Tulane Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana
John Minor Wisdom Professor of Civil Law, July 2017- present
A.D. Freeman Professor of Civil Law, July 2011-July 2017
A.D. Freeman Associate Professor of Civil Law, Fall 2009-July 2011 (tenured)
Director of Civil Law Program, Summer 2016-present
Courses: Successions, Donations, & Trusts; Trusts & Estates; Civil Law Property I & II; Obligations I & II; Civil Law Security Devices; Roman Law; Civil Law Seminar; Community Property
Louisiana State University Law Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
McGlinchey Stafford Associate Professor of Law, 2007-Spring 2009
Assistant Professor of Law, 2004-2007
Courses: Successions and Donations; Western Legal Traditions; Civil Law Property; Obligations; Civil Law Seminar; Decedents’ Estates; Criminal Law
Other Teaching:
Introduction to U.S. Law, Tulane Law School (Summer 2011-present) (8-
hour Introduction to the American Legal System and American Private Law for foreign LL.M. students)
Understanding European Civil Law, Trinity College, Cambridge, England,
(Tulane / Cambridge Institute for European Union Law, Summer 2011 & Summer 2012)
International Migration and Human Rights, Trinity College, Cambridge, England, (Tulane / Cambridge Institute for European Union Law, Summer 2022, 2023, and 2024)
Introduction to Louisiana Civil Law, Tulane Law School (Spring 2010 -
Spring 2013) (8-hour Introduction to Louisiana Civil Law for third-year common-law students)
Kaplan Louisiana Bar Review (Summer 2014 - 2018) (Lectures on
General Obligations, Contracts, Sales, Lease, Special Contracts, Prescription, Successions, Donations, and Trusts)
Comparative Trust Law, Jean Moulin III, Lyon, France (LSU Summer Program,
Summer 2007)
Administrative Experience:
Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, Tulane Law School (July 2012-July 2016)
Responsible for Student and Faculty Affairs; Primarily Responsible for 7-Year ABA and AALS Site Inspections and Reports
Acting Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, LSU Law Center (Spring 2009)
Responsible for Student and Faculty Affairs; Involved in SACS Accreditation
Director, Civil Law Certificate Program, Tulane Law School (July 2016-present)
Committee Chairmanships:
Academic Affairs, Tulane Law School (Fall 2011-Spring 2012, Fall 2018-present)
Assessments Committee, Tulane Law School (Summer 2017-Summer 2018)
Appointments, Tulane Law School (Fall 2010-Spring 2011)
Curriculum Committee, Louisiana State University (Spring 2009)
Intellectual Life, Tulane Law School (Summer 2021-Summer 2022)
Long-Range Planning Curriculum Committee, Louisiana State University (Fall
2008-Spring 2009)
1L Curriculum Revision Committee (Fall 2019-Spring 2020)
Promotion & Tenure (Fall 2020-Spring 2021)
University Physical Facilities Committee, Tulane University (Fall 2012-Spring
2015; Spring 2023-present)
University Search Committee for Vice President for Facilities Services,
Tulane University (Fall 2014)
University Parking Appeals Subcommittee, Tulane University (Fall 2014-Spring 2015; Spring 2023-present)
University Classroom Committee, Co- Chair, Tulane University (Spring 2015-
Fall 2016)
Secretarial Positions:
Executive Committee, Louisiana State University, (Summer 2006-Summer 2007)
Other Committee Service:
Tulane Law School
Executive Committee (Fall 2011-Summer 2016, Fall 2018-Fall 2019)
Appointments Committee (Fall 2009-Spring 2010, Fall 2012-Fall
2019; Fall 2023-Spring 2024)
Academic Affairs, Tulane Law School (Fall 2012-Summer 2016, Summer
2021-present)
Tulane Law School/Murphy Institute Visiting Assistant Professor
Search Committee (Summer 2011)
Global Perspectives Committee (Fall 2014-Spring 2016)
Faculty Governance (Fall 2020-Spring 2021)
Joseph Merrick Jones Chair Search Committee (Fall 2009)
Promotion and Tenure, ex officio (Fall 2013-Summer 2016)
Payson Center Executive Director Search Committee
(Fall 2009- Spring 2010)
Clinical Appointments Committee (Summer 2010, 2019-2020)
