Taylor Porter is proud of its annual summer associate program, which hires highly motivated, well-rounded law students to participate in two, six-week sessions. Under the guidance of practicing attorneys, our summer associates gain hands-on experience and interaction that reflect real life as a lawyer. During the second summer session of 2017, Taylor Porter has eight summer associates, and our law firm is proud to profile these students and gain their insight from the Taylor Porter summer associate program. In this article, Taylor Porter features LSU Law Student Dakota Hawkins.

Learn more about the Taylor Porter summer associate program

Dakota Hawkins, LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Class of 2018

Dakota Hawkins is going into his third year at Paul M. Hebert Law Center where he is on the Board for the Journal of Energy Law and Resources in the position of Senior Articles Editor, is the current President of The Federalist Society - Student Chapter, and actively participates with the Public Interest Law Society and Christian Legal Society. Dakota was recently selected for publication in the Journal of Energy Law and Resources and will be published in Issue 1 of Volume VI of the Journal. He received his B.A., cum laude, from The University of Louisiana at Monroe in Political Science in 2015, completed the ULM Honors Program with "Honors in the University," and was a member of the Mock Trial Team for one year while at ULM. Throughout his undergraduate studies, Dakota was an infantry Marine at 1/23 in Bossier and worked multiple nationwide on-land construction pipeline jobs. While in law school, Dakota has clerked for Hudson, Potts and Bernstein; Long Law Firm; Blanchard, Walker, O'Quin and Roberts; and Bradley, Murchison, Kelly & Shea. Dakota is clerking under the mentorship of Taylor Porter attorneys Eddie Hughes and Juan Miranda.

What practice area(s) are you most interested in and why?

“At this point in my career, I am most interested in litigation, specifically in the areas of oil and gas, energy regulation and compliance, land use and property rights, governmental relations, insurance regulation, and commercial and business organization. These interests stem from my prior work history with the on-land pipeline transportation of resources, my participation in LSU’s Energy Certificate Curriculum, and my work as a Board member on the LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources.”

Who are your Taylor Porter attorney mentors, and what have you learned from them about the legal field that will stick with you?

“My mentors are Juan Miranda and Eddie Hughes. Juan and Eddie have taught me that reliance on prior working experiences and connections both inside and outside of the legal field can bring fresh perspectives and approaches to your legal work for the benefit of your client and practice. Sometimes you have to think outside of the box, whereas we as lawyers are trained to think inside of.”

How has the Taylor Porter summer law clerk program helped prepare you for becoming a lawyer?

“The law clerk program at Taylor Porter has helped me develop my critical thinking skills, hone my written product, and extend my network across Louisiana. Taylor Porter does an outstanding job of exposing its clerks to the everyday practice in and outside of the office, while avoiding keeping law clerks behind a screen all day every day. Many of these skills and connections will carry forward and undoubtedly aid me in my future practice.”

What do you like best about the TP Summer Associate Program?

“I believe that the numerous out of office trips we made during my time at Taylor Porter were the best part about the Summer Associate Program. Having the opportunity to meet multiple judges in their chambers, discuss their work and caseload, listen to their approaches to interpretation and application of the law, and then watch them apply the law in the courtroom is an opportunity that very few law students have and I am grateful to have experienced.”