This trial advocacy award was established through an endowment to the Louisiana Bar Foundation in memory of Curtis R. Boisfontaine, who served as President of the Louisiana State Bar Association and the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. Generous donations from Sessions, Fishman, Nathan & Israel, LLP, the Boisfontaine Family and friends established the fund. The award is given to a Louisiana attorney who exhibits long standing devotion to and excellence in trial practice and upholds the standards of ethics and consideration for the court, litigants and all counsel.
2024 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Edward J. Walters, Jr.
Edward J. Walters, Jr. of Walters, Thomas, Cullens LLC in Baton Rouge is the recipient of the 2024 Louisiana Bar Foundation’s (LBF) Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. The award was presented by LBF President Hon. John C. Davidson (Ret.) at the Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA) General Assembly in Destin, Florida on June 6.
Mr. Walters received the award in recognition of his long-standing devotion to and excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the court, litigants, and all counsel. This award carries a cash stipend to any non-profit law related program providing services in the state of Louisiana; Mr. Walters has selected the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program, Inc. (JLAP) to receive the $1,000 stipend to be donated in his name.
Mr. Walters has been an active courtroom lawyer for over 45 years. He is Board Certified in the field of Civil Trial Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He was presented the LBF 2009 Distinguished Attorney award and was chosen as the L.S.U. Law Center’s 2015 Distinguished Alumnus of the year.
He has served as Adjunct Professor of Law at the L.S.U. Law Center for over 30 years, teaching a trial skills course, along with attorney Mike Patterson, entitled “Advanced Trial and Evidence” and has been a member of the faculty of the Law Center’s yearly Trial Advocacy program since its inception 25 years ago. He was appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to serve as a member of the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana from 2017 – 2021. He was the Chair of the Commission for 2020.
He is a graduate of Louisiana State University (B.S., 1969) and the Louisiana State University Law Center (J.D., 1975) where he is a member of its Hall of Fame. He is currently the Louisiana State Bar Association’s President-Elect Designee, which means he will succeed to the LSBA Presidency for its 2025-2026 term.
The award was established through an endowment to the LBF in memory of Mr. Boisfontaine, who served as president of the LSBA and of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. Donations from Sessions, Fishman, Nathan & Israel, L.L.P., the Boisfontaine family, and friends established the fund.
2023 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Henry C. “Hank” Perret, Jr.
Mr. Perret received the award in recognition of his long-standing devotion to and excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the court, litigants, and all counsel. This award carries a cash stipend to any non-profit law related program providing services in the state of Louisiana; Mr. Perret has selected Lafayette Parish Bar Foundation to receive the $1,000 stipend to be donated in his name.
Mr. Perret has engaged in the private practice of law in Lafayette for more than 40 years with a concentration on commercial litigation and general business matters. He has guided clients in the purchase and sale of hundreds of companies in numerous industries and had the pleasure of representing numerous law firms in their business and litigation concerns. His trial experience includes lawsuits involving contractual rights, corporate, banking, unfair trade practices, environmental, trusts, employment, and insurance issues.
Hank was a founding member of the Community Foundation of Acadiana, Miles Perret Cancer Services, and Crossroads Catholic Bookstore and has chaired the boards of the Louisiana State Board of Ethics, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, Ascension Day School, and St. Mary Mother of the Church Parish Council.
The award was established through an endowment to the LBF in memory of Mr. Boisfontaine, who served as president of the LSBA and of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. Donations from Sessions, Fishman, Nathan & Israel, L.L.P., the Boisfontaine family, and friends established the fund.
2022 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Harry J. “Skip” Philips, Jr.
Harry J. “Skip” Philips, Jr., of counsel with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge is the recipient of the 2022 Louisiana Bar Foundation’s (LBF) Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award.
Mr. Philips received the award in recognition of his long-standing devotion to and excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the court, litigants, and all counsel. This award carries a cash stipend to any non-profit law related program providing services in the state of Louisiana; Mr. Philips has selected Catholic Charities Diocese of Baton Rouge to receive the $1,000 stipend to be donated in his name.
Mr. Philips focuses his practice on state and federal civil trial and appellate litigation, including banking, commercial, insurance, personal injury, insurance coverage, and products liability cases. His practice also includes corporate law as counsel to several non-profit organizations.
