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Class Notes, December 2006

1940s

John P. Laborde, '49, founding president and former chairman of the New Orleans based oilfield service company, Tidewater Inc., celebrated 50 years of operation by ringing the closing bell on the New York Stock exchange June 16, 2006.

1960s

John S. Campbell, Jr., '61, partner of Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips, was named to The Best Lawyers in America and Chamber USA.

Gerald L. Walter, '62, was named to The Best Lawyers in Americafor his abilities in environmental law.

Cyrus J. Greco, '63, joined the firm of Taylor, Porter, Brooks, and Phillips L.L.P. as special counsel

Emmett C. Sole, '68, was selected as one of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of construction law. Sole practices with the firm Stockwell, Sievert, Viccellio, Clements & Shaddock.

Paul Marks, Jr., '69, is now associated with MAPS as a mediator in the greater Baton Rouge area.

1970s

Michael Pharis, '70, partner of Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips was named to The Best Lawyers in America and Chamber USA for his abilities in employment and labor law.

John W. deGravelles, '74, was selected as a Fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL). Membership in the academy is limited to 500 Fellows in the United States. deGravelles is a past president of the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association and presently serves as chairman of the LTLA Ethics Committee and is an ex-officio member of the Board of Governors.

Andrew B. Ezell, '74, joined the firm of Phelps Dunbar in Baton Rouge as counsel in the business group.

William C. Potter, '74, managing director of Postlethwaite & Netterville, was appointed to the board of directors of Alliance for Children and Families headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Mike Rubin, '75, adjunct professor, received national recognition in being named president of the College of Real Estate Lawyers. He is the first Louisianan to be elected to this position and the only Baton Rouge lawyer in the organization. He is a member of the LSU Law Center's Board of Trustees.

Alton E. "Biff" Bayard, III, '76, joined the firm of Baker Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell and Berkowitz, PC as a shareholder. He is a board certified tax specialist and a board certified estate planning and administration specialist certified by the Board of Louisiana of Legal Specialization. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of trusts and estates.

William E. Steffes, '77, of Steffes, Vingiello, McKenzie, L.L.C. was inducted to the Fellows of the College of the American College of Bankruptcy.

P. Keith Daigle, '79, was promoted to senior vice president and general counsel of PamLab, LLC, Covington, Louisiana effective January 1, 2007.

Nancy Dougherty, '79, was selected as one of 2005's most influential women in business by the Baton Rouge Business Report.

1980s

Vicki Crochet, '80, partner of Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips, was named to two leading lawyers list for her abilities in employment and labor law: The Best Lawyers in America and Chamber USA.

Cindy Rougeou, '81, was appointed executive director of the Louisiana State Employees Retirement System (LASERS).

J. Lanier Yeates, '81, was elected chairman of the board of directors of the LSU Foundation for a two-year term commencing January 1, 2007. Yeates practices with Gordon Arata in Houston.

Major General Harry J. "Skip" Philips, '83, was elected to the LSU Cadets of Ole War Skule Hall of Honor. Philips is a partner at Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips.

George Ernest III, '85, was appointed to the Lafayette Parish Bar Association board of directors for the year 2006-2007 and also appointed to the Lafayette Parish Bar Foundation board of directors.

Maris E. LeBlanc, '85, was appointed deputy director of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System (LASERS).

Carter McDowell, '85, currently chief legislative counsel for the House Financial Services Committee, joins the American Bankers Association on Jan. 1, 2007 as chief legislative counsel for domestic and international banking issues.

Richard S. Pabst, '86, joined the firm of Kean Miller concentrating his more than 20 years of experience in the oil and gas transaction environmental litigation, energy industry mergers, and acquisitions in environmental and regulatory and remediation issues.

John O. Shirley, '86, became a partner in the business group of Phelps Dunbar in Baton Rouge.

Thomas A. Lenz, '88, a partner in Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud, and Romo was named to the top 100 labor attorneys in the United States for 2006 as compiled by the Labor Relations Institute.

Guy Manning, '88, opened his new firm in Fort Worth, Texas specializing in intellectual property law.

