Martinet Legal Society honors Tulane Law alum, students

Tulane Law alumnus Micah Zeno (L’15) and three third-year law students were honored by the Louis A. Martinet Society at their annual Jazz Brunch & Scholarship Gala Sept. 28.

Zeno, an attorney at Gordon Arata Montgomery Barnett, received the President’s Award given for service to Martinet and its mission.  At the same event, Board of Tulane member Kim M. Boyle also was honored, receiving the Greater New Orleans Louis A. Martinet Legal Society's Lifetime Achievement Award — the highest honor awarded by the society. 

Tulane Law students Victoria Branch, Jamika Mack and Natalia Walcott all received scholarships from the Martinet Society for their achievements during law school. The organization was established by Black lawyers in the community during the Jim Crow era, at a time when they were not allowed to fully participate in the legal profession, and to combat the social injustices of the times. Today, it is an organization focused on the interchange of ideas, promoting legal scholarship, advancing the science of jurisprudence, promoting the administration of justice, upholding the order and ethics of the courts and the profession of law and promoting the welfare of the legal profession in Louisiana in keeping with the vision of its founders.

Zeno practices in the field of complex litigation, appellate, civil procedure, property law, commercial litigation and risk management.  A former banker, Zeno also provides businesses with advice on a variety of issues involving contracts and risk assessment.  Before joining Gordon Arata, he served for two years as a law clerk for Chief Judge June Berry Darensburg of the 24th Judicial District Court. Zeno also is a former judicial intern for Deputy Chief Judge Fredericka Homberg Wicker of the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal. 

Zeno graduated from Tulane Law School as a member of the Order of the Barristers and received the Tulane 34 Award and the Crest Award, the university’s most prestigious student awards. He was a student-attorney in both the Civil Rights & Federal Practice Clinic and the Tulane University Legal Assistance Program. As a member of the Moot Court Program, he won the Honorary Round of the Intraschool Competition, and his name is etched on the marble tablets of the law school’s Wendell H. Gauthier Moot Court Room. 

Law students Branch, Mack and Walcott are active in the law school and the profession as well. Branch is pursuing a certificate in maritime law and serves as the Senior Articles Editor and Notes and Comments Editor of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal. In addition to her courses, Branch is participating in an in-house corporate counsel externship with Fugro, a global geo-data company, in its Marine Americas section. While Branch is focused on finishing her final year at Tulane Law, she has also been eagerly exploring post-graduate opportunities in maritime law.

Mack is a third-year law student from New Orleans with a strong interest in corporate, real estate and employment law. She earned her undergraduate degree in Financial Economics from Dillard University. Prior to law school, she took a gap year to work for the U.S. Small Business Administration where she enjoyed assisting small to mid-size companies in obtaining business funding in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. During law school, Mack has served as the treasurer of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) and currently serves as the Senior Business Editor of the Tulane Journal of Technology & Intellectual Property. After graduation, Mack plans to take the Texas bar exam and work in her preferred areas of law.

Walcott is a two-time recipient of the Louis A. Martinet Scholarship. Originally from Florida, she graduated from the University of Miami with a B.S. in psychology and a minor in mathematics. While at Tulane Law, she has served as the Senior Managing Editor of The Sports Lawyer, Managing Editor of the Tulane Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property, and was the 2023-2024 Secretary of BLSA. Walcott also has externed with the U.S. Coast Guard and interned with the Tulane University Athletic Compliance Office. Upon graduation, she will take the Texas Bar Exam and plans to establish her legal career in Texas.