Strategic Planning Committee (Summer 2012-Spring 2013)
Tulane Law Review, Faculty Advisor (2016-present)
Tulane University
University Assessment Committee
(Fall 2017-Fall 2020)
Faculty Leadership Institute Task Force,
(Summer 2015-Summer 2016)
Campus Planning Executive Committee,
(Fall 2012- Fall 2015)
Compliance Certification Committee,
(Fall 2012- Summer 2016)
Faculty Representative to the Tulane University Board of Administrators
(Fall 2011-Fall 2014)
Operational Review Steering Committee,
(Spring 2015-Fall 2015)
Parking Advisory Committee,
(Spring 2019-present)
Research Committee
(Fall 2020 – Spring 2023)
Student Conduct Appeal Board, Member
(2019-present)
Tulane University Master Plan - Steering Committee,
(Spring 2015-Spring 2016)
Tulane Law School Dean Search Committee
(Fall 2023-Spring 2024)
University Senate, Law School Representative (elected),
(Spring 2010-Fall 2016)
University Faculty and Staff Benefits Committee,
(Fall 2010- Fall 2013)
Louisiana State University Law School
Executive Committee,
Ex-Officio Member (as Acting Vice Chancellor) (Spring 2009)
Member (elected) (Summer 2006-Summer 2008)
Admissions Committee, (Fall 2006-Spring 2007, Fall
2007-Spring 2008)
Curriculum Committee, (Fall 2005-Spring 2006, Fall 2008-Spring 2009)
Hiring Committee (Fall 2005-Spring 2006, Fall 2007-Spring 2008, Fall 2009-
Spring 2009)
Russell Long Chair Search Committee (Fall 2004-Spring 2005)
Long Range Planning Committee (Summer 2008-Spring 2009)
Faculty Development Committee (Summer 2008-Spring 2009)
Other Professional Experience:
Gulf Coast Claims Facility Appeals Judge, 2011-2012
One of 25 members selected to review awards by Administrator Ken Feinberg made in connection with the Deepwater Horizon Explosion
Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann, L.L.C., New Orleans, Louisiana
Associate, Corporate and Business Section, 2003-2004
Honorable James L. Dennis, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Judicial Law Clerk, 2000-2002
Education:
Cambridge University, Trinity College
LL.M., 2003, first class honors
Gates Fellowship
Trinity College Academic Achievement Award
Lizette Bentwich Prize for Academic Performance
Tulane Law School
J.D., 2000, summa cum laude
Order of the Coif
Member and Articles Editor, Tulane Law Review
John Minor Wisdom Award
Morrison Law Review Award
Joseph Modeste Sweeney Award
Charles Janvier II Award
Mitchell Franklin Award
Liskow & Lewis Scholarship
Tulane Law School Academic Scholarship
Tulane University
B.A., Philosophy and Political Economy, 1997, summa cum laude
Phi Beta Kappa
Dean’s Honor Scholarship Recipient
Charles H. Murphy Prize in Political Economy
Departmental Honors and Senior Scholar Awards in Philosophy and Political Economy
Tulane Honors Program
Tulane University Dean’s List
Publications:
Editorial Positions
Louisiana Civil Code (Thomson Reuters Publishing Co. 2018-present).
Books, Coursebooks, Chapters, and Book Entries
Successions, in Louisiana Civil Practice (2021-present)
Administration of the Estate in the United States, in Administration of the Estate (K. Reid & R. Zimmermann, eds.) (Oxford University Press) (in progress).
Family Provision in American Succession Law, in Family Provision in Succession Law (K. Reid, M. de Waal, & R. Zimmermann, eds.) (Oxford University Press) (2020).
Intestate Succession in the United States of America, in Intestate Succession 401-20 (K. Reid, M. de Waal, & R. Zimmermann, eds.) (Oxford University Press, 2015).
Freedom of Testation in the United States, in Freedom of Testation/Testierfreiheit, 143-170 (R. Zimmermann, ed.) (Mohr Seibeck, Germany, 2012).
Testamentary Formalities in the United States, in Testamentary Formalities 357-380 (K. Reid, M. de Waal, & R. Zimmermann, eds.) (Oxford University Press, 2011).
Annual Updates for A.N. Yiannopoulos, Property, vol. 2 of Louisiana Civil Law Treatise (2010 – 2013, 2016-present).
Annual Updates for A.N. Yiannopoulos, Personal Servitudes, vol. 3 of Louisiana Civil Law Treatise (2011, 2013- present).
