James M. Williams, Chair of the LSU Board of Supervisors, will deliver the keynote address at the LSU Shreveport Fall 2018 ceremony at the CenturyLink Center on Sunday, December 16th at 2pm. Mr. Williams represents the 2nd Congressional District, and is a senior partner in the law firm of Chehardy Sherman Williams in New Orleans.
According to his Biography on the Board of Supervisors website, Mr. Williams is a nationally recognized trial attorney who has litigated cases in 15 different states. He is one of the “Nation’s Top One Percent” of attorneys according to the National Association of Distinguished Counsel. He has been named a “Super lawyer” by the rating service that recognizes the top 5 percent of lawyers in each state.
In 2015, he was the keynote speaker for an annual meeting of the Defense Research Institute (DRI). In 2009-2010, Williams took a leave of absence from practicing law to serve as the judge (pro tempore) presiding over Division “J” of the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans. He was unanimously appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to fill a vacancy on the court. Williams was only 35-years old at the time, making him the youngest judge in the State of Louisiana.
“We are honored to have Mr. Williams deliver the keynote address for our Fall 2018 graduation ceremony,” said LSUS Chancellor Larry Clark. “In a year when we have record enrollment and degrees granted, we felt that it was important to have someone who has firsthand knowledge of the positive impact that LSUS, and the LSU system as a whole, has on this region and beyond.”
LSUS has seen steady growth in the past few years, with total enrollment topping 7,000 for the first time in school history. There are 1,216 students graduating this weekend, with 1,012 graduate students and 204 undergraduate students earning degrees. Other Board of Supervisors members expected to attend are Wayne Brown and Valencia Sarpy Jones, both representing District 4. Father Timothy Hurd from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church will give the invocation.