Board of Directors

2024-25 Officers

Vice President

Edmund J. Giering IV (2019-2027) Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Giering serves as general counsel to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and his practice emphasizes corporate law & governance, corporate, real estate & complex gift transactions, risk management, and nonprofit & tax-exempt organizations. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1990, a Juris Doctor degree from the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1994, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the LSU E.J. Ourso College of Business in 2005.

Secretary

Charles C. Bourque (2023-2029) St. Martin and Bourque
Chuck is a New Orleans native, but currently resides in Houma, where he is a partner in the law firm of St. Martin & Bourque. Chuck graduated in Accounting from LSU and received his Juris Doctorate from Loyola University School of Law in 1990. Prior to entering law school, Chuck served as an officer and helicopter pilot in the United States Army and continued flying helicopters in the Louisiana Army National Guard until he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2011. Chuck is licensed to practice before all state and federal courts in Louisiana and is an active member of the Terrebonne Parish, New Orleans, Louisiana State, Federal, and American Bar Associations.

Immediate Past President

Deidre Deculus Robert (2020-2025) U.S. Department of Agriculture
Robert is the Director of Rural Development for the State of Louisiana at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Until recently, Robert served as the executive counsel for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. She has also served as general counsel for the Southern University System and deputy director of the Litigation Division of the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office. Robert obtained her B.A. from Louisiana State University and her law degree from Southern University Law Center, where she serves as an adjunct professor.

2024-25 Board of Directors

As of May 2024

Linda Law Clark (2022-2025) DeCuir, Clark & Adams, L.L.P.
Linda Law Clark is a partner in the law firm of DeCuir, Clark & Adams, L.L.P. She is an experienced trial lawyer as well as a certified mediator. Her principal areas of practice are general civil litigation, administrative hearings for quasi-governmental and governmental bodies, education, employment & family law, and small business matters. She serves as Arbiter in Baton Rouge City Court. She is admitted to practice in all Louisiana State and Federal Courts.

Christopher B. Hebert (2022-2025) Louisiana Department of Justice, LSBA House of Delegates Representative
Christopher B. Hebert is the acting Director of the Gaming Division under Attorney General, Jeff Landry. Christopher has served as an Assistant Attorney General for over 10 years. He previously served as a clerk for the Hon. Judge James Best of the 18th Judicial District Court in New Roads. Last year, Hebert was appointed by the President of the National Bar Association to the Council of the Louisiana Law Institute. He is an immediate Past Director of the National Bar Association, Region V, and a former member of the Board of Governors for the National Bar Association. Hebert earned his bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University and his law degree from the Southern University Law Center, where he was honored as Alumnus of the Year in 2015.

Hon. Marcus L. Hunter (2023-2027) Court of Appeal, 2nd Circuit State of Louisiana
A lifelong resident of Monroe, Hunter attended public schools there. A graduate of the Julia C. Wossman High School in Monroe, Hunter received in 2002 a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Southern University and a Juris Doctor in 2005 from the Southern University Law Center, both in the capital city of Baton Rouge. After being admitted to the Louisiana Bar Association, Hunter opened a small business, United Title of Northeast Louisiana, and is an attorney in Willie Hunter Jr., and Associates, at which he practiced alongside his father and brother. He is married to Dr. Tonya H. Hunter, an OB/GYN and owner/managing member of The Well Woman Center in Monroe. The couple has two children.

Teresa D. King (2024-2026)
Teresa King is an experienced criminal defense attorney. She began her career as a student attorney at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2011. She found her passion defending indigent clients in the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. She graduated from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2012 and began representing indigent clients in Terrebonne Parish. She is an avid researcher and knows how to protect the important constitutional rights afforded to criminal defendants in Louisiana. In her time as a criminal defense attorney, Teresa King is an experienced trial attorney and has received "Not Guilty" verdicts for high profile cases. She has successfully appealed cases to higher courts when the district court ruled against her clients. She has negotiated hundreds of plea deals on behalf of her clients, often securing dismissals or reduced charges.

Hon. Page McClendon (2022-2025) State of Louisiana Judiciary (First Circuit Court of Appeal)
Page McClendon is a judge on the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal. Judge McClendon was first elected to the court on October 5, 2002, and her current 10-year term ends on December 31, 2022. McClendon was re-elected to the First Circuit Court of Appeal after running unopposed in 2012. McClendon graduated from Sophie Newcomb College in 1978 with a B.A. After attending the London School of Economics, she enrolled at Tulane University School of Law, receiving her J.D. in 1981. While at Tulane she served on the Moot Court Board. Judge McClendon worked as a lawyer in private practice before becoming a judge. She practiced with the firms of Deutsch, Kerrigan, & Stiles and Porteous, Hainkel, Johnson, & Sarpy. She started her own law firm in 1990. She also worked as a felony prosecutor for the 21st Judicial District.

