Class Notes - Spring 2014
People News
1940s
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John P. Laborde ('49)–was honored by Veterans' organizations, including the Army Week Association and Bastion, with the inaugural Army Week NOLA Soldier For Life Award. Mr. Laborde received the award at the Army Week NOLA Joint Forces D-DAY Anniversary Ball held at the National WW II Museum in New Orleans on June 5. Mr. Laborde is the retired chairman, president, and CEO of Tidewater, Inc. |
1950s
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Gene W. Lafitte ('52)–of counsel with Liskow & Lewis, has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for being named to the publication for 30 years, the entirety of the publication's existence. He is one of only 1000 nationwide to receive this honor. |
1960s
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Jack Robichaux ('69)–has been awarded a National Title Professional (NTP) designation from the American Land Title Association, the national trade association of the land title insurance industry. He is a Member/Manager at Robichaux, Mize, Wadsack & Richardson LLC/Ironclad Title, LLC in Lake Charles. |
1980s
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Dorothy (Dee) Manning Taylor ('80)–has joined Liskow & Lewis in their New Orleans office. Of counsel, she concentrates her practice in the areas of white collar criminal law; environmental criminal litigation; environmental compliance, and internal corporate compliance investigations. |
| Honorable Donald R. Johnson, Ph.D. ('82)–of the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, currently serving as a Criminal Court Judge, has recently earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattisburg. Judge Johnson is the only sitting judge in the state to have earned his Ph.D. |
| Jane Politz Brandt ('86)–of the Houston law firm of Thompson & Knight, has be selected for inclusion in the second edition of IP Stars, published by "Managing Intellectual Property." Ms. Brandt has also recently been recognized as a top patent practitioner in the 2014 I AM Patent 1000 – The World's Leading Patent Practitioners. She is Co-Chair of the firm's Intellectual Property ("IP") Practice Group. |
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Sandra A. Vujinovich ('86)–has been appointed Judicial Administrator of the Louisiana Supreme Court. |
| David Wheat ('88)–of Thompson & Knight in Houston, has been named to The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers 2013 for corporate tax; Tax Directors Handbook 2014; and 2014 Chambers USA "Leaders in the Field" for tax. |
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Price Barker ('89)–has joined Kean Miller as a partner in the new Shreveport office. He practices in the labor and employment arena, representing employers. |
1990s
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Mark A. Bodron ('90)–a partner in the Executive Compensation/Employee Benefits practice group of the law firm Baker Botts L.L.P. in Houston, Texas has been recognized in the 2014 The Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law and has been named the Best Lawyer's 2014 Houston Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law "Lawyer of the Year." |
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Elizabeth S. Wheeler ('91)–has joined Liskow & Lewis as an associate of counsel attorney in their New Orleans office. Her practice is focused on a range of complex litigation matters, including environmental law and toxic tort litigation, oil and gas disputes, insurance disputes, commercial litigation and construction contract litigation. |
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Angela W. Adolph ('94)–of Kean Miller, has been elected partner. She practices in the municipal finance and tax groups in the firm's Baton Rouge office. |
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Marc E. Davenport ('95)–of Leake & Andersson, L.L.P. has been named a partner of the firm. |
| Eric Zogry ('96)–has been honored by the National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) with the 2013 Robert E. Shepherd Jr. Award for Excellence in Juvenile Defense. Eric is with the Office of the Juvenile Defender in Raleigh, North Carolina. |
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Kimberly Robinson ('98)–a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Jones Walker, was recently honored among the 2014 Most Influential Women in Business by The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. An awards luncheon was held June 3 for honorees. |
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Andrea Coit ('99)–has been named shareholder with Harrang Long Gary Rudnick P.C. in Oregon. Her practice focuses on the defense of individuals and both public and private entities in matters involving professional negligence defense, civil rights violations, products liability claims, and employment disputes. |
2000s
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Benton Toups ('00)–of Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP in Wilmington, was recently listed in the 2014 Legal Elite list from Business North Carolina magazine for employment law. |
| Christopher (Chris) Criglow ('00)–of Perkins Coie, has been named Partner. He is a member of the firm's Real Estate practice, focusing on real estate development, leasing, purchases, sales and financing. |
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Kyle A. Ferachi ('01)–of the firm McGlinchey Stafford, has been named to the Board of Directors for the Louisiana Bar Foundation. |
| Charles Abbott ('02)–a partner with the firm Cotten Schmidt & Abbott, L.L.P, has been named by New Orleans City Business Magazine to its 2014 Leadership in Law Class. |
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Matthew A. Treuting ('03)–has been promoted to partner at Baldwin, Haspel, Burke & Mayer, LLC in New Orleans, Louisiana. |
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Michael D. Lowe ('04)–has joined Kean Miller as a partner in the new Shreveport office. He practices in the areas of labor and employment, construction, and litigation defense. |
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Michael A. Villa, Jr. ('04)–was recently named a partner of Meadows, Collier, Reed, Cousins Crouch & Ungerman, L.L.P. in Dallas. His practice concentrates on white collar and government regulatory litigation, income tax litigation and commercial litigation. |
