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
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News & Announcements: 2025-02
Check this page, or the News and Announcements box on the homepage, for the latest official news and announcements released by the court. You can also access archived news and announcements from this page.
February 18, 2025
The Court completed a required upgrade to its CM/ECF system Saturday morning (Feb. 15). The update unexpectedly prevented attorneys from electronically filing pleadings between the mornings of February 15 and Tuesday, February 18, 2025. The Court has resolved the issue and apologizes for the outage. Attorneys are reminded to consult the Court’s administrative procedures for guidance concerning technical failures.
February 5, 2025
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.
February 5, 2025
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana held a naturalization ceremony in which 24 petitioners became United States citizens. The Honorable Darrel J. Papillion, U.S. District Judge, presided over the January 28 ceremony. He welcomed and congratulated the petitioners and then invited 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 Papillion then invited keynote speakers Mr. David Abboud Thomas and Dr. Najeeb M. Thomas to provide remarks. The two brothers spoke of their experiences as grandchildren of Lebanese immigrants. David reflected lovingly on his grandmother’s American pride, while Dr. Thomas admired his grandparents’ brave journey to the U.S. to escape hardships and give their family more opportunities. “The U.S. is a patchwork quilt, stitched together by immigrant hands,” Dr. Thomas said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee Goudeau then issued the statement of petitioners’ eligibility for citizenship and presented petitioners’ requests for name change. After granting the requests for name change, Judge Papillion invited the petitioners to announce their names and countries of origin before he administered the Oath of Allegiance. Petitioners were then given their certificates and took pictures with Judge Papillion and their families.
To view photos from the ceremony, please select this link.