The award was established through an endowment to the LBF in memory of Mr. Boisfontaine, who served as president of the LSBA and of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. Donations from Sessions, Fishman, Nathan & Israel, L.L.P., the Boisfontaine family and friends established the fund.
2021 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Timothy G. Schafer
Timothy G. Schafer, founder of the firm Schafer & Schafer, LLP is the recipient of the 2021 Louisiana Bar Foundations (LBF) Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award.
Mr. Schafer is receiving this award in recognition of his long-standing devotion to and excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the court, litigants, and all counsel. This award carries a cash stipend to any non-profit law related program providing services in the state of Louisiana; Mr. Shafer has selected Southeast Louisiana Legal Services to receive the $1,000 stipend to be donated in his name.
Mr. Schafer graduated from Loyola School of Law and served in the United States Army for two years before beginning the active practice of law. His trial experience involved insurance personal injury litigation, ranging from death, brain injuries, serious burns, and quadriplegia, and insurance bad faith, massive fires, hurricane damage, contracts, coverage issues, product liability, premises liability, property disputes, and construction matters. He served as the President of the Louisiana Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and has participated as a lecturer / instructor in many trial advocacy seminars.
2020 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Adrianne L. Baumgartner
Adrianne L. Baumgartner, a member of the Porteous Hainkel & Johnson Law Firm is the recipient of the 2020 Louisiana Bar Foundations (LBF) Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award.
Ms. Baumgartner is receiving this award in recognition of her long-standing devotion to and excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the court, litigants, and all counsel. This award carries a cash stipend to any non-profit law related program providing services in the state of Louisiana; Ms. Baumgartner has selected Youth Service Bureau of St. Tammany to receive the $1,000 stipend to be donated in her name.
Her litigation practice areas are personal injury and insurance defense. Over the years her practice has also focused on the defense of insurance companies in bad faith/extra contractual cases. Adrianne has been a member of numerous Bar organizations including the Covington, New Orleans and Louisiana Bar Association. She serves on the Nominating Committee for the Louisiana State Bar Association as well as the Legislation Committee. She has served as a hearing officer for the Louisiana Disciplinary Board and is presently serving as a probation officer and fee dispute arbitrator. In 2011 she was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers. She is a member of the West St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce. She serves on the Board of Directors of Support our War Heroes. Ms. Baumgartner has been a LBF Fellow since 2008 and serves on the Northshore Community Partnership Panel and Grants Committee.
2019 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Kim M. Boyle
Kim M. Boyle, a partner in Phelps Dunbar in New Orleans is the recipient of the 2019 Louisiana Bar Foundation’s (LBF) Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. The award was presented at the Louisiana State Bar Association’s (LSBA) Annual Meeting in June in Destin, Florida.
Ms. Boyle is receiving this award in recognition of her long-standing devotion to and excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the court, litigants, and all counsel.
The award was established through an endowment to the LBF in memory of Mr. Boisfontaine, who served as president of the LSBA and of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. Donations from Sessions, Fishman, Nathan & Israel, L.L.P., the Boisfontaine family and friends established the fund.
Ms. Boyle received a plaque and a stipend will be donated in her name to CASA New Orleans, The Innocence Project New Orleans, and Southeast Louisiana Legal Services.
2018 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Patrick S. Ottinger
Patrick S. Ottinger, a partner in the Lafayette firm of Ottinger Hebert, L.L.C., has been in private practice since 1973, concentrating in oil and gas (onshore and offshore), renewable energy projects, and corporate, banking and commercial matters, with emphasis on financial transactions, project financing, real estate and eminent domain. He received a BS degree in 1971 from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and his JD degree in 1973 from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center. He also is admitted to practice in Texas.
An experienced arbitrator and mediator in oil and gas matters, Ottinger is affiliated with The Patterson Resolution Group and is listed on the AAA Energy Panel and on the Energy Arbitrators List of the Institute for Energy Law. He completed formal mediation training through the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law.
He is a Fellow of the Louisiana Bar Foundation and served on its board of directors from 2003-07. He served as president of the Louisiana State Bar Association in 1998-99. Ottinger is a member of several Louisiana State Law Institute committees, chairs the Advisory Council of the Institute on Mineral Law, is an adjunct professor at LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center and was recognized as a 2014 Distinguished Achievement Honoree by the Law Center. In 2017, he was inducted into the Lafayette Bar Association’s Hall of Fame.