Annual Updates for A.N. Yiannopoulos, Predial Servitudes, vol. 4 of Louisiana Civil Law Treatise (2010- present).
Annual Updates for Saúl Litvinoff, The Law of Obligations: Obligations in General, vol. 5 of Louisiana Civil Law Treatise (2010- present).
Annual Updates for Saúl Litvinoff, The Law of Obligations: Putting in Default and Damages, vol. 6 of Louisiana Civil Law Treatise (2010- present).
Annual Updates for Edward Chase, Trusts, vol. 11 of Louisiana Civil Law Treatise (2022-present).
Inheritance and the Surviving Spouse, in Mixed Jurisdictions Compared: Private Law in Louisiana and Scotland, 104-131 (V. Palmer and E. Reid eds.) (Edinburgh University Press) (2009).
The Law of Obligations in the Louisiana Jurisprudence: A Coursebook (with S. Litvinoff) (LSU Pub. 6th rev. ed. 2008).
Successions, Donations, & Trusts: Cases and Readings
(with C. Samuel & K. Spaht) (LSU Pub. 2007).
(with C. Samuel, K. Spaht, & M. Lonegrass) (LSU Pub. 2010).
Inheritance and Succession, Doctrinal Divisions and Issues In, in Encyclopedia of Law and Society: American and Global Perspectives, 750-55 (David S. Clark ed. Sage Publications 2007).
Articles
The State as Heir: Escheat, Intestacy, and Unclaimed Property (in progress).
What’s in a Name? : Distinguishing Among Usufruct, Rights of Use, Rights of Habitation, and Personal Rights (in progress).
Holographic Wills: A Forgotten Dividing Line between Civil and Common and What it Means for Mixed Jurisdictions (in progress).
The Nonprobate “Civil” War in Louisiana, Part II: Life Insurance, Annuities, Retirement Accounts, Oh, My! __ La. L. Rev. __ (2024) (in production).
The Nonprobate “Civil” War in Louisiana, Part I: PODs and TODs, OMG!, __ La. L. Rev. __ (2024) (in production).
Community Property on the Move: Understanding and Applying the Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act, __ Willamette L. Rev. __ (2024) (in production).
Validity in Wills and Trusts: Conflict Rules in Search of a Theory, 97 Tul. L. Rev. 887 (2023).
Will Formalities in Louisiana: Past, Present, and Future, 80 La. L. Rev. 1333 (2020).
Some Fundamentals of Trust Law: Ownership or Equity in Louisiana, 92 Tul. L. Rev. 53 (2018).
Classifying and Clarifying Contracts, 76 La. L. Rev.1063 (2016).
Rethinking the Doctrine of Nullity, 74 La. L. Rev. 663 (2014).
Public Policy and Antisocial Testators, 32 Cardozo L. Rev. 1315 (2011).
Undue Influence and the Law of Wills: A Comparative Analysis, 19 Duke J. Comp. & Int’l L. 41 (2008).
Why No “Efficient Breach” in the Civil Law?: A Comparative Assessment of the Doctrine of Efficient Breach of Contract, 55 Am. J. Comp. L. 721 (2007).
Honor Thy Father and Mother?: How American Intestacy Law Goes Too Far in Protecting Parents, 37 Seton Hall L. Rev. 171 (2006).
New Developments in United States Succession Law, 54 Am. J. Comp. L. 103 (Supplement 2006).
Prohibited Substitutions: Louisiana’s Experience with a French Institution, 48 Loy. L. Rev. 715 (2003).
The Chaos and Confusion of Modern Collation: A Critical Look into an Institution of Louisiana Succession Law, 75 Tul. L. Rev. 411 (2000).
Comment, Blackmail, Legality, and Liberalism, 74 Tul. L. Rev. 1483 (2000).
Note, Aubrey v. School Board of Lafayette Parish: The Fourth Amendment for Janitors, 73 Tul. L. Rev. 1467 (1999).
Minor Writings
Code Napoleon, in 64 Parishes Encyclopedia (2022).
La Réserve Héréditaire : A report from the United States of America, available at: http://www.presse.justice.gouv.fr/art_pix/2020.01.23%20-%20DACS-Rapport_hereditaire_Annexes_V10.pdf
Forward, A.N. Yiannopoulos, Property, vol. 2 of Louisiana Civil Law Treatise (5th ed. 2015).
For Whom the Clock Tolls? Louisiana’s New Law on Tolling Agreements, 61 La. Bar J. 182 (2013).
