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Loyola of New Orleans, Exonerated?

Thursday, April 24, 2008 3:18 PM - By David Lat

Loyola Law School New Orleans Loyola University ATL ATL ATL.jpgHere’s some follow-up on yesterday’s write-up of a recent Fifth Circuit opinion (PDF). In its per curiam opinion, the court benchslapped one Roger Phipps, counsel for the appellant, for being utterly unprepared at oral argument. The argument included this exchange:

Judge: I must say, Morgan is a case that is directly relevant to this case. And for you representing the Plaintiff to get up here—it’s a Supreme Court case—and say you haven’t read it. Where did they teach you that?
Phipps: They didn’t teach me much, Your Honor.
Judge: At Tulane, is it?
Phipps: Loyola.
Judge: Okay. Well, I must say, that may be an all time first.
Phipps: That’s why I wore a suit today, Your Honor.

But which Loyola Law School is lucky enough to call Mr. Phipps an alumnus? Loyola of Chicago, Los Angeles, or New Orleans? Professor Alan Childress wrote the following at the Legal Profession Blog:

A commenter below states that the ‘Loyola’ in question (Mr. Phipps’s alma mater) is Loyola-Chicago, not New Orleans, citing the Martindale-Hubbell Directory which indeed says so. But all other internet evidence (and an email to me from a colleague who went to school with him) strongly suggests that Roger Dale Phipps is a graduate, J.D. 1990, of Loyola-New Orleans.

But down in the Big Easy, they beg to differ. Earlier today, the career services office at Loyola - New Orleans sent out this email:

To: [Loyola New Orleans students]
Subject: RE: Trivia
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:48:44 -0500

There is a US 5th Circuit case that is being circulated nationally about an attorney. In the footnotes — the transcript excerpts between the judicial panel and the attorney — the attorney mentions a certain law school by name.

Students and local attorneys have been emailing me concerned that this nationally circulated document will precede their applications for job search purposes and/or is an embarrassment to our school.

The bad news is that, “yes, this is embarrassing representation on behalf of the attorney.”

The GOOD NEWS is that the attorney mentioned is NOT a Loyola New Orleans graduate.

Good Luck on Your Exams!

Career Services

Professor Childress remains unconvinced. Read his response, after the jump.

In the comments to his post, after being notified of the email, Professor Childress writes:

They should have left this alone. Please post the update when they send out an email confirming that he is a graduate but it is listed wrong in Martindale-Hubbell.

As I said, I wish it were not Loyola NO, and I don’t blame the school or my friends who teach there. What can they do to prevent this kind of issue 20 years later?

But if the school’s CS office is somehow citing this blog as in error and correcting it without having read all the information on it, including the Martindale-Hubbell mistake, then it is poor research. I would love to be wrong, but it is not fair to attack me without having read the post. I certainly have done all I can to confirm the truth of his record, but reliance on Martindale-Hubbell is misplaced.

We’ve contacted the Loyola - New Orleans career services office, to find out the basis for their concluding that Roger Phipps is not an alum. We will let you know if and when we hear back from them.

Update: Here is Roger Phipps’s Martindale-Hubbell listing. No law school information is provided.

Further Update: We have a call in to Roger Phipps. We’ll let you know if and when he gets back to us.

Earlier: ‘I try not to read that many cases, Your Honor.’

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Posted in: Loyola Law School

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