May 3, 2002
Law graduates top list
The top law student of 2002 is Susan Muller Rogge, whose 3.801 grade point average (GPA) and various honors have helped to secure her position as this year's top graduate. Rogge, a member of the successful Moot Court Team, also served as Loyola Law Review's comment and case note editor from 2001-2002. Rogge wrote a case note for the Loyola Law Review in 2001 and won the Loyola Law Review editorial board award for Outstanding Service and Dedication in spring 2001. She also placed in the National Dean's List in 2000 and was awarded a three year academic scholarship. She served as a teaching assistant for Legal Research and Writing Class in fall of 2000, won the Dean's Award in 1999, and was a finalist in the J. Sanford Levy Best Brief Competition. A graduate of the University of New Orleans, Rogge has also had extensive legal experience, having worked for prestigious law firms such as Stone, Pigman, Walther, Wittmann, & Hutchinson.
Rogge attributes much of her success to hard work and the unique features that set Loyola apart from other schools, particularly the small student body. The smaller size allowed for greater professor availability."It was a better student-teacher ratio than other schools," Rogge says. "I feel very grateful and very proud; I worked hard and didn't expect to be [ranked number one] but I am very glad to be where I am."
This year's final outstanding law student placed second in her class with a 3.69 grade point average. Angela Blandino graduated from Louisiana Tech University in 1998. At Loyola, she served as brief writer for the National Moot Court Team, which placed first in the regional competition and finished in the top 16 in the national competition. Blandino also won the Law Review's Best Comment Award this spring.
In addition, Blandino has worked with influential members of the Louisiana judicial such as Gordon Arata McCollam Duplantis & Eagan, L.L.P.; Locke Liddel & Sapp, L.L.P.; Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein McAlister & Hilbert, L.L.C.; and Breazele, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P. After she graduates, Blandino will clerk for the Hon. Pascal F. Calogero, Jr., chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.