Louisiana

BP Claims Chief Advises Claimants to Avoid Court, Offer Priestly Proof

The lawyer who will be overseeing a $20 billion compensation fund for Gulf oil spill victims is acknowledging that some people don’t have tax returns to prove their lost income—but he says that won’t be the death knell for a claim. Kenneth Feinberg is stumping for the compensation fund, boarding…

Jul 19, 2010 12:54 PM CDT

Court Says Law Firm Didn’t Violate Confidentiality by Reporting Partner’s Drug Use

The Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled a New Orleans law firm didn’t violate confidentiality requirements by reporting a partner’s cocaine use to attorney discipline authorities. The court said the firm McGlinchey Stafford did not owe lawyer John Clegg the same duty of confidentiality that applied to officials in the Lawyers…

Jul 16, 2010 12:07 PM CDT

4 Cops, 2 Supervisors Charged Over Katrina Danziger Bridge Deaths

Four police officers and two supervisors have been federally indicted in a civil rights case over civilian deaths on the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Exactly what they have been charged with isn’t yet clear, reports CNN, and a news conference is planned by…

Jul 13, 2010 8:49 PM CDT

Legal Road Trip: New Orleans

The legal sites of the Big Easy

Jul 1, 2010 8:40 AM CDT

Judge Who Overturned Drilling Moratorium Had Oil Investments; US Plans New Ban

A federal judge who blocked the Obama administration’s effort to ban deepwater offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday has reported oil and gas investments on financial disclosure forms. U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman of New Orleans filed 2008 disclosure forms showing investments in Transocean Ltd., the owner of…

Jun 23, 2010 12:09 PM CDT

Federal Judge Blocks Offshore Drilling Moratorium in Gulf of Mexico

A federal judge in New Orleans has blocked the Obama administration’s effort to ban deepwater offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico for six months in the wake of the BP oil spill. A CNN article provides additional details about the ruling, which the White House plans to appeal to…

Jun 22, 2010 5:56 PM CDT

2 Lawyers Convicted in Federal Tax Fraud Conspiracy Case

A Chicago lawyer was convicted of conspiracy to commit tax fraud and tax evasion this week by a federal jury in New York. The case against attorney John Ohle III concerned tax shelters the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office said he sold to clients of Bank One, both during and after…

Jun 4, 2010 5:12 PM CDT

Frustration Over Uncontained Gulf Oil Spill—and Tort Claim Contingency Fees of Up to 50 Percent

As crude oil continues gushing into the Gulf of Mexico at a record-breaking rate from an undersea BP well, frustration with the situation is building. A little over a month after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and burned, killing 11 workers, it appears that a combination of factors ranging…

May 25, 2010 1:44 AM CDT

Employees of New Orleans Law Firm Dive for Cover During Drive-By Shooting

A New Orleans lawyer says a car service appointment may have saved her life. Ernestine Trahan usually sits at a desk that was right in the line of fire during a drive-by shooting on Wednesday that occurred outside her law firm, Trahan & Davis, WWLTV.com reports. Trahan was gone, but…

May 21, 2010 12:22 PM CDT

Kevin Costner & Trial Lawyer Partner Come to BP’s Aid With Oil Spill ‘Vacuum Cleaner’

Desperate for ideas about how to contain a record-breaking oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, BP has turned to a movie star and his trial attorney partner for help. The oil company is going to give six centrifuge machines developed and donated by Kevin Costner a whirl this week,…

May 20, 2010 9:05 PM CDT

Avoid Chaos, Decide Now Where to Try Oil Spill Cases, Lawyer Urges Multidistrict Panel

As the tally of cases related to the still-gushing BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico tops 100, a Louisiana lawyer today urged a panel of federal judges to decide quickly to consolidate the litigation and determine where it should be pursued. Although the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict…

May 20, 2010 12:08 AM CDT

Class Action Suits Are Filed Over Gulf Oil Spill; Leak Could Be Gushing 25K Barrels Daily

Updated: Two commercial shrimpers have filed a federal lawsuit in Louisiana against the owner and operator of a oil rig that exploded and sank last week in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in a massive oil leak, and similar actions are being filed in federal court in other states, too.…

Apr 30, 2010 5:33 PM CDT

‘River of Oil’ from Gulf Spill Hits La. Shore, Could Dwarf Exxon Valdez Damage

Updated: The blowout of an oil well being dug by a British Petroleum rig in the Gulf of Mexico has resulted in a massive spill that could dwarf the environmental damage done in 1989 when the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska. The “river of oil” that began washing onto…

Apr 30, 2010 12:17 AM CDT

7 Homeowners Awarded $2.6M in Chinese Drywall Suit

In a ruling that is expected to provide guidance for determining potential damages in more than 2,000 similar federal lawsuits filed by other homeowners, a federal judge in New Orleans today awarded $2.6 million to seven homeowners who alleged that their houses were damaged by the installation of drywall manufactured…

Apr 8, 2010 6:14 PM CDT

18-Lawyer Alabama Firm to Join Jones Walker

An 18-attorney Birmingham, Ala., law firm is to merge with 300-attorney Jones Walker Waechter Poitevent Carrère & Denègre, increasing the New Orleans-based Southeast regional firm’s local lawyer roster to 26. William Hines, the managing partner of Jones Walker, tells the Birmingham News that further growth is expected after the Walston…

Mar 29, 2010 9:37 PM CDT