Class Notes, 2004-2005
1940s
John P. Laborde ’49 was named Chairman of the Board of Stewart Enterprises in New Orleans. Laborde is the founder of Tidewater, Inc., a marine transportation company, a former member of the LSU Law Center Board of Trustees, and the 1993 LSU Law Center Distinguished Alumnus of the Year.
1950s
Professor William E. Crawford ’55 was recognized by the Louisiana State Bar Association as a 50-year member of the LSBA. Crawford is the James J. Bailey Professor of Law at the LSU Law Center.
1960s
Ben R. Miller, Jr. ’61 was listed in the 2005/06 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. This guide is widely regarded as the preeminent referral guide to the legal profession in the United States. Miller is a partner from Baton Rouge based Kean Miller Hawthorne D’Armond McCowan & Jarman, LLP specializing in trusts and estates.
Charles S. McCowan, Jr. ’67 was listed in the 2005/06 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. This guide is widely regarded as the preeminent referral guide to the legal profession in the United States. McCowan is a partner from Baton Rouge based Kean Miller Hawthorne D’Armond McCowan & Jarman, LLP specializing in personal injury defense litigation.
Robert A. “Pete” Seale ’67 joined the firm of Liskow and Lewis in its new Houston office. Seale practices in the areas of business and finance, corporate and tax, representing high net worth individuals and closely held business in the areas of income and estate tax and venture capital transactional work.
W. Arthur Abercrombie ’69 is the managing partner of Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips in Baton Rouge.
1970s
Mary Terrell Joseph ’70 was sworn in January 14, 2005 as Judge Pro Tempore for the 19th Judicial District Court. Classmate Justice Kitty Kimball administered the oath and husband Cheney Joseph ’69 presented her with the robe. She will be on leave from her law firm of McGlinchey Stafford during the appointment.
Mike Rubin ’72 was elected the Vice President of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. Rubin is co-managing partner of the McGlinchey Stafford Baton Rouge Office. For more than a quarter of a century, Rubin has taught the course in Louisiana real estate finance at the LSU Law Center. He is also a nationally known speaker having presented over 170 major speeches and papers throughout the United States and Canada.
S. Gene Fendler ’73, managing partner of Liskow & Lewis law firm, has become a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in America. Fendler serves as the head of the firm’s products liability/toxic tort section and is a partner in its admiralty section.
G. William “Bill” Jarman ’73 was listed in the 2005/06 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. This guide is widely regarded as the preeminent referral guide to the legal profession in the United States. Jarman is a partner from Baton Rouge based Kean Miller Hawthorne D’Armond McCowan & Jarman, LLP specializing in business litigation.
Yvonne Reed ’73 became a partner at the Breazeal, Sachse & Wilson law firm. Reed is a CPA and practice in labor and employment law.
George L. Clauer III ’74, Laurel B. Clauer ’74 recently relocated to South Carolina. Laurel retired from her position as Senior Attorney at Entergy. George has become a member of the South Carolina Bar and is practicing bankruptcy law at Skinner & Associates Law Firm, LLC in Greenville, South Carolina.
Ellis J. Daigle ’74 was elected Judge of the 27th Judicial District Court, Division “B”, St. Landry Parish. He will fill the unexpired term of retiring Judge A. Frank McGee. The unexpired term will end on December 31, 2008. Prior to his election, Daigle served since 1997 as an Assistant District Attorney for District Attorney Earl Taylor of the 27th JDC.
Mike Cutshaw ’75 has joined the firm of Adams and Reese in Baton Rouge as a member of the Banking and Finance Team of the Transactions and Corporate Services Practice Group. Cutshaw has more than 25 years of banking law experience, having served seven of those years as General Counsel for the Louisiana Bankers Association (LBA).
Marilyn C. Maloney ’75, Bill Pugh ’79, and Michael Golemi ’99 recently moved to Houston to open a new office for Liskow & Lewis. All three worked at the New Orleans office of Liskow & Lewis prior to their move to Houston.
Mark Fullmer ’76 was named as a leading practitioner in New Orleans in the areas of corporate and securities laws in the “Best Lawyers in America” and “Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.”
Bernie McLaughlin ’76 is a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army serving as the Multi-National Force Iraq deputy liaison to the court. McLaughlin was featured in a recent story in Stars and Stripes, the Mideast edition, for his role in rebuilding Iraq by strengthening Iraq’s legal system. McLaughlin practices law at the Lake Charles law firm of Bice and Palermo.