Ottinger has authored and/or contributed to several books and articles, including A Course Book on Louisiana Mineral Rights in 2011, Louisiana Mineral Law Treatise in 2012 and Louisiana Mineral Leases: A Treatise in 2016.
Ottinger received a plaque and $1,000 has been donated in his name to The Lafayette Bar Foundation.
2017 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Emmett C. Sole
Emmett C. Sole, a member of the law firm Stockwell, Sievert, Viccellio, Clements & Shaddock, L.L.P. in Lake Charles is the recipient of the 2017 Louisiana Bar Foundation’s (LBF) Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. The award was presented at the Louisiana State Bar Association’s (LSBA) Annual Meeting in June in Destin, Florida.
Mr. Sole is rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell and has been peer-reviewed and listed in Best Lawyers in America and Louisiana Super Lawyers. He has served as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Louisiana in boundary litigation and Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act litigation. Mr. Sole is Chair Emeriti and past president of the Louisiana State Law Institute and has been a member of the council for over thirty years. Additionally, he has served as Reporter of the Special Advisory Committee on Attorney’s Fees, and is active on the Security Devices Committee and other committees of the Institute.
Mr. Sole is a Charter Fellow of the Louisiana Bar Foundation and a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He has served the Louisiana State Bar Association as a member of the Board of Governors, House of Delegates, Nominating Committee, and is Immediate Past-Chair of the ADR Section and Vice-Chair of the Fidelity, Surety and Construction Law Section. He has been active in the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the INternational Association of Defense Counsel.
Mr. Sole received this award in recognition of his long-standing devotion to and excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the court, litigants, and all counsel. The award was established through an endowment to the LBF in memory of Mr. Boisfontaine, who served as president of the LSBA and of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. Donations from Sessions, Fishman, Nathan & Israel, L.L.P., the Boisfontaine family and friends established the fund. Mr. Sole received a plaque and $1,000 has been donated in his name to The Southwest Louisiana Law Center in Lake Charles.
2016 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Christine Lipsey
Christine Lipsey, a member of the law firm McGlinchey Stafford PLLC, is the recipient of the 2016 Louisiana Bar Foundation’s (LBF) Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. Ms. Lipsey will receive a plaque and $1,000 was donated in her name to the Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO). The award was established through an endowment to the LBF in memory of Mr. Boisfontaine, who served as president of the LSBA and of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. Donations from Sessions, Fishman, Nathan & Israel, L.L.P., the Boisfontaine family and friends established the fund. Lipsey is widely recognized throughout the state and region as a leader in commercial litigation. Based in Baton Rouge, she has more than 30 years of experience in litigation representing both small and large businesses, insurance companies, state agencies, lenders, and corporate and limited liability company constituents. Ms. Lipsey helps clients solve their most complex and challenging litigation problems in a variety of subject areas, particularly focusing on breach of contract, unfair competition, RICO, antitrust, corporate fiduciary, and class and mass action matters.
2015 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Eugene J. Sues
Eugene J. Sues is a civil litigation defense attorney with more than 40 years of trial experience in the areas of medical malpractice defense, products liability, general tort, and governmental liability. Since 1984, he has specialized in defense of physicians and hospitals in medical malpractice cases. In 1974, he joined the Alexandria Firm of Gold, Weems, Bruser, Sues and Rundell where he currently practices. During his tenure with the Gold Firm, he has successfully litigated as lead counsel jury and bench trials in the above areas of practice which involved serious personal injuries and wrongful death. He has also argued successfully many cases before the Louisiana appellate courts and Louisiana Supreme court. He leads the medical malpractice defense section of the Gold Firm and heads a staff of five other defense attorneys in the Gold Firm specializing in medical malpractice defense. Throughout his career, he has taken a special interest in training young lawyers in the Gold Law Firm in ethics and the art of advocacy in the courtroom.
Gene previously served as a law clerk on the Second Circuit court of Appeal in 1970. From 1970 to 1974 he was a captain in the United States Army Judge Advocate General Corps and served as a criminal prosecutor and Head of Military Affairs.
