Adams and Reese Llp

B. Jeffrey Brooks joined the Washington office after serving three years as chief counsel and director of special projects for Congressman Richard Baker. During his tenure with Congressman Baker, Mr. Brooks was responsible for all economic development projects and for developing and handling appropriations, transportation, health care, environment and banking issues for Congressman Baker. As counsel to Congressman Baker, Mr. Brooks was involved in the day to day legislative activities of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, including the early stages of the formation of TEA-21. Currently, Mr. Brooks represents clients with legislative issues involving transportation, appropriations, public works, education, and the environment. Mr. Brooks' practice also involves advising clients on matters relating to the Federal Lobbying Disclosure Act. Additionally, Mr. Brooks was Congressman Baker's state director for his Louisiana district offices. Prior to joining Baker's staff in 1994, Mr. Brooks served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Elizabeth A. Pickett, Chief Judge, Louisiana's Eleventh Judicial District. Mr. Brooks received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Orleans in 1990, where he was the president of the University of New Orleans Student Government Association. In 1993, he obtained his Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School.

Kirk Gasperecz is a graduate of Louisiana State University, where he was Student Body President, and Loyola University School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in Louisiana and Texas. He has been admitted pro hac vice to handle cases in California, Maine, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington, D.C. Mr. Gasperecz has extensive trial experience in both state and federal courts. He has successfully defended manufacturers of cranes, derricks and other lifting devices such as Clyde, AmClyde, Koehring, Terex, Grove and Telelect; trailer manufacturers such as Great Dane and Wabash; and, pool manufacturers such as Esther Williams and Fox. He has also defended testing laboratories, oil and chemical producers, elevator service companies, restaurants, insurance companies and governmental bodies.

Ann M. Halphen is an AV rated attorney who has extensive experience handling professional liability and general insurance and health care related matters. She has been handling medical malpractice claims since 1986. Ms. Halphen has specific experience handling professional liability of all persons in the health care related field. In addition, Ms. Halphen has had significant successes in defending hospitals in regards to medical staff privilege and peer review disputes, including HCQIA defenses as well as defending EMTALA claims. Ms. Halphen currently represents a large multi-specialty clinic and its affiliates and employees, including physicians; several hospitals, including one that is exclusively psychiatric; emergency room physicians throughout the state; and a large national company, which has nursing homes throughout Louisiana. In addition, Ms. Halphen represents the manufacturers of several medical products, which include knee prostheses, heart balloon catheters and heart monitors. Ms. Halphen has been a guest speaker at several seminars including Nursing Home Malpractice in Louisiana and updates the Louisiana Hospital Association every year on recent law changes and significant case law. Ms. Halphen serves on the Board of Directors of The Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel.

Ann Koppel is a litigation partner with Adams and Reese. Ms. Koppel's practice is focused on defense of class actions and pharmaceutical/products liability cases in federal and state courts. She has experience with all phases of class actions, from class certification proceedings through trial and appeal. Ms. Koppel also has experience in a wide variety of complex litigation matters including MDL and mass litigation. Prior to joining Adams and Reese, she worked in the New York office of a large national firm.

Arthur F. Hickham, Jr. began his professional career in New Orleans as a dentist, practicing dentistry from 1985-1991. He attended Loyola University School of Law at night and was a member of the Loyola Law Review. In 1992, he graduated, cum laude, and began his law practice at Adams and Reese that same year. Since joining Adams and Reese, Mr. Hickham has focused his career on professional and products liability. He is a member of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel and serves as independent counsel for the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry.

Bradley R. Byrne is a partner with Adams and Reese LLP. Mr. Byrne received his undergraduate degree from Duke University, magna cum laude, and his law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law. He has practiced law for more than 25 years, primarily in the areas of business and employment litigation. Mr. Byrne has litigated and tried numerous business and employment law cases during his career. In addition, he handles administrative matters with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). He has lectured to various business and bar meetings regarding these topic areas of his practice. Mr. Byrne is a member of the Labor and Employment Law and Business Litigation sections of the Alabama State Bar and the Employment Law section of the American Bar Association. A registered mediator with the Alabama State Bar, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, and the Circuit Court of Mobile County, he has mediated employment, property, and business disputes. From 1994 to 2002, he served on the Alabama State Board of Education. In November of 2002 Mr. Byrne was elected to the Alabama State Senate, where he serves on the Judiciary Committee. He is also a member of the Alabama Law Institute and the Paul Brock Inns of Court.

Brian C. Mayberry is a member of Tax Team. His practice focuses primarily on estate and gift tax planning, charitable transfers and exempt organization planning, and business tax planning for individuals and corporations. Mr. Mayberry received his Bachelor of Science degree cum laude from Auburn University in 1990. He earned his Juris Doctorate in 1993 from the University of Alabama School of Law, and earned his Masters of Law degree in taxation from New York University in 1994. He served as the attorney-advisor to the Honorable Irene F. Scott, Judge of the United States Tax Court, from 1994 until 1996. Mr. Mayberry is a member of the Nashville, Tennessee, and American Bar Associations.

Brian S. Faughnan is a partner with the Ethics Practice Team in the Litigation Practice Group. He is also a member of the Class Action and Appellate Advocacy Practice Teams. He represents clients in a wide variety of matters both at the trial level and on appeal. He has significant experience in class action litigation, having not only successfully represented defendants in such proceedings, but also having represented plaintiffs' classes in two lawsuits that ended in the certification of nationwide settlement classes involving multi-million dollar recoveries by the class. He has been counsel of record in three prominent published decisions of the Tennessee Supreme Court including: Memphis Publ'g Co. v. Cherokee Children & Family Servs., 87 S.W.3d 67 (Tenn. 2002); Clinard v. Blackwood, 46 S.W.3d 177 (Tenn. 2001) and Cross v. City of Memphis, 20 S.W.3d 642 (Tenn. 2000). Mr. Faughnan represents, advises and counsels lawyers and law firms on a wide variety of issues surrounding legal ethics and professional responsibility. He is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association's Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, a reporter for that Committee's present rules revision project, a member of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, and a member of the Media Law Resource Center's ethics committee. He is a frequent speaker and author on ethics and professional responsibility issues. Mr. Faughnan received his Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies from Rhodes College in 1995. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Memphis Law School in 1998, where he served as the Comments Editor for the University of Memphis Law Review and was champion (and winner of best trial brief) of his law school's annual mock trial competition. Upon receiving his law degree, he served as a judicial law clerk to Magistrate Judge Diane K. Vescovo of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. He is admitted to practice law in all state courts of Tennessee and before the Sixth Circuit as well as the United States District Courts for the Western and Middle Districts of Tennessee.

Charles A. Cerise, Jr. has been practicing in the areas of maritime, toxic tort, casualty, insurance and products liability litigation since 1983. He has experience in personal injury and property damage litigation from single to multi-party cases, including Jones Act, longshore, third-party asset damage, collision, and complex limitation of liability matters. He has been involved in significant offshore death, injury and property damage litigation. His experience includes insurance and contract litigation in the offshore energy field. Mr. Cerise also has been involved in complex, multi-party and class action litigation involving naturally occurring radioactive materials and environmental and personal injury damage alleged to be caused by industrial emissions. Mr. Cerise received his Bachelor of Science from the University of New Orleans in 1981 and obtained a Juris Doctorate from Loyola University New Orleans Law School, summa cum laude, in 1983, where he graduated third in his law school class and was a member of Loyola Law Review. He was a recipient of the "Judge Anna Vetters Levy Scholarship." He is admitted to practice in all Louisiana State and Federal Courts, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has served as co-author of the admiralty section of the Fifth Circuit Symposium of the Loyola Law Review (1989 and 1996). Mr. Cerise is actively involved in firm management. He has served as liaison partner to the firm associates. He presently serves as partner in charge in the firm's New Orleans office. Mr. Cerise has been named by New Orleans CityBusiness as a "Leadership in Law" recipient 2006. Mr. Cerise is listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers (Transportation/Maritime).

Charles P. Adams, Jr. has over twenty-five years experience in business and corporate law and commercial transactions and is currently serving as the Firm's Managing Partner. Over the past several years, his practice has concentrated on counseling closely held and publicly-owned businesses with respect to acquisitions and dispositions of substantial business assets. Mr. Adams has over twenty years experience in business bankruptcies and is particularly experienced in acquisitions of companies and substantial assets of companies that are financially troubled, both in the context of a pre-bankruptcy restructuring and in a pending bankruptcy. He has substantial experience in negotiations and structuring of acquisitions and sales of businesses, including related disputes, such as enforcement of non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, debt restructuring and workouts, organizational structure and shareholder disputes. Mr. Adams has represented clients in such matters as acquisition and/or disposition of shipyards, automobile dealerships, rental car franchises, lumber companies, precision steel fabrication companies, chain of proprietary trade schools, timberlands, oil, gas, and mineral interests and other real estate interests, purchase of subsidiaries; with the acquisition of preferred stock, warrants and debt instruments in a number of companies; and significant internal corporate work, including the formation and mergers of numerous corporations and LLCs. Mr. Adams is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Securities Law).

Charles T. Grimes is a trial attorney who works primarily in the defense of catastrophic personal injury and death actions. Mr. Grimes also defends parties to complex business disputes, including claims for fraud, business interference and breach of contract. Mr. Grimes has worked extensively representing railroads in grade crossing and Federal Employers' Liability Act litigation. He has also worked in other specialized areas of litigation, including medical malpractice, premises liability and negligence claims against common carriers and cruise ships. Mr. Grimes has worked closely with residential and commercial security alarm providers in the defense of personal injury and property damage claims. In one notable case, the plaintiff sought damages in excess of one million dollars. Mr. Grimes won summary judgment for his client at the trial level based on a limitation of liability clause, and prevailed on two appeals in the case before the Supreme Court of Alabama. In the process, Mr. Grimes obtained the first modern opinion on the enforceability of limitation of liability clauses in Alabama. Mr. Grimes has tried approximately twenty jury and non-jury cases in both Alabama and the federal courts. He is also experienced in alternate dispute resolution, having successfully mediated over a dozen major suits. He practices in the district and circuit courts of the State of Alabama, as well as the federal courts sitting in Alabama. He also practices at the appellate level in both Alabama and the federal system. Mr. Grimes received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1998. He was an editor for the Alabama Law Review, a member of the Bench and Bar Legal Honor Society and assisted Professor Charles Gamble in authoring or revising McElroy's Alabama Evidence and Gamble's Rules of Alabama Evidence. He received his Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in History and Political Science from Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama in 1995. At Birmingham-Southern, he was a member of the Student Judiciary, the Honor's Program, and Theta Chi social fraternity.

Charles W. Cook III practices primarily in the areas of commercial litigation, bankruptcy and municipal law. He represents commercial lenders with respect to lender liability issues, workout and creditors' rights matters, in addition to creditors in preference and avoidance actions, claim disputes, non-dischargeability and other bankruptcy-related litigation. He has represented parties acquiring health care assets and other assets from bankruptcy estates. Mr. Cook also handles non-bankruptcy commercial disputes, including shareholder suits, creditors' rights and commercial paper issues, commercial leasing disputes and antitrust matters. With respect to municipal law, Mr. Cook has represented local governmental entities in public records disputes before the Tennessee Supreme Court and Appellate Court, and he also has worked with municipalities and other governmental bodies on annexation and public utility issues. Mr. Cook received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1987, and received his Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1990. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, Tennessee and Nashville Bar Associations, and is currently serving as Secretary of the Nashville Exchange Club.

Chris P. Perque is a partner and head of the Intellectual Property Practice Team of the Special Business Services Practice Group. His practice focuses on transactions, litigation and counseling for established and emerging companies. He has negotiated transactions ranging from multi-million dollar technology licenses or transfers to Internet-related agreements for emerging companies. He has also counseled large and small companies on the development, management and protection of intellectual property and technology. Mr. Perque has represented clients in disputes involving patent, trade secret and unfair competition. He has also been involved in other claims involving new technologies relating to hardware and software for computer related components; software for flight simulators; hardware and software for communications network hubs including routers and switches; chemical components relating to metallocene catalysts and related processes; chemical components relating to refrigerants used as an alternative to CFCs; and mechanical devices and processes relating to environmental cleanup, oil and gas processing and other systems. He has also litigated claims for trademark and trade dress infringement and trade disparagement, including Internet-specific claims involving cybersquatting and metatags. He has performed audits of and counseling related to intellectual property assets and strategies. Finally, he has provided counseling regarding infringement and validity of U.S. patents. Mr. Perque earned his Juris Doctorate from Tulane University in 1991. He is admitted to practice in Texas, Louisiana and California and admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal and Fifth Circuits and Federal District Courts in Texas, California and Louisiana. He is also a registered patent attorney admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Christopher L. Evans practices in the firm's Houston office, focusing on casualty and commercial litigation. Mr. Evans has tried cases in both State and Federal Court and he is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Evans also has a great deal of experience in maritime law.