Legal Education in the 21st Century: Looking Backwards to the Future, 60 Fed. Lawyer 38-41 (August 2013).
Awards:
American Law Institute (elected into membership, 2019)
Felix Frankfurter Distinguished Teaching Award, 2024 & 2018 (awarded by the senior class for best fulltime teacher).
John Minor Wisdom Award, 2018 (Best Article in Volume 92 of the Tulane Law Review).
2015 New Orleans City Business Leadership in Law Award (award given annually to practicing lawyers and educators based upon professional and community involvement and achievements)
American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) (elected as an Academic Fellow in 2014).
Fellowship Stipend from the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, June 2009 (awarded to pursue comparative law research in Hamburg, Germany).
Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award, LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, June 28, 2009 (awarded for outstanding service to the Law Center).
Hessel Yntema Prize, 2008 (an annual award given by the American Journal of Comparative Law for the “most outstanding” article by a scholar under 40 years of age published in a recent issue of the journal).
Gates Fellowship, 2003 (awarded by the Gates Foundation to pursue graduate studies in law at Cambridge University).
Presentations:
An Update on the Draft Uniform Act: Conflicts in Trusts and Estates, ACTEC Fall Meeting: Fiduciary Litigation Committee (with Turney Berry) (September 19, 2024).
Conflict of Laws in Trusts and Estates. ABA/RPTE August Professors Corner Webinar (with Turney Berry) (August 15, 2024).
The Louisiana Supreme Court 2024: A Year in Review, LSBA/LJC Summer School, San Destin, Florida (with Sally Richardson) (June 5, 2024).
Recent Developments in Successions, Donations, and Trusts Law, LSBA/LJC Summer School, San Destin, Florida (June 4, 2024).
Conflict of Laws in Louisiana Estate Planning, New Orleans Estate Planning Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana (May 20, 2024).
Community Property on the Move: Understanding and Applying the Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act, Fifty Years in the Conflicts Vineyard” Symposium to honor Symeon C. Symeonides, Salem, Oregon (May 8, 2024).
Uniform Conflict of Laws in Trusts and Estates Act: What's New and What's Next, ALI-ACTEC Webinar (with T. Berry & J. Ditelberg) (January 18, 2024).
Recent Developments in Successions, Donations, and Trusts Law, New Orleans Planned Giving Society, New Orleans, Louisiana (December 14, 2023).
How to Select and Taste Wine Like a Professional, Liskow & Lewis Associate Development, New Orleans, Louisiana (December 12, 2023).
Co-Ownership, Partitions, and What’s Down the Road, Louisiana Land Title Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana (December 6, 2023).
Conflicts of Law in Estate Planning, Loyola Estate Planning CLE, New Orleans, Louisiana (November 30, 2023).
The Louisiana Supreme Court: A Year in Review, LSBA New York Program, New York, New York (with Sally Richardson) (November 14, 2023).
PODs and TODs: OMG!, Tulane Estate Planning Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana (November 10, 2023).
Recent Developments in Successions, Donations, and Trusts Law, LSBA Justice Community Conference, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (November 3, 2023).
Life Insurance and Estate Planning: What Family Law Lawyers Need to Know. LSU Family Law Seminar, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (September 14, 2023).
Holographic Wills : A Forgotten Dividing Line between Civil and Common and What it Means for Mixed Jurisdictions, The World Society of Mixed Jurisdiction Jurists : Fifth World Congress, Valetta, Malta (June 15, 2023)
How to Taste Wine, LSBA Special Summer School Session, San Destin, Florida (June 7, 2023).
The Louisiana Supreme Court: A Year in Review, LSBA/LJC Summer School, San Destin, Florida (with Sally Richardson) (June 6, 2023).
Recent Developments in Successions, Donations, and Trusts Law, LSBA/LJC Summer School, San Destin, Florida (June 5, 2023).
The Uniform Conflict of Laws in Trusts and Estates Act: What Every T& E Lawyer Should Know, Real Property Trusts and Estates 35th Annual National CLE Conference, Washington DC (with Turney Berry, Jane Ditelberg, and David Lieberman) (May 11, 2023).
Probate and Estate Administration in the United States, University of Seville Law Faculty, Seville, Spain (March 29, 2023).
Rights of Riparian Owners on Rivers, Lakes, and the Gulf: Who Owns What Where?, LSU Mineral Law Institute, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (March 23, 2023).
