His practice areas include federal and state civil litigation, business and commercial litigation, trial practice, federal criminal law, business crimes, and environmental criminal defense.
Wrongful Death
Lead counsel for insurance carrier in defense of claims for wrongful death and catastrophic personal injuries (paraplegia) arising from an accident in Ascension Parish. This litigation involved a number of complex legal, factual, and insurance issues, including spoliation of evidence claims, accident reconstruction and mechanical defect issues, coverage issues, and significant economic and general damage claims.
Sex Crimes
Representing state university in connection with a wide range of employment and academic matters involving faculty, staff, and student issues, with a recent emphasis on Title IX sexual assault policies;
Fraud
Representation of various clients through appeal before the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeals, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Mississippi Supreme Court, and the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Justin regularly advises clients concerning business and personal financial transactions, including developing the tax structure for sales, mergers or acquisitions of businesses, and drafting buy-sell agreements, asset or stock purchase agreements, operating agreements, or other corporate governance instruments. He provides business planning for closely-held corporations, and provides tax advice for matters from formation to liquidation. Justin is ranked by his peers among the
Mergers and Acquisitions
His practice involves all aspects of environmental law ranging from permitting and compliance counseling to litigation of toxic tort and other environmental claims and advising clients regarding environmental aspects of mergers and acquisitions.
Business Disputes
Best Lawyers in America in four areas: "Education Law", "Employment Law - Management", "Labor Law - Management", for her work representing universities and high schools in labor and employment issues and insurance defense; and "Litigation – Insurance", for her work representing various insurers in areas including personal injury, contract disputes, constitutional claims, employment, and others. Amy was formerly selected by her peers as "Litigation - Insurance Lawyer of the Year in Baton Rouge" in the
Business Transactions
Tom Easterly, who was named a Partner at Taylor Porter in 2011, regularly advises local and national clients, including some Fortune 500 companies, with simple and complex business litigation matters, as well as various commercial transactions.
Limited Liability Companies
In addition to his primary practice of taxation, Mr. McDermott represents and advises clients in the selection, formation, and governance of business entities, including corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships. He represents hospitals and physician practice groups with respect to business and tax matters. He designs and drafts executive compensation packages and non-qualified deferred compensation plans. He also does estate planning and handles successions, probate, and estate administration matters.
Construction Contracts
In her construction practice, Kiki represents suppliers, subcontractors, design professionals, general contractors and owners in a wide array of litigation matters including breach of contract claims, delay claims, redhibition, construction defect claims, and claims for additional compensation. She also regularly advises clients on compliance with Louisiana’s contractor licensing laws and Louisiana’s construction lien laws. Kiki has significant experience filing and enforcing liens under the Private Works Act and enforcing claims under the Public Works Act. Kiki also has extensive experience reviewing, revising and drafting construction contracts.
Intellectual Property
Michael A. Grace is an Associate at Taylor Porter practicing in various areas of insurance defense, commercial litigation, and intellectual property law. Michael's intellectual property practice emphasizes software transactions, including development agreements, licensing agreements, and user agreements.
Revisions to membership agreements (contracts) for a group self-insurance fund organized pursuant to La. R.S. 23:1195 et seq. to pool the liabilities of eligible members for workers' compensation benefits.
Wrongful Termination
Successfully defended university from wrongful termination claim brought by professor seeking reinstatement and damages. 4-day jury trial in 19th JDC, successful appeal to La. 1st Cir. Ct. Appeal and La. Supreme Ct.
Employment Discrimination
Successfully defended major university against employment discrimination and retaliation claims brought by athletic coach. (USDC, Middle District of Louisiana)
Employment Contract
Ann M. Halphen has extensive experience handling professional liability, general insurance, and health care-related matters. In addition, Ms. Halphen has had significant successes in defending hospitals in medical staff privilege, qui tam and peer review disputes, including HCQIA defenses and EMTALA claims. Ms. Halphen has tried successfully multiple medical malpractice cases, involving various specialties, as lead trial counsel. Ms. Halphen also has particular experience with arbitrating contracts through the American Health Lawyers Association including physician recruitment and employment agreements.
Employment Litigation
Practicing law since 1988, Lenore Feeney serves as of counsel and an employment lawyer with Taylor Porter. Ms. Feeney represents employers in a wide variety of human resources matters including preventative advice and counseling concerning compliance with state and federal employment laws such as Title VII, ADA, FMLA, GINA, ADEA, and NLRA and all aspects of employment litigation.
Sexual Harassment
Successfully defended university from sexual harassment claim brought by student against professor with student seeking millions of dollars. 5-day jury trial in 19th JDC, successful appeal to La. 1st Cir. Ct. Appeal and La. Supreme Ct.
Ms. Dougherty has handled a variety of higher education and public law matters for higher education institutions and the foundations that support them, as well as for other public and private clients, including health law and medical center issues, contract issues, student matters, Buckley issues, leases, servitudes, construction matters, dual office holding questions, Code of Governmental Ethics matters, procurement, including both the drafting of Requests for Proposal and Solicitations for Offer, and the handling of protests and appeals, as well as a myriad of other topics. She has extensive experience in tax-exempt debt issuances, and she has been instrumental in developing creative financing structures for higher education institutions and foundations in connection with a variety of capital and construction projects, including third-party financing arrangements through nonprofit support organizations. In more recent years, Ms. Dougherty's practice has included and focused on representing nonprofit foundations that support institutions of higher education including the University of New Orleans Foundation, the University of New Orleans Research and Technology Foundation, Inc. and the Southern University System Foundation. Ms. Dougherty’s practice also has involved general real estate matters and title examinations, including mineral title examinations. Most recently, she has assisted clients in qualifying and in filing applications for small business loans pursuant to the SBA's Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act.