Conrad Meyer IV has thirty-five years of experience in the areas of corporate and business law, probate, real estate, banking, trust work and estate planning, and is board certified in estate planning and administration. He is also experienced in business litigation and transactional maritime matters. He is a Director of the New Orleans Board of Trade, has served as Central Area Committee Chairman of the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Board of Commissioners of the New Orleans City Park Improvement Association and a member of the Board of Regents of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys. He is a past president of the Tulane University "T" Club and the New Orleans Chapter of the National Football Foundation. Mr. Meyer was President of the Nokia Sugar Bowl in 2004 in which LSU defeated Oklahoma to win the National Championship. As a lecturer, Mr. Meyer has spoken for the National Business Institute on Louisiana Real Estate Practice and Procedures, numerous Continuing Legal Education Seminars for the Jefferson Board of Realtors, Louisiana Realtors Association, Louisiana Land Title Association, the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the Times-Picayune Money-Watch 2004. He frequently speaks to various industry groups on topics of general business law, estate tax matters, ad valorem taxes, probate matters and estate planning. He is a regular contributor to Workboat Magazine.

Craig G. Townsend has devoted his legal career to the practice of oil and gas law and brings more than twenty years of domestic energy related experience to the firm. He has handled an extensive array of energy matters, including: all phases of negotiation and documentation of exploration and seismic ventures, acquisitions and divestitures of producing properties, pooling and unitization issues, leasing and conveyancing, examination of land and mineral titles, energy related financing transactions, management arrangements, consulting agreements and services contracts.

Cynthia Mitchell Barnett serves as Partner in Charge of the Nashville office, and is a member of the Public Finance Team. Her practice concentrates on public finance transactions, and she regularly serves as bond counsel and issuer's counsel. Known for her work in the area of multifamily housing, her experience encompasses virtually every type of tax-exempt structure utilized in the financial markets for every type of institution, including revenue and tax municipal bonds, certificates of participation, credit enhancement vehicles, multi-model rate structures, pooled transactions, health and educational tax-exempt organizations, refunding issues, aviation, corrections, industrial development and pilot leases, sports and convention facilities, derivative products and housing. She regularly works with domestic and foreign financial institutions that provide credit and liquidity facilities to support municipal obligations. Ms. Barnett handles many of the most complex public finance matters, providing productive client relationships that deliver sound advice and innovative and imaginative solutions to maximize financing opportunities within Internal Revenue Code restrictions. Sample matters range from $100,000 to $500,000,000 in aggregate principal amount issued, and include the first variable rate programs in the State of Tennessee for cities and counties, the first educational and hospital pools in Tennessee, and the first swap transactions in the State of Tennessee. Representative clients include the Tennessee Municipal Bond Fund and the Metro Nashville Health and Educational Facilities Board. Ms. Barnett received her Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee in 1979, where she was selected Phi Beta Kappa and served on the Dean's Student Advisory Council. In 1983, she received her Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University School of Law, where she was recognized as the Best Legal Brief Writer, and clerked with the Juvenile Legal Clinic. She has served as a member of the State Department of Human Services Advisory Council, Juvenile Court Pro Bono Program and the Board of Directors for St. Patrick's Homeless Shelter. She is a Fellow of the Nashville Bar Association, and a member of the Tennessee and American Bar Associations, the Lawyer's Association for Women and the National Association of Bond Lawyers. She also serves as a member of the Funding Board for the Music City Center 2008 Project. Ms. Barnett is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Public Finance Law).

Daniel K. Rester is a graduate of Louisiana State University and Tulane University Law School. His practice of over thirty years has been predominately business, commercial, real estate transactional and construction litigation, including emphasis on gaming and entertainment law and financial transactions involving that industry. Mr. Rester's current representation of clients includes ongoing gaming licensing and financial transactions, commercial lease negotiations, corporate and partnership matters, various commercial loan transactions, construction and commercial litigation, and pipeline right-of-way negotiations and condemnations. Mr. Rester is admitted to practice in the states of Louisiana and Texas and before the United States Supreme Court. He is a licensed title insurance agent for First American Title Insurance Company and Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company. He is a member of several professional and civic associations including the International Association of Gaming Attorneys, Louisiana Land Title Association and the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge. Mr. Rester is listed in Chambers USA Directory as a Leader in the field of Gaming and Licensing.

Mr. Smith received his Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University in 1976, and received his Juris Doctorate in 1979 from Vanderbilt School of Law, where he was Associate Editor of Law Review. In 1991, he earned his Masters of Law in taxation from New York University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in all Tennessee courts, as well as the United States District Court, Western District of Tennessee, and the United States Tax Court. He is a member of the Nashville, Tennessee, and American Bar Associations, and the National Association of Bond Lawyers.

David E. Rozier, Jr. practices with the Litigation Practice Group in the Jackson office. His emphasis is on Environmental Litigation and Toxic Tort, but has extensive experience in Bankruptcy, Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Criminal Law, Personal Injury and Workers' Compensation. He is approved as a mediator by the Mississippi State Bar, and serves as a mediator for the U.S. Postal Service. He has served as Municipal Court Judge for the City of Jackson since 1996 and is President of the Mississippi Municipal Judges Association.

Mr. McKinney received his B.A. degree in Religion and Philosophy with distinction from Hendrix College in Arkansas, and completed M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Ethics at Vanderbilt University before receiving his J.D. degree with honors from the William Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Mr. McKinney's litigation and trial practice has concentrated in the areas of professional liability defense (including medical and attorney malpractice), product liability defense (including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and consumer goods), ERISA benefits litigation, and professional administrative law. He is admitted to practice before all federal and state courts in Louisiana and Arkansas, as well as the United States Fifth and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeal. Mr. McKinney currently serves as assistant claims counsel for the firm and formerly served as a member of the firm's Ethics Committee. He is a member of the Defense Research Institute's Professionalism and Ethics Committee and the American Bar Association's Center for Professional Responsibility. He formerly served on the Executive Committee of the William R. Overton Inn of Court in Little Rock, Arkansas. Mr. McKinney has taught medical ethics to medical students for over ten years and is frequently asked to speak to lawyers, physicians, and nurses on ethics, professionalism, and liability issues. Mr. McKinney is listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers (Health Care).

Donald C. Massey's principal area of practice is litigation, both business disputes and personal injury claims, including motor carrier, products liability, and environmental toxic tort claims. He dedicates much of his practice to transportation litigation. He is admitted to practice and has trial experience before mutiple Louisiana state and all federal district courts, and appellate experience in all Louisiana appellate courts, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Massey has been awarded Martindale-Hubbell's highest rating (AV ). He received his Juris Doctorate from Loyola University (New Orleans) School of Law in 1984 where he was the Articles and Comments Editor of the Law Review. In addition to practicing law, since 1986, Mr. Massey has served as an adjunct professor at the University of New Orleans, and he is frequently appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to serve as an ad hoc judge in New Orleans City Traffic Court. He is also involved in a wide range of local and regional, civic, political and charitible activities. Mr. Massey is listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers (Transportation/Maritime).

Donna L. Boyce is a partner with the Heath Care Litigation and Pharmaceutical Teams in the Litigation Practice Group. She has focused on medical malpractice and nursing home litigation over the past eleven years representing several large medical center hospitals in the Memphis area. While representing health care facilities, Ms. Boyce has also had the opportunity to work in the area of Peer Review. She was involved in the breast implant litigation and was part of the team that successfully defended the first breast implant trial in Tennessee. Ms. Boyce received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Memphis in 1990, and earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Memphis in 1994. She is admitted to practice in Tennessee and Mississippi, and is a member of the Memphis, Tennessee, Mississippi and American Bar Associations.

E. Gregg Barrios focuses on maritime litigation, casualty litigation and products liability. He is a member of the New Orleans, Louisiana State, Federal and American Bar Associations and the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, as well as the Offshore Marine Service Association. He is former chair of the ABA's Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee and former editor of the committee's newsletter. He has authored the winter 1998, 1999 and 2000 Annual Surveys of Admiralty and Maritime Law for the Tort and Insurance Law Journal. Mr. Barrios also serves as the editor of the Adams and Reese's Oilfield Maritime Risks and American Maritime Law.

Edwin C. Laizer is a partner in Adams and Reese's New Orleans office. He is currently a member of the firm's Executive Committee. He previously served as the Partner in Charge of the New Orleans office and as the leader of the firm's Marine and Energy Practice Team for several years. Mr. Laizer has nineteen years of experience dealing with transactions and litigation in the marine, energy, transportation, and commercial arenas. He has appeared in numerous courts throughout Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, and before governmental agencies including the Untied States Coast Guard, the National Transportation and Safety Board, the Minerals Management Service, and the National Labor Relations Board. His practice primarily involves the defense of oilfield and maritime personal injury and death, property damage, and products liability claims. Additionally, he has litigated many vessel allision and collision cases, and is well versed in matters relating to limitation of liability actions. Mr. Laizer also negotiates and litigates maritime contracts, particularly those involving indemnity and insurance coverage as well as commercial disputes. His practice includes employment law as it relates to the marine and energy industries and general casualty and products liability defense. He also routinely counsels clients on methods to reduce risk and solve problems in their business operations. Mr. Laizer graduated magna cum laude from Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans in 1985. He has been in practice with Adams and Reese LLP since then. Mr. Laizer is admitted to practice before all Louisiana State Courts, the Eastern, Middle and Western Federal District Courts of Louisiana, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Louisiana, Federal and American Bar Associations and the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. Mr. Laizer serves as vice-chair of the Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Associate. He was chair of that committee in 2001-2002. He has published numerous articles and has participated in a many of presentations and seminars on maritime law and trial practice. Mr. Laizer is listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers (Personal Injury Plaintiff: Products).

Elaine H. Tippitt, an associate in our Houston office, practices in the areas of corporate, securities law and mergers and acquisitions. Ms. Tippitt counsels clients on an ongoing basis on corporate governance, disclosure and compliance under federal and state securities laws, stock exchange and NASD rules. She represents issuers and individuals in both public and private offerings of securities, including initial public offerings, and secondary and follow-on public offerings. Ms. Tippitt also represents clients in a variety of business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, as well as exchange offers, tender offers, going private transactions. Ms. Tippitt's experience also includes venture capital fund formation and financing. In addition, she represents clients in connection with general corporate and partnership formation matters, shareholder and governance issues, as well as commercial transactions, contract drafting and negotiation. Ms. Tippitt earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music, with minors in Philosophy and History from the University of Saint Thomas and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston Law Center. She is admitted to practice law in Texas.

Elizabeth Lee Maron graduated from Mississippi College with special distinction. She was selected to receive a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship to study abroad for a year and attended the University of Surrey in Guilford, England. She graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law, where she was a member of the Moot Court Board, Honor Council and president of the Lamar Society of International Law. She served as a judicial clerk to Mississippi Supreme Court Justice James W. Smith.

Francis V. Liantonio, Jr. is a litigator with experience in many diverse areas of law. With over twenty years of experience in the maritime field, including work as a marine surveyor, he has handled a variety of energy and marine claims involving collisions, towage, limitation of liability, oil pollution, salvage, personal injury, wrongful death, property damage, pipelines, drilling and completion, reservoir damage, charter parties, master service agreements, drilling contracts, operating agreements and other similar claims. Mr. Liantonio has experience defending professional liability claims against, among others, surveyors and insurance professionals. Other areas of litigation experience include environmental, toxic tort, federal whistleblower and trucking claims. He has investigated numerous serious casualties and has experience in quickly assessing risks and managing the response with clients. This has included working with investigating governmental authorities, the media and outside consultants to assure appropriate control of the particular situation. In addition to litigating claims, Mr. Liantonio regularly advises clients on contractual and general business issues. He regularly drafts and negotiates maritime and oilfield contracts, including vessel construction and repair contracts, and has defended corporate criminal investigations. Mr. Liantonio has appeared in Federal and State Courts in Louisiana and Texas and before the National Transportation Safety Board, the Minerals Management Service and the United States Coast Guard. He is active in firm management, previously serving as both a leader of the Marine and Energy Practice Team and the Litigation Practice Group. He was recently elected to the firm's Executive Committee. While not practicing law, Mr. Liantonio is active in the community. He coaches youth soccer and has served on the Board of Directors of a local soccer club. He is an active supporter of the firm's HUGS programs. He started and continues to coordinate the Donate a Phone program, which provides donated mobile phones to special needs recipients. He served as a tutor in the Help One Student To Succeed (HOSTS) program in a local public middle school.

