Derek A. Walker

Sharonda Williams is special counsel in Fishman Haygood's Litigation Section. She also serves as Vice-President, General Counsel and Director of Government Affairs at Loyola University New Orleans, a position she has held since 2021. Sharonda’s distinguished career spans more than twenty years in public service and private practice. Notably, she served as City Attorney for the City of New Orleans from May 2013 to November 2015 and as Chief Deputy City Attorney from October 2011 until Ma...

Michael H. Abraham is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants and Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. Michael H., who practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Michael H. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practic...

Kathryn M. Knight is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Kathryn M., who practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Kathryn M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

A firm founder, Senior Counsel André Mouledoux is a seasoned litigator who brings his clients more than 40 years of battle-hardened experience. André’s practice focuses on maritime, insurance and transportation defense. He is also a skilled commercial and corporate counsel. He has successfully litigated serious commercial disputes and catastrophic tort cases from California to Rhode Island, the U.K. to Egypt. He has tried and won defense verdicts in a number of wrongful de...

Pat Vance is a partner in and leader of the Litigation Practice Group. He focuses on business litigation, debtors' and creditors’ rights litigation, and business bankruptcy. Pat has the distinction of being one of the few lawyers who is both a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. He is also a life member of the American Law Institute and a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference. As a trial attorney, Pat has handled mor...

Emily Lippold Gummer is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Intellectual Property. Emily Lippold, who practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Emily Lippold is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Lele Hainkel is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group. She focuses on energy litigation. Lele has extensive experience handling offshore and onshore energy-related disputes in federal and state courts, as well as in arbitration. Her oil and gas litigation practice covers defense of claims against the oil and gas industry asserting liability for coastal erosion, legacy suit property restoration claims, disputes related to Outer Continental Shelf decommissioning liability, preferential rig...

Mr. Flint is a Shareholder in the New Orleans office with a practice that includes both commercial and civil litigation within the maritime and energy fields. His maritime industry experience includes the representation of drilling and service companies, blue and brown water vessel owners, charterers, and insurers. Particularly related to his maritime practice, Mr. Flint has developed a specialty with DBA cases defending burn pit and PTSD claims. His longevity in the practice area and concern...

Dirk Wegmann is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group. He focuses on commercial civil litigation. Drawing on his more than 30 years of litigation experience, Dirk provides effective representation to clients in federal courts, state courts, and arbitration. He has substantial experience providing counsel regarding disputes and litigation in the areas of insurance coverage, tax, breach of contract, injunctions, fraud, unfair competition, landlord/tenant, construction, trusts and estates, ...

Fishman Haygood partner Lance McCardle practices in the areas of securities arbitration and litigation, environmental law, and general commercial litigation. Lance regularly represents investors (both individuals and institutions) in claims against their brokers, investment advisors, and/or investment banks in court or in arbitration proceedings administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). He also represents several landowners in claims against oil and ga...