Grand Chenier Lawyers

John Funderburk is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller and practices in the litigation and construction groups. He represents clients in energy, commercial, environmental, transportation, and construction litigation in both state and federal courts. Prior to joining the firm, John practiced with a global law firm from its Houston, Texas office.

John has represented both individuals and corporations in complex environmental litigation, contract disputes, maritime actions, personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits, deceptive trade practices claims, and oilfield contamination litigation. In addition, he coordinates with clients and experts to respond quickly to accidents and incidents across the...

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...

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,...

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

Richard McConnell is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He is trial counsel for energy and financial companies in high stakes lawsuits involving a wide variety of claims. Prior cases involved soil and groundwater contamination, wetlands loss, toxic tort exposure, lost mineral leasing opportunities, mineral lease cancellation, pipeline right-of-way claims, expropriation/condemnation, and commercial litigation. Richard also serves as appellate counsel arguing before state and federal appellate courts.

Richard’s recent experience includes obtaining a successful verdict as trial counsel for national pipeline companies in a wetlands loss lawsuit involving canals that widened over time, he was lead...

Matthew Meiners is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2009 and practices in the business and corporate group. Matthew has experience in the drafting and negotiation of numerous industrial service and purchase agreements. He also has experience representing numerous individuals and small businesses in connection with acquisitions and divestitures of their respective businesses and with formation of new entities, including drafting organizational documents and planning of overall corporate structure.

Matthew earned his B.S. in International Trade and Finance with a minor in Economics from Louisiana State University in 1998. He earned his...

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...

Shane Sandefer is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He practices in the business transactions and environmental law groups and is a Registered Professional Engineer. Shane represents local, regional, and national clients in a variety of real estate, finance, and environmental matters including, industrial and commercial real estate transactions, title insurance matters, general preparation and negotiation, regulatory proceedings, wetlands permitting, wetlands mitigation, and state and federal environmental advice. Prior to law school, Shane was a project engineer for Turner Environmental and a senior staff engineer for URS. He also served as an assistant project manager for...

I focus my practice on intellectual property and environmental regulatory matters, while also handling cases related to energy, administrative law, and utility regulation. As a registered Patent Attorney authorized to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, I have filed both provisional and non-provisional patent applications. My work includes drafting and negotiating licensing agreements and assignments for trade secrets, patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property concerns. Additionally, I assist clients with intellectual property protection, transactions, and litigation matters. My previous experience includes engaging with state and federal agencies in environmental regulatory proceedings. This involved drafting nine-factor analyses in response to...

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...

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.

Dana Brent Brown is the Managing Attorney of The Law Offices of Ossie Brown. He was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and he is the son of former East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Ossie and Faye Brown, a retired teacher. Dana has managed The Law Offices of Ossie Brown since his father’s retirement in 2000.

The Wall Street Journal has described Arsenault as having “national notoriety,” BusinessWeek described him as “a Dean of the Louisiana Tort Bar,” and The New York Times described him as one of the “big players” in the legal community. Arsenault has been an invited lecturer at various law schools including Baylor, Duke, Emory, University of Texas, Tulane, George Washington and LSU where he served on the Trial Advocacy faculty. He has been involved in over 25 Multidistrict Litigation proceedings, often serving in leadership capacities. He served as Lead Counsel in the Actos MDL where a jury rendered a $9 billion...

25 years experience representing individuals, families, businesses and regulatory agencies on a local, state, multi-state and federal level. Come to your location for Construction/Corporate Law and others on a case by case basis. Serve GBR and surrounding towns for Family Law needs.

Randy Cangelosi is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He practices in the litigation group. Randy represents clients in complex products liability, general litigation, commercial and business litigation, environmental litigation, healthcare issues and related business disputes, medical malpractice defense, telecommunications law and litigation, trademark and intellectual property claims, and personal injury defense. He has trial experience in products liability defense and large commercial litigation matters. He also has experience in NORM, TERM and asbestos cases in the energy industry. Randy also has served client's needs on a national level, obtaining various admissions to the bar in...

Susan is originally from Monroe, Louisiana and is a mother of two. Susan is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University and Southern University Law Center. After becoming a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association in 1998, she began her career at The Law Office of Ossie Brown in 1999. She also served as an Assistant Public Defender from 2000 to 2008 with the Baton Rouge Public Defender’s Office. Susan’s areas of practice include: Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, DWI, and Traffic Offenses.

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...

Born and raised in Baton Rouge, I am a product of our local public schools. I graduated from LSU in 1983 with a degree in Finance. I graduated from Loyola New Orleans Law School in 1987, but before graduating, I tried my first jury case. It was a manslaughter charge. The Orleans District Attorney was impressed enough to offer me a job upon graduation. I was an Assistant District Attorney for Mr. Harry Connick from 1987 through 1990 and have been on my own since then.

As to public service after the District Attorney's Office, in 2009 I was elected to...

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.

Michael S. Brandner, owner of the Brandner Law Firm, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He grew up there and attended Jesuit High School. After graduating from high school, he attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he earned his bachelor's degree in political science in 1999. He then went on to study law at the Loyola University New Orleans School of Law where he served on the Executive Board of the Loyola Student Bar Association and was a member of the Loyola University School of Law Board of Trial Advocates. Mr. Bradner received his juris doctor in 2002....

John S. McLindon, Criminal Defense Attorney located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. With his 34 years of experience, he can provide superior legal representation in any United States Federal Court or State District Court in Louisiana. As well as administrative law matters, licensing boards, and appeals. John is an alumnus of Louisiana State University, LSU Paul M. Hebert Law School, and Catholic High School of Baton Rouge.

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...

Hayden A. Moore is an associate at Walters, Papillion, Thomas, Cullens, LLC. Born and raised in Baton Rouge, she is a proud graduate of St. Joseph’s Academy where she lettered in volleyball. She attended Louisiana State University and obtained two degrees in Political Science and Sociology with a concentration on Criminology. While at LSU she served as the President of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International.

She attended law school at Southern University Law Center where she graduated cum laude in 2013. While at Southern she served as Vice Justice of Phi Alpha Delta and was a student attorney in the...

Jennifer Wise Moroux is an associate at Walters, Papillion, Thomas, Cullens, LLC. Her practice focuses on complex commercial and civil litigation. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Jennifer earned her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University in 2002. She earned her Juris Doctorate and Bachelor of Civil Law from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in 2007, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif.

After being admitted to the Louisiana bar in 2007, Jennifer served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable George H. Ware, Jr., and Honorable William G. Carmichael in the 20th...

Michelle McCune Sorrells is of counsel to Walters, Papillion, Thomas, Cullens, and concentrates her practice in the area of workers' compensation law.

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

Edward J. Walters, Jr. has been representing individuals in personal injury cases for over 40 years.

Mr. Cullens was born in New Orleans on April 3, 1967.

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,...

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...