Premises Liability
John has been active on the legislative front having drafted numerous industry-related bills. He formerly served as Special Advisor to the Louisiana Law Institute’s Security Devices Committee, which developed extensive revisions to the Private Works Act that were enacted into law after the 2019 legislative session. He has also served as a Special Master for Construction matters in the Nineteenth Judicial District Court. In the past, his practice has also included labor and employment, premises liability and oil and gas litigation.
Construction Litigation
Partner Kari “Kiki” A. Bergeron joined the firm in 2007, where she practices primarily in the areas of construction law, commercial litigation, insurance coverage, insurance litigation, general tort litigation, and appellate work.
Real Estate Transactions
Taylor Porter Partner Nancy C. Dougherty has practiced law since 1979 and is experienced in multiple practice areas, including higher education law, nonprofit and charitable foundation work, governmental law, real estate transactions, and museum law. Ms. Dougherty is rated AV-Preeminent by
Easement
Land Use and Zoning
Landlord-Tenant Disputes
Representation of many local and regional companies, including restaurants, oil-field service companies, industrial service companies and professional service companies (accountants, consultants, dentists, doctors and other health care professionals), with respect to acquiring, leasing and divesting real estate projects (both seller and purchaser, as well as, both landlord and tenant).
Property Damage
Lead counsel for a large oilfield services company in several litigation and non-litigation matters, including settling a Louisiana Oil Well Lien Act case, settling a commercial lease dispute, and settling a property damage claim for alleged damages due to fracking.
Best Lawyers in America ® in Commercial Litigation since 2010. Ms. Lambert serves as the co-chair of Taylor Porter's professional liability, insurance, casualty, product liability and personal injury litigation practice group. She is also the co-chair of the firm’s Associate’s Committee.
Medical Malpractice
Shelby LaPlante is an Associate at Taylor Porter practicing in a variety of practice areas, including medical malpractice defense, general/tort litigation, and insurance defense. She is admitted to practice in all Louisiana state courts, the United States District Courts for the Middle, Eastern, and Western Districts of Louisiana, and the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Practicing law since 2006, Taylor Porter Special Counsel Rebecca Hinton represents individuals and businesses in the areas of trust and estates/estate planning; taxation; successions; tax-exempt organizations; corporate matters; and tax controversies.
Wills
Justin works with individuals and families to prepare estate plans and implement wills, powers of attorney and to establish trust instruments [grantor trusts, multigenerational trusts, and grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs)]. Justin also advises clients regarding the structure of multi-generational wealth conservation plans to effectively access the exemptions for the gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer taxes and to transfer intra-family wealth with minimal transfer tax cost and without disruption of business operations. He also handles will contests and disputes, the implementation of wealth conservation plans, and the administration of estates and trusts. Justin offers advice to executors in executing his or her duties as administrator and properly administering complex estates. Justin frequently presents at CLE seminars on the topics of estate planning, successions and federal taxation. Justin is a member of the Baton Rouge Estate and Business Planning Council.
Trusts
Best Lawyers in America (2020-2023) in Trusts and Estates and Tax Law. She is a former adjunct professor at Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, and frequently presents at CLE and other seminars on the topics of federal estate and gift taxation, estate planning, and federal taxation.
Power of Attorney
In her estate planning and administration practice, she assists clients with the preparation of their personal estate planning documents, ranging from traditional wills and powers of attorney to establishing large scale trusts, family limited liability companies, and long-term gifting plans to lessen Federal estate and gift tax exposure. She also supports clients in administering successions.
Lead counsel for IberiaBank in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of foodservicewarehouse.com, one of the nation’s largest online distributors of kitchen equipment and related supplies.
Foreclosure
A member of the Taylor Porter Executive Committee, Partner Brett P. Furr is engaged primarily in a real estate and commercial litigation practice. In the last several years, his work has been related to commercial bank workout and litigation, including foreclosures, bankruptcies, defense of lender liability suits, and oil and gas cases and related matters.
Tax Law
Mr. McDermott has represented individuals, business entities, trusts, and estates with controversies before the IRS examinations and appeals, US District Court, US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the Louisiana Department of Revenue, the Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals, and parish and municipal taxing authorities. He has made applications to the Taxpayer Advocate and has assisted clients in collections, in dealing with tax levies, and in the preparation and presentation of offers-in-compromise, innocent spouse relief, and installment payment arrangements. He has also applied for and obtained private letter rulings. He has assisted tax-exempt organizations in making application for, obtaining, and maintaining status under IRC section 501(c). He is experienced in representing non-profit, tax exempt and charitable entities from initial consultation through organization and obtaining tax status determination letters to dissolution and liquidation.
Debt Collection
Taylor Porter is pleased to announce that Matthew Bond Pettaway has joined the Firm as Special Counsel in the Lake Charles office practicing in the areas of civil litigation, bankruptcy law, insurance coverage disputes, breach of contract disputes, debt collection,... Read More