Nanette Jolivette Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana was recently honored as part of Tulane University Law School’s 2025 Hall of Fame class. She made history as the first African American to serve as chief judge of her district and was recognized for her trailblazing leadership and lasting contributions to the federal judiciary.
Tulane’s Hall of Fame celebrates alumni and faculty whose careers exemplify professional excellence, integrity, and service to the legal profession and the broader community. This year’s inductees were celebrated at a special event on April 29 in New Orleans.
The following biography of Judge Brown was included in the award announcement:
Chief Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown has served as Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana since 2018, following her historic 2011 appointment by President Barack Obama. She is the first African American woman to lead the Court in its 200-year history.
A Lafayette, Louisiana native, Judge Brown earned a journalism degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana. Encouraged by her community, she pursued law and earned her J.D. from Tulane Law School in 1988, where she served as editor of the National Black Law Journal and The Bench. She returned to Tulane in 1998 to earn an LLM in Environmental and Energy Law, contributing to the Environmental Law Journal.
Her distinguished legal career spans private practice and academia. She practiced at Adams and Reese LLP and later became a partner at Chaffe McCall LLP, focusing on commercial, environmental, and real estate law. She also taught at Tulane’s Environmental Law Clinic, Southern University Law Center, and Loyola University New Orleans, where she helped launch its Mediation Section.
As Chief Judge, Brown has overseen the appointment of five district judges, three magistrate judges, and key court officers. She has served on several committees for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, including those on employee dispute resolution, bankruptcy, court merit selection, and re-entry programs.
She has championed initiatives to enhance diversity, transparency, and civic engagement. These include reforms to jury selection and case assignment, expanded naturalization ceremonies, and educational programs on the Bill of Rights. She also launched the EDLA Biennial Bench and Bar Conference, providing free CLE taught by federal judges and national experts to more than 400 attorneys from across the district.
Judge Brown led the Court through major events including the 2019 federal shutdown, the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurricane Ida, and the 2025 Bourbon Street terrorist attack and a historic snowstorm.
Nationally, she has twice been appointed by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to the Judicial Conference Standing Committee on Financial Disclosure. She also serves on the ABA National Conference of Federal Trial Judges Executive Committee, the ABA Judicial Advisory Ethics Committee, and chairs the Membership Committee of the Federal Judges Association.
She is affiliated with numerous legal organizations, including the American Law Institute, National Bar Association, and multiple Inns of Court. In 2024, she joined the Board of Directors of Arts New Orleans and will co-chair the 2026 annual conference of the National Association of Women Judges in New Orleans.
Judge Brown’s many honors include the Sarah T. Hughes Civil Rights Award and the Ernest Morial Award. She and her husband, Marcus Brown (B’02)—a member of the Board of Tulane and the Tulane Energy Law Center advisory board—are devoted supporters of Tulane University.