Frank X. Neuner, Jr. ‘76 is serving as 2005-06 President of the Louisiana State Bar Association. Neuner is managing partner in the Lafayette firm of Laborde & Neuner. Neuner chairs the LSBA’s Budget Committee and is a member of the Executive Committee and the Professionalism and Quality of Life Committee.
Rick Plaeger ’77 Vice President and General Counsel of Burlington Resources, Inc. in Houston was named Chairman of the American Petroleum Institute General Committee on Law and President of the Houston Chapter of the Texas General Counsel Forum. He is now listed by Texas Monthly Magazine as one of the top in-house attorneys in Texas.
W. Ross Foote ’78 recently took early retirement from the 9th JDC bench. He served as a district judge for 13 years. For the past three years, he was involved in the development of Collaborative Divorce, a non-court based resolution system. Upon his retirement, Foote established the International Collaborative Center and helped organize the Collaborative Professionals Group of Louisiana.
Carey J. Messina ’78 was listed in the 2005/06 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Messina is a partner from Baton Rouge based Kean Miller Hawthorne D’Armond McCowan & Jarman, LLP specializing in trusts and estates.
Grover Joseph Rees ’78 was nominated by President George Bush as Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor).The U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination and Ambassador Rees presented his credentials to President Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao. Ambassador Rees formerly served as a Chief Justice of the High court of American Samoa and a law professor at the University of Texas. He also served as a senior official of the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. Government. Rees is a native of Louisiana and received his undergraduate degree from Yale University.
1980s
Richard J. Arsenault ’80 of the Neblett, Beard & Arsenault law firm, was listed in the 2005/06 edition of The Best Lawyers in America publication. Arsenault also served as Seminar Chair for the LSBA’s 12th Annual Admiralty Symposium and the 5th Annual Class Action / Mass Tort Symposium and has served in that capacity since its inception. In addition, Arsenault was a speaker at the LSBA’s Insurance seminar this fall and also participated as a faculty member at the LSU Law Center’s Trial Advocacy Program in Baton Rouge.
Scott Chamberlain ’80 was appointed president and chairman of the board of directors of the volunteer center of western Connecticut. He is practicing law in Bethel, CT.
Warren Fleet ’80 joined the firm of Jones Walker as special counsel in its Baton Rouge office. Fleet joins Jones Walker’s general business and energy practice after having served as general counsel to the Department of Natural Resources for over 11 years. During that timeframe, Fleet also served as Commissioner of Conservation from 1997-98.
J. Lanier Yeates ’81 joined the law firm of Gordon Arata McCollam Duplantis & Eagan, LLP as a partner resident in the firm’s Houston office. Prior to joining Gordon Arata, Yeates was engaged in private practice for 20 years. In early October, Yeates’s first novel, Bay of One Hundred Fires, was published.
William B. Conway ’82 accepted a position as counsel in the Energy Practice Group of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom, LLP in Washington, D.C. His practice will focus on regulatory and transactional matters affecting the electric power industry.
Evelyn Wilson ’83 has written a book centered around Charles Hatfield, whose 1946 suit for admission to LSU caused the state of Louisiana to fund a law school at Southern University in order to maintain segregation. A description of the book, Laws, Customs and Rights, is available from the publisher at www.HeritageBooks.com. In addition, Wilson was selected by the Louisiana Bar Foundation as its “Scholar-In-Residence” for the period July 1, 2004 through June 20, 2006. She will be writing about the Louisiana Supreme Court Justices from 1865 to 1880.
Regina Wedig ’84 opened her solo law practice and title insurance company Land-Vest Title of Louisiana, LLC in New Orleans.
Carolyn M. Campbell ’85 was named Group General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Dynegy, Inc. of Houston, TX. Campbell is responsible for all corporate finance, transactional securities and disclosure matters and will serve as a liaison between the Board of Directors, senior management, and the company’s shareholders. Prior to joining Dynegy, Campbell was a Senior Counsel with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP specializing in transactional work with a concentration on the energy industry.
Maris E. LeBlanc ’85 accepted the position of Executive Counsel to the Commissioner of Administration in Baton Rouge. Prior to that appointment, he worked with the Louisiana Ethics Administration Program for 19 years.
