Patrick S. Ottinger

Dorrell J. Brister is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Dorrell J., who practices law in Alexandria, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2013. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Dorrell J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

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...

Sam Masur’s practice is concentrated in the areas of oil and gas litigation, general commercial litigation, oil and gas titles, oil and gas and oil field service company acquisitions and divestitures, and general business acquisitions and divestitures. In both Louisiana state and federal courts, Sam litigates oil and gas and general business contract disputes involving oil and gas leases, overriding royalty interest agreements, joint operating agreements, and distribution agreements and...

Army joined the Firm in March 2011, bringing the knowledge and experience he earned over the course of his successful entrepreneurial career. His practice focuses on creditors’ rights, bankruptcy, and commercial transactional work for corporate, oil, gas and energy clients in Louisiana and Texas. Army is also one of only seven Sub-Chapter V bankruptcy trustees selected by the Department of Justice’s United States Trustee Program to serve in the State of Louisiana. Army is a skille...

Robert M. Kallam is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Administrative / Regulatory Law and Admiralty and Maritime Law. Robert M., who practices law in Lafayette, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Robert M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

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...

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...

Gary Russo is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group. He practices in areas involving oil and gas, commercial and environmental, and insurance fraud and coverage. Gary is an accomplished litigator who represents clients in a broad range of commercial, multi-district, mass tort, and class action disputes. He has extensive trial experience, having organized, handled, and argued cases before judges and juries in state, federal district, and appellate courts in more than half of the US states...

Mark R. “Tiger” Pharr III has represented clients for more than 35 years in a wide range of matters, including construction defect, premises liability, insurance defense, personal injury, professional liability, and trucking. Tiger’s litigation practice includes jury trials, bench trials, mediations, and arbitrations, and he has handled appeals before state and federal courts. His experience also includes acting as a mediator and arbitrator in civil cases. Explore Tiger&rsqu...

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...