Gif Thornton is a partner on the Governmental Relations Team. He serves as legislative counsel to a number of trade associations, as well as business and governmental entities with interests at the Tennessee General Assembly. In addition, he represents clients before regulatory boards and administrative agencies of local, state and federal government. He has extensive experience in the areas of public utilities, telecommunications, energy, health care, insurance, transportation and public safety. Mr. Thornton received his Bachelor of Science degree from Vanderbilt University in 1984 and attended St. John the Tennessee and Nashville Bar Foundations. He has served on the Boards of Trust of Vanderbilt University and Brentwood Academy, as well as Daystar Counseling Ministries. He is a member of the Leadership Nashville Alumni Association. Mr. Thornton is a former member of the Davidson County Election Commission. He was a student delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1980 and has served as counsel to a number of statewide Republican campaigns. Mr. Thornton enjoys running and has completed a number of marathons, including those in Boston, New York, Chicago and Washington D.C. Mr. Thornton is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Government Relations Law, Insurance Law).

Henry C. Shelton III is a partner with the Bankruptcy and Labor Employment Teams. His practice focuses on business litigation and bankruptcy, as well as workouts and reorganizations. He represents parties in business litigation and creditors in bankruptcy and insolvency matters, and has served as counsel in a number of reported commercial litigation appeals. He has successfully advised several businesses in company reorganizations without recourse to the courts, and has successfully represented a number of physicians in staff privileges cases. Additionally, he conducts continuing legal education courses on subjects relating to litigation. Mr. Shelton received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University in 1972, and received his Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1975. He is admitted to practice law in all state courts in Tennessee, the Middle District of Tennessee, the Northern District of Mississippi and the Fifth and Sixth United States Circuit Courts of Appeal. He has been certified as a mediator by the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee and by the Tennessee Supreme Court.

He earned a degree in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University, and a law degree from the University of Mississippi, where he was Managing Editor of the Mississippi Law Journal. Mr. Keith has been awarded with the Mississippi Association of School Administrators 2006 Friend of Education Award in appreciation of his dedicated support of public education.

Prior to joining the firm, Jane C. Raiford worked in the Oil and Gas Section of another firm, concentrating on title examinations, leasehold issues, property issues and acquisitions. She then joined the Legal Department of Shell Oil Company, providing legal support for exploration and production clients. At Shell, and continuing at Adams and Reese, Ms. Raiford has developed her environmental practice, focusing on Clean Water Act permitting, Superfund, matters relating to exploration and production waste, voluntary site remediation and environmental litigation. Ms. Raiford has worked as a member of teams representing major clients in various toxic tort and exposure cases. Ms. Raiford has also continued practicing in the area of oil and gas including title, support in transactions, review of contracts and oil and gas litigation.

Jannea S. Rogers has engaged in civil litigation in Florida and Alabama since 1989. Her practice has mainly focused on defense in the areas of product and premises liability; professional malpractice, including medical, architect and engineer; labor and employment, D&O liability and insurance coverage litigation, including bad faith. Ms. Rogers has practiced law in Miami, Florida (1989-1995) where her practice included construction litigation representing design professionals; commercial litigation; accounting, legal and medical malpractice; as well as labor and employment litigation, securities fraud and contract disputes from both the plaintiffs' and defendants' perspectives . During law school, Ms. Rogers was a recipient of the "American Juris Prudence Award in Contracts," received the "Moot Court Scholarship Award;" and was a member of Cumberland Law Review, American Journal and Trial Advocacy 1986-89. She authored, "Conspirators May Go it Alone-U.S. v. Andrews," American Journal of Trial Advocacy, Volume 12:3, Summer 1989. She was also a member of the Trial Advocacy Board, Chief Justice of Phi Alpha Delta 1988-89 and President of the Alabama Student Bar 1988-89. Ms. Rogers studied at the Universitat Heidelberg School of Law as well. Ms. Rogers was admitted to the Florida State Bar in 1989 and the Alabama State Bar in 1990. She is admitted to practice before the northern, middle and southern district federal courts in both Alabama and Florida, as well as the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. She is a member of the Mobile County Bar and the Defense Research Institute and the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association. She is a member of the following Mobile Bar Civil Practice committees: State and County Courts; Ethics; Civil Practice Federal Courts; Constitution and Bylaws, and the Alternate Dispute Resolution, and also serves as co-chair for Constitution and Bylaw Committee 2005-06.

Jefferson D. Stewart has thirty years of experience in all phases of exploration, development, production, transportation and regulation of oil and gas operations in the Gulf Coast region. He has experience rendering title opinions, assisting in curing title defects and litigation over title issues pertaining to ownership of oil and gas production. He has represented both operators and non-operators in a broad range of legal issues with respect to developing oil and gas prospects, acquisition and sales of producing properties and sales or transportation of the products in the Gulf Coast Area. He has regulatory experience in both contested and uncontested proceedings before the Mississippi State Oil and Gas Board and the State Tax Commission, having also been involved in proceedings before the Alabama State Oil and Gas Board, MDGQ, the Louisiana Office of Conservation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Minerals Management Service. Mr. Stewart has been instrumental in drafting and lobbying for statutory and regulatory changes in a number of conservation and environmental issues in Mississippi. Mr. Stewart has also litigated and mediated RCRA/CERCLA claims, construction defect claims, environmental hazard claims, underground acquifer and ground water related claims. Mr. Stewart also tried and appealed the case of Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp. v. State Oil and Gas Board, 474 U.S. 409 (1986), establishing the relationship between federal and state regulation of gas production and transportation after the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978. He was actively involved in take-or pay litigation in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas courts during the mid-80s. Mr. Stewart is licensed to practice in both Mississippi and Louisiana, has spoken at numerous seminars presented by the bars and landman's associations in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America (Energy Law, Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law, Oil and Gas Law, Water Law) since 1988.

Jeffery S. DeArman is a member of the Real Estate and Banking and Finance Practice Teams in the Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Practice Group. He represents financial institutions and various business organizations in real estate based financing, real estate development and construction and asset based lines of credit and other types of financing arrangements. Additionally he represents lessors and lessees with the drafting of, and negotiation of, commercial leases. Mr. DeArman graduated in the top 10% of his law school class at Cumberland Law School of Samford University in 1999. He was on the Dean's List, and was an associate editor of Cumberland Law Review. He graduated from Williams Jennings Bryan College, cum laude, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting in 1996. He is a member of the Alabama and American Bar Associations.

Jeffrey C. Smith is a partner with the Labor and Employment Practice Team, focusing on the areas of unfair competition, non-competition agreements, wrongful termination, executive compensation and ERISA severance plan litigation, and whistleblower litigation. He represents employers in all areas of employment law litigation including sex, race, age, religion and disability discrimination and wage/ hour litigation. He has appeared before administrative agencies and trial and appellate courts at the state and federal level. He also has extensive experience in franchise/distribution litigation, contractual disputes, shareholder disputes, heath care litigation, corporate governance and fiduciary duty matters. Mr. Smith has represented the acquiring company in litigation involving change-in-control agreements adopted by management of the target company Campbell v. Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, 238 F.3d 792 (6th Cir. 2001) and also in subsequent litigation of the severance plans also adopted by the target company's management. Mr. Smith serves as outside general counsel for one of the southeast's leading forklift distributors. He advises this company on a myriad of issues, including employment practices and policies. He has also obtained injunctive relief barring a manufacturer's attempted termination of his client's dealer agreements Nacco Materials Handling Group, Inc. v. Toyota Materials Handling USA, Inc., 366 F.Supp.2d 597 (W.D. Tenn. 2004).

Jeffrey E. Richardson's practice areas include class action and complex litigation, products liability litigation, personal injury litigation, constitutional litigation and legal ethics. He has represented defendants in numerous complex cases involving allegations of product defects, fraud, discrimination and negligence. For example, when the city of New Orleans became the first municipality in the United States to sue the gun industry, Mr. Richardson played a leading role on the team that successfully defended the gun manufacturers, culminating in the Louisiana Supreme Court rejecting the lawsuit. Morial v. Smith & Wesson Corp., et al., 785 So. 2d 1 (La.), cert. denied, 122 S.Ct. 346 (U.S. 2001). Additionally, Mr. Richardson has had the opportunity to serve as visiting in-house counsel for a Fortune 25 company in New York City, working on complex class action and tort cases in numerous jurisdictions. Mr. Richardson also has extensive experience defending clients in complex class action cases with multiple defendants. He has served as court-appointed Liaison Counsel for Defendants in several cases in Louisiana state and federal courts in which the plaintiffs have sought statewide and nationwide class certification. For example, in a proposed nationwide class action against the CCA treated wood industry, Mr. Richardson served as Liaison Counsel for Defendants and played a leading role on the defense team that defended removal of the litigation to federal court and defeated class certification. Ardoin v. Stine Lumber Co., et al,, 298 F.Supp.2d 422 (W.D. La. 2003); Ardoin v. Stine Lumber Co., et al, 220 F.R.D. 459 (W.D. La. 2004). Mr. Richardson grew up in New Orleans and won the Louisiana High School Debate Championship in 1987. Mr. Richardson received his Bachelor of Arts from Emory University, summa cum laude, and his Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center, magna cum laude. In college, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In law school, he was elected to the Order of the Coif, was a member of the American Criminal Law Review and received the "Michael Feldman Advocacy Award" for being voted the best litigator by his classmates. Mr. Richardson has also served as an adjunct professor at Tulane University, teaching "Computers and the Law."

JoAnne Ray is a partner in the Special Business Services Practice Group in the Houston office. She is board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in labor and employment law as well as in civil trial law. Her experience encompasses all aspects of workforce management, including EEOC charges, overtime issues, non-compete and unfair competition issues and ERISA matters.

Joe M. Goodman is a member of the Tax Team. He has been providing multidisciplinary, holistic professional services to high net worth families and family-owned businesses in the areas of financial, tax, investment, estate and business planning for more than 30 years. He facilitates the communication and decision-making process for families dealing with issues that overlap the family system and the business system.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from the University of Tennessee, where he was selected Phi Beta Kappa. He received his Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1996, where he served as Authorities Editor of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transitional Law. He is a member of the Tennessee and American Bar Associations, and serves on the Ethics and Professionalism Committee of the Nashville Bar Association. Additionally, Mr. Galanter serves on the City of Belle Meade Board of Zoning Appeals.

John B. Davis II joined Adams and Reese in 1994. His practice has focused on the defense against serious personal injury, death and property damage claims arising out of occupational and accidental chemical exposures, plant and construction accidents, product failures and premises liability. Mr. Davis has been involved in the defense of class actions arising out of a chemical plant explosion, alleged multiple chemical exposures, tanker leaks, asbestos and pharmaceutical claims and occupational exposures. His business litigation experience includes commercial disputes arising out of contracts, insurance policies, construction plans and specifications and servitude agreements.

Mr. Lyle was a member of the Alabama Law Institute committees that prepared the Alabama Revised Uniform Partnership Act and the revision to the Alabama Limited Liability Company Act. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Estate Planning Council of Mobile, Inc., the Finance and Taxation Committee of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, and served as the Chairman of the Tax Section of the Alabama State Bar Association. Mr. Lyle is a member of Attorneys for Family Held Enterprises, and the Family Firm Institute. He is also a member of the Mobile, Baldwin County, Birmingham, and American Bar Associations. Mr. Lyle is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Tax Law). He is a frequent speaker on the topics of estate planning, business planning, family businesses, corporate, partnership, and limited liability company issues.

John S. Hooks' practice currently encompasses a range of complex civil-litigation matters, with special interest in education, employment, and appellate advocacy. Mr. Hooks is a magna cum laude graduate of Georgetown University where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Government and English and was admitted to Phi Beta Kappa. While earning his Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University, Mr. Hooks served as president of the Student Bar Association and was awarded the Samuel D. Rose Memorial Award for Outstanding Legal Writing, as well as the Jordan Quick Award for Outstanding Service to the Vanderbilt School of Law. Mr. Hooks also studied international and comparative law at Oxford University in England. Mr. Hooks is a member of the American, Mississippi, and Washington, D.C., Bar Associations, and the Mississippi Council of School Board Attorneys.

Jonathan A. Peckham's practice focuses on commercial real estate across all product types, including office, retail, multifamily, industrial, hospitality, land and subdivision development, and specialty properties. He represents local, regional and national clients in all phases of real estate development, acquisition, investment, finance, management, leasing, operation and disposition. Mr. Peckham also has experience in private real estate lending transactions, environmental law, entity formation/structuring and negotiated dispute resolution. Mr. Peckham served on the Board of Directors of the Houston Bar Association's Real Estate section for the 2002-2004 term, and was Secretary/Treasurer of the Section for the 2004-2005 term. He is presently serving as Chair Elect of the Section for the 2005-2006 term. He was named a Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly Magazine through a Peer Review and Blue Ribbon Panel selection process in 2003, 2004 and 2005. He is involved with industry groups such as the Houston Apartment Association and the Houston Realty Breakfast Club (PAC), and such national organizations as Urban Land Institute (ULI), International Association of Attorneys and Executives in Corporate Real Estate (AECRE), and the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP). Mr. Peckham has written articles for various local and regional real estate, finance and business publications and has lectured on various topics concerning real estate matters. He has spoken and taught at numerous seminars for continuing legal education programs both locally and regionally. Mr. Peckham graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 1983 and obtained his Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from the University of South Florida in Tampa in 1980. He is a member of the Houston, Texas, and American Bar Associations and is board certified in Commercial Real Estate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Peckham is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Real Estate Law).