Uisdean “Hugh” Vass ’85 was appointed head of Oil & Gas in the Aberdeen office of Maclay, Murray & Spens. Maclay, Murray and Spens is Scotland’s largest law firm. Vass, who specialized in Oil & Gas Law at LSU, spent five years at Stone Pigman in New Orleans and then moved to South America where he established the Caracas and Rio de Janeiro offices of Canadian International law firm Macleod Dixon. He returned home to native Scotland in 2003.
John LaMaster ’86 joined the London office of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae as a partner. He was previously the head of Vinson & Elkins’ London office. John moved to London in 1993 following seven years in Houston. His practice involves international mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, as well as energy transactions and project development.
Robert W. Barron ’87 was named to the 2005 Board of Governors and the Board of Directors of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce. Barron is a shareholder with the firm of Berger Singerman, P.A. with offices in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and Tallahassee, FL.
Gregory Bodin ’88 is the 2005 president of the Baton Rouge Bar Association.
Robert L. Coco ’88 joined the firm of Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips, LLP in Baton Rouge. His practice consists of all aspects of environmental regulatory law with an emphasis on air permitting and enforcement, and radioactive material regulation. Coco served as a Senior Attorney in the Legal Division of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality from 1992-96.
Mark L. Hornsby ’88 was sworn in as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Louisiana in Shreveport. He practiced law in Shreveport at Weiner, Weiss & Madison.
R. David Wheat, Jr. ’88 was inducted into the American College of Tax Counsel. Wheat is a partner with Thompson & Knight LLP in Dallas.
Kenneth P. Haines, ’89 was recently recognized as a Board Certified Family Law Specialist by the Louisiana State Bar Association. Haines is a shareholder in the law firm of Weems, Schimpf, Gilsoul, Haines & Carmouche in Shreveport. His law practice is focused in the area of family litigation, general litigation, and appeals.
Patti Melker Richards of the Richards Law Firm L.L.C. in Atlanta was selected in December 2004 to serve on the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC). Richards is among 12 new members appointed to the 22-person council for a three-year term. Council members offer recommendations, observations, and operational improvements regarding IRS policies, programs, and procedures. Although Richards graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, she did her first year of law school in 1987 at the LSU Law Center. She has established the LaVerne Lewis Moss Scholarship in her mother’s name at the LSU Law Center to help single parent law students. Richards is also a CPA and her practice focuses on domestic and international tax controversy.
Margaret L. Tooke ’89 received a President’s Award by the Baton Rouge Bar Association for starting the Holiday Star program of giving to the less fortunate.
Robyn Underwood ’89 specializes in government contracts and business transactions. He is also Of Counsel to the firm Neel & Hooper, P.C. that specializes in labor law.
1990s
Bryant Banes ’90 interrupted his law practice in Houston last year when he was activated from the Army (JAG Corps) reserves to serve a year in Iraq. Banes returned in late December having been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and awarded a bronze star medal. While in Iraq, he served at Camp Victory near Baghdad. He is resuming his law practice in Houston with his wife.
Ronnie L. Johnson ’90 was named a member of McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC. Johnson practices in the Baton Rouge office and concentrates his practice in the areas of general litigation, government relations, health care, insurance regulation, and compliance.
Melanie Newkome Jones ’90 was hired as the Program Director of the First Circuit Court of Appeal Pilot Mediation Program. She will continue to work as a sole practitioner and mediator in Baton Rouge.
Josh M. Kantrow ’90 is a senior partner in the Chicago office of the international law firm, Cozen O’Conner. Following a comprehensive peer review, he was named a “Super Lawyer” by Law and Politics Magazine and Chicago Magazine. His peers designated Kantrow as being in the top five percent of practicing attorneys in Illinois.
Pam Payne Mitchell ’90 works as a staff attorney to the Clerk of Court for the U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana in Shreveport. She married fellow Law Center classmate Curt Mitchell ’90 who works as in-house counsel for Allstate.
B. Troy Villa ’90 was named partner in charge of the Baton Rouge office of Adams and Reese LLP. Villa practices extensively in the areas of banking and finance and business transactions.
Anne-Gwin Duval ’91 has become an associate at Phelps Dunbar, LLP in New Orleans. She has joined the firm’s admiralty practice group.
