Kent B. Ryan

Born in Mobile, Alabama, Jeff Mitchell earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Louisiana State University in 1985. He went on to receive his Juris Doctor from Louisiana State University’s Paul M. Hebert School of Law in 1989. Mr. Mitchell has devoted his legal practice to representing plaintiffs, with a primary focus on Medical Malpractice Law and Traumatic Brain Injury claims. He is among a small group of attorneys in Louisiana who are Board Certified in Med...

Mr. Leche has over 40 years experience as a civil litigator representing corporations and insurance companies in a wide variety of matters including mass tort/disaster cases; insurance coverage; personal injury; product liability; and maritime, including Jones Act.

Luke Falgoust is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group and a member of the finance team. Luke’s practice focuses on the representation of borrowers, financial institutions, private equity firms, and sponsors in connection with capital markets transactions, including secured and unsecured syndicated credit facilities, bilateral loan facilities, cash flow and asset-based finance transactions, acquisition and working capital facilities, note offerings, vessel construction and permanent...

Jane Heidingsfelder is a partner in the Labor & Employment Practice Group. In addition to her traditional employment practice, she has extensive experience representing clients in a wide array of industries before the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA), and the Chemical Safety Board (CSB). Jane is also experienced in leading confidential, internal investigations relating to alleged workplace misconduct, sexual harassment,...

C. Byron Berry, Jr.’s practice covers a broad spectrum of litigation matters. He handles complex, multi-district and multi-party litigation (including class actions) and is known for leading, managing and coordinating counsel in such matters. These cases arise in the areas of administrative law, construction litigation, business litigation, professional malpractice liability, pharmaceutical drug liability, products liability, healthcare, professional licensure investigations and discipl...

Richard E. Sarver is a founding member of the law firm of Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver, L.L.C., a New Orleans litigation firm ranked among the top litigation firms in Louisiana. Rick has extensive jury trial experience, including trials in thirteen different states. He has served as lead trial attorney in more than 100 jury trials, including complex multidistrict litigation. Many of his trials have been in bet-the-company litigation, where he repeatedly has succeeded before j...

Joanne Rinardo defends clients in employment and constitutional claims and is best known for litigation involving Title VII, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, and Family Medical Leave Act, as well as general employment claims. Ms. Rinardo has defended 60 EEOC and/or comparable state agency charges in a tri-state area over a two-year period with no findings of “cause” issued against the client. She also advises clients ...

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

Kelly Simoneaux is a partner and co-leads the Corporate Practice Group. She focuses on the corporate, tax, and securities aspects of executive compensation. Kelly has extensive experience counseling public and private clients on a variety of compensation-related matters, including: advising boards and management on equity-based and other incentive plans and arrangements (annual bonus plans, stock option and restricted stock plans, phantom equity plans, and employee stock purchase plans), exec...

A partner of Montgomery Barnett, John Pearce is engaged in general civil practice concentrating in energy (oil and gas) and environmental law for a variety of clients both corporate (international, national, regional and local) and individual. With broad experience in civil litigation and corporate, partnership, environmental, banking, securities and contract law including interpretation, negotiation and preparation of a wide variety of contracts, Mr. Pearce has handled or participated in a b...