LSBA Headlines

• Committee Preferences: Get Involved in Your Bar!

  Committee assignment requests are now being accepted for the 2025-26 Bar year. Response deadline is Wednesday, April 9.
  

• Eastern District of Louisiana Adopts New Rule on Case Transfers

  Effective February 4, 2025, Local Civil Rule 83.5.1 imposes a 21-day stay on case transfer orders to courts outside the Fifth Circuit unless all parties consent. This rule, approved by the court’s active judges after a public comment period, does not apply to transfers by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. It allows parties time to respond or seek reconsideration before transfer. Click here to read the order.
  

• Louisiana Supreme Court Updates Judicial Campaign Finance Rules

  The Louisiana Supreme Court has revised Canon 7E of the Code of Judicial Conduct, setting new limits on the retention of unused campaign funds. Judges and judicial candidates must now divest excess funds within one year through refunds or charitable donations. These changes align with recent legislative updates, including increased contribution limits (effective Jan. 1, 2025) and the introduction of closed party primaries for Supreme Court Justices (starting Jan. 1, 2026). For full details, visit the Louisiana Supreme Court’s website.
  

• LBLS Accepting Applications for Board Certification - Deadline Extended

  The Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization is accepting applications for board certification in seven areas — appellate practice, employment law, estate planning and administration, family law, health law, labor law and tax law. The deadline has been extended to Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
  

• Interested in an Appointed LSBA HOD or YLD Council Leadership Position?

  Several LSBA House of Delegates seats and the Young Lawyers Division’s Sixth District Council seat received no qualifiers by the Oct. 14, 2024, qualifying deadline. These positions will be filled by presidential appointment. 
  

• Nominations Open Online for Trailblazer Award, Guardian of Diversity Award

  The LSBA’s Member Outreach and Diversity Department announced that the nomination period is open online for the Trailblazer Award and the Guardian of Diversity Award. Nomination deadlines are Feb. 28, 2025, for both awards. For more information on the awards (including criteria and procedures) and to access nomination forms, go online: http://www.lsba.org/Members/Awards.aspx. Then click on “Diversity and Inclusion Awards.” Or email the Member Outreach and Diversity Department at diversity@lsba.org.
  

• Nomination Deadline is April 4 for Kimball Award

  The nomination deadline is Friday, April 4, for the Louisiana State Bar Association’s 2025 Catherine D. Kimball Award for Advancement of the Administration of Justice.
• Ongoing News
• • 2025 LBLS Annual Dues: Mail/Deliver by March 11, 2025, to Avoid Penalties
  • House Resolution Deadline is May 13 for Annual Meeting
  • LSBA Encourages Notification about Deceased Members
  • Mandatory Bar Challenge
  • Louisiana Bar Center to Close for Mardi Gras