JD Journal » New Orleans

Moonlighting: Inside a Legal Conference

chelsei — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:31:01 +0000

Last week, a certain company had their annual legal conference. This year, lawyers from all over the world came to celebrate in the cultural and historic haven that we’ve grown accustom to calling New Orleans. They had a lot of stuff planned, and surprisingly it didn’t all pertain to food. There were actual events that took place.

They helped out the community by spending they’re first day of the conference volunteering at a New Orleans-based organization called St. Bernard Project. SBP is an wonderful non-profit organization that was formed about 5 years ago by a lawyer (Zack Rosenburg) and a teacher (Liz McCartney). After just a week’s visit to beautiful New Orleans, these two decided to give up their lives as they knew them and settle into New Orleans to help the people whose homes and lives had been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and the Oil Spill. SBP has quite a few programs and around 60 of the lawyers worked in the effort to rebuild houses. By painting, removing siding, installing installation, et cetera. SBP is always about quality when it come to rebuilding people’s homes. If the air bubble in the level your are using is just the slightest bit off, you can expect an earful from your supervisor who won’t care that your ”real’ job doesn’t involve the use of power tools.

The legal conference also included a few training sessions. One of these training sessions was held by Second City, the famous comedy club/school that has actually trained the entire original cast of Saturday Night Live.

I guess the bosses at the firm thought that their workers needed to learn a bit about humor. Maybe they wanted them to lighten up. But, Second City does provide corporate workshops and training to improve teamwork and communication.

So, the people who lead the training sessions were actually a couple of comedians who had tons of energy and were really hilarious. They were even good at being trainers, and they hardly made any jokes about them being lawyers. They made the lawyers do a bunch of exercises that were meant to get them to think creatively, and to say thank you all the time, and to also really listen to each other’s ideas. All the stuff that lawyers are typically really bad at.

The conference, of course, also included a ton of informational sessions and CLE’s. Those included updates from each of the different legal teams on the past year, recognition of accomplishments, and topics of interest, such as ethics, legislative updates and diversity. They had to include something that was both serious and informative, plus they needed something to fill in all the boring time between meals.

And despite most admonishments about having fun at company social events, they had plenty of those opportunities as well, such as dinners, karaoke, dancing of all sorts, and even a Halloween costume reception.

So all in all, their annual leal conference was quite a well-planned event with a ton of opportunities for lawyers from all over the company to engage, share ideas, and establish better working relationships, but most importantly, they had fun.

Jones Walker Adds Ten New Attorneys

rebneely — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:57:51 +0000

In recent days, the law firm of Jones Walker announced the addition of ten new associates. Five associates join the firm’s New Orleans office: Adrienne L. Ellis, Tyler J. Rench and Graham H. Ryan, in the Business & Commercial Litigation practice, and Luke Falgoust and Thomas R. Hooks, in the Business & Commercial Transactions practice. Micah Fincher joins the firm’s Business & Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property practice, and Jonathan E. Love joins the firm’s Real Estate practice, both in the Baton Rouge office. Paul A. Humbert joins in the firm’s Business & Commercial Litigation practice, and Hilary L. Velandia joins in the Business & Commercial Transactions practice, both in the Miami office, and Daniel H. Purdi joins the Business & Commercial Litigation practice in the firm’s Houston office.

Adrienne L. Ellis is a 2011 graduate of the Columbia University School of Law. There she earned her juris doctor degree. While in law school she was Notes Editor of the Journal of Law and Social Problems and worked on the Journal of Gender and Law.

Tyler J. Rench is a 2011 graduate of the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. There, he was second in his graduating class and received his juris doctor degree, summa cum laude. While at Loyola he served as a member of the Loyola Law Review and was a Moot Court National Team Oralist.

Graham H. Ryan is a 2011 graduate of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University. There he earned both a juris doctor degree and a Diploma in Comparative Law. While at LSU, he was the Online Editor for the Louisiana Law Review and served as a member of the Chancellor’s Advisory Board.

Luke Falgoust is an associate in the firm’s Business & Commercial Transactions Practice Group, and practices from the firm’s New Orleans office. He is a recent graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law, where he received his juris doctor degree.

Thomas R. Hooks is a recent graduate of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University. There, he received his juris doctor degree and a Diploma in Comparative Law. While at LSU, he served on the Board of Editors for the Louisiana Law Review and was the recipient of the W. Lee Hargrave Award.

Micah Fincher is a recent graduate of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University. There he earned his juris doctor degree, cum laude. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Biological Engineering from Louisiana State University.

Jonathan E. Love earned his juris doctor degree and a Diploma in Comparative Law from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University. In addition, he holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Baylor University.

Paul A. Humbert earned his juris doctor degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he was a member of the University of Florida Journal of International Law, the Journal of Technology, Law and Policy. He was also a member of the Corporate and Securities Litigation Moot Court Team.

Hilary L. Velandia earned her juris doctor degree from the University of Kansas School of Law in 2007, and was Order of the Coif and Articles Editor for the Kansas Law Review.

Daniel H. Purdie received his juris doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law where he was a staff editor for the Texas Journal of Oil, Gas, and Energy Law. Before joining Jones Walker, he served as an intern for the Honorable Jane Bland, Justice for the First Court of Appeals of Texas, and as a law clerk at the National Western Life Insurance Company. Mr. Purdie

With over 300 attorneys, Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrère & Denègre L.L.P., provides a comprehensive range of legal services to a national and international corporate client base in highly regulated industries.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 22:59:20 +0000

Good morning everybody! Today is Friday, October 22nd. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories.