Joseph W. Looney has been engaged in civil law and litigation practice since 1976. After graduating from Tulane Law School, he worked for many years with a general corporate firm in New Orleans. He joined Adams and Reese as a partner in 1991 and works in the areas of intellectual property and commercial litigation.

Kathleen F. Drew is primarily involved in toxic tort litigation and class action litigation, specializing in the medical defense of these cases. She coordinated the entire medical defense of 10,000 asbestos claims in Pascagoula, Mississippi and has presented the medical defense in several major toxic tort class actions in both Louisiana and Mississippi. She also coordinated and presented the medical defense in a Louisiana class action involving 3,600 claimants, who alleged multiple chemical exposures, stemming from the EPA mandated site remediation. She has also been involved in the defense of several Hepatitis C cases and EDC cases. Ms. Drew has been actively involved in the Defense Research Institute and is a member of the Environmental Law Committee of the DRI, as well as the Asbestos Medicine Subcommittee. She has made several presentations to the DRI and other organizations with regards to the medical defense of toxic tort litigation. Ms. Drew has also been appointed by the chancellor of the Louisiana State University Law School to serve on its Alumni Board of Directors. Recently, she was appointed by the chancellor to serve on the Louisiana Environmental Round Table, an organization consisting of plaintiff and defense lawyers, federal and state court judges, members of the Louisiana DEQ, members of the EPA and representatives from various industries, whose purpose is to discuss issues encountered in handling toxic tort litigation.

Kathryn R. Gilchrist is a partner with the Health Care Practice Team of the Special Business Services Group. She handles litigation and administration and contract matters for physicians, hospitals and other health care providers. She also handles Certificate of Need and other proceedings before the Mississippi State Department of Health. Additionally, Ms. Gilchrist has experience in handling all types of employment discrimination actions including sexual harassment and discrimination, race and age discrimination and Fair Labor Standards cases. Ms. Gilchrist earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Mississippi in 1991 and received her Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from the University of Mississippi in 1988. She is admitted to practice in all State and Federal Courts in Mississippi, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Ms. Gilchrist serves as an Adjunct Professor at both The University of Mississippi School of Law (2006) and Mississippi College School of Law (since 2004), where she teaches courses on Health Law. In 2004, she began making annual presentations at the University of Mississippi Dental School entitled "Health Law and the Practice of Dentistry" and serves as a speaker for the program entitled "Mississippi Mental Health and the Law" presented annually by Health-Education.

Lara E. White's legal practice primarily focuses on products liability, class action and complex litigation in both federal and state court. She is an active member of the Adams and Reese products liability, pharmaceutical and class action teams. Ms. White also has significant experience practicing insurance coverage litigation. She is admitted to practice law in all Louisiana State and Federal Courts, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Ms. White joined the Louisiana Bar in 1994, when she earned her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Tulane University School of Law. During law school, Ms. White acted as a senior fellow in the Legal Research and Writing Program and participated in moot court trial competitions. In 1990, she received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, with a minor in English, from Newcomb College of Tulane University. She spent her undergraduate junior year studying abroad at University College in London, England. Ms. White served as a member of the Adams and Reese Recruiting Committee for many years, and was the 2005 Summer Associate Coordinator. She is active locally with the Preservation Resource Center, a local nonprofit historic preservation organization.

Laurence J. McDuff represents hospitals, physicians and other medical service providers before trial courts, appellate courts and administrative or regulatory agencies, concerning all aspects of litigation and dispute resolution. He is familiar with all State and Federal Courts of Alabama and develops sufficient understanding of his clients' business needs to resolve problems efficiently.

Lee C. Reid practices in the firm's Litigation Practice Group, encompassing a wide range of subject matters including: contractual disputes, matters involving antitrust, unfair competition and trade practices, general business disputes, class action and individual toxic tort and environmental claims. He also has experience in energy and marine related matters, including litigation, drafting and negotiation of energy and marine contracts. Mr. Reid's experience also includes general business services such as general contractual drafting and negotiation, corporate governance issues and general business advice. Mr. Reid recently returned to Adams and Reese from a leave of absence, wherein he served as Special Assistant to the General Counsel for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), during the investigation into the Columbia Shuttle Disaster. He played an instrumental role in aiding the Agency during the investigation, where he worked assessing the legal needs of the Agency, formulating timely and workable response plans and meeting with search teams and governmental representatives from the debris fields in Hemphill, Texas to Washington, D.C. Mr. Reid's efforts led to a "by-name" appointment to the Return to Flight Implementation Team, and he was awarded the NASA Astronaut's Personal Achievement Award, the "Silver Snoopy", in recognition of this work. Mr. Reid currently serves as President of the Young Leadership Council, an organization of over 1,400 members, who create, run, fund, and oversee on-going community service projects in the New Orleans metro area. He formerly served as Vice President of Projects, and General Counsel of the Executive Committee. Mr. Reid also serves on the Board of Directors for Partners for Stennis and as the Adams and Reese liason to the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Reid received both his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctorate from Loyola University New Orleans. Mr. Reid was a member of Loyola Law Review in law school. He served as President of Loyola's student body (1996-1997). While in law school, Mr. Reid was selected to the Order of the Barristers for excellence in oral and written advocacy; awarded the "Frederick Gisevius, Jr. Award" for excellence in oral advocacy; elected chairman of the Moot Court Board; chosen as "Loyola Law Review Member of the Year 1998-99;" and named one of "Loyola's Most Influential Students 1998-99." Mr. Reid is a member of the New Orleans, Louisiana, American and Federal Bar Associations.

Leslie A. Lanusse has experience in the representation of management in all phases of employee relations, including defending claims of discrimination before the EEOC and the Louisiana Commission on Human Rights; handling claims arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state compensation commissions; defense of OSHA and Environmental whistleblower claims before administrative agencies; defense of FMLA claims; defense of claims of violation by employers of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986; ERISA litigation; defending employers during investigation of compliance with wage and hour laws; assisting employers in drafting and seeking enforcement of employment contracts; and providing ongoing advice and counsel regarding employment issues, including the review, development and implementation of company policies and employee handbooks; and drafting and advising on implementation of affirmative action plans. Ms. Lanusse is listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers (Employment & Labor).

Ms. Edell Howard received her Juris Doctorate cum laude from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1985 and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Rutgers University in 1982. Following an appointment to the New Jersey Supreme Court as a judicial clerk for Justice Robert L. Clifford, she practiced law in New Jersey and then in Manhattan, where she handled matters involving international intellectual property rights for the estates of Elvis Presley and George Gershwin. She later joined PolyGram Music Publishing Group as the Vice President of Operations, and in 1994 joined the Nashville office of Loeb & Loeb LLP.

Lisa Merz Hedrick is a partner in the Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Practice Group and a member of the Commercial Restructuring and Bankruptcy Team in the New Orleans Office. Since joining Adams and Reese in 1999, Ms. Hedrick has practiced primarily in the areas of bankruptcy, general corporate and commercial litigation. She represents secured and unsecured creditors and creditors' committees in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and adversary proceedings.

Lori Warner is a partner with the Energy and Environmental Team in the Special Business Services Practice Group who concentrates her practice exclusively in environmental law. She routinely counsels clients on regulatory compliance, contaminated site remediation, wastewater and storm water management, permitting, environmental liability, and release reporting. She also assists clients in negotiations with state and federal agencies on matters such as enforcement, voluntary and involuntary cleanup projects, innocent landowner status and Superfund, and has participated on behalf of clients in various stake-holder meetings and rule-making proceedings. In addition to regulatory counseling, Ms. Warner provides environmental due diligence expertise in corporate and real estate transactions, including counseling clients on options to minimize environmental uncertainties through the use of environmental insurance, remediation agreements, buy-back option agreements and similar mechanisms. She has significant experience in drafting access agreements, confidentiality agreements, environmental indemnities, and other contracts and in assisting clients in retaining and managing environmental consultants. Ms. Warner received her Juris Doctorate cum laude from South Texas College of Law in 1993. Ms. Warner earned a Master of Laws (Environmental) from the University of Houston Law Center in 1996 and received the Dean's Award for Excellence in 1995. In 1994 and 1995, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Vanessa D. Gilmore, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. Ms. Warner also completed a judicial clerkship in El Paso, as briefing attorney to Justice Susan Larsen, Texas Court of Appeals, Eighth District in 1995-1996. Prior to graduating from law school, Ms. Warner worked for ten years as a geoscientist in oil and gas exploration and production.

Louis C. LaCour, Jr. has been a partner with the firm since 1990 and is a member of the firm's Appellate Advocacy Practice Team. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Loyola University New Orleans in 1981 and worked as a programmer/analyst until his graduation from Loyola University New Orleans School of Law in 1984, when he joined the firm as an associate. Mr. LaCour has been an adjunct professor associated with Tulane University since 1988 and has taught courses in computer fundamentals and class actions. In 1993, Mr. LaCour led the firm's efforts to secure a presence on the internet, created the firm's first web site in early 1994 and has pioneered the use of internet-based technology to support the information management needs of our clients. He also founded and chaired the firm's first Litigation Support Center. Mr. LaCour serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Nominating Committee of the Louisiana Technology Council.

Malcolm D. Meyer is an associate in Adams and Reese's New Orleans office. He is a member of the firm's Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Practice Group. Since joining Adams and Reese in 2001, Mr. Meyer has worked extensively with clients in the areas of commercial real estate transactions, banking and finance, lease negotiation, and zoning and land use issues. Mr. Meyer is also well experienced in the area of Louisiana title issuance issues and is a licensed Louisiana Title Insurance Agent.

Mark Mathews is a partner with the Special Business Services Practice Group. He has extensive experience in both transactional and litigation work relating to the energy industry, including exploration and production and drilling and oilfield services. He has represented several independent energy companies, oilfield service companies, as well as publicly and privately held exploration and production companies. He has handled a large variety of energy issues involving oil and gas exploration and production; including, acquisitions and divestitures, exploration and development agreements, geophysical and seismic agreements, master services contracts and drilling related matters. Mr. Mathews is a member of the State Bar of Texas and its Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Law Section, the Houston Bar Association and its Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Section and the American Association of Professional Landmen. In 1990, Mr. Mathews earned his Juris Doctorate from South Texas College of Law, where he was named to the Deaner="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="bottomborder">

Mark R. Beebe has experience in securities litigation, antitrust, Sarbanes Oxley, corporate governance, contractual disputes, shareholder disputes, officer and director liability, accountant professional liability, fiduciary duty, unfair competition, non-competition agreements, partnership disputes, warranty, breach of warranty, franchise law, arbitration and construction matters. He has been involved in multi-district litigation, class action litigation and has appeared before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, various federal district courts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Pennsylvania, the state courts of Louisiana, Texas, and the District of Columbia. In various commercial matters, Mr. Beebe has represented Goldman Sachs, the Jefferson Parish School Board ace=Arial size=2>Mr. Beebe obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Tulane University graduating magna cum laude with departmental honors and received his Juris Doctorate from Tulane, where he graduated cum laude and was Associate Editor of the Maritime Law Journal. Mr. Beebe is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Antitrust Law) and Louisiana Super Lawyers (Securities & Corporate Finance).

Mark W. Coffin is a Practice Group Leader for the firm's regional Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Group. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Bowdoin College and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston Law Center, where he has taught business and health law as a member of the Law Center's adjunct faculty. He has practiced since 1984 principally in the general corporate, securities, mergers and acquisitions, and health law areas.

Martin S. Brown, Jr. is a partner in the Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Group. He primarily represents privately held businesses and their owners, and has experience in a variety of complex business transactions including the licensing of intellectual property, international commerce, mergers and acquisitions, the private placement of securities and the implementation of stock option plans for employees and estate planning matters. He is also an experienced health care attorney, having represented specialty pharmaceutical companies conducting financings and licensing rights to specialized technology, a biotechnology company in a dispute regarding intellectual property rights, and a foreign medical device manufacturer developing domestic distribution arrangements. Mr. Brown received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1986 from Yale University, and received his Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1992. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Boyce F. Martin, Jr., of the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and is a former member of the Sixth Circuit Advisory Committee. Mr. Brown serves on the board of directors of Brown-Forman Corporation, a New York Stock Exchange listed company. He is a trustee of the Nature Conservancy (Tennessee chapter), and is a director of Nashville Public Television. He is also a director of the Centerstone Mental Health Center, the tenth largest behavioral health services provider in the nation. He serves as president of the Yale Club of Middle Tennessee. He is former president of the Historic Carnton Plantation Association, and a former director and current member of the Exchange Club of Nashville.

