News

BTI Consulting ranked Liskow in the BTI Client Service 200 report, a list of law firms delivering the best client service. Liskow’s client service performance also earned it a spot in the BTI Client Service A-Team 2023 – beating the majority of all other law firms.

Leading corporate counsel named Liskow a Standout in 6 of the 17 activities clients value most, consider most important and have the most influence on hiring and rate decisions in driving superior client relationships.

To determine its listings, BTI Consulting conducted more than 350 in-depth interviews with the highest-ranking legal decision-makers at the world’s largest companies. No law firm submissions, self-referrals, firm referrals, suggestions, or payments are accepted for inclusion. To learn more about the 2023 rankings, click here. 

Liskow is pleased to announce two attorneys have joined the firm.

Bradford Laperouse is an associate in the firm’s Houston office. He is an energy transactional attorney with a practice primarily focused on upstream oil and gas. Bradford’s practice includes drafting instruments for onshore and offshore activities such as purchase and sale agreements, operating agreements, farmout agreements, participation agreements, option agreements, master service agreements, confidentiality agreements, consent letters, preferential right letters, and assignments of ownership. He provides insight and legal advice related to company organization and fulling company annual filing and meeting requirements. His practice also includes due diligence projects and performing offshore title examination for oil and gas assets. Prior to joining the firm, Bradford gained experience working for another legal firm focusing on energy transactions and worked in-house for the legal department of an offshore energy company. Bradford received his J.D. from South Texas College of Law and his LL.M. in Energy, Environmental, and Natural Resources Law from the University of Houston.

Michael Mims is a shareholder in the firm’s New Orleans office. He is a trial lawyer with a focus on complex litigation involving mass torts and toxic torts, as well as commercial and environmental litigation. He has obtained several favorable jury verdicts in notoriously plaintiff-friendly venues. He has obtained injunctions in both Shreveport, LA and Houston, TX in favor of one of the nation’s largest waste services companies related to a competitor’s unfair trade practices. Michael has successfully litigated claims against the United States in the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. related to the taking of a plaintiff’s property without paying just compensation, and has represented the holders of air permits in environmental disputes in federal court. Michael is an accomplished speaker and writer, frequently publishing and presenting on the latest developments in state and federal litigation. Michael received his J.D./D.C.L. from Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center where he graduated magna cum laude and was a member of the Order of the Coif. He has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch © for Commercial Litigation and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants and was selected as a “Top Lawyer” by New Orleans Magazine.

The firm is excited to share that it has moved from its longtime Lafayette office to a new, expanded, and more energy-efficient space to accommodate growth in the key southern Louisiana market. 

We opened our new Lafayette office in River Ranch at 1200 Camellia Boulevard after several decades at 822 Harding Street. We were founded in 1935 in Lake Charles, and opened our Lafayette office in 1962, making the firm one of the market’s longest-serving law firms. Our new Lafayette space includes additional offices, a lounge, and an expanded conference center. The office is more energy efficient and was designed to accommodate sustainable workflows, aligning with the firm’s ESG commitment.  

“Our new Lafayette office reflects Liskow’s ongoing growth and is part of a new chapter in our long history in the Gulf Coast and beyond,” said Julie Chauvin, shareholder and head of office administration for the Lafayette office. “We have been a part of this business community for decades, and our growth here further demonstrates our commitment to those relationships and to this city. We look forward to continuing to provide our clients with sophisticated, unparalleled service from our new home.” 

Since its inception, our Lafayette office has served energy clients – including the majors and small oil & gas operators – and business clients. Our services include counsel to traditional oil and gas companies adapting to carbon capture and wind, environmental and employment issues, and multi-state litigation for those companies, as well as maritime, real estate and commercial transactions, business litigation, and estate planning. 

The firm is proud to announce that three lawyers were selected to join The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s (LCLD) 2023 programs. Amy Tomlinson was named a 2023 LCLD Fellow, and Cecilia Vazquez Wilson and Denice Redd-Robinette were selected to join the 2023 class of Pathfinders. These programs provide opportunities for diverse lawyers to receive professional and personal development opportunities, leadership training, and relationship-building opportunities.

Now in its twelfth year, the LCLD Fellows Program is an ambitious, highly structured initiative built to increase diversity at the leadership levels of the nation’s law firms and corporate legal departments.

The LCLD Pathfinder Program is designed to train attorneys in critical career-development strategies including leadership and the building of professional networks. Pathfinders are selected by leaders at LCLD member corporations and law firms and have been identified as diverse, early-career emerging leaders who have, or have the potential to distinguish themselves within their organization.

The LCLD was founded in 2009 by the country’s leading general counsel and managing partners to provide the next generation of diverse attorneys with the tools and knowledge to excel in the legal profession. The council has more than 400 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who have committed to creating a truly diverse legal profession. Liskow is continually seeking opportunities to expand its knowledge and awareness around diversity and inclusion and the firm is proud to collaborate with organizations, such as the LCLD, that are also committed to making the legal industry more diverse and inclusive.

Liskow is pleased to announce the election of six new shareholders, effective January 1, 2023.

