Practice Areas

Admiralty & Maritime

The firm represents a wide variety of local, national and international maritime clients, including vessel owners and charterers, banks, finance companies, shipyards and marine service businesses. We handle all kinds of maritime claims, whether they involve vessel or cargo damage, bodily injury and death, products liability, breach of contract, lien or mortgage foreclosure, insurance coverage, or environmental damage. Our maritime transactions include: construction contracts, sales, marine finance, charters, master service agreements and other contracts involving vessels and related maritime services. We are particularly experienced in the inland-river, coastal, and Gulf of Mexico markets. Our attorneys also handle both United States and foreign flag vessel documentation and registrations, and have broad experience in marine finance and leasing transactions.

Practicing in this area: Stanley J. Cohn, Nathan P. Horner, Jr., David B. Sharpe, Miles C. Thomas, Scott R. Wheaton Jr.

Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors' Rights

Lugenbuhl represents a wide array of constituencies in bankruptcy proceedings and out-of-court workouts, including acting as counsel for a number of corporate Chapter 11 debtors, as well as committees, trustees, secured and unsecured creditors, bondholders and equity holders. The firm also provides clients advice and support in their efforts to enforce the rights afforded to creditors pursuant to state and federal law and assist with business workouts, restructurings, collateral recovery and foreclosures. This breadth of experience allows our firm to provide timely and constructive advice to our clients prior to, during and after a period of financial difficulty.

Practicing in this area: Christopher T. Caplinger, Benjamin W. Kadden, Stewart F. Peck, Kat Rito

Commercial and Corporate Law

The firm represents a wide variety of local and national businesses, banks and financial institutions in all manner of business and commercial matters from the negotiation and drafting of contracts to handling disputes and complex commercial litigation. Our practice includes the representation of both lenders and borrowers in a broad range of commercial finance, lending and leasing transactions including the negotiation, structuring and documentation of acquisition loans, single-bank and syndicated term and revolving credit facilities, working capital loans, senior debt instruments, letter of credit facilities, vessel financing, equipment leasing, construction loans and many other forms of equipment, marine and real estate financing transactions. We also handle a variety of corporate matters including drafting formation and governance documents, corporate mergers, acquisitions and other business combinations, including anti-takeover strategies and protections, leveraged buyouts, tender offers and negotiated stock, asset and merger transactions.

Practicing in this area: Christopher T. Caplinger, Stanley J. Cohn, Nathan P. Horner, Jr., Benjamin W. Kadden, Stewart F. Peck, S. Frazer Rankin, Kristopher M. Redmann, Scott R. Wheaton Jr.

Employment Law

Lugenbuhl counsels and represents employees and employers in a wide range of employment matters. The firm provides advice to corporate human resource executives concerning the handling of employee relations issues, and prepares employment contracts, policy handbooks, and procedures for handling employee complaints. We have litigated a variety of employment disputes in both state and federal courts, including non-competition provisions, termination and compensation issues, and issues arising from claims of discrimination and retaliation in the workplace.

Practicing in this area: Lisa Brener, Simeon Bernard Reimonenq, Jr., Kat Rito

Intellectual Property

Our firm can provide comprehensive representation on issues related to trademark, copyright, trade dress, domain name, licensing, and unfair competition matters, both in the U.S. and internationally. We advise our clients on the availability of trademarks, prepare and prosecute domestic and foreign trademark applications, and provide for the renewal and maintenance of trademark portfolios. We are also experienced trial attorneys, representing clients in the prosecution and defense of legal proceedings concerning trademark, copyright, and trade secret rights.

Practicing in this area: Brad E. Harrigan

Litigation

In addition to our substantial experience in maritime and insurance coverage litigation, Lugenbuhl provides first-rate litigation services to a wide variety of clients, including representation in state and federal courts and participating in mediation and arbitration. In addition to complex commercial litigation and personal injury defense, our firm’s litigation practice emphasizes the following areas:

• Mass Tort Litigation: The firm defends claims involving manufacturers, distributors, contractors, premise liability and executive officer liability for exposures to asbestos-containing products, silica, as well as a variety of other agents. We have extensive experience in state and federal courts. Through our vast experience, we can provide significant cost savings to clients as we have no learning curve in developing defense strategies and we are able to access data bases, medical materials, medical experts, toxicology experts, and industrial hygiene experts;
• Insurance Coverage Litigation: Louisiana provides direct actions against insurers and Lugenbuhl is a leading firm in the representation of the insurance industry in this unique environment. We represent a number of insurance industry groups and associations in litigation of industry-wide significance. These include litigation before the Louisiana Supreme Court on leading cases for the pollution exclusion and flood coverage. We have also developed expertise in assisting insurers with coverage questions including, but not limited to, duty to defend and duty to indemnify;
• Commercial Litigation: We handle litigation relating to corporate governance, fiduciary obligations, unfair trade practices and general contractual disputes. Some issues particular to Louisiana include litigation relating rights, liens and privileges afforded to parties under Louisiana State law;
• Casualty Litigation: New Orleans has an active maritime and oilfield industry which can generate personal injury and property damage claims. Our attorneys handle the defense of those matters for both businesses and their underwriters.

Practicing in this area: Anne E. Briard, Lisa Brener, Rebecca Goforth Bush, Stanley J. Cohn, Elia Diaz-Yaeger, Céleste Darmstadter Elliott, Jason P. Franco, Joseph P. Guichet, Brad E. Harrigan, Ralph S. Hubbard III, Benjamin Kadden, Tina L. Kappen, Reed S. Minkin, Rebecca A. Moore, Katherine L. Osborne, Stewart F. Peck, Kristopher M. Redmann, Simeon Bernard Reimonenq, Jr., Kat Rito, Martin R. Sadler, Seth A. Schmeeckle, Heather N. Sharp, David B. Sharpe, Miles C. Thomas, Scott R. Wheaton Jr., Kristopher T. Wilson, LaDonna G. Wilson

Real Estate and Secured Transactions

Our real estate and secured transactions attorneys represent a wide range of clients including developers, investors and syndicators, institutional lenders, individuals and corporate clients in connection with matters related to the acquisition, disposition, construction, development, leasing and financing of real estate assets as well as matters relating to commercial finance, asset-based transactions, loan transactions, loan restructurings, and equipment leasing transactions.

Practicing in this area: Nathan P. Horner, Jr., S. Frazer Rankin

Trusts, Estates, Successions and Probate

Lugenbuhl’s trusts, estates, successions and probate practice handles a full range of issues related to estate planning, administration, and end-of-life decisions for individuals at all financial levels. Our attorneys work closely with our clients to understand their personal needs and goals, to create and implement comprehensive estate plans, and to counsel clients on a variety of specific issues such as estate planning, succession administration (probate), will contests and succession litigation, trust administration and related litigation, business succession strategies. Our attorneys also prepare a host of estate planning documents including, wills, living wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and marital agreements.

Practicing in this area: S. Frazer Rankin

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