Mary L. Meyer is the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Practice Team Leader. She is an experienced litigator practicing in the areas of products liability, pharmaceutical products defense and medical device product defense involving individual, multi-party and class action claims. She has successfully defended several pharmaceutical and medical device companies in product liability claims and has acted as lead counsel for a national insurance company involved in litigation in Louisiana. She is a frequent lecturer, both locally and nationally, on issues involving products liability. She is a member of the New Orleans, Louisiana, American and Federal Bar Associations, the Defense Research Institute and the New Orleans Association of Defense Counsel. She is a graduate of the United Way Action/Mass Torts).

As a member of both the Commercial Disputes Practice Team and the Pharmaceutical Products Liability Team, Megan Haggerty Guy has experience in a wide variety of litigation matters. Her work with the Pharmaceutical and Products Liability Team has focused on the representation of pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers involved in litigation.

Michael N. Mire is a member of the firmIn his admiralty practice, he has represented clients before numerous governmental agencies and has litigated matters ranging from personal injury and property damage claims to collisions, allisions, limitation of liability, salvage, contract litigation and marine and energy insurance coverage issues. He also has also negotiated contracts for all phases of exploration, development, production, transportation and regulation of oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico, and routinely counsels clients in preventive measures to minimize risk and avoid the expense of litigation. In 1989, Mr. Mire received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Louisiana State University, where he was a member of the Finance Society, Accounting Society, Internal Audit Pilot School and a student trainer of the LSU basketball team. He earned his Juris Doctorate from Loyola University School of Law in 1992 and was a member of the Loyola Law Review. Mr. Mire is a member of numerous local, state and national organizations including the Federal Bar Association, Defense Research Institute, Louisiana and Texas Bar Associations, American Bankruptcy Institute and Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. He is admitted to practice in the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, all State and Federal Courts in Louisiana, all Bankruptcy Courts in Louisiana, all State Courts in Texas and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Morris Wade Richardson handles intellectual property and technology litigation, and is a member of the Intellectual Property / Technology Team. He is a trial attorney with approximately forty jury trials to his credit. The strength of Mr. Richardson's trial work grows from his extensive experience in business and tort litigation, including fraud claims, Lanham Act matters, non-compete, unfair competition, technology and business dissolution issues and claims, as well as his defense of clients in major catastrophic injury and wrongful death claims. These latter clients include a major auto racing corporation, a major railroad and a major manufacturer of vehicles for the utility industry.

Patricia B. McMurray's practice focuses on all types of commercial transactions, forestry and real estate. She is also an experienced litigator in the bankruptcy and general commercial areas.

Paul G. Pastorek was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as General Counsel to NASA in February 2002, after practicing law for twenty-three years with Adams and Reese in its New Orleans office. In mid-summer of 2004, Mr. Pastorek returned from Washington, D.C. to Adams and Reese, and presently serves as a partner in the Special Business Services Practice Group providing corporate counseling advice with an emphasis on Governmental Relations. As General Counsel at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Mr. Pastorek served as both the chief legal official for the agency and as a trusted advisor to fellow Louisianan and NASA Administrator Sean O, but also providing corporate counseling and strategy on multidisciplinary legal matters.

Philip A. Franco has over 25 years experience with the firm as one of its most experienced commercial trial lawyers. His focus has been on cases that are high profile, involve significant risks to the client, and/or include particularly contentious opponents, more recently in the areas of construction, real estate, and labor and employment.

Philip O. Bergeron is a partner in the Special Business Services Group in the New Orleans office. His practice focuses on health care law, administrative law, professional liability, professional self-insurance and issues relative to agents and brokers liability. He has extensive knowledge and a broad array of experience in health care, administrative, regulatory, judicial, legislative and constitutional issues. Mr. Bergeron provides general and regulatory advice to a number of agencies including the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, for whom he currently serves as general counsel. Mr. Bergeron serves as Vice-Chair of the Louisiana State Bar Association's section on Administrative Law. Mr. Bergeron received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of New Orleans in 1977 and his Juris Doctorate from Loyola University School of Law in 1980, having served on the Loyola Law Review from 1978-1980. He was elected from Louisiana's 100th legislative district to serve as a delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention, where he served as a member of and secretary to the Judiciary Committee (1972-1973). Mr. Bergeron has served as the group leader for his Firm's Health Industry and Professional Liability Practice Groups and the Administrative Law team.

James T. Rogers III - practice primarily involves transactions and litigation arising out of the exploration, development, production, transportation and regulation of oil and gas operations worldwide. He has appeared as trial counsel in state and federal courts in Texas and Louisiana and before numerous governmental agencies, including the Minerals Management Service and the United States Coast Guard. He has litigated matters ranging from personal injury and property damage claims to collisions, allisions, limitation of liability, reservoir damage claims, pipeline damage claims, salvage, general average, oil field liens, contract disputes, and marine and energy insurance coverage issues. He also has experience defending professional liability claims against, among others, surveyors and insurance professionals. Mr. Rogers negotiates and drafts contracts for all phases of exploration, development, production, transportation and regulation of oil and gas activities. He counsels clients in preventive measures to minimize risk and avoid the expense of litigation. Strategies include assisting in the development of risk management programs, the analysis of insurance programs, the allocation of risk in contracts, developing safety, health and environmental compliance programs and improving incident reporting, external communication and investigation procedures. Mr. Rogers is admitted to practice before the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and all state and federal courts in Texas and Louisiana. He is a member of numerous local, state and national organizations including the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. Mr. Rogers is a graduate of the A.B. Freeman School of Business of Tulane University with a Bachelor of Science in Management and a minor in Sociology. In 1992, he graduated, cum laude, from Tulane University Law School. He was on the editorial staff of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal.

Ralph H. Wall maintains a litigation practice involving a wide-variety of practice areas in both Louisiana and other jurisdictions. The areas of practice include defense of products manufacturers, including heavy equipment, motor coaches, security systems, industrial abrasives and industrial hoses. He also has diverse experience in defending companies in the transportation field, nursing homes and financial institutions. He also advises insurers and insureds on coverage matters, as well as litigating matters involving toxic tort, premises liability and vehicles. Mr. Wall also has serves as both adviser and litigator in antitrust matters. Mr. Wall obtained his J.D. from Loyola University School of Law in 1993, where he served on the Moot Court staff for two years. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Management from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. While at Tulane, he was a three-year letterman in football and the 1986 recipient of the New Orleans Quarterback Club Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. While attending law school, Mr. Wall worked for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company as a claims specialist. Mr. Wall is admitted to practice in the state courts of Louisiana, the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He is a member of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel and the Defense Research Institute. He serves on the board, and is the President of the New Orleans Association of Defense Counsel.

Richard A. Stewart maintains a diverse civil litigation practice which includes commercial, maritime, casualty, environmental and toxic tort litigation. He has significant experience in the defense and prosecution of commercial matters involving contractual disputes, directors' and officers' liability, deceptive trade practices, fraud, tortious interference, and other business torts. Mr. Stewart also has extensive experience in maritime litigation and represents a variety of clients in matters related to cargo claims, vessel seizures, vessel collisions and allisions, oil spills, and maritime liens. Mr. Stewart's maritime litigation practice also includes the defense of personal injury and death claims under the Jones Act, LHWCA, ORVA, and OCSLA. Mr. Stewart also defends clients in non-maritime injury and death claims arising out of incidents occurring in industrial, construction, and other settings. Mr. Stewart's practice also includes the representation of both premises owners and product manufacturers in environmental and toxic tort litigation. His experience in this area includes the defense of claims based on alleged exposure to asbestos, silica, MTBE, mold, and benzene. Mr. Stewart joined Adams and Reese in 2000 after receiving his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas School of Law, where he was a Teaching Quizmaster. Prior to law school, Mr. Stewart attended Columbia University and Brigham Young University, from which he received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and French.

Richard B. Eason II focuses his practice on commercial and personal injury litigation. His litigation practice, since joining the firm in 1981, has been very diversified. He has successfully litigated numerous multi-million dollar cases in U.S. District Courts including: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, New Jersey and California. He has appeared before the United States Fifth Circuit and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeal as well as the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Eason has extensive experience in all State Courts in Louisiana. His experience in the litigation arena includes: breach of contract, construction matters, mold and mildew, patent matters, products liability, general liability, workers' compensation, premises liability and marine and energy issues. He also has served as regional outside counsel for clients.

Richard B. Easterling is admitted to practice in the State and Federal Courts of Louisiana and Mississippi and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Easterling is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and Louisiana State University Law School. He is a member of the Mississippi and Louisiana State Bar Associations. Mr. Easterling practices in the areas of regulatory matters and governmental relations. He also handles litigation involving insurance related bad faith issues and public procurement. He works with numerous regulatory and administrative bodies in Louisiana and Mississippi, including but not limited to the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, Board of Contractors, Department of Insurance, Board of Pharmacy, Gaming Control Board, Manufactured Housing Commission, Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission, and the Public Service Commission. His regulatory work with the ATC encompasses all phases of beverage alcohol licensing and enforcement. He assists insurers with licensing, compliance, ratemaking and complaint matters at the Department of Insurance. Mr. Easterling is also a member of the firm's Governmental Relations team and has represented insurers, automobile manufacturers, gaming companies, and consumer data companies on legislative or other governmental issues.

Rick Holton is co-leader of the firm's Tax Team. He has been recognized as one of the The Best Lawyers in America for "Trusts and Estates" and "Taxation." Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Holton was the founding member of Holton Goodman & Blackstone, P.C., a seven-lawyer tax boutique in Nashville that merged with the firm in 2001. Mr. Holton received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Kentucky in 1969, and his Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1980. Before obtaining his law degree, he was a trust officer and CPA. He is a fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation and of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. He helped lead the Western Kentucky University Campaign Cabinet for its first-ever Capital Campaign ($86 Million) and served on the school's President's Advisory Counsel. He is a member of the President's Advisory Cabinet at David Lipscomb University, and has chaired Vanderbilt University's Planned Giving Advisory Committee for its $500 million capital campaign. He was on the Alumni Board of Directors for both the law school and the undergraduate school, and is a member of the Vanderbilt Law School Building Committee. Mr. Holton is active in the community and has served on the boards of the Nashville Symphony Association, Tennessee Repertory Theatre, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Cumberland Science Museum, and the Tennessee Division of the American Cancer Society. He is also a member of the Downtown Nashville Rotary Club. Mr. Holton is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Non-Profit/Charaties Law, Tax Law, Trusts and Estates Law).

As a law student, Robert A. Vosbein served on the Tulane Moot Court Board and was the winner of the Tulane Moot Court Trial Competition. Following law school, he received a commission in the United States Navy Reserve Judge Advocate General Corps, in which he served from 1968is admitted to practice in Louisiana and Florida. Mr. Vosbein's practice over thirty-five years has allowed him to develop a broad range of experience including maritime litigation, commercial litigation, securities litigation, environmental and toxic tort, as well as general corporate and business counseling, and entertainment law. Mr. Vosbein is a member of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, New Orleans Association of Defense Counsel, Defense Research Institute and was a member of the Maritime Law Association from 1975-1990. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Commercial Litigation).

Robert L. Bonnaffons graduated from Loyola University with a Bachelor of Criminal Justice and went on to graduate from Loyola Law School in 1987. He practiced with another local law firm for eight years, focusing on personal injury law, with an emphasis on insurance defense and domestic litigation.

Robin B. Cheatham is a member of the Commercial Restructuring and Bankruptcy and the Energy and Environmental Teams. He has experience in commercial litigation, construction law, asset acquisitions, general business counseling and complex commercial financial transactions. He is experienced in various aspects of oil and gas transactions, including owner disputes, preparation of royalty agreements, farm in/out agreements, litigation of lien interests under state oil lien acts, executory contract issues regarding joint operating agreements, minerals management service royalty and regulatory issues and ranking of state lien and security documents. He has also litigated various construction law issues.

Roland M. Vandenweghe, Jr. graduated from Tulane University in 1994, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Management with honors in Accounting. He received a Juris Doctorate degree from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in 1997. In law school, he was vice-chairman of the Appellate Advocacy Board and Director of the Moot Court Competition. He is a member of the New Orleans, Louisiana State, American and Federal Bar Associations and has been admitted to practice in all Louisiana State and District Courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Mr. Vandenweghe's practice has centered around mass/complex toxic tort and environmental litigation, with a particular emphasis on NORM/TERM/TENORM litigation. He has also practiced in the areas of maritime, including maritime personal injury and maritime contract disputes, as well as general casualty. Mr. Vandenweghe also co-authored Recent Developments in Admiralty and Maritime Law, which was published in the American Bar Association's winter 1999 edition of its Tort and Insurance Law Journal. This article served as the contribution to the ABA's annual survey of tort and insurance law made by the Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section of the ABA. Mr. Vandenweghe currently serves as honorary consul of Belgium for Louisiana and Arkansas. He also volunteers as an attorney coach for Jesuit High School's Mock Trial Team and as a seventh-grade mentor at Andrew J. Bell Middle School.

