Thomas D. Forbes

Sharonda Williams is special counsel in Fishman Haygood's Litigation Section. She also serves as Vice-President, General Counsel and Director of Government Affairs at Loyola University New Orleans, a position she has held since 2021. Sharonda’s distinguished career spans more than twenty years in public service and private practice. Notably, she served as City Attorney for the City of New Orleans from May 2013 to November 2015 and as Chief Deputy City Attorney from October 2011 until Ma...

Ashley advises businesses, financial institutions, and individuals concerning bankruptcies, class actions, contracts, construction, environmental issues, fidelity, surety and financial institution bonds, insurance, professional malpractice, real estate, corporate, and estate matters. She also mediates and arbitrates business disputes. Ashley currently serves as a member of the AAA Construction Panel, AAA Commercial Panel and FINRA Panel as an arbitrator and mediator. After Hurricane Katrina, ...

Jonathan Katz is a partner in the Tax Practice Group. He focuses on federal taxation, with a particular concentration on federal and state new markets tax credit and historic rehabilitation tax credit transactions. In his tax credit practice, Jonathan represents institutional investors, project developers, lenders, community development entities (CDEs), and nonprofit organizations in connection with new markets tax credit, historic rehabilitation tax credit, and opportunity zone programs. He ...

Patrick Talley practices primarily in the area of commercial litigation, with a focus on transportation, energy and environmental law. Mr. Talley has worked extensively within the railroad industry, and is well-known both regionally and nationwide in that area. He has successfully represented railroads, including three Class I and two Short Line railroads, in matters involving cargo and freight claims, derailments, crossing litigation, and employee personal injury and death (F.E.L.A.). He als...

Lauren Mastio is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group and a member of the board of directors. She handles all aspects of litigation, with a focus on the energy and construction industries. Lauren advises and represents oil and gas industry clients on matters concerning property contamination and restoration; downhole issues; land loss and subsidence; the rights and obligations of parties to joint operating agreements, oil, gas, and mineral leases, surface leases, oil and gas asset purch...

Judy Barrasso is a founding member of Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver, L.L.C. Her practice focuses on commercial litigation, and includes complex commercial litigation matters and class actions involving complex commercial contracts, director and officer liability, securities fraud, and insurance coverage and bad faith claims. Judy has been ranked by Chambers USA as a top commercial litigator, by Benchmark Litigation as a Litigation Star, and by the Diversity Journal as among 20...

Pat Veters is a partner in the Labor & Employment Practice Group. He concentrates on OSHA compliance and litigation. Pat has extensive experience representing clients in a wide array of industries in governmental investigations and administrative proceedings brought before the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Safety Health Act (MSHA). Drawing on his decades of experience defending clients in state and federal courts and administrative agencies, Pat and t...

Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions-Defendants since 2012 Practice Concentration & Experience Summary: Mr. Mollere is able to combine the legal experience and acumen acquired from working in a large firm, the insight acquired in positions in business, and the discipline acquired in the military to provide full solutions to his clients' cases. Since he began practicing in 1999, Mr. Mollere has handled a wide range of civil litigati...

Joshua Rubenstein grew up in New Orleans and was the three-time Louisiana State High School Champion in Extemporaneous Speaking, which meant he was destined to be a trial lawyer. While in law school, he worked as a Judicial Law Clerk to Judge Roland Belsome, then of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans (New Orleans) and as a judicial extern for Louisiana Fourth Circuit Judge Pattie Murray. Following law school, he worked as Judge Ethel Simms Julien's law clerk and then entered priva...

Charles R. Talley is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Admiralty and Maritime Law and Oil and Gas Law. Charles R., who practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2015. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Charles R. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.