February 20, 2004

School of Law honors trailblazing alumna

The School of Law Alumni Association held its annual luncheon January 16 where Law Professor Emerita and 1956 law alumna Janet Mary Riley was honored with the St. Ives Award. Riley received the award from Morton Katz, L'69, president of the law alumni association. Named after the patron saint of lawyers, the St. Ives is presented annually to a law graduate who has volunteered services to the law school or the university, maintained the highest standards of the profession, and furthered the mission of the alumni association.

Riley adds this most recently honor to an distinguished career. She wrote the first casebook on Louisiana property law, and served as a Louisiana Law Institute reporter where she took action to revise Louisiana laws that discriminate against a person based on gender. For these and other accomplishments The Janet Mary Riley Distinguished Professorship was established at the law school in 2002 to promote excellence in teaching.