Barbara Bell Melton (2023-2026) Faircloth Melton and Sobel, LLC
Barbara Bell Melton is a Member at Faircloth Melton Sobel & Bash, LLC, and her practice primarily consists of commercial litigation and transactions for both small businesses and large companies. She received her undergraduate degree from University of Louisiana in Lafayette and her J.D. from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Barbara has served on numerous committees and boards for local and state bar associations.

Sheri Morris (2023-2027) Daigle Fisse & Kessenich
Morris is a partner with Daigle, Fisse & Kessenich, where she manages the Baton Rouge Office. Her practice is focused on representing local and state agencies in a broad range of civil matters. She previously served as General Counsel to the Louisiana Secretary of State, an Assistant Attorney General, and the City Attorney for the City of Central. She received a B.S. in Psychology from Louisiana State University and a J.D. degree from the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1991.

Maggie Simar (2024-2025) Philanthropic Community-at-Large, 16th Judicial District Court
Maggie is the Family Court Hearing Officer for the 16th Judicial District Court in St. Martinville. In this position, she handles all family court litigation including custody, child support, community property, spousal support, non-support proceedings, and protective orders. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism from Louisiana State University and her JD from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert School of Law. In her spare time, she volunteers for many non-profit organizations in her community including the Junior League of Lafayette, Lafayette Bar Association, Lafayette Bar Foundation, Krewe of Xanadu, and Maddie's Footprints. She is also an active Editorial Board member on the Louisiana Bar Journal and a House of Delegates member for the 16th Judicial District.

Shayna L. Sonnier (2022-2025) Member-at-Large Designee, Vernon Bice
Shayna earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and ultimately, a Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law. Since 2005 she has focused on general litigation, family law, estate planning, and successions, and licensed both in Louisiana and Texas. Shayna recently joined Veron Bice, LLC and became the President-Elect of the Louisiana State Bar Association. Early in her life, Shayna witnessed the value of a skilled attorney as her family faced a significant legal battle, and this experience inspired her to pursue a career in law. She is passionate about her faith, family, community, and work and volunteers her time as part of numerous organizations and associations. Peers will attest some of the many characteristics that set Shayna apart are both her ability to establish trust with her clients as well as her hands-on approach to every case. In her free time, Shayna enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and animals, and traveling. Her favorite quote is, “We live as though the world were as it should be, to show it what it can be.”

Anthony J. Staines (2023-2026) Staines, Epplining & Kenney, LLC
Anthony J. “Tony” Staines was born in Belize, British Honduras. He received a Bachelor of Science from the University of New Orleans in 1976 and earned a Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University Law Center in 1980. Following law school, Tony served a judicial clerkship with the Honorable Frank J. Poloza, United States District Court, Middle District of Louisiana. In addition to his regular practice, he has served as a delegate to the Louisiana State Bar Association; has been a member of the faculty for the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy; a participant in Professionalism Orientation for the Louisiana State Bar Association; has presented articles to the admiralty committee of the Maritime Law Association and has presented at the Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute Seminar. Tony has also participated in pro bono litigation in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, and is a Board Member of the New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy. Tony is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeal, Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, United States District Courts, Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana, and all Louisiana state courts. He is married and the father of three sons.

Hon. Karelia R. Stewart (2024-2025) Judicial District Judges Association Designee, First Judicial District Court
Judge Karelia R. Stewart made history on that day with the following distinctions: she is the youngest female elected without opposition at 35 ever to serve on the First Judicial District Court, she is the second ever African American female elected to the court in its history and the first African American second generation to serve on the court. Judge Stewart was elected to the same seat previously held by her father, Judge Carl E. Stewart, Former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Court and her uncle Retired Judge James E. Stewart, Sr. who is the District Attorney for Caddo Parish. Lastly, she and her father are the only African- American dad and daughter team as sitting judges in the state of Louisiana. Prior to the bench, Judge Stewart was an Assistant District Attorney for the Parish of Caddo for eight years. She successfully tried hundreds of juvenile cases, felony bench and jury trials. At the time of her departure, she was section chief of the Drug Division and was very instrumental in reviving the rehabilitation program of Drug Court and implementing a Veterans Court

Patrick A. Talley, Jr. (2023-2024) Phelps Dunbar LLP
Patrick Talley practices primarily in the area of commercial litigation and personal injury defense, with a focus in transportation and environmental law. Pat has worked extensively within the railroad industry, and is well-known both regionally and nationwide in that area. He has successfully represented railroads, including three Class I and two Short Line railroads, in matters involving cargo and freight claims, derailments, crossing litigation, and employee personal injury and death (FELA), as well as real estate, expropriation and environmental matters. He also serves as an officer and member of the Executive Committee of the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel. In the realm of environmental law, Pat represents companies in litigation and compliance matters and toxic tort exposure claims, particularly benzene and other chemical exposures. He also represents companies in general business litigation, contract disputes and other commercial litigation matters.