Judge David A. Blanchet
15th Judicial District Court, Division H
Judge David A. Blanchet is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana. He was elected District Judge of the Fifteenth Judicial District Court, Division “H”, in 2002 and took the bench on January 1, 2003. He is one of two Family Court judges in the Lafayette Parish and one of three Family Court Judges in Acadia and Vermilion Parishes. Prior to his election, he engaged in general trial practice focusing on family law. Judge Blanchet was recognized by the Louisiana Bar Association as a “Board Certified Family Law Specialist” in 1995 and actively maintained that designation until his election. Judge Blanchet remains on “inactive senior status” as a specialist in the field of family law.
Judge Blanchet graduated with distinction in 1976 from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, receiving a degree in Political Science. Judge Blanchet received his Juris Doctorate degree in 1980 from the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center. During his studies at the LSU Law Center, he was a Robert Lee Tullis Moot Court Competition Finalist, was a member of the Moot Court Board and served as President of Delta Theta Phi legal fraternity.
Judge Blanchet is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association where he served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Family Law Section, as well as a member of the Family Law Advisory Commission. Judge Blanchet is also a member of the Lafayette Parish Bar Association, where he served as a member of the Board of Directors, President and Vice President of the Paula K. Woodruff Family Law Section. Judge Blanchet served on the Supreme Court’s Rules subcommittee developing uniform rules for family courts and on the District Court Rules committee.
Mr. Clinton M Bowers
Partner Attorney
Bowers Law Firm, LLC
http://Www.bowerslawfirmllc.com
CLINTON M. BOWERS is a member of the Shreveport law firm of Bowers Law Firm, LLC, having joined the practice in 2009. He attended Louisiana State University in Shreveport, earning a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, cum laude, in 2005. He attended the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University. From 2007 to 2009, he served as Research Assistant to Professor Frank L. Maraist at the LSU Law Center. In May 2009, he was awarded his J.D. and Graduate Diploma of Civil Law, magna cum laude and was elected to membership in the Louisiana Chapter of the Order of the Coif. Mr. Bowers’ practice primarily focuses on family law litigation and serving as a family mediator. He is admitted to practice before Louisiana state courts, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Since 2011, he has served on the Louisiana State Law Institute with assignments to the Marriage-Persons Committee, Surrogacy Committee, and Child Support and Visitation Committee. In 2020, he was appointed as a Member of the Louisiana State Law Institute’s Council.
Professor Andrea B. Carroll
LSU Law Center
Andi Beauchamp Carroll is the Associate Dean for Student & Academic Affairs and the Donna W. Lee Professor of Family Law at the LSU Law Center. Before joining the LSU Law faculty, Professor Carroll clerked for The Honorable W. Eugene Davis of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She subsequently worked as an associate at the Dallas law firm of Baker Botts, L.L.P., handling appellate litigation. In 2003, Professor Carroll returned home to LSU Law, where she has been teaching and writing about family law, community property, and property for nearly two decades. Professor Carroll is the author of more than a dozen books and articles in her field. She has recently been published in the Cambridge University Press and her Tulane article on civil law property was honored as outstanding scholarship at the Stanford-Yale Junior Faculty Forum. Professor Carroll is active in law reform in Louisiana, as a Member of the Council of the Louisiana State Law Institute and the Institute’s Children’s Code, Adult Guardianship, Surrogacy, and Property Committees. She has led successful legislative reforms in the areas of child relocation, spousal support, surrogacy, and community property reimbursement rights. As Reporter of the Law Institute’s Marriage and Persons Committee, Professor Carroll continues to work to improve the law related to marriage and the family.
Dr. Amy E. Cavanaugh Ph.D, M.P.
Medical Psychologist
Dr. Amy E. Cavanaugh,
Dr. Amy Cavanaugh is a licensed clinical and medical psychologist serving the Acadiana area since 2005. Dr. Cavanaugh earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Clinical Psychology from Louisiana State University on Shreveport, a Master of Science Degree in Psychology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Arkansas. Dr. Cavanaugh completed internship and post-doctoral fellowship training at Tulane University Health Science Center with a specialty in infant mental health and pediatric psychology. In 2011, Dr. Cavanaugh earned a post-doctoral Masters of Science Degree in clinical psychopharmacology from Alliant International University. Dr. Cavanaugh provides psychological assessment, psychotherapy, and medication management services to individuals and families, including children, adolescents, and adults. Dr. Cavanaugh also consults with hospitals and the family courts in several parishes, including offering court-appointed child therapy and mental health evaluations for the purpose of custody and visitation since 2006. She is also a frequent contributor to local media on mental health topics.
