Liskow & Lewis is proud to announce a firm attorney of forty-four years, S. Gene Fendler, has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of the Year by the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University. Recipients of this award are recognized for rare distinction in professional achievement, high ethical standards, and loyalty to the LSU Law Center. Bob Angelico, managing partner of Liskow & Lewis, proudly congratulated Gene on behalf of the firm for this well-deserved honor. Bob said, “For my entire tenure at Liskow, Gene has been a very well-respected lawyer, firm leader, and colleague. He is an esteemed litigator, trusted, reliable partner, and a down–to–earth great guy. He is extremely well deserving of this honor, and I am certain that LSU Law is as proud of him as we are here at Liskow & Lewis.”
Gene graduated first in his law class in 1973. Keith Jarrett, a former firm president and managing partner, remarked, “Gene’s legal career has been marked by one notable accomplishment after another: Editor-in-Chief of the Louisiana Law Review; clerkship with renowned federal Judge Alvin B. Rubin; election into the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Board of Trial Advocates; managing partner of Liskow & Lewis; and President of the LSU Law Center Board of Trustees. We are very proud of him at our firm. I know that Gene attributes much of his success to his fine legal training at LSU. It is wonderful to see the law school reciprocate that feeling by recognizing Gene in this very meaningful way.”
Gene has spent his entire career after his clerkship with Liskow & Lewis, serving the firm in virtually every leadership capacity, including several terms on the firm’s Board of Directors and Compensation Committee, and as President of the firm. Marilyn Maloney, a colleague of forty-three years, recounted the many times that Gene fearlessly led his colleagues, “Gene served as President of the Firm through two major events (among others): the founding of the Houston office in January, 2005 and Katrina in August, 2005. His vision for the future enabled him to lead the firm to establish a Houston office after it had been discussed (but never implemented) for decades. His concern for every attorney and staff member carried us through the terrible events of Katrina.”
Gene has an extraordinary record of service to LSU Law. He has been selected as a member of the LSU Law Center Hall of Fame, taught trial advocacy at LSU for several years, and has been a guest lecturer to law students in the fields of tort law, maritime law, and the art of cross examination. He has served on the Planning Committee for The Annual Alvin B. Rubin Seminar on Maritime Personal Injury at the Law Center since its founding and delivered numerous lectures at the seminar. He has spoken at Law Center seminars on torts, civil procedure, and professionalism. Gene has served as a member of the Law Center Alumni Board of Trustees for 14 years and as its President for 10 of those years.
Gene’s service to the wider community includes service as Captain in the Louisiana Army National Guard, as President of his synagogue, and as President of the University of Virginia Alumni Club of Louisiana.
