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Dedicated to Personal Injury Litigation and Admiralty Law
Our Legacy
More Than a Law Firm
For decades, Dodson & Hooks has represented injured people and maritime workers in Louisiana, throughout the United States and around the world.
But the firm’s legacy extends beyond the courtroom.
Richard J. “Jerry” Dodson and Kenneth H. “Kenny” Hooks III have made a longstanding commitment to legal education, maritime scholarship and the institutions that have played an important role in the Baton Rouge and Louisiana communities.
That commitment is reflected at Louisiana State University, the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Southern University Law Center and LSU Athletics.
1. LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
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Dodson & Hooks Endowed Chair in Maritime Law
In 2019, the Dodson & Hooks Endowed Chair in Maritime Law was established at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
The firm contributed more than $600,000 toward the Chair, which was supplemented by $400,000 through the Louisiana Board of Regents competitive matching grants program, creating a $1 million permanent endowment.
The endowment is held in perpetuity by the LSU Foundation and provides continuing financial support for maritime law scholarship and education at LSU Law.
The purpose behind the gift was particularly important to Dodson & Hooks: ensuring that maritime law continues to be taught to future generations of Louisiana lawyers.
Today, former LSU President and former LSU Law Dean Thomas C. Galligan Jr. holds the Dodson & Hooks Endowed Chair in Maritime Law.
Dodson & Hooks and LSU Baseball
The Richard J. “Jerry” Dodson Maritime Art Collection
The firm’s relationship with LSU Law also includes an extraordinary contribution preserving the history of maritime commerce and American history.
Richard J. “Jerry” Dodson spent decades assembling a significant collection of maritime art, documents and artifacts.
In 2019, he donated the collection to the LSU Law Center.
The Richard J. “Jerry” Dodson Maritime Art Collection includes historic ships’ passports and sea letters signed by the first 21 presidents of the United States, along with other maritime documents and artifacts.
The collection is permanently displayed in the first-floor lobby of the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center and was formally dedicated on March 8, 2019.
The collection complements the Dodson & Hooks Endowed Chair in Maritime Law and reflects the firm’s broader commitment to preserving maritime history while encouraging future generations of lawyers to study maritime law.
EXPLORE THE MARITIME COLLECTION →
Dodson & Hooks and LSU Baseball
The firm’s relationship with LSU extends beyond the Law Center.
Dodson & Hooks has also been a longtime supporter of LSU Athletics and LSU Baseball.
In 2019, the LSU Board of Supervisors approved the naming of the Dodson & Hooks Recognition Wall at Legacy Plaza at Alex Box Stadium.
For Dodson & Hooks, supporting LSU Baseball is another way of supporting an institution that has brought generations of Louisianans together.
The values associated with LSU Baseball—preparation, teamwork, perseverance and excellence—are values that have also guided Dodson & Hooks throughout the firm’s history.
2. SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER
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A Commitment to Legal Education Across Baton Rouge
Dodson & Hooks’ commitment to legal education is not limited to one institution.
The firm established the Dodson and Hooks Endowed Professorship of Law at Southern University Law Center, creating permanent support for legal education at another of Louisiana’s important law schools.
The relationship between Dodson & Hooks and Southern University Law Center also extends directly into the classroom.
Kenneth H. “Kenny” Hooks III
Kenny Hooks devoted 15 years to teaching law at Southern University Law Center as an adjunct professor.
He taught second- and third-year law students courses including:
- Admiralty and Maritime Law
- Maritime Personal Injury
His teaching experience reflects the same maritime practice that has taken Dodson & Hooks around the world representing seafarers and others involved in maritime commerce.
Kenny has also taught in Rhodes, Greece, through a program involving Tulane University Law School and the Aegean Institute of the Law of the Sea and Maritime Law, and has served as a visiting lecturer at Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey.
Teaching future lawyers has been an important part of the firm’s commitment to the legal profession.
Richard J. “Jerry” Dodson
Jerry Dodson also devoted decades to legal education, including serving as an adjunct professor at Southern University Law Center and Tulane University.
Together, Jerry Dodson and Kenny Hooks have combined the practice of international maritime law with the education of future generations of lawyers.
TWO BATON ROUGE LAW SCHOOLS — ONE COMMITMENT
LSU PAUL M. HEBERT LAW CENTER
Dodson & Hooks
Endowed Chair in Maritime Law
$1 Million Permanent Endowment
SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER
Dodson & Hooks
Endowed Professorship of Law
Longstanding Support of Legal Education
Investing in the Next Generation
Dodson & Hooks is proud to have supported legal education at both LSU Law and Southern University Law Center.
Our goal is larger than recognition.
It is to help ensure that Louisiana continues to educate outstanding lawyers and that maritime law—an area critically important to Louisiana’s economy, waterways, ports and people—continues to be taught to future generations.
4. A MARITIME LAW FIRM WITH A GLOBAL REACH
Dodson & Hooks’ commitment to maritime education grew directly from its practice.
From its Baton Rouge home, the firm has handled maritime matters involving people, vessels and companies from countries around the world.
That international experience has given the attorneys of Dodson & Hooks a unique appreciation for Louisiana’s place in global maritime commerce—and for the importance of educating lawyers who understand the laws governing the world’s waterways.
5. LOUISIANA IS HOME
Louisiana Is Home
Dodson & Hooks has represented clients across Louisiana, throughout the United States and around the world. But Louisiana has always been home.
Our support of LSU, Southern University Law Center, LSU Athletics and legal education reflects our gratitude to the institutions and communities that helped make our success possible.
We believe that a firm’s legacy should be measured not only by the cases it has won, but also by what it leaves behind.
Dodson & Hooks A Louisiana law firm with a legacy that extends far beyond the courtroom.