R. David Wheat, Jr., '88, was awarded "Top Super Lawyer" status in Texas Monthly's October 2006 issue in addition to being named a Texas Super Lawyer by the publication. Wheat is a partner in the tax practice group at Thompson & Knight L.L.P. in the firm's Dallas office.

1990s

V. Thomas Clark Jr., '90, joined Adams and Reese L.L.P. as a partner in the litigation practice group where he will focus on complex commercial litigation and insurance regulatory dispute resolution.

R. Marshall Grodner, '90, was reelected by the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers as a new fellow. Grodner is a member of the Baton Rouge office of McGlinchey Stafford P.L.L.C. where he focuses primarily on commercial transactions, secured transactions, commercial finance, commercial real estate, and gaming law.

Jay M. Jalenak, Jr., '90, was installed to serve a one-year term as the 2006 Baton Rouge Bar Association president.

Joel P. Babineaux, '92, a managing partner with Perret Doise, was recognized by American Bar Association for his contributing authorship of the 2005 Cumulative Supplement of the Employee Benefits Law Treatise published and released this year by the Bureau of National Affairs and the ABA section of Labor and Employment law.

Michael Crawford, '93, a partner with Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips, was elected vice-chair of the Board of Special Olympics of Louisiana. He previously served on the board's executive committee as legal adviser and has been a member since January 2000. Crawford's practice consists of bankruptcy and corporate reorganizations.

Mary Lintot Dougherty, '93, a board certified tax attorney and board certified estate planning and administration specialist was welcomed to the Houston office of Liskow & Lewis.

Joell Keller, '93, is the in house environmental health and safety counsel for Celanese Corporation.

Gerard J. Dragna, '94, became an associate of the firm Leake and Andersson L.L.P. of New Orleans.

Christine S. Goldberg, '94, joined the Baton Rouge office of McGlinchey Stafford concentrating her practice in both employment litigation and commercial litigation.

Mary C. Hester, '94, joined the law firm of Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips and was named a fellow of the American College of Estate and Trust Counsel.

F. Sherman Boughton, Jr., '95, joined the firm of McGlinchey Stafford, P.L.L.C. practicing in the area of general and commercial litigation and real estate law.

Bradley J. Schlotterer, '95, joined the firm of Kean Miller as a partner in its New Orleans office practicing with the admiralty and maritime practice group.

Amy D. Berret, '96, became a partner with Kean Miller practicing in a litigation group representing clients in medical malpractice defense, commercial and business litigation, toxic towards defense litigation, and workers' compensation defense.

Cynthia Green St. Amant, '96, became a member of the firm Kanner and Whiteley, L.L.C. practicing in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Jason B. Boudreaux, '97, is associated with the firm of Gibson-Gruenert L.L.P. in Lafayette, concentrating his practice in general civil litigation.

J. Alan Harrell, '97, became a partner in the litigation group in the Baton Rouge office of Phelps Dunbar L.L.P.

Amy Groves Lowe, '97, was named "Top 40 under 40" by the Baton Rouge Business Report. She also received the Nita Sims Breazeale League service award from the Junior League of Baton Rouge for her commitment to the community.

Cherish D. Van Mullem, '98, became an associate in the firm of Phelps Dunbar. She will concentrate her practice in business.

Cristy Corbino Edwards, '99, was named as a 2006 Texas Rising Star attorney by Texas Monthly Magazine. She is an attorney in the Houston office of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. concentrating her practice in municipal bonds and public finance.

Juston M. O'Brien, '99, became a member of McGlinchey Stafford practicing in the area of commercial, business, and appellate litigation.

Samira A. Salman, '99, served as in house counsel with Shell since June 2005 practicing in the area of tax issues.

2000s

Jeffrey N. Boudreaux, '00, became a partner with the firm of Kean Miller practicing in the litigation group representing clients and state, federal, and tribal courts.

Emily Black Grey, '00, was honored by the Baton Rouge Business Report as one of the 2006 "Top 40 under 40." Grey practices with McGlinchey Stafford in Baton Rouge.

Jennifer M. Sigler, '00, was named partner with Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips. Sigler joined the firm after graduating from LSU in 2000. Her practice includes toxic tort and asbestos litigation, higher education, and commercial and real estate transactions.