Ronald J. Sholes is a former district judge in the Civil District Court, Parish of Orleans. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University Department of Physical Therapy and Tulane University School of Public Health. He was admitted to the Louisiana Bar Association in August of 1984 as a graduate of Loyola University School of Law. Mr. Sholes assumed his judicial office in January of 1991. Mr. Sholes serves as a vice president of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation and the Loyola Law School Board of Visitors, Secretary/Treasurer of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, the Board of Directors of the Dryades YMCA, and is on the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation board, and Court Rules Committee of the Louisiana Supreme Court. He is a member of the professional assessment committee of the Louisiana State Bar Association. He is the past president of the 4th and 5th Circuit Judges Association and of the Louisiana District Judges Association. Mr. Sholes serves on the Judicial Liaison Committee of the Louisiana Bar Association. He is an instructor for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, the LSU Trial Advocacy Training Program and has taught at the Emory University Trial Techniques Program in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Sholes frequently teaches CLE courses throughout the year and has served as an instructor at Loyola University School of Law, LSU School of Physical Therapy and Tulane University. He is a member of the International Society of Barristers. Mr. Sholes is the recipient of many prestigious awards including the Gillis Long Public Service Award; the Milton Sheen Award in recognition of leadership, fellowship and service; and the Judicial Pacesetter Award. Mr. Sholes is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Alternative Dispute Resolution) and Louisiana Super Lawyers (Alternative Dispute Resolution). Mr. Sholes serves on the Board of Directors of The Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel.

As a partner with Adams & Reese, Craig S. Wilcox represents clients primarily in the areas of commercial and civil litigation, product liability and toxic tort. Mr. Wilcox attended South Texas School of Law where he graduated, cum laude, and received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Wilcox is active in the Texas Association of Defense Council and the Houston Bar Association. He is admitted to practice law in Texas.

Sharon Ryan Rodi has a general practice, working primarily in the areas of insurance defense, casualty litigation, products liability and commercial issues. She has extensive experience with Louisiana workers' compensation law.

Stephen A. Rowe defends banks and broker/dealers, health care companies, and railroads in complex litigation, including FELA (Federal Employer's Liability Act) matters. He works to resolve disputes without polarizing the situation. He is well known on both sides of the table, and has more jury trial experience than most of his colleagues or peers having tried more than 50 cases to conclusion. This reputation for courtroom success can leverage his clients' position and can result in faster, more favorable outcomes. Moreover, as a certified mediator and National Board of Trial Advocacy certified civil trial advocate, Mr. Rowe is able to offer his clients alternatives to litigation that can generate better results with lower costs. These alternatives include mediation, arbitration agreements, and modification of business practices. Mr. Rowe received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1978, where he was Managing Editor of the Law and Psychology Review from 1977-1978. He attended the University of the South and the University of Oregon and received his Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Alabama in 1975. Mr. Rowe is a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel, and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Commercial Litigation).

Stephen A. Walsh is a partner in the Birmingham office of Adams and Reese. He practices in the area of civil litigation with an emphasis in employment and personal injury litigation. Additionally, he handles consumer finance and commercial litigation matters and has extensive experience in both federal and state court and in handling cases on appeal. Mr. Walsh is also a frequent speaker on employment and litigation topics for the Alabama Bar Institute CLE program and has served on the ABICLE employment law faculty since 2001. Mr. Walsh earned his Juris Doctorate, magna cum laude, from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1998, where he was an editor of the Alabama Law Review and was also a Hugo L. Black Scholar and a member of the Bench and Bar Legal Honor Society. He received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1995, where he majored in mathematics and minored in history. Mr. Walsh is also involved in a number of public service organizations. Currently, he is a volunteer for Junior Achievement at Hill Elementary School in Birmingham. He also serves on the University of Alabama at Birmingham Pre-Law Advisory Board and coaches youth baseball at the community park in Hoover. He was seleceted for membership in the 2006-2007 Class of Project Corporate Leadership, a program of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Thomas J. Wyllie is a senior partner at Adams and Reese, who served on the Executive Committee from 1988-89, was managing partner for the firm and served as the Litigation Practice Group Leader for several years. He has extensive experience in complex litigation involving multiple parties, multiple jurisdictions and large amounts in controversy. His practice involves general casualty and maritime litigation, land and offshore oil litigation and related areas of insurance law, including primary and excess and reinsurance coverages available from both domestic and foreign markets. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America (Personal Injury Litigation) and Louisiana Super Lawyers (Class Action/Mass Torts). Mr. Wyllie is a member of the American, Louisiana and New Orleans Bar Associations, the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, the New Orleans Association of Defense Counsel, the Maritime Law Association of the United States, the International Association of Defense Counsel, the Defense Research Institute and is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Mr. Wyllie has been the lead counsel in mass disasters such as Continental Grain and the Shell/Norco explosions. He frequently lectures on maritime remedies and complex litigation and is actively involved in mediation/arbitration.

Tyson B. Shofstahl graduated from Tulane University in 1988 receiving a Bachelor of Arts Degree with honors in History. He received his Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans in 1991. He is a member of the Louisiana State, American and Federal Bar Associations and has been admitted to practice in all Louisiana State Courts, all Louisiana U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Shofstahl joined Adams and Reese in 1991 and was elected to the partnership in 1996. His practice has centered around mass/complex toxic tort litigation. In this field, he has represented numerous product manufacturers (boilers, steam generators, furnaces, cat crackers, container vessels, refractory, gaskets, packing), distributors/retailers, contractors, premises owners and employers, as well as defended suits involving a variety of claimed pathogens including: asbestos, silica, pesticides/insecticides, chemicals, toxic soups, grain dust and mold. Mr. Shofstahl has also practiced in the areas of pharmaceutical drug liability (PPA, anti-depressants, OxyContin, Scopolamine), products liability (HVAC systems, bathroom and kitchen products, water heaters, scaffolding, welding hoses, grinding wheels, winches), general casualty, professional liability and maritime law. He has served as defense liaison counsel in several trial courts and has had an active appellate practice, with numerous favorable reported decisions. Mr. Shofstahl has worked closely with the Office of the Governor and the Office of the Executive Counsel of the State of Louisiana to draft and pass several pieces of legislation, including Article 253.2 of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, prohibiting the interdivisional transfer of cases; the 1997 amendment to Article 1561 of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, restricting trial consolidation; and the 1999 revision to Article 2315 of the Louisiana Civil Code, repealing the medical monitoring tort remedy. He has served as a registered lobbyist for a number of corporations and trade associations, including the nationwide American Chemistry Council, and has testified before the Louisiana Legislature on many occasions. Mr. Shofstahl has had numerous public speaking engagements in the area of toxic torts. Notably, he lectured on the issues of medical monitoring and legislative reform at the 1999 Legislative Conference of the American Tort Reform Association. He also addressed The Federalist Society and The Manhattan Institute at their December 1, 1999 symposium entitled "Medical Monitoring: Gateway to Unlimited Liability or Just Reimbursement." He also spoke at the American Conference Institute's April 8-9, 2002 Conference on Medical Monitoring. Mr. Shofstahl has occassionally served on the adjunct faculty at Loyola University School of Law. He has served on the faculty of NITA's annual Gulf Coast Deposition Program since 2001. Mr. Shofstahl is listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers (General Litigation).

Valeria M. Sercovich graduated, magna cum laude, from Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy in 1992. She received her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Loyola University School of Law in 1996. While in law school, she was a member of the Loyola Law Review, having both her casenote and comment published.

Billy Gaudet has had a diverse litigation practice since joining the firm in 1982. He began his law career practicing martime law on behalf of the oil and gas industry. He has also litigated many oil and gas property and production issues at the trial court and appellate court levels. He has been involved in all aspects of litigation on a wide variety of legal matters. He has substantial experience in complex litigation with primary focus on class action litigations, acting as lead trial counsel in state and federal courts in the southeastern United States. He has represented many Fortune 500 companies in a variety of class actions, and has served on defendant liaison committees. He has also served as lead trial counsel in class action lawsuits alleging contamination to entire communities. Mr. Gaudet has been a member of the firm's Executive Committee, has been the firm's Litigation Practice Group Leader, and is presently the Leader of the firm's Class Action Team. Mr. Gaudet is a strong supporter of community activities and charitable organizations. He has served as President of the Executive Board of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Southeast Louisiana. Mr. Gaudet graduated from the A.B. Freeman School of Business of Tulane University in 1979 and Loyola University School of Law in 1983, where he was a member of the Loyola Law Review. Mr. Gaudet is listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers (Business Litigation).

William E. Blackstone is a partner in the Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Group. His practice focuses on estate and gift tax planning, business tax planning for individuals and corporations, business succession planning, charitable transfers and exempt organization planning, and probate. Mr. Blackstone received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia in 1982, his Juris Doctorate from Washington and Lee University School of Law in 1986, and his Masters of Law degree in taxation from Georgetown University in 1991. He is a former Treasurer of the Nashville Bar Association, and has served as co-chair of its Estate Planning Committee. He is also a fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation, and a member of the Tennessee and American Bar Associations.

William J. Kelly III is a partner focusing on employment, commercial litigation, and technology law. Mr. Kelly is a national employment counsel to a global manufacturing company, providing advice and consultation on federal and state pre-litigation matters ranging from wage and hour, medical leave, to discrimination and accommodation matters, and handling hearings before federal and state entities throughout the United States. Mr. Kelly also handles litigation across the country in areas of non-compete, technology, class and mass tort actions, breach of contract and indemnity litigation, construction litigation, and ad valorem tax assessment litigation. Mr. Kelly's technology practice includes drafting and negotiating software licenses, professional service agreements, contracts for development, licensing, and exploitation of technology, and internet-centric access and e-commerce ("click wrap") agreements. He advises on intellectual property protocols for compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and litigates commercial cases surrounding licenses and technology. Mr. Kelly is chairman of ENTERtech, the Louisiana Technology Council Entertainment/Technology Group. He publishes a regular column in the Louisiana Film and Video Magazine on technology development and economic incentives. He has been consulted in such media as WDSU-TV, New Orleans City Business, Biz 990 Radio, and the Louisiana State Bar's "It's The Law" television program. He has served as President and Chairman of the Junipero Serra Club of Downtown New Orleans, serves on Tulane University's Provost Council, and is an Assistant Louisiana Bar Examiner for the Constitutional Law section. He also serves on the Louisiana Civil Service League, Board of Governors, and the Board of the Good Shepherd School. Mr. Kelly was Chair of the Firm's Recruiting Committee from 2001-2004 and presently heads the firm's Technology Oversight Committee.

Mr. Hancock earned his Juris Doctorate from the Cumberland School of Law, Alabama, in 1989, where he was a Dean's Scholar and editor of the Cumberland Law Review. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee in 1986. Mr. Hancock is listed in Chambers USA Directory as a Leader in the field of Employment.

William R. Bruce is a member of the firm's Government Relations Team and currently serves as legislative counsel for several professional and trade associations. He is also experienced in the areas of banking and commercial law, environmental law, telecommunications and real estate. Mr. Bruce served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from1966 -1968 and of the Tennessee Senate from 1968 1972. He spent two of his years in the senate as the Democratic Majority Leader. His civic activities include service as as a member of the Community Board of Directors of Regions Bank, and as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Housing Development Agency. He is also the Vice President and member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation. Formerly, he was a Commissioner for the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission. He was the first Chairman of the Health, Educational and Housing Facility Board of the City of Memphis, Tennessee, and is a past President of the West Tennessee Easter Seals Society. He served as an officer in the United States Army Reserve from 1957 -1968. Mr. Bruce has written several articles for the University of Memphis Law Review, the Tennessee Bar Journal and other professional publications, including Professional Responsibilities of Lobbyists, The Tennessee Solid Waste Management Act and Legislation Affecting Real Estate Practice. He also served as a Lecturer in Law at Vanderbilt University School of Law. He is a frequent speaker for numerous continuing legal education programs sponsored by the Tennessee Bar Association and other organizations. Mr. Bruce is a member of the Nashville, Memphis, Tennessee and American Bar Associations and is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, Tennessee Bar Foundation and Nashville Bar Foundation. Mr. Bruce is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Government Relations Law).

Andrew C. Kolb is an associate in the firm's litigation practice group. He has experience defending against serious personal injury, death and property damage claims arising from automobile accidents, plant and construction accidents, and premises liability. He has worked defending class action litigation against pharmaceutical manufacturers as well as class actions arising out of a chemical plant explosion, alleged multiple chemical exposures, and alleged asbestos exposure. He also has experience in litigating commercial disputes airising out of contracts, construction plans and specifications, and servitude agreements. Mr. Kolb received his Juris Doctorate and Bachelor of Common Law from Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University in 2002. He was a Louisiana Law Review junior associate. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, magna cum laude, from Northwestern State University in 1999.

