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NOMINEE(S) INFORMATION

Louisiana State Bar Association Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson Trailblazer Award
recipient recommendation:

Kim M. Boyle, Phelps Dunbar LLP

Kim M. Boyle is the vice-managing partner of Phelps Dunbar’s New Orleans office and a life-long
advocate of civil rights and civil liberties. She devotes a large part of her career and community efforts
to supporting educational institutions and organizations. She is a strong ally of HBCU’s serving on the
board of directors of Dillard as well as a long-time member of the UNCF Advisory Board.

In her private practice she represents public and private employers in employment-related claims. She
frequently speaks on employment-related topics, litigation, and issues of procedure, as well as diversity,
ethics and professionalism. Her pro-bono work focuses on civil rights and civil liberties, working with
ACLU of Louisiana, Anti-Defamation League as well as the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under
the Law. She focusses on the intersection between higher education and the impact of the legal system
on African American students through her work on the board of trustees of Princeton University, Tulane
University and Dillard University.

Kim has been recognized by many of the leading peer review publications in the country including
Benchmark Litigation as one of the Top 250 Women in US Litigation. She is very active in local, state,
and national bar associations. Kim 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. Kim formerly 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.

Her commitment to the community is evident in her tireless work with businesses and nonprofits in the
community. She currently serves as a board and an executive committee member for GNO, Inc., The
Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, New Orleans Business Alliance, Touro Hospital, Anti-
Defamation League, Dillard University and Tulane University. She also serves as Chairman of the Board
for the Amistad Research Center and is the President of Louisiana Women’s Forum. She is a member
of the New Orleans Business Council and an executive committee member of the Lawyers Committee
for Civil Rights under the Law.

Kim received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and her A.B. from Princeton
University. Her connection to Dillard started at a young age as the daughter of a proud Dillard graduate
also growing up in the neighborhood always admiring the work of the university. She started a
scholarship in her parent’s name at Dillard – the Ernest and Connie Boyle Scholarship.