News

Liskow attorney Raymond Waid was recently quoted in The Wall Street Journal‘s article, “A Focus on Terror Risks, Not War, Is Coming Back to Bite Companies,” by Jean Eaglesham and Benjamin Katz.

Ray is uniquely qualified to address shipping disputes arising from the Iran War. He was a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy before becoming a lawyer. He was in Bahrain on September 11th and transited the Straits of Hormuz on a destroyer in a combat posture at 30 knots the next day. He also performed anti-terrorism cargo ship escort operations through the Malacca Strait, leading up to the second Iraq War. These wartime operations are currently daily issues in the Middle East. Today, Ray represents clients in negotiating cargo carriage contracts and litigates court cases and arbitrations. He is also an award-winning adjunct professor of maritime law at Tulane University Law School.

Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/g-bU73rD

Liskow secured a complete victory on behalf of the City of Mandeville in a lawsuit brought by the developer and landowner of the Sucette Harbor development. Woodward Harbor, LLC, et al. v. City of Mandeville, et al., Civil Action No. 23-5824 (E.D. La.).

In September 2023, the Mandeville City Council unanimously voted to reject an ordinance that would have approved the Sucette Harbor development, a mixed-use development proposed for the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. The lawsuit alleged federal and state takings claims, substantive and procedural due process claims, and equal protection claims against the City, in conjunction with various claims for declaratory relief. Liskow obtained the dismissal of all claims by filing two separate Rule 12(b)(6) motions.

The court dismissed all claims with prejudice and denied Plaintiffs leave to amend. The court found Plaintiffs failed to state any takings or due process claims by failing to allege a property interest protected by the federal or state constitutions; specifically, the court found no legally recognized property right in development where development is entirely contingent on a governing body’s approval. With respect to the equal protection claim, the court agreed that Plaintiffs failed to identify similarly situated comparators and failed to overcome the City’s rational basis for denying the development.

Liskow directed the court to numerous concerns expressed by council members in the council minutes attached to the complaint, including concerns over traffic, compatibility with surrounding use, and density, and pointed out that these concerns were all rational grounds upon which to reject the project. The ruling fully resolves the matter in favor of the City of Mandeville.

Paul Adkins and Clare Bienvenu handled this matter for the City of Mandeville. For further information about Liskow’s experience with zoning and land use matters, visit the firm’s Zoning & Land Use practice page.

Liskow achieved a major win for Greenfield Louisiana, LLC at the Louisiana Supreme Court this month in The Descendants Project, et al. v. St. John the Baptist Parish, Case No. 2025-C-00543.

The subject of the lawsuit was a zoning ordinance passed by St. John the Baptist Parish in 1990 that zoned the subject property for industrial use. This ordinance was in place when Greenfield purchased the property more than thirty years later for the purpose of constructing a state-of-the-art grain terminal.

Plaintiffs shortly thereafter filed suit, challenging the decades-old zoning ordinance on numerous grounds. The lower court dismissed all of these grounds except one regarding local government procedure. The court ruled the Parish Council failed to follow proper procedure in 1990 by making an amendment to the zoning ordinance without consulting the Planning Commission, thereby rendering the ordinance null and void. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed.

Throughout the court proceedings, Liskow attorneys argued that the Parish Council’s procedure was proper, based on the authority granted to the Council in the Parish Home Rule Charter. Because the Home Rule Charter is tantamount to a parish’s constitution, it trumped any conflict between the Charter and the parish’s procedural ordinances.

The Louisiana Supreme Court ultimately agreed, reversing the lower courts’ rulings, granting summary judgment to Greenfield, and reinstating the industrial zoning classification on the Greenfield property. A copy of the opinion can be found here.

The Liskow team was led by Paul Adkins, Clare Bienvenu, and Lou Buatt. For more information about Liskow’s significant experience with zoning and land use matters, contact the team or visit the firm’s Zoning & Land Use practice page.

Liskow is pleased to announce that shareholder Kathryn Gonski has been certified as an Appellate Practice Specialist by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization, a designation held by only 20 other attorneys in the state.

