How Can I Help You Move Forward?

I find that it helps to look at legal problems in the context of business objectives. So, when I talk to my clients about how to resolve their legal problems, we’re also talking about how to achieve their business goals in the most cost-effective manner. Together we seek the best path forward, even if doing so means brainstorming a new strategy. When necessary, I don’t hesitate to use my experience as a trial attorney to obtain the best possible end result.

Overview

Joseph Briggett has a diverse commercial practice with experience in multiple disciplines: commercial litigation; bankruptcy, restructuring, and creditors’ rights; transactions and loan documentation; and corporate law. This broad background allows Joseph to keep the big picture in mind as he advises business clients on the specific issues they’re facing.

In his bankruptcy practice, Joseph represents parties in pre-bankruptcy negotiations, state court insolvency proceedings and disputes, commercial foreclosures, bankruptcy cases and adversary proceedings. He often helps clients resolve debtor/creditor disputes outside of litigation or bankruptcy, handling matters from the first signs of distress all the way to resolution. His experience helping clients navigate a wide range of bankruptcy situations allows him to respond to complex cases with tailored strategies and with the flexibility to pivot as situations change.

In maritime bankruptcy cases, Joseph brings unique experience, having argued shipping and offshore service insolvency disputes in bankruptcy courts throughout the country, including cases involving maritime liens, maritime personal injury claims, vessel finance, preferred ship mortgages and other admiralty issues.

Also an experienced trial attorney, Joseph has advocated for his clients in federal and state trial courts in controversies concerning breach of contract, property disputes, corporate governance, breach of fiduciary duty, intellectual property and banking law.

Prior to attending law school, Joseph worked abroad as a grade school English instructor in Seoul, Korea, and held positions as a production editor for subtitles and closed captions for film, television and legislative programming.

Outside the office

Joseph enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons in New Orleans and Miramar Beach, Florida. He is a past board member of Girls on the Run of New Orleans and has been a mentor with Son of a Saint since 2020. He also plays in the least competitive division of the Metairie Basketball League.

Education

  • Tulane University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 2010

    Judicial extern for Honorable Jerry A. Brown, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana

  • Tulane University, B.A., 2003

Admissions

Bar Admissions

  • Louisiana
  • Florida

Court Admissions

  • All U.S. District Courts and Bankruptcy Courts for the Eastern, Western, and Middle Districts of Louisiana
  • All U.S. District Courts and Bankruptcy Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Florida
  • U.S. District Court and Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits

Professional Affiliations

  • Louisiana State Bar Association
  • New Orleans Bar Association
  • Federal Bar Association, New Orleans Chapter
  • Tulane American Inn of Court, President
  • Turnaround Management Association, President – Louisiana Chapter
  • Louisiana Banker’s Association
  • Judge Jerry A. Brown Louisiana Bankruptcy American Inn of Court
  • American Bankruptcy Institute
  • Houma Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce

Community Affiliations

  • Son of a Saint, Mentor
  • Young Benefactors of National World War II Museum, Member
  • Girls of the Run of New Orleans, Past Board Member

  • Super Lawyers (2024)
  • Best Lawyers (2024)
  • Inside New Orleans Reader’s Favorite “Elite Lawyers” (2022-2023)
  • New Orleans Magazine’s “Top Lawyers” in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law (2017, 2023)
  • New Orleans Magazine’s “Top Lawyers” in Banking and Finance (2016, 2019, 2022)
  • Super Lawyers: Rising Stars (2015-2021)

  • “Navigating Ethical Issues During Asset Sales” American Bankruptcy Institute, with Evelyn Meltzer, Stephen M. Blank, and Ken Mann, February 2021
  • “Ethics in Courtroom Advocacy” for the Tulane Law School American Inn of Court, with Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown, and Judge Michael B. North, November 2016
  • “Litigation in Bankruptcy Courts” for the New Orleans Bar Association, with Hon. Meredith Grabill, December 2016
  • “Corporate Control Issues in Complex Commercial Bankruptcy” with Christopher T. Caplinger and Nathan Horner, 2013
  • “Involuntary Bankruptcy, and Other Ways to Collect Money Owed Your Client” with Stewart F. Peck, 2012

Joe's Insights