Addis Lawyers

Jeffrey W. Weiss attended high school at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, from which he graduated with honors, and college at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, from which he received a B.A. degree in 1983, graduating magna cum laude, with honors in economics. Upon graduation from Claremont McKenna College, Jeff was admitted to Phi Beta Kappa.

Jeff obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from Tulane School of Law in 1986, from which he graduated summa cum laude. At Tulane, Jeff served as a member of the Tulane Law Review, and was admitted to the Order of the Coif honor society.

Jeff has...

Victoria Alford joined Arnold & Itkin LLP in 2011. Today, she spends much of her time guiding the firm’s newest clients through the initial steps of their case while handling her own caseload. Victoria is the first point of contact for almost all clients and is a key part of the firm's—and the client’s—success. Most of the firm’s record-setting cases involve clients whom Ms. Alford spoke to when they first called for help, like a young man who suffered life-threatening injuries in a refinery accident. He eventually reached an $87 million settlement.

Victoria has dedicated her career to helping people in...

David Abboud Thomas is an veteran trial lawyer who has handled many jury trials throughout the State of Louisiana.

Allison Benoit is special counsel in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 2005 and practices in the toxic tort, occupational exposure, and commercial litigation groups. Prior to joining the firm, Allison practiced at an insurance defense firm in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Allison earned her B.A. in English, magna cum laude, from Louisiana State University in 1999. She earned her J.D. in 2003 from the LSU Law Center where she was a member of the Moot Court Board and a semi-finalist in the Robert Lee Tullis Moot Court Competition.

Devin Ricci is a partner in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2012 and practices primarily in the intellectual property group, but also practices in the pipeline and expropriations, commercial litigation, and transaction groups.

Trippe Hawthorne is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2004 and practices in the construction, ADR and business litigation groups. Trippe has experience in all phases of the construction industry and in a wide variety of commercial litigation, and general litigation matters, including design and construction contracting and dispute resolution across all sectors, including industrial, commercial, public, and residential; public bidding and procurement challenges; and public and private works lien laws. Trippe has experience with administrative law and occupational licensing law, having served as General Counsel for the Louisiana State Licensing...

Since founding Field Law in 2012, I have helped hundreds of people with their legal problems from all walks of life and from all corners of our great state. I enjoy working everyday to make a difference in the lives of my clients.

Every client, every person, deserves to be treated with respect and care. That is core to our mission at Field Law. Our clients are people, not big corporations, not large agencies, but everyday people. My former clients include people from every walk of life, from farmers and first responders to former professional athletes and stay-at-home moms.

At Field Law,...

Jessica Engler, CIPP/US, is an associate in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 2013 and practices in the intellectual property, construction, and data security groups. Jessica has experience in the many aspects of intellectual property including patents, trademarks, trade secrets, trade dress, and copyrights.

Jessica’s experience in intellectual property matters spans a wide range of technologies including electronic devices, medical devices, electric power protection, and construction materials. As a registered patent attorney, Jessica drafts, files, and prosecutes patents before the United States Patent and Trademark Office in various technologies and industries including electronics and circuit...

Matt Smith is an associate in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2013 and practices in the commercial litigation, toxic tort defense, and environmental litigation groups. His work focuses on the representation of oil and gas exploration and production companies, mid-stream companies, and other industry companies in various litigation matters including property damage and contamination, property rights, and commercial and contractual disputes.

Matt has extensive experience guiding clients through claims related to soil contamination, groundwater contamination, air pollution, and the associated regulatory standards. His practice covers a wide range of commercial and litigation issues ranging...

Ben Jumonville is an associate in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller.

Gayla Moncla is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller and practices in the areas of toxic tort and environmental litigation, premises liability, and commercial litigation. She has more than 25 years of experience in the chemical and petrochemical industries, defending workplace accidents, chemical exposure cases, products liability cases, as well as advising clients regarding workplace safety issues and OSHA regulations. Gayla also has experience in retail premises litigation having defended retail clients for over 25 years.

Gayla earned her B.S. from Louisiana State University in 1973. She earned her J.D. in 1989 from the LSU Law Center...

