Best Lawyers Near You in Metairie, Louisiana

Susan M. Tyler is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group. She has more than thirty years of experience in commercial real estate and development, commercial lending, commercial leasing, and title examination. Susan represents developers, owners, lenders, and other business clients in a diverse range of commercial real estate projects across a broad array of asset categories. She has advised clients in construction projects; mixed-use commercial, hospitality, hotel, multi-family, and condom...

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...

Alicia Bendana focuses her national practice on complex bankruptcy and commercial litigation, representing trustees, debtors, creditors, creditors’ committees, receivers, and liquidators in high-stakes matters involving officer and director liability, professional negligence, fraud, RICO, fraudulent transfers, and business dissolutions. A Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Alicia is also board certified in business bankruptcy law by both the American Board of Certification and by the Louis...

Seth’s practice areas focus on the representation and counseling of insurance companies in liability coverage and property coverage disputes in both Louisiana and Texas. He strives to provide his insurer clients with a focused and innovative solution to the most complex of issues. Seth has argued before the Louisiana Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the state appellate courts, and state and federal district courts on behalf of his insurer clients....

Dana Shelton has extensive experience handling contested regulatory matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Louisiana Public Service Commission, and appellate courts. Dana has handled numerous high-stakes matters that have garnered significant energy rate savings for the ratepayers she represents. She was an integral part of the legal team that successfully petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for an unprecedented electric energy cost equalization mechanism...

Natalie Taylor enjoys a diverse commercial law practice handling a wide range of issues, including corporate formations, reorganizations, and dissolutions, joint venture arrangements, corporate governance, private equity capital raising, project finance, real estate, and title review. Natalie’s practice has focused primarily on assisting local and international clients with all stages of project development, including company start-up, industrial site land acquisitions, structuring and ...

Thomas Louis Colletta, Jr. he concentrates his practice on varied areas of casualty litigation in New Orleans and Lake Charles. Mr. Colletta worked as an executive assistant to United States Congressman Jimmy Hayes of Louisiana’s seventh congressional district during and after college. Following law school at Tulane School of Law, Mr. Colletta served as a law clerk for the Honorable Gene Thibodeaux, Chief Judge of the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal. Upon completion of his clerk...

An attorney with Jones Walker for more than 40 years, David Edwards is a partner in the Tax Practice Group who focuses on estate planning and administration. David advises individual clients on wealth transfer at minimum tax cost, in addition to providing traditional estate planning counsel in areas of wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. He also advises clients on marriage contracts and other aspects of property obligations stemming from marriage. David’s practice includes the admini...

Hal Ungar is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area of Employment Law - Management. Hal practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana Best Lawyers has recognized Hal Ungar since 2027. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Hal Ungar is held by other lawyers.

Meghan Smith is co-team leader of the firm's environmental litigation team and a member of the Energy, Environmental & Natural Resources and Construction industry teams. She focuses her practice on environmental/toxic tort, construction and energy litigation and arbitration, as well as regulatory compliance. Meghan's blend of litigation and regulatory-compliance experience, as well as her focus on environmental, construction, and energy-related matters, has positioned her as a go-to lawye...

Katherine Clark is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation - Bankruptcy. Katherine practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana Best Lawyers has recognized Katherine Clark since 2026. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Katherine Clark is hel...

Hirschel Abbott concentrates his practice in estate planning, closely held businesses and entity selection, fiduciary litigation, charitable planning, and tax-exempt organizations. He currently serves as a co-chair of the firm’s Tax, Trusts and Estates Practice Group. As a Board-Certified Tax Law Specialist and a Certified Public Accountant, Hirschel counsels businesses and other high net worth individuals and families on matters related to property, tax, and estate planning. He also ad...

David Rieveschl concentrates his practice in the areas of corporate, mergers and acquisitions, and securities law. His practice includes structuring public and private sales of equity and debt instruments and advising clients on compliance with federal and state securities laws. David regularly counsels established and emerging companies on issues affecting legal structure, intellectual property rights and venture capital financing, with particular focus on technology, life sciences, natural ...

John B. Esnard III is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Litigation - Construction and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. John B. practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana Best Lawyers has recognized John B. Esnard III since 2022. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which John B. E...

Ed Harold is the regional managing partner in the New Orleans office and chair of the firm's Retail Industry Practice Group. His practice is primarily devoted to employment litigation in both state and federal courts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and counseling employers to avoid litigation. Throughout his career, he has spent significant time and attention assisting employers in managing employee attendance and leave issues. As a result of this work, in 1999, Ed testified before the...

Bert M. Cass Jr., is a jury trial litigator concentrating in the defense of bodily injury and death cases particularly in marine and offshore litigation claims. His practice focuses on representing vessel owners, oil and gas producers, exploration and drilling companies, facility operators, distributors, and offshore service contractors and their insurers against personal injury, wrongful death and survival claims. He is also experienced in energy-related claims, including interpretation of i...