Joe Heaton

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...

A Lafayette native, Jimmy earned his Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University Law School in 1986. During law school, he authored an article entitled “Native Born Acadians and the Equality Ideal” 46 LA. Law Rev. 1151 (1986). He is admitted to practice in all federal and state courts in Louisiana, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is also admitted to practice in Texas. He is currently Treasurer of the Francophone Section of the Lo...

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...

Selected to the 2016 Louisiana Super Lawyer list in the Environmental Litigation, Energy and Natural Resources Law, and Business Litigation practice areas (other years recognized: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015) 2014 Baton Rouge Area Environmental Lawyer of the Year; 2016 Lafayette Area Environmental Lawyer of the Year Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for Energy Law, Litigation - Environmental, Natural Resources Law and Oil & Gas Law Practice Concentration & E...

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...

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...

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...

Mr. Stevens was born in Opelousas, Louisiana and served in the U.S. Army JAG Corps. He earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Louisiana State University Law School in 1979 and served as Law Clerk to the Honorable John M. Shaw, United States District Court, Western District of Louisiana until 1981. He is admitted to practice in all federal and state courts in Louisiana, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and is duly admitted and qualified as an Attorney and Counselor of the Suprem...

Andrew Quackenbos is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Admiralty and Maritime Law. Andrew, who practices law in Lafayette, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Andrew 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...