Cannon F. Allen is a Practice Group Leader for the Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Allen focuses in the areas of commercial litigation, class and complex litigation business and health care litigation. He has represented clients extensively in class actions and mass torts involving products liability, contract disputes, mortgage financing, Tennessee Trade Protections Act and anti-trust claims. He routinely represents clients in disputes involving professional negligence, contract claims, fiduciary duty, toxic torts, insurance coverage disputes, products liability defense, construction matters, and commercial litigation. His practice includes representing clients in multi-district litigation, before the Sixth Circuit, various federal courts in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, and state courts in Texas, Virginia, Florida, Oklahoma, New York, and Utah. Mr. Allen is AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Allen is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Tort Litigation). In the area of health care litigation, Mr. Allen serves as counsel to a major hospital with a level-one trauma center, a level IV perinatal unit and burn unit, and various nursing homes in west Tennessee defending malpractice claims and implementing risk management strategies. He has served as local counsel representing a west Tennessee hospital in an antitrust claim involving other health care providers and as local trial counsel for a major health care entity, where he successfully resolved 59 lawsuits involving the improper admission and treatment of psychiatric patients. In the Memphis community, Mr. Allen has served as the president of the Binghampton Foundation since 1992, a non-profit organization that equips teachers to effectively teach reading and other language arts skills and assists administrators with strategic planning to improve student performance.

Chris A. Dsented RCA Insurance Company, Philip Service Corporation and Auto Owners Insurance Company, and has experience in both jury and judge trials.

Christopher J. Kane is a member of the Environmental/Toxic Tort Team, Transportation Team, and Class Action Team in the Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Kane has focused on various recovery legal issues since the fall of 2005. During that time, he founded a not-for-profit corporation designed to specifically assist small business recovery after the devastating natural disaster in the New Orleans area. This not-for-profit, known as Desire NOLA, has been nominated for numerous service awards and has been recoginzed by many respected community leaders. Mr. Kane received his Juris Doctorate cum laude from Loyola University Law School in 2004. Having graduated in the top 10% of his class, he was named a Crowe Scholar, and received the Business Organizations Excellence Award for highest grade in the section, the Sales and Leases Excellence Award for the highest grade in the section, and the Trusts and Estates Excellence Award for the highest grades in the section. He served as Chairman of the Moot Court Board and was a Judge Levy Best Moot Court Brief Finalist. He is a member of the Order of the Barristers and has been named a candidate for St. Thomas More Inn of Court. He received his Masters of Business Administration magna cum laude from Christian Brothers University in 2001, and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration magna cum laude from Christian Brothers in 2000, where he received the Senior School of Business Award. Mr. Kane received the Christian Brothers University Distinguished Young Alumnus Award for 2006 for having made significant contributions to his profession, his community and the school.

Courtney C. Miller is an associate with the Tax Team in the Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Group. She works with clients on the development and implementation of an estate plan that best meets their goals and objectives and is most advantageous from a tax standpoint. She also advises clients on formation of corporate entities and is skilled in preparing the appropriate corporate documents. Ms. Miller has experience working with clients through the Succession process, whether simple or complex, preparing the appropriate pleadings necessary to obtain a Judgment of Possession, as well as preparing a United States Estate (and Generation Skipping Transfer) Tax Return Form 706, when necessary. Ms. Miller received her Juris Doctorate cum laude from Loyola University School of Law in 2004, where she graduated in the top ten percent of her class and was distinguished as a Professor William L. Crowe, Sr. Scholar. While at Loyola, she received several academic awards including: the Law Excellence Award in Louisiana Probate, the Henry L. Sarpy Award in Louisiana Probate, the Outstanding Achievement Award in Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure and the Outstanding Achievement Award in Sex Discrimination Law. She was also the recipient of the Lydia Knobloch McAulay Scholarship, a Loyola Law School Scholarship and Grant, all of which were based on academic excellence. She was selected for membership in the Alpha Sigma Nu National Jesuit Honor Society, was a member of the St. Thomas More Law Society, and was a charter member of the Real Estate Law Society. Prior to attending law school, Ms. Miller earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 2001 from the University of New Orleans, where she graduated cum laude and was recognized with UNO's Outstanding Graduate Award.

Danielle L. Pellegrin is an associate with the Litigation Practice Group. She is admitted to practice in all Louisiana State and Federal Courts, including the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Pellegrin received her Juris Doctorate in 2006 from William and Mary School of Law where she was a Graduate Research Fellow, a merit based assistantship. She also served as a research assistant to Professor Mechele Dickerson and Professor Peter Alces. Ms. Pellegrin was also a member of the Bill of Rights Journal, a student-run publication addressing constitutional issues with a focus on civil and individual liberties. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and was named "Outstanding Graduate" by the Department of Political Science and was named to the Dean?s List. She is the recipient of several scholarships including the Joseph Onebane Scholarship for Academic Excellence, the Richie Endowed Memorial Scholarship, the Oran Robert Perry Scholarship and the Joel L. Fletcher Scholarship.

David J. Manley is a member of the Labor and Employment Team in the Special Business Services Practice Group. His experience includes representing employers before state and federal courts, arbitrators, hearing officers and administrative agencies. He also counsels clients on a wide variety of federal and state employment law issues, and frequently speaks on employment-related topics.He was named a Texas Super Lawyer Rising Star in the 2005 edition of Texas Monthly magazine. Prior to engaging in the practice of law, Mr. Manley served ten years as a management consultant, first with a big-six accounting firm, then as an internal consultant with a Fortune 100 company. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1989 and his Master of Business Administration in 1990, both from the University of Houston. In 1998, he received his Juris Doctorate from the South Texas College of Law.

David McCrory is an associate in the Special Business Services Practice Group. He is a Certified Public Accountant, and has served as Investigative Auditor with the Louisiana Legislative Auditors Office, where he gained experience in investigating and reporting fraud in state and local governments. Mr. McCrory received his Juris Doctorate from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center of Louisiana State University in 2006, where he graduated Order of the Coif and was a member of the 2005 National Tax Moot Court Championship team. Prior to law school, he earned his Master of Public Administration degree from Louisiana State University. He served as a graduate assistant in the Public Administration Institute, and was Managing Editor of the Global Virtual Ethics Review, an online academic publication. In 1999, Mr. McCrory earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from Louisiana State University.

David W. Donnell is an associate with the Health Care Practice Team of the Special Business Services Practice Group. Mr. Donnell focuses his practice in areas of fraud and abuse and state and federal regulatory laws. Mr. Donnell also advises clients in the areas of joint ventures, development, employment and compliance. He has served hospitals, physicians, pharmacies, imaging centers, ambulatory surgery centers, and group purchasing organizations. Mr. Donnell's practice also includes Certificate of Need, malpractice defense, general litigation and professional licensure proceedings. Before entering the practice of law, Mr. Donnell directed the operations of hospital based multi-specialty clinics in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama for both for-profit and not-for-profit health systems. Mr. Donnell received his Juris Doctorate cum laude in 2002 from the University of Mississippi School of Law where he received the American Juris Prudence Awards for Torts I, Torts II and Federal Trial Practice and the Mississippi Bar Litigation Award. He earned his Masters of Business Administration degree from Millsaps College in 1995, and his Bachelor of Professional Accountancy from Mississippi State University in 1994. Mr. Donnell is admitted to practice in all Mississippi state courts, the United States District Courts in Mississippi, the Fifth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.

Edwin B. Cleverdon is a member of the ERISA/ Employee Benefits Practice Team in the Special Business Services Practice Group. Prior to joining Adams and Reese, Mr. Cleverdon served in the office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C., where he practiced in the areas of tax accounting issues (accrual of income and deductions, capitalization), travel and transportation expenses (including reimbursement and fringe benefit plans), tax shelters (LILOs, lease stripping, "Son of BOSS"), personal injury damages, information reporting and qualified settlement funds. He is author of Rev. Proc. 2004-34, providing rules for income deferral of advance payments;'1.274-5 of the Income Tax Regulations, providing rules for substantiating expenses; Rev. Rul. 99-7, providing rules for deducting transportation expenses and has also authored annual revenue procedures announcing standard mileage rates and per diem rates. He also served as an attorney advisor to Special Trial Judge Carleton Powell of the U.S. Tax Court, where he drafted and edited memoranda and opinions concerning depreciation, strike income, property transactions, self-employment income tax, scholarship income, business deductions, res judicata, and awards of attorney's fees, as well as researched issues of tax law and court procedure. In 1993, Mr. Cleverdon earned his Masters in Tax Law from the New York University School of Law, and in 1992, he earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law, where he was a recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award for Secured Transactions and was named an Alumni Scholar. He was a member of the Law and Psychology Review editorial board, and served as Research Assistant to Dean Kenneth C. Randall. Mr. Cleverdon also holds a Masters of Arts degree from the University of Alabama (1989) and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Alabama (1984).

Emily Campbell Taube is an associate with the Commercial Disputes and Labor and Employment Practice Teams. She focuses on the area of litigation, specifically commercial litigation, employment litigation, products liability, and estate and trust litigation. She previously served as a Felony Assistant with the Shelby County District Attorney's Office for three years. She is a member of the American, Tennessee and Memphis Bar Associations, as well as the Association of Women Attorneys.

Isaac Johnson is an associate with the Banking and Finance, and Real Estate Practice Team in the Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Group. He has represented numerous financial institutions and business entities. His experience includes handling matters of interim, permanent and construction financing facilities; bond construction loans; negotiating and drafting loan documents; participation agreements; the purchase and sale of loan portfolios; and banking regulatory laws. He also has experience with commercial retail leases and industrial leases; conducting title and survey reviews; purchase and sale of unimproved and improved properties. Prior to joining Adams and Reese, Mr. Johnson served as First Vice President and Counsel of the Community Lending and Investment Group of a well-established national bank. He managed and provided counsel to loan closers and relationship managers overseeing commercial multifamily real estate projects including: bond construction loans, permanent loans, rehabilitation project loans, participations, ground leases, bond enhancement letters of credit, and loan purchases. His team closed deals in New York City, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, and throughout the state of California. He also has experience serving as Vice President and Business Development Officer of a large regional bank and has completed internships with the legal department of JPMorgan Chase Bank and the Mergers and Acquisition Group of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Johnson earned his Juris Doctorate cum laude in 2002 from Thurgood Marshall School of Law of Texas Southern University. He served as President of the Student Bar Association. He was also a member of the James Douglas Board of Advocates and Phi Delta Phi International Legal Fraternity. In 1998, Mr. Johnson earned his Master of Business Administration degree from Jackson State University, where he received the Presidential Scholar Award, and he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Banking and Finance from Mississippi State University, where he served as President of the Financial Management Association. Mr. Johnson has served twenty years of military service and is currently a Major in the 336th Finance Command of the United States Army Reserve. In this capacity, he has served as the unit's Compliance and Finance Policy Officer and managed a $100 million budget for rebuilding efforts while deployed to Afghanistan, where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his accomplishments.

James A. Hayes received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and was valedictorian of his class. He received his Juris Doctorate from Tulane Law School, where he was assistant editor of the Tulane Law Review. He received the "Edward Douglas White Award" from the Louisiana Supreme Court and was a finalist in the National Moot Court Competition. After law school, Former Congressman Hayes became an associate and partner at Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrere & Denegre in New Orleans and in 1981, formed the firm Hayes, Fazio, Durio & Richard (a firm in Lafayette, which is now Durio, McGoffin & Stagg). He served as the assistant district attorney for Lafayette, Acadia and Vermilion Parishes from 1977-1983. From 1983-1985 he served as the commissioner of financial institutions for the state of Louisiana. In 1987, he assumed elected office in the United States House of Representatives, where he served on the Ways and Means Committee, the Public Works Committee and the Science and Technology Committee. Congressman Hayes held his office in Congress until his resignation in 1997, when he became president of Evangeline Oil Realty Co. and vice president of the American Council of Life Insurance.

Jason Marechal Cerise is an associate in the Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Practice Group in the New Orleans office. His areas of practice include commercial restructuring and bankruptcy. Mr. Cerise received his Juris Doctorate and Bachelor of Civil Law from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University in 2003. While attending law school, he served as a member of the Student Bar Association, holding the office of Junior Class Treasurer. He was also a member of Moot Court, the Wex Malone Inn of Court and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Mr. Cerise earned the CALI Awards in Appellate Advocacy and Louisiana Criminal Law by achieving the highest grade in each of those classes. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from the University of New Orleans in 1999.