Uniform Conflict of Laws in Trusts and Estates: A Draft in Progress, ACTEC Annual Meeting: ULC Update Committee, New Orleans, Louisiana (March 4, 2023).
Louisiana: It’s Like a Whole Other State, ACTEC Annual Meeting: State Laws Committee, New Orleans, Louisiana (March 3, 2023).
Recent Developments in Successions, Donations, and Trusts Law, LSBA 34th Annual Summer School Revisited, New Orleans, Louisiana (December 15, 2022).
PODs and TODs: OMG!, Loyola Estate Planning Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana (December 1, 2022).
Validity in Wills and Trusts: Conflict Rules in Search of a Theory, ACTEC Academic Symposium on Conflict of Laws in Trusts and Estates, New Orleans, Louisiana (October 30, 2022).
Migrating Couples: Marital Property Rights on the Move, LSU Estate Planning Institute, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (October 14, 2022).
Heirs’ Property: The UPHPA and Louisiana Law, Louisiana Association of Independent Land Title Agents, New Orleans, Louisiana (October 10, 2022).
Uniform Disposition of Community Property on Death Act, Arkansas Bar Association (with David English) (September 22, 2022).
It’s Five O’clock Somewhere, Do You Know Where Your Trust [situs] Is?, American Bankers’ Association Webinar (with Robert Sitkoff and Turney Berry), (September 21, 2022).
Heirs’ Property: The UPHPA and Louisiana Law, Baton Rouge Independent Title Attorneys Webinar (September 13, 2022).
Ascertaining Liabilities and Protection Against Latent Debts in Administration of Estates, Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg, Germany (July 16, 2022).
Administration of Estates in the United States, Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg, Germany (July 15, 2022).
Recent Developments in Successions, Donations, and Trusts Law, LSBA/LJC Summer School, San Destin, Florida (June 8, 2022).
Will Formalities in Louisiana: Looking Back and Moving Forward, New Orleans Estate Planning Council, New Orleans, Louisiana (May 16, 2022).
Conflict of Laws in Trusts and Estates (with Robert Sitkoff and Turney Berry), Litigation, Ethics and Malpractice Group of the ABA Real Property Trust and Estate Law, Zoom Presentation (April 13, 2022).
The Fundamentals of Wine Law: Wine Law 101, LSBA Uncorked! A CLE Adventure in California's Wine Country, Napa, California (March 29, 2022).
Conflict of Laws in Trusts and Estates, Meeting of the Uniform Law Commission Committee on Conflict of Laws in Trusts and Estates, Chicago, Illinois (February 26, 2022).
Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act, Florida Bar Advisory Committee, Zoom Presentation (January 21, 2022).
Migrating Couples: Marital Property Rights on the Move, Tulane Estate Planning Institute, Zoom Presentation, Zoom Presentation (October 29, 2021).
Migrating Couples: Marital Property Rights on the Move, Association of Law Property and Society (ALPS), Zoom Presentation (May 28, 2021).
A Four-State Look at the Liability of a Directed Trustee (with Jim Spica, Shirley Kovar, and Liz Arias), ACTEC State Laws Committee, Zoom Panel Presentation (March 3, 2021).
Conflict of Laws in Trust and Estates related to Fiduciary Income Tax Issues (with Robert Sitkoff and Turney Berry), ACTEC Fiduciary Income Tax Committee, Zoom Panel Presentation (March 1, 2021).
Louisiana’s New Trust Allocation Law, Tulane Estate Planning Institute, Zoom Presentation (November 6, 2020).
Common Pitfalls in Will Making: Past, Present, and Future, Tulane Estate Planning Institute, Zoom Presentation (November 5, 2020).
Covid-19 Estate Planning Considerations, Louisiana ACTEC Fellows, Zoom Presentation (April 3, 2020).
The Pros and Cons of Pay-on-Death Accounts, (with Raymond Landry), Loyola Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana (December 6, 2019).
Legislative and Selected Jurisprudential Updates in Estate Planning, New Orleans Planned Giving Council, New Orleans, Louisiana (December 6, 2019).
Will Formalities in Louisiana, Tulane Inn of Court, New Orleans, Louisiana (November 18, 2019).
The Meaning of the de la Vergne Manuscript, Tulane Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana (November 6, 2019).
Will Making in 2019 …. And Beyond, Louisiana State Bar Association Estate Planning Seminar, New Orleans, Louisiana (September 6, 2019).
