FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 31, 2022
Contact: Eddie Francis, efrancis@dillard.edu
504.816.4024
NEW ORLEANS — Kim M. Boyle, Esq. will serve as the speaker for Dillard University’s annual Justice Revius O. Ortique Jr. Lecture on Law and Society, 7 p.m., November 17 in the Georges Auditorium in Dillard’s Professional Schools Building. Boyle is the vice-managing partner at Phelps Dunbar’s New Orleans office and a member of Dillard’s board of trustees. She also serves on the executive board of the University’s Center for Racial Justice.
Boyle has an active trial practice representing public and private employers in employment related claims and other litigation matters. She frequently speaks on employment-related topics, litigation and issues of procedure, as well as diversity, ethics and professionalism.
A native of New Orleans, Boyle’s connection to Dillard started at a young age in the Gentilly area, a few blocks from campus. Boyle notes that she “grew up” on the campus. Her parents met at Dillard; her mother is an alumna. In honor of her parents and their commitment to education, Boyle started the Ernest and Connie Boyle Scholarship in their names.
“It is Dillard’s privilege and honor to have Trustee Boyle as the 2022 Ortique lecturer,” said Dr. Rochelle L. Ford, Dillard’s eighth president. “She is an example of courageous leadership; and Trustee Boyle gives voice to those who are underrepresented in our city by advancing the causes of non-violence, economic development, education and social justice.”
Boyle is recognized by many of the leading peer review publications in the country, including Benchmark Litigation, as one of the Top 250 Women in U.S. Litigation. She has also been recognized in Chambers, and is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. Boyle has been very active in local, state and national bar associations. She served as the first female African-American president of the Louisiana State Bar Association as well as the first African-American president of the New Orleans Bar Association. Boyle also served as judge pro tempore for Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans as well as an assistant professor of law at Loyola University College of Law.
Boyle works with numerous businesses and nonprofits. She serves as a board and an executive committee member for GNO Inc., the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, New Orleans Business Alliance, Touro Hospital, the Anti-Defamation League and Tulane University. Committed to the success of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Boyle serves on the UNCF New Orleans advisory board. She also serves as chairman of the board for the Amistad Research Center, and is the president of Louisiana Women’s Forum. Boyle is a member of the New Orleans Business Council and an executive committee member of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She was tireless in working on behalf of the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, serving on the city’s Bring New Orleans Back Commission as well as on the state Louisiana Recovery Authority.
Boyle received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1987 and her A.B. from Princeton University in 1984.
About the Justice Revius O. Ortique Jr. Lecture on Law and Society
The Justice Revius O. Ortique Jr. Lecture on Law and Society was launched in 2010 to highlight the work of Ortique, who graduated from Dillard and became the first African-American justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court in 1992. The lecture showcases the University’s long-standing history and commitment to civil rights engagement.
About Dillard University
Dillard University is a historically Black institution that cultivates leaders who live ethically, think and communicate precisely, and act courageously to make the world a better place. Located in New Orleans, Dillard is a private faith-based liberal arts university that offers 22 majors and two certificate programs. Ranked 5th on 2021 The New York Times Overall Mobility Index and 14th in 2022 by Academic Influence for Best Colleges and Universities by Academic Stewardship, Dillard’s call to future leaders is to Write Your Legacy. Find out more about Louisiana’s oldest HBCU by visiting www.dillard.edu.