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John Funderburk ('05)–has joined Kean Miller in the firm's Baton Rouge office. He will practice with the litigation and construction teams. |
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Everett E. White ('05)–with the law firm of Baker Donelson, and a member of the firm's Product Liability and Business Litigation groups, has been elected as a shareholder in the Jackson, Mississippi office. |
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Alexia Breedlove ('06)–has joined Kean Miller in the firm's Baton Rouge office. She will practice with the firm's energy and environmental litigation teams. |
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Jacob Gardner ('06)–has been selected as a partner in the New Orleans office of Fowler Rodriguez. Mr. Gardner maintains his practice in admiralty law, maritime and non-maritime personal injury defense, marine insurance and civil ligitation. |
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Stuart Ponder ('06)–has been selected as a partner in the New Orleans office of Fowler Rodriguez. Mr. Ponder primarily practices in the areas of insurance defense, admiralty and maritime law, corporate litigation and bankruptcy. |
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April L. Rolen-Ogden ('06)–of Liskow & Lewis, has been elected a shareholder of the firm. She handles the defense of traditional oil and gas disputes, legacy suits, personal injury matters and commercial law matters, including the representation of manufacturers and distributors within various industries. |
| Jacob Simpson ('06)–has recently joined the firm of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson's Baton Rouge office, as an associate in the firm's Healthcare section. |
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Erin L. Kilgore ('07)–of Kean Miller, has been elected partner. She practices in the labor and employment law group in the firm's Baton Rouge office. |
| Sarah Reid ('07)–has joined the New Orleans office of Cotten Schmidt & Abbott, L.L.P., as an associate. |
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Christopher D. Billings ('08)–of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P., has been named a partner. He practices in the area of casualty litigation in the firm's Baton Rouge office. |
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Sean T. McLaughlin ('08)–of Kean Miller, has been elected partner. He practices in the admiralty and maritime, energy, construction and commercial litigation groups in the firm's New Orleans office. |
| Jeffrey K. Coreil ('09)–of the Lafayette firm of NeunerPate, has been selected as the recipient of the 2014 Sandra Day O'Connor Award for Professional Service. Mr. Coreil will be recognized at the American Inns of Court Celebration of Excellence event in October at the Supreme Court of the United States. |
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Melissa M. Grand ('09)–of Adams and Reese LLP, has been elected the new president and board chair for Boys Hope Girls Hope Baton Rouge. |
Firm News
Baker Donelson
The following attorneys from Baker Donelson have been named to the 2014 edition of Louisiana Super Lawyers: Alton E. Bayard, III ('76)-Estate Planning & Probate; Jan M. Hayden ('79)-Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights; Paul S. West ('80)-Gaming; Stephen F. Chiccarelli ('85)-Banking; Errol J. King, Jr. ('86)-Health Care; Gregory E. Bodin ('88)-Business Litigation; Phyllis G. Cancienne ('89)-Employment & Labor; Mark Frilot ('01)-Construction Litigation; and Benjamin West Janke ('08)-Business Litigation.
Alton E. Bayard, III ('76) |
Jan M. Hayden ('79) |
Paul S. West ('80) |
Phyllis G. Cancienne ('89) |
Bradley Murchison Kelly & Shea L.L.C.
David R. Taggart ('79) and Jerald N. Jones ('83) with Bradley Murchison Kelly & Shea L.L.C., have been listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business for Energy & Natural Resources: Oil & Gas.
Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P.
The following attorneys from Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P. have been listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business for Louisiana: E. Frederick Preis, Jr. ('74)-Labor & Employment; David R. Cassidy ('75)-Corporate/M&A: Tax; Murphy J. Foster, III ('79)-Construction and Labor & Employment; Richard D. Leibowitz ('80)-Banking & Finance: Public Finance; Eve B. Masinter ('82)-Labor & Employment; Robert L. Atkinson ('83)-Healthcare; and John T. Andrishok ('97)-Construction.
E. Frederick Preis, Jr. ('74) |
David R. Cassidy ('75) |
Murphy J. Foster, III ('79) |
Richard D. Leibowitz ('80) |
Eve B. Masinter ('82) |
Robert L. Atkinson ('83) |
John T. Andrishok ('97) |
Chaffe McCall
The following lawyers from Chaffe McCall have been named to the 2014 edition of Louisiana Super Lawyers: John F. Olinde ('82)-Personal Injury; Joseph B. Marino, III ('05)-Transportation/Maritime; and G. Wogan Bernard ('06)-Real Estate.
Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore LLC
Quentin F. Urquhart, Jr. ('84) and Timothy Daniels ('85), with Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore LLC, have been selected for inclusion in 2014 Best Lawyers.
Quentin F. Urquhart, Jr. ('84) |
Timothy Daniels ('85) |
Taylor Porter
The following attorneys from Taylor Porter have been listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business: Vicki M. Crochet ('80)-Labor & Employment; Anne J. Crochet ('83)-Environment; Harry J. "Skip" Phillips, Jr. ('83)-Litigation: General Commercial; and Brett Furr ('86)-Bankruptcy/Restructuring.
The following attorneys from Taylor Porter have been named to the 2014 edition of Louisiana Super Lawyers: W. Shelby McKenzie ('64)-Insurance Coverage; W. Luther Wilson ('68)-Personal Injury Medical Malpractice: Defense; Vicki M. Crochet ('80)- Employment & Labor; John F. McDermott ('80)-Tax; Harry J. "Skip" Philips, Jr. ('83)-General Litigation; C. Michael Hart ('84)-Personal Injury and Products: Defense; Brett P. Furr ('86)-Banking; Richard B. Easterling ('90)-Administrative Law; Mary C. Hester ('94)-Estate Planning & Probate
W. Shelby McKenzie ('64) |
Vicki M. Crochet ('80) |
Anne J. Crochet ('83) |
Harry J. "Skip" Philips, Jr. ('83) |
Brett Furr ('86) |
Richard B. Easterling ('90) |
Mary C. Hester ('94) |
Thompson & Knight LLP
Todd Keator ('02) and Chris Chauvin ('04), with the law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP, have been selected for inclusion in Texas Rising Stars 2014 by Thomson Reuters for tax and general litigation, respectively.
