2017 Baton Rouge Legal Leaders

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LEGAL LEADERS It is always a good idea to check with a lawyer before you make an important decision—whether you are buying a house, making a business deal or settling a dispute. The Louisiana State Bar Association maintains lawyer referral numbers for both Baton Rouge and New Orleans. These numbers, as well as other useful information about choosing a lawyer and legal situations, are available at lsba.org. Business Report is proud to present these profiles of attorneys and law firms in the Capital Region.

BRANDON BLACK, JONES WALKER, LLP THE BARINGER LAW FIRM HAMMONDS, SILLS, ADKINS & GUICE, LLP WHITEHEAD LAW FIRM

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 25, 2017

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LEADERS

Jones Walker LLP

Brandon Black 8555 United Plaza Blvd.

Baton Rouge, LA 70809 (225) 248-2000 joneswalker.com THOUGH MANY of his most admired people growing up were lawyers, Brandon Black took a degree in accounting and worked for KPMG for three years after college. Ultimately, he decided to follow in his mentors’ footsteps and pursue a career in law. He was a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Frank J. Polozola from 1996 to 1997, and previously practiced with Taylor Porter LLP before joining Jones Walker, where he focuses on commercial litigation, banking, bankruptcy, False Claims Act cases and construction litigation. Black says one of the key ingredients of his career has been building trust with clients and peers.

“The best professional advice I ever got was, ‘Without having the trust of your adversaries and clients, you have nothing as a lawyer. Earn that trust every day,’” he says. Similarly, his leadership style is to be a supportive leader. “I want my colleagues to know I have their best interests at heart, and that I am a team player,” he says. “I can only be as good as the people I work with, and I want them to be the best they can be.” Black has served on the boards of directors of such community organizations as the ARC of Baton Rouge, the Greater Baton Rouge Hope Academy and Special Olympics Louisiana. He and his wife Blake have four children.

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BUSINESS REPORT, April 25, 2017 | BusinessReport.com

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LEGAL

LEADERS

The Baringer Law Firm 201 St. Charles Street Baton Rouge, LA 70802 (225) 383-9953 baringerlawfirm.com PARTNERS DALE R. Baringer, James S. Holliday Jr., Benjamin J.B. Klein and James R. Bullman bring an unrivaled passion and commitment to excellence to their law practice. Baringer and Holliday have almost 90 years of combined experience. This passion and experience has created a unique full-service law firm handling a broad spectrum of legal matters for individuals and businesses of all sizes, with a major focus on mergers and acquisitions, construction law, tax law, business disputes, business organizations, real estate law, bankruptcy, and complex litigation. Holliday and Baringer are noted co-authors of two books from ThompsonReuters’ Louisiana Practice Series: Louisiana Corporations and Louisiana Construction Law. According to Baringer: “The practice of law in today’s rapidly changing legal environment requires a competitive edge, boundless energy and a life-long commitment to continuing education; all of which we have.”

“Our commitment to excellence and the continuing education component is represented by the hundreds of hours we devote each year to the annual updates of our published works, our speaking engagements at legal seminars, and in the leadership roles we serve in organizations such as the Dean Henry George McMahon Inn of Court, the Louisiana Tax Specialization Committee of the LSBA, flood relief task forces, and governmental boards.”

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 25, 2017

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LEADERS

Hammonds, Sills, Adkins & Guice, LLP

Kenneth Sills Managing Partner

2431 S. Acadian Thruway, Ste. 600 Baton Rouge, LA (225) 923-3462 hamsil.com ROBERT L. HAMMONDS and Kenneth F. Sills formed the partnership in June 1989.

HSA&G has an office in Baton Rouge with 18 attorneys and an office in Monroe with five attorneys. Harold J. Adkins, Carla S. Courtney and Alejandro R. Perkins are the other Baton Rouge partners. The firm provides litigation defense services to public entities, private individuals and businesses in the Baton Rouge area and in Louisiana. Defense litigation services provided include handling and defending workers’ compensation claims for employers, general liability claims, various employment-related issues and claims, construction problems and litigation, and defense of lawsuits against a business or an individual.

Hammonds serves as general counsel to the Louisiana School Boards Association.

Adkins is also a mediator as a member of MAPS mediation services. Perkins, besides an extremely active defense litigation practice, is also the chairman of the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana system. Carla Courtney was selected to “The National Black Lawyers - Top 100” list for 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Hammonds refers to the firm as a wellrounded and diverse group of skilled attorneys ready to defend civil claims against an individual or business. The offices are conveniently located at the intersection of Interstate 10 and South Acadian Thruway on the sixth floor of the Acadian Centre building, with ample and convenient parking for guests and clients.

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BUSINESS REPORT, April 25, 2017 | BusinessReport.com

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LEADERS

Whitehead Law Firm

Jack K. Whitehead, Jr. Managing Partner

11909 Bricksome Ave., W3 Baton Rouge, LA 70816 (225) 303-8600 whitehead-law.com JACK WHITEHEAD began with $1,500 dollars, a chair, desk and most importantly a loving and supportive wife.

Today, his firm provides a living for seven families. “In 1986, I began with a theory that we would handle whatever legal issues a business would face 24 hours a day. Today, we still fill this niche with our longtime and referral clients, while representing federal sector employees across the country on issues unique to their careers,” he says. The values that fuel the Whitehead Law Firm run deep.

“Our firm expects its members to work hard, fight hard and most importantly maintain a high level of professionalism at all times. Simply put, lead by example and direction—at full volume when necessary. Our team shares common traits: blue-collar roots, a strong work ethic and compassion for our clients’ causes.”

Whitehead says his professional goals are simple: to continue to grow and mentor the lawyers in his firm while providing high-quality legal representation and to continue to give back to the profession through service with the Louisiana State Bar Association and the Louisiana Bar Foundation.

Whitehead Law Firm has consistently participated in the LSBA Conclave on Diversity in the Legal Profession and, for nine years now, closes the office on Martin Luther King Jr. Day so the entire firm can undertake a “Day of Service” in the community.

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 25, 2017

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