Duress in Comparative Perspective: What the new French Revision has to Offer other Systems, The Reform of the French Law of Obligations: What It Is and What It Means for Louisiana and Beyond, Louisiana Supreme Court, New Orleans, Louisiana (March 15, 2019).
Innovations in the Law of Duress (Violence) in the New French Contract Reform: The 2016 Revision of the Law of Obligations in the French Civil Code, KCON XIV, 14th Annual International Conference on Contracts, New Orleans, Louisiana (March 8, 2019).
Pay-on-Death Accounts: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, New Orleans Estate Planning Council, New Orleans, Louisiana (January 28, 2019) (with David Boneno).
Louisiana Estate Planning and Trust Practice, ABA Midyear Tax Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana (January 18, 2019) (with Kara McQueen-Borden)
The History of Louisiana Trust Law from 1882 to 2018 … and Beyond, Loyola Estate Planning Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana (December 7, 2018).
U.S. Supreme Court Year in Review: 2017-2018, Southern Conference of Bar Presidents, New Orleans, Louisiana (October 6, 2018).
Common Law vs Civil Law Issues and Approaches, Association of International Petroleum Negotiators: 2018 Model Contracts Workshop, Vail, Colorado (September 13, 2018) (with Shona Walker).
Unworthiness and Slayer Statutes: A Theory of Testamentary Intent in Comparative Perspective, Association of Law, Property, and Society, Maastricht, Netherlands (June 2, 2018).
The History of Louisiana Trust Law from 1882 to 2018 … and Beyond, Tricentennial Lecture, New Orleans Estate Planning Council, New Orleans, Louisiana (May 14, 2018).
Constitutional Practice of Louisiana: A Civil Law State in a Common Law Country, International Law Conference of 20th Anniversary of the Return of Hong Kong to China, Kowloon, Hong Kong (November 17, 2017).
French Civil Law, Inheritance, and Family Provision in Louisiana, Saloom Chair Speaker Series, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana (November 7, 2017).
A Comparative Law Approach to Trusts and Estates, South Eastern Association of Law Schools, Trusts & Estates Workshop, Boca Raton, Florida (August 2, 2017).
Retroactivity of Obergefell in the Trusts and Estates Context, South Eastern Association of Law Schools, Boca Raton, Florida (July 31, 2017).
A Comparative Law Approach to Trusts and Estates, ACTEC Summer Meeting: Committee on Legal Education, Seattle, Washington (June 17, 2017).
Who Owns the Property in a Trust, New Orleans Bar Association, Real Property Section, New Orleans, Louisiana (May 31, 2017).
Airbrushed Heirs: The Problem of Children Omitted from Wills, ABA
Real Property, Trust, and Estate Law Webinar (May 17, 2017).
Family Provision Requirements in American Succession Law, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa (March 24, 2017).
Forced Heirship in Louisiana, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa (March 24, 2017).
Shifting Principal Interests in Trust and Other Developments, Tulane Estate Planning Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana (November 18, 2016).
Recent Developments in Trust Law, Shreveport Tax and Estate Planning Council, Shreveport, Louisiana (March 24, 2016).
Classifying and Clarifying Contracts, 2016 Symposium on the Civil Law, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (March 18, 2016).
Recent Developments in Trust Law, Partnership for Philanthropic Planning, New Orleans, Louisiana (March 1, 2016).
Recent Developments in Trust Law, 2015 Fall Meeting of Louisiana ACTEC Fellows, New Orleans, Louisiana (August 21, 2015).
Mergers, Divisions, and Decanting, 2013 Loyola Estate Planning Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana (December 6, 2013).
Intestacy in the United States, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland (June 2013).
What’s Around the Corner in Louisiana Civil Law? : Agreements to Shorten or Toll Liberative Prescription, 2012 Semaine Française, New Orleans, Louisiana (November 15, 2012).
Revisions to the Louisiana Civil Code regarding Prescription, Council of the Louisiana State Law Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana (September 21, 2012).
The BP Oil Spill Compensation Process, National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary (NAALJ) and the Federal Administrative Law Judges Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana (September 12, 2012).
Legal Considerations When Doing Business in a Civil Law Jurisdiction, Fluor Corporation Law Con 2011, New Orleans, Louisiana (November 9, 2011).
Revisions to the Louisiana Civil Code regarding Simulation and Counterletters, Council of the Louisiana State Law Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana (October 15, 2011).
