Bart van Reeken

Dean Cazenave is a corporate, business, and real estate attorney with more than three decades of experience advising clients on complex legal transactions. Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he represents businesses and individuals across a wide range of finance, commercial real estate, and corporate matters at Kean Miller. His practice includes Mergers and Acquisitions Law, with a focus on structuring, negotiating, and closing transactions that align with his clients’ business objectives...

Howard Wolfson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Franchise Law. Howard, who practices law in New York, New York, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Howard is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Melissa Georges is a partner in our Entertainment Group and Chair of our Content Review & Clearance Group. For more than 30 years, she has helped award winning documentary, feature film and television producers, directors, actors, writers, animators, and comedians resolve complex legal issues to get their projects cleared and distributed. She is recognized by Best Lawyers in America in the 2025 edition for Entertainment Law. Ms. Georges assesses all forms of entertainment content for lega...

From our New Orleans office, Benjamin focuses on several practice areas including bankruptcy, restructuring, and creditors’ rights; corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions; litigation; and asset-based finance. After graduating from Louisiana State University in 2002, Benjamin earned his law degree from Tulane University Law School in 2005. During law school, he served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Magistrate Judge Alma Chasez, United States District Court for the ...

Jeffrey L. Smith is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Insurance, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants and Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Jeffrey L., who practices law in Phoenix, Arizona, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jeffrey L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jeff counsels for-profit and nonprofit business organizations in a variety of general business matters and transactions, including mergers and acquisitions and various forms of joint ventures, as well as the tax consequences of alternative transaction structures. Over the years, Jeff has represented publicly and privately owned buyers and sellers in multiple asset and stock transactions involving values in excess of $1.6 billion dollars. Jeff routinely counsels clients on a variety of busines...

Emily Miller has experience handling a wide variety of commercial litigation matters, involving securities, financial institutions, energy, real estate, intellectual property, antitrust, insurance, product liability, and general commercial litigation. Emily represents clients in complex business disputes, including contracts, fraud, negligence, trade secret protection, fiduciary duty, and corporate governance in state and federal court and in arbitration proceedings. Her clients span numerous...

Scott O. Smith is a Shareholder in the Financial Institutions, Litigation and Insolvency & Financial Law groups, working in both the Orange County office of Buchalter. Mr. Smith focuses his practice on representing financial institutions, with an emphasis in creditor’s rights, commercial litigation, prejudgment remedies, receiverships, real estate, collections, loan workouts, restructuring and insolvency issues. Mr. Smith also has extensive experience in defense litigation, includin...

Clayton Riddle is a Shareholder in the Litigation and Risk Management Practice Group. He focuses his practice on product liability, professional liability, transportation and trucking accidents, construction defects, fire cause and origin determination, premises liability and personal injury defense. Clayton is a Member and serves as a Wisconsin Firm Liaison for The Harmonie Group. He is also a member of the Wisconsin Defense Counsel and the National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association....

David A. Rhoades is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Workers' Compensation Law - Employers. David A., who practices law in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2013. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which David A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.