Kathryn has handled dozens of appeals in the Louisiana Courts of Appeal, Louisiana Supreme Court, and United States Fifth Circuit. Her appellate experience has also included assistance with appeals in the United States Second, Sixth, Ninth, and Federal Circuits. She regularly represents local, national, and global retail, chemical, marine, transportation, and energy companies in a wide array of practice areas, including commercial, energy, environmental, maritime, and tort litigation. In addition to her extensive appellate practice, Kathryn has successfully represented her clients in all phases of litigation, including dispositive motion practice, jury trials, and arbitration. She is also frequently retained to write amicus briefs on behalf of organizations in matters of industry-wide significance.

Kathryn currently serves as the Louisiana State Chair of the American Bar Association Council of Appellate Lawyers and is recognized by Chambers USA in Litigation: Appellate in Louisiana. She is a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and is based in the New Orleans office.

Liskow is proud to announce that attorney Alec Andrade has been selected to serve on the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry’s (LABI) 2026 Emerging Leaders Council. Alec joins a group of 49 professionals with diverse backgrounds who share a commitment to making Louisiana the premier state for business and family life.

Alec is a litigator practicing in the areas of mass tort, products liability, personal injury defense, and commercial litigation. He also has experience in government relations and advises clients on the legislative and business considerations affecting their operations, particularly where regulatory and policy issues intersect with litigation risk.

Learn more about this selection and other council members here.

Liskow attorney Ellie George was recently featured in New Orleans CityBusiness’ Guest Perspective section with her article, “2026 Brings 27-Paycheck Challenge for Employers.” The article examines an uncommon payroll issue employers may face in 2026, when the biweekly payroll calendar results in a 27th paycheck and creates budgeting, compliance, and employee communication considerations.

In the article, Ellie explains how the extra pay period occurs and outlines the practical implications for employers that have budgeted for only 26 pay periods. She discusses the financial impact of issuing an additional paycheck, as well as alternative approaches such as spreading annual salaries across 27 pay periods, noting potential wage-and-hour and overtime exemption risks under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The article concludes by emphasizing that while a 27-paycheck year can create challenges related to payroll costs, overtime compliance, and benefits administration, the issue is manageable with proactive planning. With that in mind, Ellie highlights the importance of reviewing payroll calendars early, coordinating with benefits administrators and counsel, and clearly communicating with employees to avoid confusion and compliance issues.

To read the entire article, please click here.

The firm is pleased to announce that four attorneys have been selected to participate in The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s (LCLD) programs for 2026. CJ Miller and Emily von Qualen were named 2026 LCLD Fellows and Margaret Chavez and Hailey Maldonado were selected to join the 2026 LCLD Pathfinders Program. These programs support the advancement of diverse attorneys through leadership development, career-focused training, and opportunities to build lasting professional relationships.

Now in its fifteenth year, the LCLD Fellows Program is a highly structured, year-long initiative designed for high-potential, mid-career attorneys at LCLD Member organizations. The program provides immersive leadership training and opportunities to engage with senior legal and business leaders from leading corporations and law firms nationwide.

The LCLD Pathfinder Program focuses on high-potential, early-career attorneys and is designed to supplement existing training initiatives at LCLD Member corporations and law firms. Founded in 2009 by leading general counsel and law firm managing partners, LCLD is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the legal profession. The organization includes more than 400 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners and has impacted more than 25,000 legal careers through its talent development initiatives.

Liskow is pleased to announce that attorney Chelsea Crews has been selected as an honoree on New Orleans CityBusiness’ Power List for Port and Maritime 2026. Chelsea is recognized for her leadership in maritime law and her impact on the port and maritime industry in New Orleans and across the globe.

Chelsea is a maritime attorney in Liskow’s New Orleans office and a member of the firm’s Maritime Industry Group. She represents vessel owners, maritime companies, and other industry stakeholders in complex maritime litigation, commercial disputes, and regulatory matters. Chelsea also drafts and negotiates a wide range of maritime contracts.

Prior to joining Liskow, Chelsea worked in-house at the world’s third-largest ocean carrier, gaining first-hand experience navigating the legal and commercial challenges faced by global maritime operators. Read more about Chelsea and other’s featured here.

Liskow is pleased to announce the election of three new shareholders, effective January 1, 2026.

