Kelly Causey

Céleste focuses on several insurance coverage practice areas including third-party insurance coverage, general liability, environmental and toxic tort liability coverage, and marine insurance coverage. Céleste represents insurers in connection with insurance coverage and bad faith disputes involving a variety of matters including environmental and latent injury claims, business torts, and labor- and employment-related claims. In addition, she has significant experience represent...

Chris Wootten is Director in the Affordable Housing and Community Development practice in the New Orleans Office. His practice focuses on commercial finance, government incentives, public private partnerships and real estate development. Chris commonly represents commercial lenders, SBA licensed Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs), Community Development Entities (CDEs), tax credit investors, non-profit corporations, business owners and developers. Chris has extensive experience closin...

Scott O’Connor’s practice focuses on oil and gas and complex commercial litigation. He has litigated and arbitrated numerous disputes involving onshore and offshore operating agreements, royalty claims, gas balancing agreements, oil and gas purchase contracts, farmout agreements, preferential purchase rights, and purchase and sale agreements. He has defended national and state class actions involving oil and gas pricing practices including antitrust litigation, and has represented...

Chloé M. Chetta is licensed in Louisiana and Texas. Her practice focuses on most types of complex and commercial litigation, with special emphasis on appellate issues. Her experience includes contract disputes, non-compete and antitrust issues, and other business litigation. She represents financial companies and advisors in employment and securities matters, including succession fights and other disputes over financial assets. She also represents insurance companies in high-stakes cov...

Lee Adler practices primarily in the areas of general business relationships and finance. He has an extensive transactional-based practice representing clients in a wide variety of fields. Finance transactions include real estate finance, vessel finance, accounts receivable-based finance and equipment and inventory finance, representing both borrowers and lenders. Prior to joining Phelps in 1992, Mr. Adler was an attorney at a large multi-practice firm in New York.

Michael A. Balascio is an experienced litigator representing clients in securities litigation and arbitration, high-stakes insurance coverage and bad faith cases, and complex commercial litigation. He has first-chair trial experience and has successfully litigated matters in federal and state appellate courts. In his securities practice, Michael counsels investment management companies and brokers in litigated matters and FINRA proceedings in a variety of significant disputes involving securi...

Senior Counsel Will Bland, III, one of the founding members of the firm, has more than 49 years of experience as a litigator. Will’s practice focuses on maritime personal injury defense, maritime collision and property damage insurance coverage, contractual indemnity, longshore matters, transportation defense, and general litigation. His clients have included both Fortune 500 and local one-boat companies, and he regularly represents vessel operators, shipyards, both brown water and offs...

Matthew J. Fantaci is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Energy Law and Oil and Gas Law. Matthew J., who practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2019. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Matthew J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

David Redmann’s practice consists principally of the defense of toxic tort, products liability, occupational injury and disease, and class action claims; technically-oriented commercial litigation. He also engages in appellate practice in the Louisiana state and federal courts. David represents several Fortune 500 companies in occupational disease litigation. He has been the co-author (with Dwight “Trey” Paulsen) of the last three editions of the Louisiana chapter of the Def...

I am a founding partner of JJC Law LLC, where I focus on maritime, products liability, environmental, and personal injury litigation. I was born in Patterson, Louisiana, in St. Mary Parish, and grew up along the Bayou Teche. My journey eventually led me to New Orleans, where I attended Tulane University and Tulane Law School. My background in physics, mathematics, and computer science, combined with my lifelong experience around the offshore and inland oil and gas industries, gives me a uniqu...