Gene was elected as a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2009. He has been listed in “The Best Lawyers in America” from 2012 to the present date. He has also been named in several yearly editions of Louisiana Super Lawyers in the area of medical malpractice defense. He is a master of the bench Crossroads-American Inn of Court of Alexandria-Pineville and a fellow in the Louisiana Bar Foundation. He has been named as an associate in the American Board of Trial Advocates, and he was elected in 1990 as a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel., Gene has served on the Interprofessional Committee of the Louisiana State Bar Association and has been engaged in other bar association work at the local level.
He is married to Sandra Cole Sues. They have three children and five grandchildren.
2014 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Charles F. Gay, Jr.
Charlie Gay, Jr., a partner with Adams and Reese, is a litigation attorney with more than 35 years of experience in general litigation, toxic tort, product liability and medical malpractice. He joined Adams and Reese in 1983 and is a Partner, currently serving as a member of the firm’s Pharmaceuticals and Products Liability team of the Litigation Practice Group. He also works extensively with the Healthcare Litigation Group.
In the last several years, Charlie has tried more than 15 major toxic tort, products liability and medical malpractice cases involving serious personal injury (e.g., quadriplegia, brain damage) to successful defense verdicts before juries in Louisiana. He is experienced in partnering with clients to achieve cost-effective, quality solutions to problems through the efficient use of resources, employment of technology, early case assessment and case management.
Charlie is a member of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers, The International Society of Barristers, and many other bar groups, including the Louisiana State Bar Association and Louisiana Bar Foundation.
Charlie has served as lead counsel on hundreds of trials beginning with his practice at Martzell and Montero as a personal injury lawyer from 1976-1983 when he moved his practice to Adams and Reese, where he has continued to handle major trials for many clients.
Charlie has been the lead medical malpractice trial counsel for the Ochsner Medical Institutions for over 30 years and trial counsel for many publicly and privately held companies during his career.
Charlie is a former chair of the IADC Pharmaceutical, Medical Device Committee, as well as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and International Society of Barristers. He has served as Chair of the Louisiana State Bar Legal Malpractice insurance committee. He has also served on the Medical Legal Interprofessional Committee as co-Chair. Charlie has been a frequent lecturer in the areas of trial practice and personal injury litigation.
Charlie is married to Mary Christine “Chrissy” Lapeyre, and they have four sons and two grandchildren.
2013 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Mary Olive Pierson
Mary Olive Pierson is a sole practitioner in Baton Rouge. Her practice focuses on lender liability, multi-party litigation, commercial contract disputes and white collar crime. Prior to opening her own firm, she practiced with Brown, McKernan, Monsour & Screen and its successor firms. Pierson earned both her B.S. and her J.D. from Louisiana State University. She clerked for the Honorable Pike Hall of the Second Circuit Court of Appeal. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the Louisiana State Bar Association, and the Baton Rouge Bar Association. She also has an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbel. Pierson is a past representative of the Louisiana Statewide Indigent Defender Board and a past council member of the East Baton Rouge Parish Council. She previously served as the commissioner of the East Baton Rouge Parish Airport Commission and as chief administrative officer of the Office of the Baton Rouge Mayor President. Pierson has supported the following community and charitable organizations: Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center, Baton Rouge General Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Louisiana Bar Foundation, LSU Catholic Student Center, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, O’Brien House, Our Lady of the Isle Catholic Church, Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation, St. Joseph’s Academy, Special Olympics Massachusetts, and University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Ophthalmology Foundation.
2012 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Daniel Lund
Daniel Lund a partner with Montgomery Barnett LLP, is the recipient of the Louisiana Bar Foundation (LBF) 2012 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. This trial advocacy award will be presented at the Louisiana State Bar Association’s 71st Annual Meeting in Destin, Florida. This award was established through an endowment to the LBF in memory of Curtis R. Boisfontaine, who served as President of the Louisiana State Bar Association and the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. Generous donations from Sessions, Fishman, Nathan & Israel, LLP, the Boisfontaine Family and friends established the fund. Mr. Lund will receive a plaque and $1,000 will be donated in his name to the New Orleans Bar Association.
2011 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
William R. Forrester, Jr.
William R. Forrester, Jr. was admitted to the Louisiana Bar in 1968 after earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia in 1965 and a Juris Doctor from Tulane University Law School in 1968. Mr. Forrester was a member of the Board of Editors of the Tulane Law Review from 1966 to 1968.
