Court VanTassell

Successfully reorganized or liquidated numerous businesses in the health care, construction, real estate, agricultural, marine and retail industries. Represented a large timber and land company in fraudulent conveyance litigation with the litigation trust of a major railroad tie manufacturer regarding the sale of a local plant which was settled favorably. Represented the board of trustees of a local college successfully in litigation surrounding the election of the college president . Represe...

Alex Prochaska is special counsel in the Corporate and Litigation practice groups, where he focuses his practice on environmental law. Alex defends clients in enforcement actions brought by state and federal agencies alleging violations of environmental laws including the Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Coastal Zone Management Act, and their state counterparts. Alex also counsels clients in responding to information requests from gove...

Army joined the Firm in March 2011, bringing the knowledge and experience he earned over the course of his successful entrepreneurial career. His practice focuses on creditors’ rights, bankruptcy, and commercial transactional work for corporate, oil, gas and energy clients in Louisiana and Texas. Army is also one of only seven Sub-Chapter V bankruptcy trustees selected by the Department of Justice’s United States Trustee Program to serve in the State of Louisiana. Army is a skille...

Robert Waddell is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group. He focuses on intellectual property litigation. Robert advises and represents clients in matters involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, unfair trade practices, and unfair competition. Robert also handles matters related to commercial and business litigation, including breach of licensing, confidentiality, consulting, and employment agreements. He has represented clients throughout the United States in federal and...

Kyle P. Polozola is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Administrative / Regulatory Law, Energy Law and Oil and Gas Law. Kyle P., who practices law in Lafayette, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2016. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Kyle P. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Selected to the 2016 Louisiana Super Lawyer list in the Environmental Litigation practice area (other years recognized: 2013, 2014, 2015) 2011 Baton Rouge Area Environmental Lawyer of the Year Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for Litigation - Environmental since 1995 Practice Concentration & Experience Summary: Since he began practicing in 1979, Mr. McNamara has handled a wide range of civil litigation in venues throughout Louisiana. Concentrating on energy litigation...

Bob Duplantis has dedicated his entire career to the oil and gas industry. Prior to joining the firm in 1982 and establishing its Lafayette office, Bob spent more than a decade serving in-house oil company legal departments, including six years as a lobbyist in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Bob’s law practice focuses on Louisiana oil and gas regulation and “meat-and-potato” legal issues. He routinely argues contract disputes affecting the oil and gas industry, including lease inte...

Jerry Schiff practices in the areas of mediation and bankruptcy/ debtor-creditor law. He joined Gordon Arata in 2006 after serving over a decade as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Louisiana. While he principally presided over cases in the Lafayette, Opelousas and Lake Charles Divisions of the Western District, he occasionally sat in the Shreveport and Alexandria Divisions, as well as the Eastern and Middle Districts of Louisiana. It was in the latter District where he presid...

Gary Russo is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group. He practices in areas involving oil and gas, commercial and environmental, and insurance fraud and coverage. Gary is an accomplished litigator who represents clients in a broad range of commercial, multi-district, mass tort, and class action disputes. He has extensive trial experience, having organized, handled, and argued cases before judges and juries in state, federal district, and appellate courts in more than half of the US states...

Greg Duplantis’ legal practice centers on oil and gas property title examination with an emphasis on analyzing and rendering complex opinions concerning title that is held by production. He frequently calculates varying royalty interests, overriding royalty interests, and proportionately burdened net revenue interests. Greg routinely renders “stand up” title opinions that require physically searching the indices of courts' conveyance records and executing opinions on site. H...