A former entrepreneur, Ashley knows how a business operates from the inside out, having been a business owner since 1988. First as the owner of a publishing company, and then an owner and managing partner of a law firm, she understands the need for efficiency in the management and marketing of a business and how to address the employee and financial aspects of a business.

Ashley works with business owners and entrepreneurs assisting them with every aspect of the business from inception through growth and development to, when necessary, dissolution. She assists her clients in obtaining financing, provides on-going business advice, represents clients during litigation, and counsels them through the dissolution of the business. Ashley also consults with individuals on how to protect their personal assets through estate and trust vehicles.

Selected as a Louisiana Super Lawyer in the area of Business Litigation, Ashley advises businesses, financial institutions, and individuals concerning bankruptcies, class actions, contracts, construction, environmental issues, fidelity, insurance, professional malpractice, real estate, corporate, and estate matters. She also mediates and arbitrates business disputes. For more than a decade, Ashley has served as a member of the Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, National Association of Securities Dealers Regulation, Inc. (NASD) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). From 2006 to 2007, she served as a member of the Panel of Mediators for the Louisiana Department of Insurance Hurricane Mediation Program, which was administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and mediated over 350 hurricane wind damage disputes between homeowners and insurance companies. Ashley also serves as a member of the AAA Construction Panel and the Commercial Panel.

Among her numerous honors and accolades, Ashley was selected for inclusion in the 2011 Inaugural Edition of the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers™, an exclusive honor reserved for less than five percent of female lawyers who are rated AV Preeminent Women™. She has been selected for inclusion in subsequent editions as well.

A native of Mobile, Alabama, Ashley received her B.A. from Newcomb College and her J.D. from Tulane University School of Law. Upon graduating from Tulane University School of Law, she clerked in the Eastern District of Louisiana for the late Judge Henry A. Mentz, Jr. and was awarded the Eastern District of Louisiana Distinguished Service Award.

Ashley served as the 83^rd National President of the Federal Bar Association for 2010-2011. Prior to being elected President, she served as the FBA’s General Counsel. Ashley is currently serving as the FBA Delegate to the American Bar Association. 

Representative Experience:

• Representation of contractors and subcontractors in contract negotiations and contract disputes.

• Defense of engineering companies arising from professional design and engineering services.

• Defense of law firms in connection with legal malpractice claims.

• Defense of internet based company in class action brought to contest contract.

• Defense of California wine producers in class action alleging unsafe levels of arsenic.

• Representation of fidelity and fiduciary insurance carriers in connection with employee fraud, embezzlement claims and third party claims.

• Defense of financial institution in suit arising from commercial leases of properties in South Louisiana.

• Defense of manufacturer in connection with product dispute regarding the design and manufacture of equipment.

• Defense of securities brokerage house in connection with dispute between securities brokerage houses.

• Defense of corporate owner in dispute with contractor over breach of construction contract relating to inadequate, defective and substandard performance.

• Defense of government entity in constitutional taking of property action.

• Defense of electrical company in anti-trust jury case alleging bid rigging of electrical contracts in a South Louisiana power plant.

• Served as a hearing examiner of property assessment tax appeals for the City of New Orleans and as a hearing officer of blighted properties for the City of New Orleans.

Notable Achievements:

Chambers USA 2016 and 2017 - Recognised Practitioner

New Orleans CityBusiness 'Leadership in Law' Class 2016

Louisiana Super Lawyers 2016 and 2017

New Orleans Magazine’s Top Lawyers in New Orleans, 2013-2015

New Orleans CityBusiness Women of the Year Class of 2012

Top Rated Lawyers® Guide to Alternative Dispute Resolution, 2012 

Fellowship in Litigation Counsel of America, The Trial Lawyer Honorary Society, 2012

Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers, 2011 Inaugural Edition and subsequent editions 2012-2013

Louisiana Super Lawyers--Business Litigation, 2007-2013, 2015-2016

The Louisiana United States District Court Newsletter, Editor 1987-1999

The Honorable Henry A. Mentz, Jr. (deceased); United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Distinguished Service Award, Judicial Law Clerk and Extern, 1983-1986 

Publications and Presentations:

Louisiana Chapter, Co-Author, State-by-State Guide to Architect, Engineer, and Contractor Licensing; Second Edition, Aspen Publishers     

Louisiana Chapter, Co-Author, Fifty State Construction Lien and Bond Law, Third Edition; Wolters Kluwer

“Practical Tips to Manage the Efficient and Cost-Effective Arbitration,” The Primerus Paradigm magazine, Fall 2012

An Editor, The Handbook of Louisiana Alternative Dispute Resolution Laws, Esquire Books, Inc., 2011

Fidelity Practice Pointer: Considerations for Pre-Suit Mediation and the Importance of the Mediation Privilege, By: Christina Craddock, Lee M. Brewer and Ashley L. Belleau - American Bar Association Fidelity and Surety Newsletter, Spring 2017   

“Hindsight – Was Pre-Suit Mediation a Good Idea?” Featured Speaker - American Bar Association Fidelity and Surety Law Committee's 2017 Midwinter Meeting, January 2017

"Using LLCs to Purchase Real Estate" Featured Speaker - NBI's "LLCs From Start to Finish" seminar, December 2016

"Business Torts: A Fifty State Guide" 2017 Edition, Contributing Editor

Ethics: "Ethical Issues Affecting Representation of LLCs" Featured Speaker - NOBA: Sustaining Ethics & Professionalism CLEs; September 2016

Professional Associations:

Federal Bar Association - National President, 2010-2011; National Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates, 2013- 2017

Federal Bar Building Corporation - Director, 2012-2018; Treasurer, 2014 - 2017; Secretary, 2013-2014

Foundation of the Federal Bar Association - Life Fellow, 2002 - present

American Bar Association, Vice-Chair, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) Fidelity & Surety Law General Committee for 2012-2017

American Bar Foundation – Life Fellow, 2007 - present

American Inns of Court--Tulane Chapter - Barrister, 1987 - present

Defense Research Institute, 2010 - present

The International Society of Primerus Law Firms, 2009 - 2015, Executive Committee of Construction Practice Group 2012 - 2015

Louisiana State Bar Association, House of Delegates, 1997-2018; Vice-Chair, Bankruptcy Law Section, 2007-2017; Chair, Young Lawyers Executive Council, 1994-1995

Louisiana Bar Foundation, Fellow, 1989-present; Director, 1997-2000

Association of Women Attorneys - Member

Louisiana Bankers Association - Member

Federalist Society-Louisiana Chapter, Executive Committee Member, 2004-2006

Fifth Circuit Judicial Conference - Host Committee Member, 2005