He has taught Louisiana Practice at Tulane University’s Law School since 1976 and received the Monte Lemann Award as the outstanding adjunct professor in 1992.
At Lemle & Kelleher, L.L.P., Mr. Forrester’s areas of practice are commercial litigation, business litigation, municipal boards, securities litigation, professional liability, and class actions & complex litigation.
Presently, Mr. Forrester is a member of the New Orleans Bar Association (of which he has been a member of the Committee on Unauthorized Practice of Law since 1974). He has served on the Executive Committee of the New Orleans Bar Association. He has been elected to the House of Delegates of the Louisiana Bar Association since 1978 and the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association from 1998-2000 and 2004-2006. HE is a member of the Louisiana Law Institute Council He is the Reporter of the Civil Procedure Section of the Louisiana Law Institute and has drafted numerous amendments to the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure to make the litigation process more efficient with less traps for the unwary. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute.
He has been elected a member of the New Orleans Civil Service Commission since 1993 and is currently the Chairman. He has been President of the Louisiana Civil Service League and PATCH (People Attached to Children’s Hospital).
Mr. Forrester was recognized by Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Mass Tort Litigation and Professional Malpractice Law.
Mr. Forrester has published articles on Louisiana Civil Procedure in the Louisiana State University and Tulane Law Reviews and Louisiana Bar Journal. He is a member of the Board of Advisory Editors of the Tulane Law Review. He has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Country Day School and President of its parents’ organization. Mr. Forrester been honored in Louisiana Super Lawyers 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 for his work in Business Litigation; Bonds/Government Finance; and Personal Injury Defense: General.
2010 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
John M. McCollam
John M. McCollam is a founding partner of Gordon, Arata, McCollam, Duplantis & Eagan, LLP in New Orleans. John’s diverse practice ranges from complex commercial and energy transactions and litigation to energy regulatory matters, products liability, toxic tort and environmental cases, telecommunications and intellectual property law. He has extensive experience litigating all types of oil and gas disputes, including those arising from take-or-pay gas purchase and sale contracts, onshore and offshore operating agreements, mineral leases, gas balancing agreements, farmout agreements, preferential purchase rights, purchase and sale agreements, pipeline transportation agreements, and unit agreements. John also regularly appears before the Louisiana State Mineral Board, the Louisiana Office of Conservation, and the Louisiana Public Service Commission, and he has represented clients before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Minerals Management Service. John has often served as an arbitrator in domestic and international oil and gas disputes, including disputes involving North Slope production from Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay Field. He has given expert testimony on U.S. oil and gas law in several Australian arbitrations involving production from the Bass Straits, and he is frequently called upon to mediate complex oil and gas disputes. He has also served as a Special Master appointed by the federal court in New Orleans in a complex gas balancing dispute.
Additionally, John has broad experience defending class action litigation in state and federal courts, including tobacco products liability actions, actions involving oil and gas pricing and gas measurement practices, and pharmaceutical products liability actions. He also recently has handled matters involving trademark infringements, commercial real estate disputes, and telecommunication licensing and permitting.
At Tulane Law School, John was elected to the Order of the Coif. He served on the Board of Editors of the Tulane Law Review and was Editor-in-Chief in 1958-1959. Currently, John is a Fellow of the American and Louisiana Bar Foundations and the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of New Orleans (Executive Committee, 1969-70; Secretary, 1978-79; First Vice President, 1980-81), Louisiana State (Chairman, Mineral Law Section, 1975-76), Energy, and American Bar Associations, the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel (Board of Directors, 1983-84) and the Louisiana Mineral Law Institute (Advisory Counsel, 1981-82). He is also a Member of the Dean’s Council and Professor Emeritus of Tulane University School of Law, where he taught courses on basic and advanced oil and gas law from 1963 to 1987. John additionally has published numerous papers and articles on oil and gas matters, including a comprehensive review of basic Louisiana mineral law entitled “A Primer for the Practice of Mineral Law Under the New Louisiana Mineral Code,” 50 Tul. L. Rev. 729 (1976).
2009 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
J. Michael Small
J. Michael Small is an attorney in Alexandria, Louisiana. His practice is limited exclusively to criminal defense and his case load is evenly divided between State murder cases and federal white collar crime and public corruption cases.