Freedom of Testation in the United States, Gesellschaft Für Rechtsvergleichung (German Society of Comparative Law), Trier, Germany (September 16, 2011).
Public Policy and Antisocial Testators, Association for Law, Property, and Society, Second Annual Meeting, Washington D.C. (March 5, 2011).
Litigating in Civil and Common Law Jurisdictions, (Panel on International Litigation) Federal Bar Association National Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana (September 23, 2010).
Testamentary Formalities in the United States, Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg, Germany (July 2, 2010).
Penalty Clauses: A Questionnaire, Meeting of the Working Group on Penalty Clauses, Common Core of European Private Law, XVIth Annual Meeting, Turin, Italy (June 25, 2010).
Freedom of Testation in America and Europe, University of Palermo, Palermo, Sicily (June 24, 2010).
Rethinking the Law of Nullity, Meeting of the Bartolus Society, New Orleans, Louisiana (May 7, 2010).
Collation: An Institution in Need of Revisions, An Introspective Colloquium on the Louisiana Civil Code, Tulane Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana (November 20, 2009).
Testamentary Conditions in Louisiana Wills, Tulane Dean’s Advisory Board, New Orleans, Louisiana (November, 6, 2009).
Penalty Clauses: A Questionnaire, Meeting of the Contracts Group, Common Core of European Private Law, XVth Annual Meeting, Turin, Italy (June 26, 2009).
Aktuelle Stunde on Undue Influence in the Law of Wills, Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg, Germany (June 15, 2009).
Presentation of Report on Counterletters, Council of the Louisiana State Law Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana (March 14, 2009) (report unanimously approved and submitted to the Louisiana State Legislature).
Inheritance and the Surviving Spouse, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana (April 3-4, 2008).
What’s Around the Corner?: The Proposed Revision to Louisiana Donations Law, Louisiana State Bar Association, New Orleans, Louisiana (March 14, 2008).
Why No “Efficient Breach” in the Civil Law?: A Comparative Assessment of the Doctrine of Efficient Breach of Contract, Texas Junior Legal Scholars Conference, Fort Worth, Texas (August 11, 2007).
Comparative Reflections on the Inheritance Rights of the Surviving Spouse, Louisiana/Scotland Project, Edinburgh, Scotland (June 24, 2007).
New Developments in United States Succession Law (National Report), XVIIth Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law, Utrecht, Netherlands (July 18, 2006).
Challenges to Hemispheric Trade Posed by the Common/Civil Law Divide (Panel Member), Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Real Property Panel (April 26, 2006).
Honor Thy Father and Mother?: How American Intestacy Law Has Gone Too Far in Protecting Parents, South Eastern Association of Law Schools, Hilton Head, South Carolina (July 20, 2005).
The Liberty Fund, The Rule of Law and Liberty, Colloquium Panel Member New Orleans, Louisiana (February 2005).
The Liberty Fund; Liberty and the Nature of Law, Colloquium Panel Member Park City, Utah (July 22-28, 2002).
Law Reform Work:
Uniform Law Commission
Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act
Reporter, 2019-2021
Uniform Act on Conflict of Laws in Trusts and Estates
Reporter, 2020-present
Louisiana State Law Institute,
Council,
Member, 2009-present (Tulane Law School Representative)
Member, 2005-2009 (LSU Law School Representative)
Counterletter Committee,
Reporter, 2008-2012
(Committee work resulting in enactment of Act 277 (2012))
Prescription Committee,
Reporter, 2011-present
(Committee work resulting in enactment of Act 88 (2013), Act 414 (2021), Act 414(2021))
Successions and Donations Committee,
Reporter, 2019-present
Member, 2004-present
(Committee work resulting in enactment of Act 19 (2020), Act 40 (2022))
Trust Code Committee,
Reporter, 2012-present
Member, 2005-present
(Committee work resulting in enactment of Act 742 (2012), Act 219 (2015), Act 544 (2016), Act 17 (2020), and Act 18 (2020), Act 37 (2022))
Aleatory Contracts / Signification of Terms Committee
Reporter, 2017-present
Member, 2014-present
(Committee work resulting in enactment of Act 106 (2019))