Mack Gregorie is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 1984 and has extensive experience in all types of business and corporate transactions, including complex commercial and industrial real estate matters and finance. Mack represents major international petrochemical clients, worldwide energy producers, banks and financial institutions, buyers and sellers, landlords and tenants, and lenders. A Certified Public Accountant, Mack lectures frequently on real estate topics such as sales, leases, property law, purchase and sale agreements, and recent developments in real estate law. He is also a title agent for First American Title...

Forrest Guedry is an associate in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2018 and practices in the litigation group. Prior to joining the firm, Forrest practiced insurance and worker’s compensation defense in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Forrest earned his B.A., cum laude, from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2012. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2015, where he served as Editor in Chief of the Loyola Maritime Law Journal. He also participated in the Loyola Moot Court Program as an oralist on the 2014-2015 Judge John R. Brown Admiralty...

Chelsea Gomez Caswell is an associate in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 2013 and practices in the labor and employment and litigation groups. She represents employers in a variety of labor and employment matters in state and federal courts and before the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the Louisiana Commission on Human Rights (LCHR), including EEOC charges; discrimination, harassment, and retaliation litigation; litigation of disputes related to non-competition agreements; and wage and hour claims. Chelsea assists clients with employee handbooks, company policies, employment contracts, and in day-to-day counseling. She has...

Kimberly Hymel is an attorney in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 2004 and practices in the energy, oil and gas, pipeline and commercial litigation groups. Kimberly represents national and international energy and petrochemical clients in a wide variety of litigation, with particular experience in environmental property damage cases, commercial contractual disputes, and toxic tort litigation. She has also worked extensively on electronic discovery issues, including management of large-scale discovery efforts for multi-national companies and advising clients regarding development and implementation of workable strategies, procedures, and discovery software tools for the collection, review, and...

The Law Office of Natalie Blackman is dedicated to helping individuals understand their rights and explore their legal options when it comes to Employment Discrimination, Criminal Defense, Civil Rights, and Personal Injury. The office represents clients throughout Louisiana. Our Attorney, Natalie Blackman, Esq., has the skills and resources to handle all aspects of your case from start to finish.

Natalie Blackman is a native of Avoyelles Parish. She is known for her strong work ethic and dedication in fighting for the greater good of her community. She graduated from Avoyelles High school in 2000. She graduated from...

Kris is a father of two and has been a resident of Baton Rouge since attending LSU in 1993. While at LSU, Kris, a two-time letterman, was a special teams captain for the LSU Tigers football team and recipient of the LSU Scholar Athlete’s Award. Since graduating LSU Law School in 2000, Kris has made an impression by helping hundreds in the courtroom and volunteering in the community.

In 1989, Jimmy began the firm of Simien & Simien, LLC with emphasis on Admiralty and Maritime, Class Actions, Constitutional Law, Criminal Defense, Mass Tort, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death and other major litigation. Other areas in which the firm has extensive experience include Insurance Bad Faith, Insurance Claims, Constitutional Law, Bankruptcy, Commercial Law and limited Criminal Defense matters. During his tenure with the firm, Jimmy was chosen by his peers to be section chief of the ATLA Litigation Committee involving CCA (Chromated Cooper Arsenate) Wood. The focus of that Committee was on litigation pertaining to CCA pressure treated wood,...

Troy Charpentier is a dedicated and experienced Louisiana Attorney. He joined Kean Miller in 1996, where he works with the Litigation Group in the Baton Rouge office. Troy has successfully represented local, regional and national clients in an array of legal disputes. His practice areas include General Commercial Litigation such as Contract Claims, Lease Disputes and Landlord/Tenant matters. Additionally, Troy advocates for clients with Pipeline Permitting and Incident Response before the Department of Natural Resources. He has extensive experience in Pipeline Expropriation projects. Troy is committed to providing outstanding service and the best possible outcomes.

Troy received a B.A. from Louisiana...