Edward D. Hughes ’03 joined the firm of Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips in Baton Rouge as an associate. His areas of practice include workers’ compensation, commercial litigation, toxic tort, insurance defense, and casualty litigation.
Marjorie McKeithen ’91 was appointed by Governor Kathleen Blanco to the State Mineral Board and currently serves as its Vice Chairman. McKeithen is still in private practice with the law firm of McKeithen, McKeithen & Bohman, APLC.
Catherine S. Nobile ’91 was named in-house counsel for the General Health System in Baton Rouge.
Joel P. Babineaux ’92 was elected Chairperson of the Labor & Employment Law Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association. Babineaux is a partner with Perret Doise (APLC). He practices labor, employment and benefits law in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Tracy Averett Morganti ’92 has become a partner at Taylor, Porter, Brooks, & Phillips in Baton Rouge. She concentrates her practice in the areas of public finance law, particularly in healthcare, higher education, and state and local government finance.
J. Rock Palermo III ’92 was featured on an episode of CNN’s “Defending America” series. Palermo is a colonel in the Civil Air Patrol. The segment emphasized the importance of CAP’s work and the training required. The story followed Lake Charles attorney Palermo as he flies a target intercept mission for the Air Force in the Gippsland GA8 Airvan, and then shows his professional life as an attorney in private practice.
Nikki Hobert Fanous ’93 is a partner in the real estate section of Jackson Walker LLP in Fort Worth, TX. Fanous was selected by her peers as one of Tarrant County’s Top Attorneys for 2004 in the Product Liability section.
Michael S. Jones ’93 has become a partner at Graydon Head & Ritchey LLP in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jones is a member of the Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Client Service Department.
Maria Cobb ’94 was promoted to Managing Partner of Rushing & Guice, P.L.L.C. in Biloxi, MS.
Jon Ann Giblin ’94 was named a member of McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC. Giblin practices in the Business section of the Baton Rouge office and focuses her practice on consumer and commercial bankruptcies, collections, and creditor rights issues.
J. Colter Harris ’94 a partner in the Business Transactions section of the Dallas office of Jackson Walker L.L.P. was honored by Texas Monthly Magazine as a “Texas Rising Star Super Lawyer.”
Alicia R. Hoover ’94 opened her own practice in Baton Rouge, Alicia R. Hoover, RN, Attorney at Law, LLP. Hoover spent the previous 10 years with the law firm of Moore, Walters, Thompson, Thomas, & Papillion. She also opened L & M Consultants, Inc. servicing medical and legal professionals who need case reviews or advice regarding potential or ongoing litigation. Hoover is Executive Director of Louisiana Association of Consumer Advocates (LACA), a nonprofit organization representing consumer interest in Louisiana. In that capacity, she is a licensed lobbyist and testified routinely at the legislature during the last regular session.
Edythe Landrineau Koonce ’94 received the Judge Joseph Keogh award that is given to the Outstanding Young Lawyer in Baton Rouge for service to the Baton Rouge Bar.
Jeffrey W. Koonce ’94 joined the firm of Phelps Dunbar in Baton Rouge as a partner. He will practice in the areas of federal taxation, corporate law, state taxation, local taxation, trusts and estates. He is the chairman of the Louisiana State Bar Association Tax Law Advisory Commission and serves on the Board of Directors of the Baton Rouge Society of CPA’s.
Alan Ott ’94 left the legal staff at the Army’s Intelligence and Security Command headquartered at Ft. Belvoir, VA. Ott is now Assistant General Counsel at the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C. He will practice in the areas of national security and federal administrative law. He also serves in the Army Reserve and recently became commander of the 203rd Military Intelligence Battalion located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
Timothy Brechtel ’95 was named a partner in the New Orleans office of Jones Walker. He was also named a Board Certified Tax Law Specialist by the Louisiana State Bar Association Board of Legal Specialization. He practices in the areas of employee benefits, ERISA, and executive compensation.
Jonathan R. Hirsch ’95 was promoted to the rank of Major in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and reassigned as Chief of Administrative and Civil Law for the U.S. Army 99th Regional Readiness Command in Pittsburgh, PA.
Brandon Kelly Black ’96 joined the Baton Rouge office of Jones Walker as a special counsel in the litigation practice. Black will focus on commercial litigation, bankruptcy, and banking.
