Matthew J. Averill

Jason Waguespack serves as Managing Director of Galloway and focuses his practice on admiralty and maritime litigation. He regularly represents domestic and international insurers, vessel owners, and offshore service companies, handling a broad range of maritime, commercial, and insurance-related matters. Jason is also a trained mediator. More on Jason’s leadership and maritime experience: gallowaylawfirm.com

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...

P.J. Kee is a partner in the Labor & Employment Practice Group and a member of the trade secrets and fair competition team. He focuses on advising clients in disputes and potential threats concerning trade secret theft, computer fraud and abuse, unfair competition, civil conspiracies, and non-competition obligations. P.J. regularly represents clients in federal and state courts. He has been on trial teams that have not only successfully obtained and fended off injunctions relating to trad...

Mr. Whittaker is Chair of the firm's Business Section. He represents clients in a wide variety of transactions, including buying, selling and merging companies; private placements of securities; venture capital and private equity transactions; joint ventures; roll-ups, spin-offs and split-ups; and all phases of real estate acquisitions, development and financing. Mr. Whittaker joined Stone Pigman in 1984.

Bret LeBreton is a partner in the Maritime Practice Group and a member of the insurance coverage team. He has practiced in all facets of maritime, energy, and marine and non-marine insurance law. Bret has represented assureds, underwriters, and other industry participants in a broad range of disputes involving hull, cargo, builder's risk, P&I, MEL, CGL, control of well, and excess and umbrella policies. He has given opinions regarding coverage, prepared reservations of rights, and advised...

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.

David N. Luder is the firm's managing partner. He maintains a varied arbitration and litigation practice covering a broad spectrum of industries and disputes. A key focus of David’s practice is financial services arbitration and litigation. He regularly represents domestic and international broker-dealers, banks, hedge funds and registered investment advisors in FINRA and AAA arbitrations across the country and institutional clients and individuals before regulatory bodies at all stages...

Stephen W. Rider is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation. Stephen W., 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 Stephen W. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Stan Millan is special counsel and a member of the Litigation Practice Group. He divides his practice between transactional, compliance, and dispute-resolution matters involving environmental issues and government contracts. LEED® AP-certified by the US Green Building Council, Stan focuses his practice on environmental law, administrative law, and government contracts law, extending to the entire panoply of air, water, and waste regulation. He provides compliance counseling and defense be...

Stephen R. Klaffky focuses his practice in the areas of commercial litigation, environmental litigation, insurance coverage and bad faith, and securities litigation and regulation. Stephen has represented financial institutions, investors, manufacturers, and employers through trial and on appeal. As lead counsel, he has successfully defended clients against allegations involving fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, lender liability, employment discrimination, and wrongful termination. He has also...