Laura E. Fine

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...

Bill Backstrom is a partner and leader of the firm’s Tax Practice Group. For more than 35 years, he has focused on state and local tax matters in Louisiana and on a multistate basis. Bill provides comprehensive, practical, and solution-focused tax guidance to a broad range of business enterprises. Known for the quality of his counsel, his commitment to client service, and his ability to explain sophisticated issues in clear terms — particularly with respect to Louisiana’s hi...

Concentrating primarily in the areas of medical malpractice and legal malpractice defense, Karen P. Holland has over twenty years of experience representing a cross-section of healthcare professionals, including individual health care providers, hospitals, long term care facilities, clinics, same day surgery centers, and their various insurers .Ms. Holland’s defense methods include a thorough, determined and vigorous defense of the medical professional throughout the pre-litigation medi...

Katherine Clark is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation - Bankruptcy. Katherine, 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 Katherine is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Rodger focuses on maritime and oilfield transactions and litigation. This includes insurance coverage, marine finance and vessel documentation, litigation, corporate and commercial law, and international transaction primarily in Latin America. Rodger was born in Durham, North Carolina. His educational background includes: Phillips Academy (Andover), 1968; an undergraduate degree from Stanford University, 1972; a Masters in Business Administration from Columbia University, 1977; and a Juris Do...

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...

Mr. Landis' commercial litigation practice focuses primarily on bankruptcy, construction and antitrust disputes. He is a member of the roster of commercial arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association and is Co-Chair if the firm's Bankruptcy Practice Group. Mr. Landis joined Stone Pigman in 1977.

Bryan C. Shartle is one of the two managing partners of the Firm and assists in the management of the Firm’s 10 offices. Bryan specializes in representing collection agencies, debt buyers, student loan servicers, banks, credit issuers, financial institutions, and telemarketers. He has extensive experience in consumer litigation, including claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the myriad of state con...

Chris Moore is an advocate for employers, and has successfully defended federal and state law claims of race, sex, religious, age and disability discrimination; breach of contract, wrongful termination, retaliation, defamation, harassment, infliction of emotional distress, misrepresentation, interference with contract, whistleblower, employee benefits and abuse of right claims; state and federal wage claims; family and medical leave claims; unfair labor practices; and labor arbitrations. He h...

Ruddy Ramelli is a partner in the Tax Practice Group. Ruddy has been practicing tax law for more than 30 years and is a board-certified tax specialist as certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. He focuses his practice on federal and state income tax issues and the tax structuring and consequences of mergers, acquisitions, and related transactions. Ruddy regularly represents corporations, partnerships, individuals, and other for-profit entities, and has in-depth experience in...