Mr. Brown has volunteered his time in the Baton Rouge community as a volunteer at the Alpha Center for Education and Community Development, the North Baton Rouge Community Center and with the Young Emerging Leaders of Louisiana (Y.E.L.L.). He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Volunteers of America, Greater Baton Rouge. He also serves as General Counsel for Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, Inc. Mr. Brown earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, in 1998 from Southern University and A&M College; and his Juris Doctor in 2001 from Southern University Law Center, graduating cum laude. While in law school, he was named to the National Law School Dean's List (2000) and served as Associate Editor of the Southern University Law Review (2000-2001). Mr. Brown is admitted to practice in each of Louisiana?s state and federal courts and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

JoAnn Courcelle is an associate in the Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Practice Group and a member of the Commercial Restructuring and Bankruptcy Team in the New Orleans Office. Since joining Adams and Reese in 2000, Ms. Courcelle has practiced primarily in the areas of bankruptcy, corporate and commercial litigation, general litigation and general business advice. She represents secured and unsecured creditors' committees in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and adversary proceedings. Ms. Courcelle has experience in the following areas: commercial litigation, commercial Chapter 11 bankruptcy matters including negotiation and preparation of plans of reorganization, asset sales, voidable preference and fraudulent conveyance litigation, commercial real estate, oil and gas issues, executory contract and unexpired lease issues, contract disputes. Ms. Courcelle is currently a member of the New Orleans, Louisiana, and American Bar Associations and the Bankruptcy Law Section of the Federal Bar Association. She is admitted to practice before all Louisiana State and Federal Courts.

Jody R. Montelaro is a member of the D&O/Professional Liability Team and the Construction Team in the Litigation Practice Group. He has experience in the areas of corporate governance, business entity formation, fiduciary duty matters, labor and employment, nonprofit regulation consulting, construction and property, and homeowner association and condominium regime regulatory matters. Prior to joining Adams and Reese, he served as a judicial clerk to Justice Catherine "Kitty" Kimball, Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. Mr. Montelaro is admitted to practice in all state courts in Louisiana, as well as the United States Federal District Court for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana, and is a member of the Louisiana State and American Bar Associations, as well as the St. Thomas More Inn of Court. Mr. Montelaro is actively involved with various local nonprofit organizations. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Desire NOLA, a Louisiana not-for-profit organization dedicated to assisting small businesses in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He is also a member of the Young Leadership Council, and served three years as co-chair of "Project Prodigy," a children's summer music camp sponsored by the Council. Mr. Montelaro received his Juris Doctorate from Loyola University School of Law, where he graduated in the top 10% of his class and was named a Crowe Scholar. He was a member of Loyola Law Review, served as President of the Student Bar Association and was a student ambassador with the Admissions Department. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in International Marketing from the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama, where he was named to the President's List, served two years as a Student Government Association Senator and chaired the Student Government finance committee.

Jonice M. Vanterpool is an associate with the Litigation Practice Group. Ms. Vanterpool earned her Juris Doctorate in 2006 from Vanderbilt University School of Law, where she was a member of the Women Law Students Association and the Vanderbilt Ambassadors, and served as Treasurer of the Patent and Intellectual Property Organization. In 2002, she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Alabama. In the community, Ms. Vanterpool has worked as a volunteer with the African American Arts and Heritage Foundation.

Joseph Doyle Horn is a member of the Litigation Practice Group. He has experience in corporate banking, finance and economics and logistics.

Laura A. Ford is an associate with the Litigation Practice Group. Ms. Ford earned her Juris Doctorate in 2006 from Vanderbilt University School of Law, where she was awarded a Dean's Scholarship and served as President of the Honor Council. She also served as an Associate Justice on the Moot Court Board and was a member of Vanderbilt's Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition team. In 2004, Ms. Ford earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Paralegal Studies from Mississippi College. She received a Presidential Scholarship with Distinction, and was a member of the Mock Trial team and a Fellow with the Mississippi College LEAD Program. She was also a member of the Student Senate and an active volunteer with community service organizations such as Habitat for Humanity.

Margaret R. T. Myers is a member of the Labor and Employment Team. She counsels management in pre-litigation employment matters, and defends employers in contested matters before state and federal agencies and courts in areas including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. She is also a frequent speaker on employment law issues and conducts in-house management training sessions for clients. In 1992, Ms. Myers received her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before earning her Juris Doctorate from the Washington College of Law of American University in 1999, Ms. Myers served as a Congressional Aide and Licensed Private Investigator in Washington, D.C.

Mark C. Suprenant is the Agricultural Chemicals Practice Team Leader. He is a member of the Louisiana, Texas and American Bar Associations. Mr. Surprenant was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Fordham University in 1973 and his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Loyola University School of Law in 1977. He was a member and comment editor of the Loyola Law Review and graduated fourth in his class. Since the beginning of his career, Mr. Surprenant has been dedicated to community service. In 1988, he created HUGS, the firm's community service organization and in 2000, he started CA&RE, the firm's legal pro bono organization. Among other distinguished professional, civic and charitable positions, Mr. Surprenant has served as a member of Loyola University's President's Council 1991-1995; Loyola Law School Visiting Committee from 1994-present; chairman of the Louisiana State Bar Association's Community Action Committee from 1996-1999; president of the New Orleans Association of Defense Counsel (1988-1989); president, Greater New Orleans Athletic League; president, Loyola University Law Alumni, 1984; member of the Louisiana State Task Force on Public School Finance, 1980-1982; and chairman, Chamber of Commerce, New Orleans and River Region, Education Committee, 1979. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Environmental Law, Personal Injury Litigation, Product Liability Litigation) and Louisiana Super Lawyers (Personal Injury Defense: Products).

Mark E. Power, Jr. practices in the areas of real estate and commercial transactions, banking and finance and forestry law. Mr. Power consults with clients concerning the purchase, sale, development and financing of improved and unimproved property. He has closed transactions including large tracts of forest land, commercial buildings, apartment complexes and residential properties. He also has experience in rendering both real estate and mineral title opinions. Mr. Power received his Juris Doctorate from Mississippi College School of Law in 2001. He received his Masters of Business Administration degree in 1998 from Mississippi State University (MSU) and his Bachelor of Professional Accountancy in 1997, also from MSU. Mr. Power is admitted to practice in the Fifth Circuit of United States Court of Appeals, as well United States District Courts in the North and South Districts of Mississippi and in all state courts in the state of Mississippi. He is a member of the Mississippi State Bar Association, the Hinds County Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

Mark L. Jones is a seasoned corporate attorney whose in-house corporate experience gives him a perspective about client's expectations and needs that make him very effective for his clients.

Megan Arthur is an associate with the Litigation Practice Group. Ms. Arthur earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Methodist University in 2000. She earned her Juris Doctorate in 2006 from Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law of the University of Memphis in 2006 where she served as an Associate Editor on the University of Memphis Law Review and was a member of the Student Bar Association and the Association for Women Attorneys. In 2004, she received the Dean's Award for Excellence for Best Appellate Brief, and in 2003, she received the Dean's Award for Excellence for Best Memorandum. Prior to attending law school, Ms. Arthur served three years as a broker's assistant to several senior investment executives at a national financial planning corporation. In addition, Ms. Arthur also worked as an intern with the District Attorneys office in Memphis, where she gained experience working with special task forces and local associations while clerking in the Drug Dealer Eviction Division.

Mr. Carle earned his Juris Doctorate in 2006 from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, where he was an Associate Editor on the Cumberland Law Review, an Abraham Caruthers Fellow for Legal Research and Writing, and was awarded a Deand States Army.

Mr. Carmody established and served as co-chair of the Ethics Committee of the American Bankruptcy Institute (1999-2005) and currently is a member of the Standards Committee of the American Board of Certification. In 1992, he became the first lawyer in Alabama to become certified as a specialist in business bankruptcy by the American Board of Certification. In 1999, Mr. Carmody was inducted as a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy, and currently serves on its Pro Bono Committee. He is also a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute's Pro Bono Committee. He is a frequent lecturer and writer on bankruptcy and commercial law topics. He helped establish and served as the first chair of the Alabama State Bar Section on Bankruptcy and Commercial Law and is a member of the Alabama Law Institute's Committees for revision of the UCC (Articles 3, 4, 4A, 5 and 9). The Alabama State Bar has recognized him as a "Lawyer Rendering Service." Mr. Carmody is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law) and is listed in Chambers USA Directory as a Leader in the field of Banking and Finance. Before attending law school, Mr. Carmody served eight years as an officer in the United States Army Field Artillery, including two tours in Vietnam.

Ryan R. Sadler is an associate in the firm and member of the Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Sadler earned his Juris Doctorate in 2005 from the University of Mississippi School of Law, magna cum laude, where he was Developmental Editor of the Mississippi Law Journal and an Academic Excellence Program (AEP) Instructor for Criminal Law and Torts. He received the Outstanding Student Award in Property, and was selected to the Dean and roles within the Student Government Association. He participated in the Spring Hill Leadership Training Program, and was a member of the Varsity Cross-Country Team.

Scott Cheatham is a member of the Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Cheatham earned his Juris Doctorate from Paul M. Hebert Law Center of Louisiana State University in 2005, where was awarded the CALI Award for Highest Grades in Torts, Obligations and International Intellectual Property. He was also named to the Chancellor's List in 2003. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Louisiana State University in 2002, where he was named to the Dean's List from 1998-2002 and was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society.

Shana Ann Stumpf is an associate with the Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Practice Group. Ms. Stumpf received her Juris Doctorate and Bachelor of Civil Law degree in 2006 from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center of Louisiana State University where she graduated Order of the Coif and was named to the Chancellor's List every semester of law school. She was also awarded the CALI Awards for Contracts, Business Associations, and Sales and Real Estate and received the Moore, Walters & Thompson Scholarship. Ms. Stumpf earned her Bachelor of Science degree summa cum laude from Louisiana State University in 2003, where she was honored with several awards including the University Medal, Phi Kappa Phi George Robertson Award and University College Academic Distinction. She was also selected for membership in several honor societies including Golden Key, Alpha Lambda Delta and Beta Gamma Sigma.

Thomas R. Prewitt, Jr. is a member of the Health Care Team of the Special Business Services Practice Group. His practice is a mix of litigation, representation of clients in business transactions and counseling of clients on business matters, particularly those related to health care providers. Mr. Prewitt received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Tennessee School of Law in 1973, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction from Rhodes College in 1971. He is admitted to practice law in all state courts in Tennessee, and is a member of several professional organizations including the Memphis, Tennessee and American Bar Associations and the American Health Lawyers Association.

Virginia Boulet has served on our board since March 2005. Ms. Boulet serves as special counsel to the law firm of Adams & Reese, LLP, and is an adjunct professor of law at Loyola University School of Law. She has over twenty years of experience in mergers and acquisitions, equity securities offerings, general business matters and counseling clients regarding compliance with federal securities laws and regulations. Ms. Boulet, graduated from Yale University in 1975 and received her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, Order of the Coif, in 1983 from Tulane University Law School. Ms. Boulet also serves as the presiding independent director of CenturyTel, Inc. (NYSE:CTL).

Wayne W. Weidie is a Senior Governmental Affairs Advisor (non-lawyer) and a member of the Governmental Relations team, joining Adams and Reese after serving as Chief of Staff (1990-2003) for United States Representative Gene Taylor. During his tenure with Representative Taylor, his responsibilities included press for the Washington office and three district offices; supervising staff, budget preparation and tax, ethics and campaign issues. Mr. Weidie was the Editor and Publisher of the Gannett newspapers in Ocean Springs and Gautier, MS from 1970-1990, as well as a syndicated political columnist for 43 Mississippi newspapers from 1972-1990. He appeared weekly on Newswatch This Week for ABC-affiliate WLOX in Biloxi from 1988-1990. He is a former President of the Mississippi Press Association. Mr. Weidie's personal political and congressional papers are just one of eight collections in the library's Congressional and Political Research Collection at the Mississippi State University Library. His personal papers are part of the library's Journalism Collection. Mr. Weidie is a participant of the Bill Collins Lecture series at Mississippi State University. He has been appointed to the Advisory Council for the John C. Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University. Mr. Weidie received a Bachelor of Arts in political science and history from Mississippi State University in 1963. He is a former Fellow of the Millsaps College Institute of Politics (1976) and the American Press Institute (1979, 1988).

Whitney M. Stone is an associate with the Health Care Practice Team of the Special Business Services Practice Group. She represents individuals and business entities on a variety of healthcare issues, including Certificate of Need, from drafting the application through the appellate process; fraud and abuse and other regulatory compliance; hospital operations; physician contracting; and health care ethics. Ms. Stone also has experience representing corporations in a variety of litigation and transactional matters. Ms. Stone earned her Juris Doctorate from Paul M. Hebert Law Center of Louisiana State University in 1999. She is a graduate of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy Trial School, and is admitted to practice in all state and Federal Courts in Tennessee and Mississippi. In 1994, Ms. Stone received her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Louisiana State University, and became a Certified Public Accountant.

Brooke Duncan III has practiced labor and employment law on behalf of management exclusively since his graduation from Tulane University School of Law in 1986. Prior to becoming a lawyer, he was in business for 10 years, gaining practical experience through managing a factory which produced industrial fabric products. He also served as a narcotics detective with the New Orleans Police Department.