Caroline B. Blitzer ’96 has become a partner in the firm of Vinson & Elkins in Houston. Blitzer is a member of the firm’s corporate section. Her practice includes merger, acquisitions and divestitures, public and private debt and equity offerings, and corporate governance.
Larry E. Demmons ’96 was elected partner of the firm Taggert, Morton, Ogden, Staub, Rougelot, & O’Brien, L.L.C. in New Orleans. Demmons is the coordinator of the firm’s employment law practice group.
Daniel M. Douglass ’96 has joined Crescent Title as manager of the firm’s new Metairie location. Douglass also joins Crescent Title owner Robert J. Bergeron as a partner in the Law Firm of Bergeron and Douglass. Douglass resides in New Orleans with his wife and three children.
Beth Osborne ’96 recently started a job working for Senator Tom Harper (D-DE) as his transportation and trade aid. In this capacity, she advises the senator on legislation within these areas and looks for ways to further his transportation and trade agenda in Congress. She currently lives in Washington D.C. with her husband, Mike Olander, who works for the FBI as a counterterrorism analyst.
Eric Zogry ’96 was recently appointed to the new position of Juvenile Defender of North Carolina.
Michael A. Cromwell ’97 recently relocated from Brussels, Belgium to Houston, TX. Cromwell is employed by the ExxonMobil Chemical Company in the Law Technology section.
Karleen J. Green ’97 was elected partner in the employment law practice group of Phelps Dunbar LLP in Baton Rouge. She practices in the areas of employment and employee benefits, litigation and consultation regarding labor and employment law, and federal and state employment discrimination.
Stephanie G. John ’97 was named a member of McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC. John practices in the Labor section of the Houston office. She exclusively represents management, providing counseling and preventative advice to business and other organizations and defending employers in disputes with their employees.
David M. Kerth ’97 was elected to partnership at the firm of Jones Walker. Kerth practices at the Baton Rouge office in Business and Commercial Law
William M. Quin, II’ 97 has become a partner with Lundy and Davis in the firm’s Jackson, Mississippi office.
Virginia Yoder Trainor ‘97 was elected a partner in the litigation practice group of Phelps Dunbar LLP in Baton Rouge. Trainor practices in the areas of medical malpractice, insurance defense, and insurance coverage litigation.
Marc Caillouet ’98 recently relocated to the Houston office of the worldwide accounting firm of Pricewaterhouse Coopers. He is a Senior Manager in the firm’s National Utility Practice.
Jason R. Cashio ’98 was elected a partner in the Baton Rouge Law Firm of Kean, Miller, Hawthorne, D’Armond, McCowan & Jarman, LLP. Cashio represents clients in medical malpractice, general and commercial litigation, medical and pharmaceutical products liability, and civil rights defense. He was inducted into the LSU Law Center Hall of Fame in 1998.
John Davidson ’98 was elected District Judge for the Ninth Judicial District Court. Davidson credits the fine reputation of the LSU Law Center and his impressive graduate honors as a major factor in the race.
Mandy K. Mendoza ’98 was certified as a Tax Law Specialist by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. Mendoza is an attorney with Elkins, PLC in New Orleans.
J. Michael Monahan ’98 was recently appointed as newsletter co-editor of the Intellectual section of the American Bar Association. Monahan handles intellectual property issues including trademark, trade secret, copyright, technology and other intellectual property matters.
John Allain Viator ’98 has become a partner at Taylor, Porter, Brooks, & Phillips in Baton Rouge. His practice consists of litigation in areas of toxic torts, insurance defense, and maritime law.
Ross Barrett ’99 created Louisiana Ventures L.P. in Shreveport. Louisiana Ventures is a venture capital group that plans to target companies that are developing promising technologies with an emphasis on those that use “technical infrastructure and human capital” in the state.
Michael Fruge ’99 became a partner at the Breazeal, Sachse & Wilson law firm. Fruge works with the firm’s business and commercial litigation unit.
Deborah J. Juneau ’99 was elected a partner in the Baton Rouge Law Firm of Kean, Miller, Hawthorne, D’Armond, McCowan & Jarman, LLP. Juneau represents clients in medical malpractice litigation, commercial and business litigation, environmental litigation, toxic tort defense, and insurance defense.
Wendi Barbari Loup ’99 is assistant general counsel with Lamar Advertising Company. She was formerly with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P.
