The Impact of Obergefell v. Hodges: What Does the Future Hold?

2.00  hours credit , Professionalism

This seminar will address issues that are developing as a result of the landmark Supreme Court decision allowing gay couples to marry. Presenters Ryan P. Delaney, (Delaney and Robb), Scott J. Spivey (Landry and Spivey), and Rachel W. Wisdom (Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann LLC) will discuss topics such as adoption, divorce, step-parent adoption, estate planning, and employment benefits.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

The Louisiana Bar Center

601 St. Charles Ave.

New Orleans, LA  70130

2:00 p.m. - 2:20 p.m. Registration

2:20 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Welcome and Introductory Remarks

2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Presentation

Speaker Bios

Paul R. Baier is a Judge Henry A. Politz Professor of Law at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center in Baton Rouge, LA. He received his A. B. from the University of Cincinnati in 1966 and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1969. He began teaching law at the University of Michigan Law School in 1971. Professor Baier was selected as a Judicial Fellow for the US Supreme Court in 1975-76. He served as Special Assistant Louisiana Attorney General and Special Counsel to Louisiana Attorney General on several cases between 1989 and 1992. He was the first recipient of the Louisiana Bar Foundation’s Scholar in Residence program from 1990-92. Since 2007, Professor Baier has served as the Secretary of the Supreme Court of Louisiana Historical Society. Professor Baier was lead constitutional counsel in the Louisiana same-sex marriage case, Angela Costanza v. James D. Caldwell, Attorney General.

Ryan P. Delaney is the founder of the Delaney & Robb Law Firm. A lifelong resident of the New Orleans metropolitan area, he has very strong ties to Southeast Louisiana. Mr. Delaney graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2003 with a B.S. in Biology. He then enrolled at Loyola College of Law in 2005, becoming part of the “Katrina Class.” While at Loyola, Mr. Delaney was an active leader in Student Bar Association as well as participating in the New Orleans District Attorney’s Office Legal Clinic. He graduated from Loyola College of Law in 2008 and was admitted to the Louisiana Bar the same year.

After practicing in several areas of law, including personal injury, insurance defense, and collection law, Mr. Delaney’s personal goal has been to make a positive difference for people and for families.  As a member of the LGBT community, Mr. Delaney began studying the general state of LGBT law and specifically how to serve clients in a state where same-sex couples were denied the legal recognition of marriage and are further deprived of many rights enjoyed by opposite-sex couples. Using the legal tools available in Louisiana, Mr. Delaney works to protect LGBT individuals and their loved ones and to serve the specific needs of LGBT clients. Mr. Delaney also serves as City Prosecutor for the City of Ponchatoula.

Scott J. Spivey is a partner in Landry & Spivey. He secured his B.S. in management from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1990 and served as a junior officer onboard USCG BEAR and at the Eight District Command in New Orleans until 1996. He also received his J.D. from Loyola Law School the same year. Since 1996, he has maintained a private practice, served as a mediator with the Louisiana Office of Workers Compensation, taught as an Adjunct Professor at Upper Iowa University and Central Texas College at Ft. Polk and Jackson Barracks, and worked as General Counsel for a third-party administrator, Hammerman & Gainer International.

Mr. Spivey has served on the LSBA Diversity Committee since 2009. At the time of the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, Mr. Spivey was prosecuting the same-sex marriage ban lawsuit, Robicheaux v. George, that was set before the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and scheduled for consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Rachel Wendt Wisdom joined Stone Pigman in 1991 and her practice is concentrated in employment law, complex commercial litigation and class actions. She graduated from Tulane University, magna cum laude in 1984 and from Tulane University Law School, J.D., magna cum laude in 1990. She served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Martin L.C. Feldman, U.S. District Court, 1990-91, and as Judge pro tempore for the First City Court of Orleans Parish on multiple occasions from 1999-2009. Ms. Wisdom is an active member of the Employment Law Committee of the American Bar Association Litigation Section, served on the Executive Council of the Louisiana State Bar Association Labor & Employment Section from 2006-2014, and participated as an Instructor for the National Institute of Trial Attorneys Gulf Coast Region Deposition Seminar on multiple occasions from 2003-2009. Since 2005, Ms. Wisdom has served as the Secretary to the Board of Directors of Advocates for Arts-Based Education, a nonprofit corporation that operates the Lusher Charter Schools in New Orleans.

In 2008, Ms. Wisdom was named as a New Orleans CityBusiness Woman of the Year. In 2010, she was named as a New Orleans CityBusiness Leader in Law. Ms. Wisdom has been named to The Best Lawyers in America in the fields of commercial litigation, labor and employment and class action litigation and Louisiana Super Lawyers in the field of business litigation. She has also been recognized as a future Louisiana litigation star by Benchmark Litigation. In both 2011 and 2012, Louisiana Super Lawyers listed Ms. Wisdom as one of the top 25 women lawyers in Louisiana. In 2013 and 2014, Chambers U.S.A.: America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide ranked Ms. Wisdom as a leading Louisiana Labor & Employment lawyer.

Ms. Wisdom has made several presentations concerning the issues of gay employees in the workforce.