Life in New Orleans
A Guide to the Courts of the Crescent City
New Orleans is a major center for the federal and state judicial systems. At the state level, it is the home of the Louisiana Supreme Court, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and numerous district courts with civil and criminal jurisdiction. At the federal level, it is the home of the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, as well as various federal administrative courts.
Externships
Loyola students have externed at nearly a hundred placements over the past few years. Here are a few places where our students have worked.
Propeller
Propeller is a nonprofit organization that helps entrepreneurs grow their nonprofits and small businesses to tackle social and environmental disparities in New Orleans. Students connect with clients through Propeller to help local start-ups organize their legal entities, develop contracts, and prepare for outside financing.
New Orleans BioInnovation Center
The BioInnovation Center is a nonprofit business incubator dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and supporting Louisiana innovators as they develop life-saving technologies. Students assist with issues such as protecting intellectual property, raising early stage capital, applying for grants, and launching products.
Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center
GNOFHAC is a nonprofit civil rights organization established in 1995 to eradicate housing discrimination. Externs are exposed to all aspect of the Center's work and are primarily assigned to legal research and writing tasks related to the Center's housing discrimination litigation and enforcement activities.
Independent Police Monitor
IPM of New Orleans monitors the process by which the police department investigates allegations of misconduct by its employees in order to determine if the process is timely, thorough and fair. Students conduct research, analyze data, and prepare reports on policy issues related to police oversight and misconduct, as well as preventing and detecting fraud and abuse.
U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, Asylum Office
The New Orleans Asylum office addresses the need of people who seek protection because they have suffered persecution or fear of persecution due to race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. Students work alongside a supervisory officer in conducting interviews and gathering research.
The Pro Bono Project
The Pro Bono Project provides free, quality civil legal services to the underserved. Students work one-on-one with litigants who visit the Self-Help Resource Center for legal information regarding divorces, domestic issues, and custody, visitation and child support. Students also assist attorneys with the representation of clients.
History in the Making
New Orleans has stood at the intersection of major legal decisions and societal change for decades. Several important historical sites are scattered across the city. We encourage you to visit these landmarks and let them inform your legal education.
Plessy v. Ferguson (Press & Royal Streets)
In 1892, an African-American man named Homer Plessy attempted to board a segregated East Louisiana Railroad passenger train car. In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality – a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal". That doctrine would later be ruled unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education.
William Frantz Elementary School (3811 N. Galvez Street)
On November 14, 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first African-American child to attended the previously segregated William Frantz Elementary School during the New Orleans School Desegregation Crisis. Her enrollment occurred as a result of Judge J. Skelly Wright ordering the Orleans Parish School Board to enforce Brown v. Board of Education’s holding; racial segregation of public school was unconstitutional.
Visit Us
We invite you to discover Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in person. Please contact the Admissions Office to schedule an individual visit or group information session to experience the sights and sounds of Loyola and New Orleans.
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