Best Lawyers Near You in New Orleans, Louisiana for Litigation - Bankruptcy
Corporate Law & Commercial Litigation Legal Guide 2025
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Cherie Dessauer Nobles is special counsel in Fishman Haygood’s Litigation Section. She works in the firm’s bankruptcy practice group and concentrates on debtor and creditor rights. Cherie has experience in representing large, complex companies and small companies in bankruptcy. Her experience includes representation of debtors, trustees, unsecured creditors’ committees, and creditors in commercial bankruptcy and workout business cases in chapter 11 and chapter 7 bankruptcy p...
From our New Orleans office, Benjamin focuses on several practice areas including bankruptcy, restructuring, and creditors’ rights; corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions; litigation; and asset-based finance. After graduating from Louisiana State University in 2002, Benjamin earned his law degree from Tulane University Law School in 2005. During law school, he served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Magistrate Judge Alma Chasez, United States District Court for the ...
David F. Waguespack is a partner in the Firm, practicing in bankruptcy, commercial litigation, creditor’s rights, and gaming law. He has represented lenders, debtors, creditor committees, and other parties in complex Chapter 11 reorganizations and related litigation and has served as a Chapter 11 trustee. Mr. Waguespack regularly represents investors acquiring property in and out of bankruptcy. He has handled litigation relating to liens, real estate, construction, shareholder’s r...
Rick Shelby is an experienced attorney who specializes in bankruptcy, restructuring, oil and gas litigation, commercial litigation and corporate governance. His representation includes secured and unsecured creditors, trustees, committees, and debtors. Mr. Shelby has handled virtually all aspects of bankruptcy work from complex chapter 11 cases representing debtors, creditors’ committees and secured creditors to consumer bankruptcy cases in chapter 7 and 13. He has recently represented ...
Pat Vance is a partner in and leader of the Litigation Practice Group. He focuses on business litigation, debtors' and creditors’ rights litigation, and business bankruptcy. Pat has the distinction of being one of the few lawyers who is both a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. He is also a life member of the American Law Institute and a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference. As a trial attorney, Pat has handled mor...
Joseph Caneco is an attorney in Fishman Haygood’s Litigation Section. He works in the bankruptcy and restructuring practice group and concentrates on debtor and creditor rights. Before joining Fishman Haygood, Joseph was an attorney at two nationally recognized firms headquartered in New York City. Joseph has experience representing debtors, creditors’ committees, secured lenders, general unsecured creditors, and trustees before U.S. Bankruptcy and State Courts, as well as in conn...
Coleman L. Torrans 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. Coleman L., who practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Coleman L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Samantha Oppenheim is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Bankruptcy. Samantha, who practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Samantha is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.