Executive Committee,
Member-at-Large, 2006-2012
Electronic Signatures Study Group,
Special Advisor, 2017-2018
Conditional Charitable Donations Committee,
Member, 2011-present
Coordinating and Semantics Committee,
Member, 2009-present
Landlord-Tenant Committee,
Member, 2017-present
Lease of Movables Committee,
Member, 2015-present
Lesion beyond Moiety Committee,
Member, 2015-present
Mineral Law, Unsolicited Offers Committee,
Member, 2013-present
Notary Committee,
Member, 2018-present
Obligations Committee,
Member, 2023-present
Possessory Action Committee,
Member, 2016-present
Property Committee,
Member, 2019-present
Respite Committee,
Member, 2013-present
Security Devices Committee,
Member, 2008-present
Utility Servitude Committee,
Member, 2012-2017
Usufruct Revision Subcommittee,
Member, 2006-2010
Advisory Positions, Board Memberships, and Committee Memberships:
American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) (Elected)
Academic Fellow, 2014-present
Academic Membership Committee,
Chair, 2020-2023
Member, 2019-present
Beneficiary Rights Subcommittee, Chair, 2022-present
Board of Regents, 2024-present
International Estate Planning Committee, 2015-present
Legal Education Committee,
Co-Chair, 2020-2023
Member, 2016-present
Louisiana State Chair, 2024-present
Louisiana State Chair-Elect, 2023-2024
Joint ACTEC/NCPJ Task Force, 2020-present
Program Committee, 2023-present
State Laws Committee, 2015-present
Uniform Law Subcommittee, 2016-present
American Law Institute (Elected)
Member, 2019-present
American Society of Comparative Law,
Treasurer, 2019-present
Executive Committee, 2019-present
Board of Directors, 2008 – 2009
Delegate, 2010-2013
Editor, 2013-present
Prizes Committee, Member, 2011-2017, 2018-2019
Finance Committee, Chair, 2014-2019
Aspen Publications Developmental Reviewer for Trusts and Estates
Black’s Law Dictionary,
Academic Contributor Board, 10th edition
Federal Bar Association, New Orleans Chapter
Board of Directors, 2010-2012
International Academy of Comparative Law,
Associate Member (Elected), 2013-present
Journal of Civil Law Studies,
Advisory Board, 2013-present
Law School Admissions Council,
Test Development and Research Committee, Member, 2013-2015
Assessments Working Group, Member 2015-present
Louisiana State Bar Association,
Board of Governors, Member, 2013-2015, 2017-2019, 2021-2023
Committee on Legal Education and Licensure, Member, 2014-2015
Committee on Legal Economics, Chair, 2013-2014
Committee to Evaluate Proposed Changes to the Louisiana Bar
Exam, Tulane Representative, 2011-2013
Committee on Diversity in the Profession, Member, 2013-2015
Quality of Life Committee, Member, 2015-2017
1L Orientation Subcommittee to the Committee on the Profession,
2016-2017
Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization,
Chair, 2014-2015
Vice Chair, 2013-2014
Member, 2011-present
Executive Committee Member, 2015-2016
Louisiana Bar Exam Advisory Committee,
Tulane Law School Representative, 2009-present
LSU Law School Representative, 2008-2009
Louisiana Supreme Court Historical Society
Steering Committee to Commemorate the Bicentennial of the 1825 Civil Code, 2023-present
New Orleans Opera Association,
Board of Directors, Member, 2023-present
` Finance Committee, Member, 2023-present
Secretary, 2024-present
Orleans Parish District Defender Selection Committee,
Chair, 2022
Tulane Estate Planning Institute, Advisory Board,
Chair, 2017-present
Member, 2012-present
Tulane Law Review Association,
Secretary-Treasurer, 2016-present
Faculty Advisor, 2016-present
Trustee, 2016-present
Other Professional Positions and Associations:
American Bar Association,
Member, 2000-2002, 2006-present
Association Henri Capitant des Amis de la Culture Juridique Française,
Louisiana Chapter
Member, 2004-2012
Secretary, 2006-2007
Secretary/Treasurer, 2007-2009
Member at Large, 2010-2012
Association of Louisiana Civil Law Scholars,
Member, 2004-present
Bartolus Society,
Member, 2008-present
Dean Henry George McMahon American Inn of Court,
Invited Member, 2006-2007
Louisiana Bar Association,
Member, 2000-present
Louisiana Supreme Court Historical Society,
Member, 2009-2010
Tulane Designee to Board of Directors, 2009
World Society of Mixed Jurisdiction Jurists,
Member, 2006-present