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.