competition that was hosted by the West Virginia University College of Law in Morgantown, West Virginia on March 15 to 17. Twenty teams from around the country competed in the competition. This year’s competition examined the federal regulation and shutdown of a faulty nuclear power plant in the months following the disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. The team also received an award for Second Place Best Brief, and was ranked as the #1 seed overall following the four preliminary rounds of the competition. Mr. Caswell received an award for Third Place Best Oralist, and Mr. Assad received an award for Fourth Place Best Oralist.

The Law Center’s Energy and Sustainability Moot Court team is coached by Professor Jeffrey Brooks. For more information on the Law Center’s appellate advocacy competitions, visit http://mootcourt.law.lsu.edu.