Robert Garda, Jr.

Professor Garda teaches contracts, commercial transactions, international commercial transactions, employment discrimination, legal methods, and scholarly writing. He is the author of numerous articles and reports on education law. His recent articles appear in the North Carolina Law Review, Florida Law Review and Journal of Law & Education. His legal scholarship covers a variety of topics including: the rights of disabled students, affirmative action, integration in K-12 education, special education spending and legal issues surrounding charter schools. His current projects concern: introducing outcome accountability into special education law, the impact of monied interests on education legislation and the changing purposes of education as recognized by the Supreme Court and embodied in recent legislation.

Professor Garda was the past national Chair of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on Education Law and currently serves on its Executive Committee. He also serves as a member of the Louisiana Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the Board of Directors for the Louisiana Mental Health Advocacy Services. He has worked on projects with the Louisiana Bar Foundation and Louisiana Appleseed. He also works with national and local public interest groups on education and disability issues and is a frequent commentator in the Louisiana media on education issues. He was awarded the 2010 Good Apple Award from the Appleseed Network and the 2009 Gillis Long Poverty Law Center Public Service Award for his public service. He was also voted the Favorite Professor of the Year in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010.

Professor Garda joined the Loyola Law School faculty in 2002. Prior to entering academia he graduated from Duke University Law School where he served as Articles Editor on the Duke Law Journal. After externing for Justice Zimmerman of the Utah Supreme Court, Professor Garda became a partner at the Salt Lake City firm of Fabian & Clendenin focusing primarily in the areas of education law, commercial litigation, and employment law.

Classes Taught

• Contracts I
• Contracts II
• Law Review Practicum
• Employment Discrimination
• Commercial Transactions
• International Commercial Transactions
• Legal Profession
• Education Law Seminar
• Legal Methods
• Seminar on Scholarly Writing

Areas of Expertise

Contracts and education law, with an emphasis on legal issues relating to educating the disabled.