Mr. Small is a 1969 graduate of Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center where he was a member of the Louisiana Law Review and the Order of the Coif. He received his undergraduate degree from Louisiana Tech University.
Mr. Small is a past-President of the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and has been listed for over twenty years in the Best Lawyers in America in the fields of Criminal Defense and death penalty litigation. He received the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Sam Dalton Capital Defense Advocacy Award in 2006. He is a member of Louisiana State and American Bar Associations, Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association and National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is a Fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, International Society of Barristers, American College of Trial Lawyers and Litigation Counsel of America.
2008 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Phillip A. Wittmann
Phillip A. Wittmann is a member of the firm Stone Pigman . He concentrates his practice in commercial litigation, class actions, toxic tort litigation, products liability and antitrust matters. He has extensive trial experience, maintains an active litigation practice and is a frequent lecturer. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court; the United States Fifth, Sixth and Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals; and all Louisiana federal and state courts.
Mr. Wittmann graduated from the Tulane University School of Law in 1961, where he was named to Phi Beta Kappa, Order of the Coif, Omicron Delta Kappa and served on the Tulane Law Review Board of Editors. He received his undergraduate degree at Tulane University in 1956.
Mr. Wittmann is a past president of the New Orleans Bar Association. He has served as a member of the Civil Rules Advisory Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States and as a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association. He has chaired the Louisiana State Board of Legal Specialization and is a member of the House of Delegates, the Continuing Legal Education Committee and the Antitrust Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers. He is the 2000 recipient of the G. Duffield Smith Outstanding Publication Award from the Defense Research Institute and he is the 2005 recipient of the American Inns of Court Professionalism Award in the Fifth Circuit. Mr. Wittmann has been named to The Best Lawyers in America in the field of business litigation since its initial publication. He has been named to Chambers USA in the field of General Commercial Litigation. He has been named to Louisiana Super Lawyer. He has co authored an article for the Defense Research Institute with Al Cortese on the subject of Class Action and Mass Tort Litigation: Recent Developments, Legislation and Jurisprudence.
2007 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
George A. Frilot III
George A. Frilot III received the 2007 Louisiana Bar Foundation’s (LBF) Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. The award was presented on Thursday, June 7, at the Louisiana State Bar Association’s (LSBA) General Assembly in conjunction with the 66th Annual Meeting in Sandestin, Florida.
Mr. Frilot was selected for his long-standing devotion to excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the courts, litigants and all counsel in his practice of the law. He received a plaque signifying the honor bestowed to him. In addition, the award carries a $1,000 cash stipend, which the LBF donates to a non-profit law-related program or association providing services in the state of Louisiana in the honorees name.
Mr. Frilot is a founding partner of Frilot Partridge, L.C. and is a leading attorney in the firm’s Energy & Environmental Practice Group. Over the course of 49 years of practice, he has tried cases in 23 states and has actively participated in proceedings in two foreign countries. His practice has involved the trial of cases resulting from major offshore catastrophes, energy and environmental issues stemming from class action proceedings, commercial litigation and products liability.
Mr. Frilot is a member of the LSBA, the New Orleans Bar Association and is a Fellow with the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has been selected to Best Lawyers in America-10 year Distinction, listed in Chambers USA and recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in New Orleans by CityBusiness. In addition Mr. Frilot has been identified as one of 93 “All-Star” attorneys is the U.S. and the only one from Louisiana. He has an undergraduate degree from Loyola University and received his law degree from Loyola University School of Law, New Orleans.
2006 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
John R. Martzell
John R. Martzell received the LBF 2006 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. The award was presented at the Louisiana State Bar Association’s (LSBA) Annual Meeting in Sandestin, Florida.
Mr. Martzell was selected for his long-standing devotion to excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the courts, litigants and all counsel in his practice of the law. He received a plaque signifying the honor bestowed to him. In addition, the award carries a $1,000 cash stipend, which the LBF donates to a non-profit law-related program or association providing services in the state of Louisiana in Mr. Martzell’s name.