Ryan N. Ours, '01, was elected to the partnership of Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips.

Lee A. White, '01, an associate in the real estate section of Jackson Walker L.L.P. was selected to participate in the 2006 and 2007 Associate Leadership Counsel (ACL) within the greater Dallas community.

Jason DeCuir, '02, was honored by the Baton Rouge Business Report as one of the 2006 "Top 40 under 40".

Jamie D. Henry, '02, became an associate attorney with Kean Miller in its New Orleans office.

Vanessa W. Servat, '03, was welcomed to the firm of Liskow & Lewis as an associate in maritime, oilfield, and insurance section.

Amber Homolka, '04, accepted a position of junior attorney in the San Francisco office of Lehman Brothers. A publicly traded investment bank, she will be practicing in the private investment management division of Lehman Brothers in wealth advisory.

Darrel Papillion, '04, was honored by the Baton Rouge Business Report as one of the 2006 "Top 40 under 40." Papillion is with the firm Moore, Walters, Thompson, Thomas, Papillion & Cullens.

Julie Baxter, '05, was honored by the Baton Rouge Business Report as one of the 2006 "Top 40 under 40". Baxter joined the firm of Moore, Walters, Thompson, Thomas, Papillion & Cullens.

Kathryn Colvin Goodson, '05, joined the firm of with Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips as an associate.

William H.L. Kaufman, '05, joined the firm of with Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips as associates.

Addie M. Prewitt, '05, completed her L.L.M. in taxation from Boston University in 2006 and joined the firm of Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips. Her practice will include taxation, individual business and estate planning, with attention to federal, state, and local tax issues.

Mariah K. Shultz, '05, became an associate attorney in the litigation department of Downey Brand Attorneys L.L.P. in Sacramento, CA. Her focus is litigation.

Franz N. Borghardt, '06 opened his own firm Borghardt Collins, Attorney at Law LLC focusing on employment and criminal law.

Eric Landry, '06, joined the firm of Adams and Reese L.L.P. and is a member of the Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Practices Group.

David McCrory, '06, joined the firm of Adams and Reese L.L.P. and is a member of the litigation practice group.

April Rolen-Ogden, '06, was welcomed to the firm of Liskow & Lewis where she will focus on litigation matters including commercial energy and environmental litigation.

Brandi Sablatura, '06, was admitted to the State Bar of Texas as an associated at Baker Botts, L.L.P. in Houston, Texas.

Shana Ann Stumpf, '06, joined the firm of Adams and Reese L.L.P. and is a member of the Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Practices Group.

The LSU Law Center community mourns the passing of the following alumni whose deaths were reported since the date of our last newsletter publication.

Milton Shepard '43 of Oakdale, died February 12, 2006. Mack E. Barham '46, of New Orelans, died November 27, 2006. Minos D. Miller Jr., '47 of Jennings, died July 1, 2006. Leon Jastrenski Leseur '48 of Napoleonville, died April 30, 2006. James A. " Jimmie" Noe Jr. '53 of Monroe, died July 10, 2005. Rolfe H. McCollister Sr. '55 of Bastrop, died January 23, 2006. James L. Babin '57 of Lake Charles, died November 23, 2006. Jesse Dekalb McDonald '57 of Monroe, died August 23, 2006. Frank L. Dobson '61 of Baton Rouge, died March 9, 2005. Milton Aubrey McCleary, Jr. '61 of Baton Rouge, died December 9, 2006. Billy Oran Wilson '61 of Baton Rouge, died June 6, 2006. James E. Phillips, Jr. '63 of Baton Rouge, died December 2, 2006. Paul Stewart Gravel '72 from Alexandria, died September 1, 2006. John William (Bill) Wilson '72 of Monroe, died November 10, 2004. Phillip J. Dugas '81 of Baton Rouge, died June 10, 2006. John Carter Wilkinson '85 of West Baton Rouge, died June 12, 2006. Leah Margaret Hipple McCay '86 of Baton Rouge, died April 20, 2006. Jennie Lynne Hill '93 of Baton Rouge, died July 15, 2006.