Melanie Derefinko is a member of the Commercial Litigation practice group in the New Orleans office. Her practice focuses on complex business disputes, including intellectual property disputes, construction litigation, contract disputes between businesses, labor and employment matters, and collection actions. She has extensive experience drafting dispositive and Daubert motions, as well as pre- and post-trial briefs in federal court, and regularly manages e-discovery for cases, including the development of tailored ESI protocols. Prior to joining the firm, she served as a judicial intern to the Honorable J. Sterling Snowdy of the Fortieth Judicial District Court and the Honorable Fredericka Wicker of the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal.

Bradford Laperouse is a member of the Business Transactions practice group in the Houston office. His practice is primarily focused on upstream oil and gas matters. He advises clients on onshore and offshore transactions and regularly drafts purchase and sale agreements, operating agreements, farmout agreements, participation agreements, option agreements, master service agreements, confidentiality agreements, and assignments of ownership. Bradford’s energy work includes handling due diligence projects and offshore title examination. In addition to energy transactions, his practice also encompasses providing counsel on entity formation, governance, and compliance with annual filing and meeting requirements, drafting various real estate instruments, and advising on financing and lending transactions. Prior to joining the firm, Bradford worked in-house in the legal department of an offshore energy company and practiced law focusing on energy transactions.

Emily von Qualen is a member of the Environmental Regulatory practice group in the New Orleans office.  She represents a variety of industry clients in environmental regulatory matters, including responding to air, water, and waste enforcement proceedings with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy. She has also aided clients in federal matters, including EPA information requests, liability under the Oil Pollution Act, and natural resource damage assessments. As part of the environmental regulatory team, she has helped companies navigate the complex regulatory and permitting requirements at the state and federal levels. She has drafted and analyzed state Public Trust and federal NEPA reviews to ensure that they have sufficiently analyzed the effects of a project, including environmental justice concerns. Emily is a frequent publisher and presenter on environmental regulatory topics. After law school, Emily served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Patricia Minaldi of the United States District Court of the Western District of Louisiana.

Liskow, in partnership with appellate attorneys at Wright Close & Barger, LLP, has secured a significant victory on behalf of Industrial Specialists, LLC (“ISI”) at the Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas in Industrial Specialists, LLC v. Blanchard Refining Company LLC and Marathon Petroleum Company LP, which overturned a Galveston County District Court’s July 24, 2023 judgment that awarded in excess of $70 million to Marathon.

The case involved an action for contractual indemnity brought by Marathon against ISI for settlement payments made to resolve personal injury claims arising from a January 2016 fire during turnaround construction at Marathon’s Galveston Bay Refinery.  After the fire, four separate lawsuits were filed by the injured employees asserting negligence claims against Marathon and other contractors on the jobsite.  Those suits were consolidated in a multi-district litigation.  ISI was not named as a defendant in the consolidated matter, but was designated as a responsible third party.  

After purporting to settle all claims arising out of the January 2016 fire, and expressly excluding claims against ISI from the scope of its settlement, Marathon filed suit against ISI seeking contractual indemnification for the portion of its settlement payment that was not attributable to its own negligence.  After a jury trial allocating fault for the underlying January 2016 fire took place in May 2023, the trial court issued a judgment for Marathon later that summer. 

On appeal, ISI successfully argued that Marathon’s contractual indemnity claim requested a form of “comparative indemnity” that requires compliance with the express negligence doctrine.  Because the parties’ indemnity provision did not expressly state that ISI would indemnify Marathon when Marathon’s concurrent negligence caused the liability, loss, or damage for which it sought indemnification, ISI argued that the indemnity provision was unenforceable as a matter of law.

The court of appeals agreed and held that Marathon’s request for—and the trial court’s award—of comparative indemnity was not contemplated by the parties’ agreement.  Instead, the court concluded that “the plain language of the parties’ indemnity agreement unambiguously sets forth an ‘exclusion from liability for indemnification’ for liability, loss, or damage attributable to or caused by any negligence—sole, joint, concurrent, or otherwise—of Marathon.”  Because the jury found that Marathon was found 38% responsible for causing the January 2016 fire—more than any other party—its request for indemnification was barred by the plain terms of the contract.  Consequently, the court of appeals reversed the trial court’s judgment in favor of Marathon and rendered a take-nothing judgment in favor of ISI. 

The Liskow trial and appellate team was led by Michael Golemi and J.T. Kittrell, working alongside Wright Close & Barger, LLP as appellate counsel.