Terrence D. McCay ’99 was elected a partner in the Baton Rouge Law Firm of Kean, Miller, Hawthorne, D’Armond, McCowan & Jarman, LLP. A professional forester and land administration manager with Boise Cascade prior to law school, McCay has specific experience in cases involving exposure to toxic substances, general civil litigation, maritime matters, property issues, and collections cases.
Tiffany Peperone ’99 has joined the New Orleans office of McGlinchey Stafford. Peperone joins the firm as an associate and practices in the areas of government relations, health care and gaming regulations.
Jennifer J. Thomas ‘99 was elected a partner in the Baton Rouge Law Firm of Kean, Miller, Hawthorne, D’Armond, McCowan & Jarman, LLP. Thomas represents local, regional, and national clients in litigation and regulatory issues involving Medicare, Medicaid, HIPAA, pharmaceuticals, civil rights involved medical professionals, and Louisiana health care legislation.
Karli Glascock Wilson ’99 was elected a partner in the Baton Rouge Law Firm of Kean, Miller, Hawthorne, D’Armond, McCowan & Jarman, LLP. Wilson has particular experience in environmental litigation, toxic tort claims, automobile accident claims, and computer warranty claims.
2000s
Norma Bennett ’00 joined the firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in Houston. She is an intellectual property attorney specializing in patent litigation.
Kendrick Guidry ’00 became a member of the executive counsel of the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association. Guidry is a felony prosecutor for the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office.
Brandon B. Williams ’00 joined Chopin, Wager, Richard and Kutcher in Metairie, LA. Prior to joining Chopin Wager, Williams was a captain in the United States Marine Corps.
Joshua B. Zeldon ’00 joined Title2Land, LLC as an attorney. Title2Land, LLC is a real estate services company that is presently licensed in over 20 states.
Gina Banks ’01 joined the Baton Rouge law firm Kean, Miller, Hawthorne, D’Armond, McCowan & Jarman LLP. Banks will practice in the commercial litigation, toxic tort, and municipal law groups.
Skylar J. Comeaux ’01 has joined the Law Offices of Jeff R. Rytlewski, Employees of the Hartford Group of Affiliated Insurance Companies. Comeaux has already been promoted to Senior Staff Attorney. He is also pursing his M.B.A. at Auburn University.
Drew Bernard ’02 has become an associate of the Babcock Law Firm in its Baton Rouge office. His practice is concentrated in the areas of casualty defense litigation, premises liability, construction litigation and general criminal matters. Prior to joining the Babcock Law Firm, Bernard was the law clerk for Judge Anthony Marabella, Jr. of the 19th Judicial District Court.
Jason M. DeCuir ’02 joined the firm of Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips in Baton Rouge as an associate. His areas of practice include taxation, estate planning, and corporate law.
Thomas D. Gildersleeve ’02 joined the firm of Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips in Baton Rouge as an associate. His area of practice is environmental law.
Todd Keator ’02 returned to Thompson & Knight LLP in Dallas after obtaining a Master of Law degree in taxation from the New York University School of Law. Keator works primarily on U.S. transactional tax issues.
Louis A. Kerkhoff ’02 joined the law firm of Robbins Umeda & Fink, LLP in San Diego, CA. as an associate. His practice is focused on securities litigation.
J. Parker Layrisson ’02 joined the firm of Scandurro & Layrisson, L.L.C. as an associate. Layrisson will run the firm’s newly opened office in Ponchatoula, Louisiana.
Kristy Zeringue Boxberger ’03 joined the firm of Wray & Pierce, LLP in Baton Rouge as an associate.
Betty C. Burke ‘04 has become an associate at Phelps Dunbar in Baton Rouge. She will be working in the employment law practice group.
Erik Piazza ‘04 has become an associate with Phelps Dunbar in Baton Rouge. He will be working in the employment law practice group.
Brandon A. Politz ’04, James D. Seymour ’04 and Jonathan G. Wilbourn ’01 have joined the law offices of McGlinchey Stafford PLLC as associates to the Baton Rouge office. All join the firm in the commercial litigation section.
Curt Rome ’04 joined the New Orleans office of McGlinchey Stafford PLLC. Rome joins the firm as an associate practicing in the areas of business litigation, class action defense, and consumer finance.
Gregory Thomas Stevens ’04 has become an associate with Phelps Dunbar in Baton Rouge. He will be working in the litigation practice group.