UK-based Simmons & Simmons, which cut off merger talks with U.S.-based Mayer Brown this summer, is still considering entering the U.S. market through a merger with a U.S. firm…

The partnership of Jones Walker re-elected William H. Hines as managing partner of the firm…

Schiff Hardin added three attorneys to its environmental practice…

Tracy E. Miller, a prominent health care lawyer, joined Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP…

Greenberg Traurig Attorney Nelson Migdal will lead distressed hotel symposium…

Eversheds was named Europe’s ‘Most Innovative’ law firm…

Jones Walker Re-Elects William H. Hines as Managing Partner

joshua — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 20:48:25 +0000

The partnership of Jones Walker has re-elected William H. Hines as managing partner of the firm. Hines will serve a second consecutive five-year term as managing partner, effective Jan. 1 and ending December 31, 2015.

Under Hines’ leadership, Jones Walker has grown from approximately 200 attorneys and 6 offices in 2006 to 300 attorneys in 11 offices in 5 states and the District of Columbia today, the firm said in a press release. Hines led the expansion largely through several mergers, which included with Alabama’s Miller, Hamilton, Snider & Odom in 2008, Louisiana’s Longman Russo in 2009 and Alabama’s Walston Wells & Birchall earlier this year.

“It is truly an honor to be re-elected Managing Partner of Jones Walker,” said Mr. Hines. “The past five years have been remarkable for our firm, and, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our attorneys and staff, we fully expect our growth and success to continue.”

In addition, Jones Walker said that Hines, who was at the forefront of New Orleans’ reconstruction following Hurricane Katrina, was named by New Orleans CityBusiness as one of the city’s 30 most influential people involved in economic development.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 12:49:03 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Wednesday, October 13th. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories.

Milbank added lateral partner Dieter Yih to launch a practice in Hong Kong in 2011…

A federal judge in New Orleans appointed a 15-member plaintiff’s steering committee that will oversee the hundreds of lawsuits filed against BP…

A former director of the Federal Highway Administration and Environmental Protective Agency joined K&L Gates as an advisor in the firm’s public policy practice in Washington D.C…

Morning Roundup

joshua — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 11:20:10 +0000

Good morning everybody! Today is Thursday, October 7th. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories.

Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, P.C expanded into Columbus, Ohio,via a merger with Golian McCaffrey, LLC…

Squire, Sanders & Dempsey once again achieved a 100-percent rating in the 2011 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), published annually by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation…

Steve Leifer will lead the environmental team at Baker Botts…

Jones Walker announced the addition of nine assoicates to the firm…

Phillips & Cohen was selected for National Law Journal’s “Hot List” for whistleblower work…

Jones Walker Announces Addition of Nine Associates to Firm

joshua — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 17:39:27 +0000

Jones Walker announced the addition of nine new associates to its New Orleans, Miami and Baton Rouge offices.

Laura F. Ashley and Lauren E. Courtney are associates in the firm’s Business & Commercial Litigation Practice Group, and practice from the firm’s New Orleans office.

Ronald D. P. Bruckmann is an associate in the firm’s Business & Commercial Litigation Practice Group, and practices from the firm’s Miami office.

Ricardo X. Carlo is an associate in the firm’s Tax & Estates Practice Group, and practices from the firm’s New Orleans office. His practice will focus primarily on employee benefits and executive compensation.

Brooke L. Longon and Raechelle M. Munna are associates in the firm’s Corporate & Securities Practice Group, and practice from the firm’s New Orleans office.

Mia S. Mitchell is an associate in the firm’s Business & Commercial Litigation Practice Group and practices from the firm’s New Orleans office.

Caroline H. Parenton is an associate in the firm’s Business & Commercial Litigation Practice Group, and practices from the firm’s Baton Rouge office.

Charles E. Reeves, Jr. is an associate in the firm’s Corporate & Securities Practice Group and practices from the firm’s Baton Rouge office.

Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrere & Denegre L.L.P. provides a comprehensive range of legal services to a national and international corporate client base in highly regulated industries through offices in Alabama, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:20:28 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Thursday, November 19 and this is your quick look back at the headlines.

A judge in Louisiana held that the US Army is liable for some Katrina damage…

Google debuts its new case law database….

Winston & Strawn has two new offices in Asia…

David Hamilton is getting his up or down vote for confirmation…

and the ABA is looking for a new leader….

Judge Holds Army Responsbile for Katrina Flooding in New Orleans

joshua — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:38:16 +0000

The flooding of the lower 9th ward of Louisiana and the neighboring St. Bernard Parish was a man made disaster caused by shoddy oversight of the MR-GO navigational channel by the US Army Corps of Engineers, according to a judge in Louisiana. The judge has awarded plaintiffs $720,000 in a decision released late Wednesday night. The full text of the decision can be read here.

The current case will require the army to pay damages to three families and a business and could open the door to other suits from upwards of 100,000 residents who were affected by the flooding. One plaintiff was denied damages in the case because the judge ruled that the flooding of eastern New Orleans was not caused by the way the army handled the MR-GO channel, shutting the door on suits filed by residents in the eastern half of the city.

Harrell and Nowak Add Associate Attorney To Team

Erik Even — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:28:00 +0000

Harrell and Nowak, based out of New Orleans, Louisiana, has announced the addition of Louis L. Lusco II to their team. Mr. Lusco has joined Harrell and Nowak as an associate attorney. Mr. Lusco will handle cases involving injuries to clients, specifically injuries caused by negligence.

Prior to joining Harrell & Nowak, Mr. Lusco worked for personal injury law firms representing individuals and families injured in accidents both on land and on the high seas. Mr. Lusco has spent the last 13 years of his practice advocating for his clients so that those responsible were held liable for the injuries they caused.

Before becoming a plaintiff attorney, Mr. Lusco worked as an Assistant District Attorney for the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office under Harry Connick.

Mr. Lusco is a native of New Orleans and received his J.D. from Loyola University School of Law.