The Paul M. Hebert Law Center held its fifth annual LSU Law Apprenticeship Week from Jan. 8 to 12, featuring several mini-courses taught by industry professionals.
The program was open to second- and third-year law students, and enabled them to earn one credit hour, free of charge, for completing a volunteer-taught mini-course during the week.
“Apprenticeship Week provides our students with a unique opportunity to learn about a specialized area of law or practice from a distinguished and experienced group of outstanding lawyers,” said dean and Professor of Law Thomas C. Galligan Jr. “We are most grateful to the Faculty who donate their time and skills to teach our students.”
Associate Professor of Law John M. Church said the program was originally thought of by Chancellor Emeritus and Professor of Law Jack M. Weiss because they needed a new, innovative program to receive accreditation. Along with fulfilling this requirement, Church said, the program seeks to provide students with more practical experience and give them instruction in areas not covered by a standard curriculum.
“Even though it was done originally for accreditation,” Church said, “I think that it’s become an important and integral part of our curriculum.”
The Apprenticeship Week program is optional for law students. However, Church said over half of the students eligible to participate did so.
“The numbers are just outstanding,” Church said. “They are almost as good as you can possibly imagine. The sort of comments that we get are, ‘We should have been doing this years ago,’ or ‘It’s the best thing I’ve done since I’ve been in law school.’”
Church said he had never seen the sort of positive reviews that have been associated with this program. The program was not only enjoyable for students, but for faculty, as well, Church said.
Church said he also believes the program will help attract students to the LSU Law School.
“A lot of potential students are looking to see what sort of programs like this one a school offers,” Church said. “When I talk to potential students, it is something I am able to sell. It is very helpful in terms of attracting students.”
Although the program was originally introduced to receive accreditation, it has been beneficial to the Law School.
“When we first started this, I was a little bit of a skeptic,” Church said. “But it started off much more successful than I would have thought and it’s become much more successful than I would have thought. I am very pleased with what we’ve accomplished in this program, and I think it does accomplish quite a lot.”

Gallery • 3 Photos

Lauren Watson

Managing Partner at Taylor Porter Law Firm Harry "Skip" Philips converses with LSU law students during a break between sessions on Friday, Jan. 12, 2018.