Central Lawyers

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...

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.

We do things differently from other lawyers. We don't just give you a stack of documents. We advise and guide you to the best possible outcome for your family when you can't be there for them yourself. Our firm represents Louisiana families and individuals on matters involving estate planning, succession, probate, wills, trusts, and long-term care planning. We help you make the best planning decisions for your family and ensure that the estate plan you create with us will work when your loved ones need it most. Our team includes an expert estate planning attorney with 20+ years of experience in wills, trusts...

Attorney Noah Wexler is a highly experienced trial lawyer who has handled tens of thousands of cases in the past decade. Due to his commitment to his clients, keen skills in preparing for trials, attention to detail, and his ability to identify strategies that force insurers and negligent companies to pay maximum compensation, Noah has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars. While he is highly skilled in various areas of personal injury law, he focuses the majority of his work handling catastrophic truck accident cases, pharmaceutical cases, complex product liability cases, wrongful death cases, and catastrophic offshore injury cases throughout...

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...

Amanda Bourgeois is a partner in the Baton Rouge office. She joined the firm in 2012 and practices in the business and corporate group. Amanda has experience representing clients in connection with a variety of transactional matters, including asset and stock acquisitions and sales and the drafting and negotiating of industrial and construction procurement, purchase and service contracts. She has also assisted individuals and businesses with entity formation, structure and governance, including the drafting of organizational documents and planning of overall corporate structure.

Amanda received her J.D. in 2010 from the LSU Law Center where she was a member of the...

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...

Paul "Woody" Scott is passionate in his representation of clients. Mr. Scott founded The Scott Law Firm and practices in immigration law, deportation and removal defense, criminal defense, and Federal Criminal and Immigration Litigation. Mr. Scott was born in a small hospital in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. At two years old he and his mother moved to the New Orleans, Louisiana, area where he was raised. After he graduated from Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie, he moved to Baton Rouge where he attended Louisiana State University to obtain his bachelor degree. He went on to receive his Juris...

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...

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).

Rich is a shareholder with Wiener, Weiss & Madison. He joined the firm in 2013 and advises businesses, families and individuals in the areas of Taxation, Corporate Law, Securities Law, Mergers & Acquisitions, Real Estate Law, Estate Planning, Successions/Probate, Title Insurance and Nonprofit Law.

Attorney H. Price Mounger is a national class action attorney with more than 20 years of legal experience in environmental, toxic tort, product liability and personal injury litigation. He serves as a Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board hearing committee chairman overseeing cases involving attorney misconduct.

Beau Bourgeois is an associate in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2016 and practices in the commercial litigation and construction litigation groups. Beau has represented and counseled owners, general contractors, and subcontractors in the industrial and commercial markets and in both the private and public sectors. He has drafted construction contracts for owners, drafted and filed numerous Private Works Act liens, assisted clients with obtaining contractor’s licenses in multiple states, and represented clients in Public Bid Law disputes.

Prior to joining Kean Miller, Beau served as an Issue Editor for the Louisiana Law Review...

As an aggressive and driven trial attorney, Bradford Hendrickson has developed a reputation for being a zealous advocate for his clients. His practice focuses on the victims of severe, life-altering injuries—often involving offshore work or industrial accidents. His work has helped seriously injured people and their families find their voice in the courtroom, winning justice and closure in the worst situations. Before joining Arnold & Itkin, Bradford provided representation in highly complex commercial matters at two trial boutiques in Houston. At the time he represented both plaintiffs and defendants in business disputes, oil & gas litigation, product liability defect...

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,...

Bob Hawthorne is of counsel to the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He is one of the founding members of the firm and practices in the estate planning and probate, business and corporate, and real estate groups. Bob represents clients in the finance, acquisition, construction, purchase, refinancing, management, leasing and sale of various types of real estate developments, both commercial and residential, including office buildings, shopping malls, manufacturing facilities, retail centers, industrial facilities, and commercial developments.

Bob advises business and corporate clients with regard to commercial lending transactions, financings, and the structure and formation of corporate entities. He has extensive...

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...

Attorney Leonard Kilgore is an experienced advocate for local, national and international commercial, energy and industrial clients in litigation involving toxic tort claims, personal injury, property damage claims, and class actions.

Reneé Chabert Crasto is an associate at Walters, Papillion, Thomas, Cullens, LLC., where she works with Darrel J. Papillion as co-trial counsel on highly complex and specialized legal matters. Her practice focuses on very large and complex complicated wrongful death and catastrophic burn and other personal injury cases. Reneé has extensive experience in all areas of personal injury and wrongful death litigation including products liability, catastrophic 18 wheeler and other highway and interstate death and serious injury cases, as well as petrochemical and other industrial cases involving fires, explosions, electrocutions, burns, asbestos exposure and mesothelioma. She practices...

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...

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...

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