The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana held a naturalization ceremony in which 48 petitioners became United States citizens. The Honorable Greg G. Guidry, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, presided over the March 6 ceremony. He opened the ceremony by inviting everyone to stand for the playing of the National Anthem by the Marine Forces Reserve Band and the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance, led by representatives from the Daughters of the American Revolution. Judge Guidry then invited keynote speaker Annalisa Miron to provide remarks. Miron, a public defender at EDLA, reflected on her father’s naturalization at this courthouse in 1971. She encouraged the new citizens to embrace their new community through local organizations and elections. Miron emphasized the importance of exercising their freedoms as new citizens to make the country stronger. Peter Mansfield, Chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office (EDLA), served as the Attorney General’s designee and certified the petitioners’ eligibility for citizenship. After granting the requests for name change, Judge Guidry had each petitioner announce their name and country of origin before case manager Dedra Pongracz administered the Oath of Allegiance. Petitioners were then given their certificates and took pictures with their families. To view photos from the ceremony, please select this link.

Our legal system is founded on the principles of fairness and equity, but statistical and anecdotal evidence prove that our courtrooms and law offices are not fair and equitable in the treatment of lawyers. In this CLE, numerous presenters (you will know many of them!) will act out common scenarios within legal organizations and legal culture—for example, a hiring committee meeting, mentorship assignments, junior attorney evaluations, and file-staffing or promotion discussions. Topics woven into the hypothetical situations will showcase things like affinity bias, performance bias, the maternal wall, and intersectionality.  A panel and the audience will comment on each scenario, share lived experiences, and provide concrete advice for how to handle similar situations in the future. Presenters include Judge Susie Morgan, Judge Darrel Papillion, Kelly Becker, Magdalen Blessey Bickford, Brandon Davis, Harold Flanagan, Valerie Fontenot, Amy McIntire, Kerry Miller, Rachel Naquin, Cayce Peterson, Brittany Reed, Bradley Schwab, Gerald "Jess" Waltman, Graham Williams, Rick Yelton, J. Christopher Zainey, Jr., Haley Zhu-Butler. The presentation will be moderated by Judge Janis van Meerveld, Chloé Chetta, and Atoyia Harris. This event is co-sponsored by The Eastern District of Louisiana, The New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, The Association for Women Attorneys, The Greater New Orleans Louis A. Martinet Legal Society, The Louisiana State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, and The New Orleans Bar Association. Register now using the link below or by scanning the QR code. Registration for Women's History Month CLE - A Seat at the Table

The Court has amended its Local Civil Rules to add Rule 83.5.1, which provides for a 21-day stay of any order transferring a case to a district court outside the Fifth Circuit in certain circumstances. The amendment is effective February 4, 2025. Here is the full text of the amendment: LOCAL CIVIL RULE 83.5.1    TRANSFER ORDERS       Unless all affected parties consent to the transfer, an order that transfers a case to a district court outside the Fifth Circuit is stayed for 21 days from the date the order is entered on the docket.  This rule does not apply to transfer orders of the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. The Court’s order amending the Local Civil Rules can be found here. A copy of the complete Local Civil Rules can be found here.  

In honor of African American History Month, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana presents a virtual tour and engagement with the exhibit “Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration,” now on view at the Historic New Orleans Collection. Wednesday, February 12 from noon-1 pm, in Courtroom 501 and by Zoom. There is no charge for this 1-hour CLE with lunch provided to in-person attendees, but advance registration is required at https://forms.office.com/g/y28G0Exum2. Please see the Eastern District of Louisiana website, www.laed.uscourts.gov, for additional information and for updates. Special thanks to the Historic New Orleans Collection and to our co-sponsors: the New Orleans Bar Association, the New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, the Greater New Orleans Louis A. Martinet Legal Society, and the New Orleans Chapter of the Association for Women Attorneys.