The Louisiana State Bar Association, with the support of the Louisiana Supreme Court, has created a mentoring program for newly admitted attorneys. The program is designed to ease the transition into practice by having the new admittees paired with a mentor in a one-year program. The program was created to give practical information not typically learned in law school. The new admittees get the benefit of the experience of a mentor and are provided with extensive material to assist in this process. This voluntary program was created in 2015 and there have been approximately 1,000 mentees who have participated.

This program introduces newly admitted lawyers to the practical skills of taking and defending depositions in both federal court and Louisiana state practice. Participants will learn how to plan and conduct an effective examination, prepare and protect a witness, make and preserve objections, and observe the ethical limits on attorney conduct, with attention to where the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure diverge.

This program offers newly admitted lawyers a practical, no-nonsense roadmap for navigating the first five years of practice. Focusing on what actually drives early career success, the presentation covers how to build trust and credibility, accelerate skill development, and establish a strong professional reputation within an organization. Attendees will gain concrete strategies for improving work product, managing feedback, and understanding the unwritten rules of legal practice, along with insights into avoiding common early-career pitfalls. The program emphasizes actionable habits and mindset shifts that position young lawyers for long-term success and greater career optionality.

A fast-paced review of the year's most important developments in legal ethics, including significant disciplinary cases, advisory opinions, conflicts issues, malpractice trends, technology and AI ethics, and updates to the Rules of Professional Conduct. The session emphasizes practical lessons that lawyers can immediately apply to reduce risk and strengthen their practices.

The first few years of practice don't just teach you how to practice law. They're also when you begin establishing expectations about what being a “great lawyer” requires of you, what you expect of yourself and others, and what you believe others expect of you. This interactive CLE examines the connection between the intellectual demands of practicing law and the physical, mental, and emotional conditions in which new lawyers are learning to perform that work. Using the requirements of professional competency as a foundation, Sheila will help attorneys examine the practicalities of their own expectations, boundaries, preparation, prioritization, stress, and wellness, and how each relates to a competent and ethical legal practice. Through active discussion, reflection, and practical exercises, participants will examine the expectations and habits they are developing at the beginning of their careers and consider the small, strategic choices they can make now to build a legal practice that supports their professional and ethical responsibilities to their clients, colleagues, profession, and themselves.

Examines where generative AI intersects the Louisiana Code of Professionalism and a new lawyer's professional obligations, how large language models work and why their fluency can mask their limits, what goes wrong when lawyers do not supervise AI output, and practical frameworks for supervising AI use responsibly.

An introduction to the Court of Appeal, First Circuit, focused on general processes, practice tips, and suggestions for the new appellate practitioner. Starting with an overview of the Court and its structure, the presentation then focuses on a basic description of practice requirements with a step-by-step review of the appellate process. A discussion of automated tools and other helpful resources concludes the session. An introduction to practice in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

This presentation is designed to proactively address and recognize causes and signs of burnout in ourselves and others before they manifest in severe symptoms. Attendees will examine the differences between burnout, stress, depression, and anxiety. The presentation will also examine maladaptive strategies for coping with stress and how that impacts our duties of competence and diligence.

A panel of state and federal judges compares key aspects of Louisiana and federal civil procedure, including summary judgment, appellate review of partial and interlocutory judgments, and discovery, with practical guidance for new lawyers practicing in both court systems.

This course explores extraordinary attorney-client communication. We begin with the basics required to avoid ethical pitfalls. Then we move into the tactics and technology of a modern communications strategy. Lawyers will learn how to communicate in a way that informs clients, answers frequently asked questions, saves time, increases profits, generates referrals, and earns testimonials.

A refresher on legal analysis organized around four Cs: CLEAR legal analysis (structure and organization); COMPELLING legal analysis (support, logic, and relevance); CREDIBLE legal analysis (accuracy); and CONSUMMATE legal analysis (polish, including punctuation, spelling, typos, sentence structure, brevity, clarity in phrasing, style, and format).

An overview of a lawyer's obligations under Louisiana Rule of Professional Conduct 1.15 for safekeeping client and third-party funds, with practical trust accounting forms and templates for setting up and maintaining a compliant client trust account.

Drawing on two decades of practice, this session gives newly admitted lawyers practical lessons on the professional duties that shape a lawyer's reputation and career. It addresses candor and accountability to the court, opposing counsel, and clients, including owning and correcting mistakes rather than concealing them or billing the client for them; attorney competency, including recognizing the limits of one's skills, declining matters one is not qualified to handle, and knowing when to bring in experts, special masters, or mediators; civility and respect toward court personnel, clerks, chambers staff, and opposing counsel's staff; responding to bullying and abusive tactics through the court and appropriate motion practice rather than in kind; protecting the record; honoring the client's right to decide whether to settle; treating clients in crisis with empathy; and meeting the lawyer's obligation to provide pro bono and volunteer service. It also covers the habits that sustain a professional practice, including setting boundaries to prevent burnout, maintaining a reliable conflict-check system, preparing well ahead of court dates, and knowing the resources available to lawyers, such as the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program, the LSBA Ethics Advisory Service, and SOLACE.