Jack Weiss’ career has led him from New Orleans to Washington D.C. to New York and finally back to Louisiana to start his first year as the chancellor of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
The New Orleans native comes to the University as one of the nation’s leading First Amendment experts and media law practitioners. “I believe Jack Weiss has the moral and ethical strength, the depth of knowledge, the dedication and broad perspective to be a great leader for our Law Center,” said William Jenkins, LSU System president, in his recommendation of Weiss for chancellor in May. Weiss is no stranger to the University. He taught media law at the Law Center as an adjunct professor from 1985 to 1998. He has also been a member of the Board of Visitors for the Manship School of Mass Communication since 1994. Weiss succeeds former Law Center Chancellor John Costonis. Weiss’ search committee consisted of luminaries such as Thomas Stagg, a senior U.S. district judge for the Western District of Louisiana, and Catherine Kimball, an associate justice for the Supreme Court of Louisiana. “His intelligence, legal talent and national reputation will enhance LSU’s journey to become one of the nation’s top law schools,” Kimball said in a news release. Weiss graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1971 where he was the managing editor of the Harvard Law Review. He has clerked for Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court Warren Burger and has been a partner in New Orleans and New York law firms. He has represented well-known news entities such as the Times-Picayune Publishing Corp., the New York Times Co., CBS Inc., ABC Inc. and The Associated Press. He has also taught at Tulane Law School and Columbia Law School. “The LSU Law Center has a proud tradition and a bright future. I will do my best to protect both,” Weiss said in a statement released after he was chosen as the new chancellor. “A top priority will be to continue to build the faculty of the future – a diverse faculty of gifted teachers and creative scholars of both the civil law and common law traditions.” He said he hopes to build the national reputation of the Law Center and raise its ranking in the U.S. News and World Report. The 2008 rankings placed the school at No. 91 within American Bar Association law schools. Weiss also said he wants to institute legal clinics at the school. A law school clinic is similar to a medical residency program, where law students get the chance to work directly with the public on a pro bono basis. Different clinics represent different areas of the law, such as bankruptcy, children’s law and criminal law. “Law clinics are common at schools across the country, and LSU needs to be on par with all of them,” Weiss said. Apart from his professional pursuits, Weiss is an avid golfer, photographer and reader. “I am what you would call a low handicap golfer,” Weiss said of his golfing skills. He said he loves Tiger sports, citing memories of himself at age 12 at the 1959 game against Ole Miss in which Billy Cannon, halfback, famously returned a punt for a 40-yard touchdown. “I love all LSU sports – not just football – and I am looking forward to being on campus and participating in all of the fun this year,” Weiss said.
—-Contact Joanna Brown at [email protected]