Alex Baynham, New Orleans

Alex is a member of the firm’s Maritime, Oilfield, and Insurance practice group focusing on personal injury litigation. Alex has been extensively involved in every aspect of litigating cases. He routinely handles both minor and serious personal injury cases for clients in the maritime and oil & gas fields. Alex takes a client-centered approach that is tailored to fit the individual needs of every case and the desired result, including early settlements as well as taking cases through trial. Recently, Alex was instrumental in obtaining a complete dismissal of a pipeline company by summary judgment in a severe personal injury case valued at more than $15,000,000. He graduated magna cum laude from LSU Law in 2015, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as a Senior Editor of the Louisiana Law Review. Prior to joining the firm, he served as a law clerk to The Honorable Chief Judge Dee D. Drell of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

Mark Deethardt, New Orleans

Mark is a litigator focusing on energy, environmental, and toxic tort litigation, as well as other litigation matters. Before joining the firm, Mark was an associate with a large New Orleans-based defense firm where he maintained a diverse litigation practice.  There, Mark routinely represented highly regulated national and regional financial institutions and banks in consumer financial services litigation involving single plaintiffs and class actions. Mark represented a variety of other businesses – both large and small – in complex commercial litigation, property and insurance disputes, tax title recovery, and other tort and personal injury cases. Mark is also experienced at protecting and preserving clients’ rights on appeal. He has authored numerous successful merits briefs and defended writ applications before all Louisiana courts of appeals, the Louisiana Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Mark graduated magna cum laude from LSU Law in 2012, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as Senior Editor of the Louisiana Law Review. Mark served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jeanette Theriot Knoll, former Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Michael Ishee, Lafayette

Michael is an energy and business litigator. Michael has experience in both state and federal courts, as well as mediating and arbitrating disputes. He handles disputes for oil and gas companies involving mineral royalties, joint operating agreements, gas marketing practices, well costs, oil and gas accounting, unleased mineral interests, and property damage. Michael also represents oil and gas companies in “legacy suits” that involve claims of oilfield contamination allegedly caused by historic oil and gas exploration and production activities. In business litigation, Michael represents clients in cases involving allegations of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and other issues arising out of corporate organization and management. Michael also handles disputes involving trusts, estates, and successions. He graduated magna cum laude from LSU Law in 2015, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif.

Amy Lee, Lafayette

Amy is an experienced litigation attorney who handles complex cases in the fields of energy and environmental law. Her practice includes legacy lawsuits, site remediation, contract and property disputes, environmental litigation, oil and gas law, and regulatory matters with the Louisiana Office of Conservation. Amy was recognized for her environmental experience by The Best Lawyers in America as a “Lawyer of the Year” in Environmental Litigation in 2020 and 2022. She graduated magna cum laude from Tulane University Law School in 2001, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif and was a member of the Tulane Law Review. Amy served as a law clerk to the Honorable Catherine D. Kimball, Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Caleb Madere, Lafayette

Caleb practices in the areas of Energy & Natural Resources Law and Energy Litigation. His practice focuses on title examination, contract negotiation, and various issues relating to the acquisition and divestiture of mineral interests. Caleb also has experience in the emerging renewables industry where he has experience drafting and negotiating solar leasing agreements for clients and has advised clients on carbon capture and sequestration projects. He also has experience litigating various oil and gas, property, and environmental matters, including joint operating agreement disputes, mineral lease maintenance disputes, and environmental contamination suits. Caleb graduated magna cum laude from LSU Law in 2015, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as Senior Editor of the Louisiana Law Review.

John Troutman, Lafayette

John is a litigator. John has experience representing clients in a wide variety of legal matters ranging from construction disputes to community property partitions; class actions to derivative actions; products liability to professional liability; collection lawsuits to bankruptcy proceedings; and more. John has taken cases to trial across Louisiana, and has represented clients in arbitrations, mediations, and administrative proceedings before state agencies. John graduated magna cum laude from Southern University Law Center and served as Senior Editor of the Law Review.

Fifty-five Liskow & Lewis lawyers have been named to the 2023 edition of Louisiana Super Lawyers and Rising Stars, Thomson Reuters. Peggy Adams, James Brown, Thomas McGoey II were named among the top 50 attorneys in the state of Louisiana. Additionally, Peggy Adams was recognized as one of the top 25 women attorneys in the state.

Super Lawyers
Bill Schwartz
Blake Bennett
Charles Wilmore
Cherrell Taplin
Cheryl Kornick
David Leefe
Devin Reid
Donald Abaunza
George Arceneaux lll
George Denegre, Jr.
Greg Johnson
James Brown
Jamie Rhymes
Jim Exnicios
Jerry Reso
John Rouchell
Julie Chauvin
Kathryn Gonski
Keith Jarrett
Kelly Becker
Kelly Scalise
Kirk Jones
Lawrence Simon, Jr.
Leon Rittenberg III
Lou Buatt
Mark McNamara
Paul Kitziger
Peggy Adams
Raymond Waid
Robert McNeal
Robert Angelico
Shannon Holtzman
Stephen Schott
Thomas McGoey II
Trey Reymond
Thomas Diaz

Rising Star
Alex Baynham
Caleb Madere
Courtney Turkington
C.J. Miller
Cristian Soler
Denice Redd-Robinette
Emily von Qualen
Erin Bambrick
Hunter Chauvin
Jackie Hickman
Jared Nelson
John Troutman
Joseph Wilson
Lauren Bridges
Matthew Simone
Melanie Derefinko
Michael Ishee
Rebecca Guidry
Trinity Morale