John R. Martzell practices in New Orleans, Louisiana with the firm of Martzell & Bickford. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame in Accounting and a Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame Law School; he also served on the Editorial Board of the Notre Dame Lawyer. He was law clerk to the Honorable J. Skelly Wright, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana and the Honorable Frank B. Ellis, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
He served as Director of the Louisiana Commission on Human Relations, Rights and Responsibilities for six years. He is a member of the Louisiana Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He is also a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American College of trial Lawyers and the Council of the Louisiana State Law Institute. He served as President of the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association and as Chairman of the Department of Public Affairs with the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He is also listed in the in the Best Lawyers of America under Personal Injury, Maritime Law, Criminal Defense and Business Litigation categories. He lectures widely to lawyers and law students on a variety of subjects.
2005 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
H. Alston Johnson III
H. Alston Johnson III, of Baton Rouge received the 2005 LBF Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. The award was presented in June during the Louisiana State Bar Association’s (LSBA) Annual Meeting in Las Vegas.
Johnson was selected for his long-standing devotion to excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the courts, litigants and all counsel in his practice of the law.
Johnson received a plaque signifying the honor bestowed to him. In addition, the award carries a $1,000 cash stipend, which the LBF donates to a non-profit law-related program or association providing services in the state of Louisiana in Johnson’s name.
H. Alston Johnson III is a managing partner of Phelps Dunbar’s Baton Rouge office. He graduated cum laude in 1967 from Georgetown University. He received his J.D. in 1970 from Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center where he was a senior associate editor of the Law Review . Prior to joining Phelps Dunbar in 1984, he was a full-time member of the law faculty at LSU for twelve years. He continues to teach as an adjunct member of that faculty, teaching primarily conflict of laws, federal courts and insurance.
His practice concentrates primarily in litigation, particularly at the appellate level and with particular emphasis in the areas of tort, insurance coverage, and administrative law. He has extensive experience in legislative, regulatory and governmental matters and has represented numerous public entities in both counseling and litigation capacities.
Johnson served on the LSBA Board of Governors from 1975 to 1976. He is a member of the LSBA, the American Bar Association, and the American Law Institute and a former member of the council of the Louisiana State Law Institute. He is a past president of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel and in 1988 he served as chair of the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Tort, Workers’ Compensation and Insurance Reform. From 1973 to 1984, he served as consultant for the LSBA Law Reform Committee.
He is the author or co-author of three treatises on Louisiana law published by Thomson/West Publishing Company: Louisiana Workers’ Compensation (4th ed.), Louisiana Insurance Law (3rd ed. in manuscript) and Louisiana Civil Jury Instructions (2nd ed.).
2004 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
Allen Lewis Smith, Jr.
The award was presented to Allen Lewis Smith, Jr. during the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Annual Brunch held Friday, June 11, 2004, in conjunction with the 63rd Annual Meeting at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Sandestin, Florida.
Smith received the award for his long-standing devotion to excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the courts, litigants, and all counsel in his practice of the law.
Allen Lewis Smith, Jr. was born in Woodville, Mississippi, May 9, l936. He was raised in Baton Rouge and received his undergraduate degree in Petroleum Engineering from LSU in January, l959. He returned to LSU for Law School and graduated with his Juris Doctor degree in May, l964. While in Law School, he was on Law Review for two years, inducted into Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and was a member of the Order of the Coif.
His law career began in l964 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, with Plauche & Plauche, now Plauche, Smith & Nieset, where he is a senior partner. He is a charter member of the LSU Law Center Fellowship Program, was President of the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association l978, President of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel in l988, and received the President’s Award from the Louisiana State Bar Association in l990 for contribution in developing “Rules of Professionalism” for the Bar. He was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers in l982. In addition to maintaining a defense practice, Mr. Smith is a life member of the American Bar Foundation and he currently serves as General Counsel for the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury.
At the brunch, Smith received a plaque signifying the honor bestowed to him. In addition, the Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy award carries a $1,000 cash stipend, which the LBF donated to the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association’s inaugural Bench-Bar Conference in Smith’s name.
2003 - 1994 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award
2003 John J. Weigel
2002 Robert B. Acomb, Jr.
2001 Jack C. Benjamin, Sr.
2000 Herschel E. Richard, Jr.
1999 Charles S. Weems III
1998 Gene W. Lafitte
1997 John B. “Spike” Scofield
1996 Patrick A. Juneau
1995 William K. Christovich
1994 Wood Brown III
*Deceased