A licensed attorney in Texas and Louisiana, Kyle Findley helps to lead clients of Arnold & Itkin LLP to obtaining exceptional results. Kyle attended the University of Texas in Austin as a sixth-generation Texan. He graduated with honors and received a Bachelor of Arts in government with business foundations. After graduation, he spent time working for a national real estate firm, specializing in investment sales and representing high-net-worth individuals and institutions. While his time in real estate allowed him to gain develop invaluable negotiation skills, which resulted in the closing of one of the largest transactions at his firm,...

John joined the Joubert Law Firm team in 2013. The son of a computer engineer, he was born in Kansas, but was raised in Kansas, Colorado and finally, North Carolina. John attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received his undergraduate degree in Political Science with a History Minor in 1994. He then studied law at the UNC School of Law at Chapel Hill, earning his Juris Doctorate in 1999. John then moved to Louisiana with his wife, Melissa Boyle Jacobs, who grew up in Baton Rouge, but attended UNC-Chapel Hill on a...

As a former Navy officer and public servant, Rebecca Adams is eager to use her skills and experience to protect the injured and wronged. Prior to joining Arnold & Itkin, she practiced high-stakes complex commercial litigation at trial boutique firms in Houston and Washington, D.C.—including one of the largest litigation powerhouses in the U.S. She’s also practiced law in the public arena, having clerked for the SEC, the U.S. Attorney’s office, and the California Attorney General’s office. Rebecca’s most notable service to her country included two sea tours—one as a Weapons Officer aboard the U.S.S. Rushmore (LSD-47), and...

For as long as he could remember, Brandt always wanted to be an attorney. After graduating from Southern University Law Center, Brandt started his legal career working for the big insurance companies. After several years defending the insurance companies, Brandt knew it was time for something different. So for the last 13 years Brandt has been serving those who have suffered injury or who have lost loved ones through the negligence of others. Brandt has successfully represented thousands of injured clients over the course of his career in a wide variety of cases ranging from automobile and trucking accidents to...

Lauren Rucinski is an associate in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 2016 and practices in the environmental law and intellectual property group.

Lauren helps clients understand which environmental regulations apply to new facilities and processes. Her practice focuses on permitting, compliance, litigation and transactional issues, as well as rulemaking efforts at both the state and federal level. She advises a wide range of clients including petrochemical facilities, oil refineries, natural gas terminals, glass manufacturers, and commodity processing plants.

Lauren helps clients protect and maximize the value of their businesses' intellectual property by advising them on...

After practicing in the areas of estate planning, estate administration, probate, and real estate law for several years with a boutique law firm in the Baton Rouge area, Siobhan Leger opened the Leger Law Group, LLC. As the managing attorney for the Leger Law Group, LLC, Siobhan now practices in all areas of civil law, but continues to focus her practice on wills & trusts, estates, real estate, Medicaid and Veteran's Aid & Attendance planning, and family law.

Siobhan Leger is a graduate of both Louisiana State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in English, and the Paul M....

Melissa Hemmans is an experienced Litigation Attorney in Kean Millers's Baton Rouge office. Her practice includes Petrochemical, Manufacturing, Municipal, Civil Rights Defense, Oil and Gas, and Local Business matters. She has extensive experience with cases involving Toxic Tort and Environmental claims. Melissa is dedicated to providing clients with creative solutions, unique strategies, and unparalleled value.

In 1996, Melissa received her B.A. from Louisiana State University. She obtained her J.D. from the LSU Law Center in 1999. Melissa is admitted to practice law in the State of Louisiana, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, United States District Courts for the Eastern,...

Mark Simien graduated from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He began working in the chemical industry as an Operator/Processor. During his tenure with the chemical industry, Mark worked as both a relief supervisor, being placed in charge of several plant improvement projects, as well as relief supervisor for plant operations. Mark also worked as relief supervisor for the plant’s laboratory and was in charge of maintaining the scheduled and special testing necessary to maintain operations and shipments of the plant. Mark took this valuable experience with him to law school and then into practice when he...

Armand Roos is Of Counsel for the firm of Wiener, Weiss & Madison, A Professional Corporation. He has been in private practice for more than 40 years. Armand is certified as a specialist in estate planning and estate administration by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC).

John S. McLindon is "Of Counsel" to Walters, Papillion, Thomas, Cullens, LLC.