Professor Dane S. Ciolino
Loyola University College of Law
Dane S. Ciolino is a law professor and lawyer in New Orleans, Louisiana. He serves as the A. R. Christovich Distinguished Professor of Law at the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, where his teaching interests include Professional Responsibility, Evidence, Advocacy, and Criminal Law. He is the editor of the weblog Louisiana Legal Ethics and the book Louisiana Legal Ethics: Standards and Commentary (2021).
Professor Ciolino graduated cum laude from Rhodes College in 1985, and magna cum laude from Tulane Law School in 1988, where he was inducted into Order of the Coif and selected as Editor in Chief of the Tulane Law Review. After graduation, he clerked for the United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, and practiced law at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York City, and Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann LLC, in New Orleans.
Since joining the faculty at Loyola, Professor Ciolino has served as reporter to the Louisiana State Bar Association Ethics 2000 Committee, as chairperson of a Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board Hearing Committee, as chairperson of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Lawyer Disciplinary Committee, as executive administrator and general counsel for the City of New Orleans Ethics Review Board, and as a member of various Louisiana State Bar Association committees (including the Professionalism Committee, the Lawyer & Judicial Codes of Conduct Committee, and the Ethics Advisory Service Committee).
Professor Ciolino engages in a limited law practice and in law-related consulting, principally in the areas of legal ethics, lawyer discipline, judicial discipline, governmental ethics, and federal criminal law. His practice includes handling disciplinary matters before the Louisiana Supreme Court, the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board, and the Louisiana Judiciary Commission, legal malpractice cases, lawyer disqualification matters, and legal fee disputes. He also consults and serves as an expert witness in the fields of legal ethics, legal fees, and the standards of care and conduct governing lawyers. His engagement agreements are available here: Retention Information and Agreements.
Ms. Josie G. Frank
27th JDC
Josie G. Frank is a 1979 graduate of the Southern University Law Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Ms. Frank is the Hearing Officer for the 27th Judicial District Court, St. Landry Parish system. She conducts hearings for the Family Law matters which include child custody and support; visitation; exclusive use of family homes and vehicles; psychological and drug evaluations and testing; domestic violence protection; and other ancillary issues including juvenile traffic court. Ms. Frank's educational achievements include a BA degree in psychology from Clark University, Worchester, MA; an MA degree in Education from Coppin State University, Baltimore, MA; and credits in Environmental Law from Tulane Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana. Ms. Frank's extensive career has included her serving the St. Landry Parish School Board as the elected District 12 representative for 12 years, which included serving as President of the Board from 2013-2014. She has served as a neutral (30 years) engaging in ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) in the states of LA, TX, OK, AK, MS, AL, TN, GA, FL, NM, MD/DC area. Ms. Frank has conducted more than 1,000 arbitration cases involving labor employment issues, such as, discharge and
disciplinary actions using the just cause test; work assignments; job posting and bidding; overtime pay; union officers-union business; vacation selection and vacation pay; holiday work and holiday pay; scheduling of work; working conditions; safety; violence in the workplace; discrimination in the workplace; AWOL FMLA; ADA; arbitrability; and procedural questions of due process. All of this work has been done through contracts with USPS, APWU, NALC . Ms. Frank has engaged in mediation cases involving personal injury, including liability and damages; family law; and commercial matters involving contracts. Ms. Frank is a former Assistant District Attorney of the 27th Judicial District of Louisiana. Ms. Frank is a Task Force member of the Louisiana Supreme Court Pilot Mediation Program in CDC, New Orleans, Louisiana. Ms. Frank was Chairperson of Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association, 2002-2004.
Ms. Frank presented seminars in the following:
► SPIDR International Conference/Topic: Mediation,
Baltimore, Maryland;
► Louisiana State Bar Association ADR Section/Topic:
Honing Your Mediation Skills, Sandestin, Florida;
► Mississippi State Bar Association, Mock
Presentation: How Mediation Works, Biloxi, Mississippi; and
► People's Law School, Eunice Lawyers, LSUE, St.
Landry Parish Bar Association.
Ms. Frank supervised law students for Environmental Law Clinic, Tulane Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana. Ms. Frank participated in training of mediators sponsored by the American Arbitration Association, and the ADR Section-Louisiana State Bar Association. Presently, Ms. Frank serves as President of the Women United, a women's leadership group connected to the United Way, St. Landry Evangeline Parishes. Ms. Frank continues to serve on the United Way Board for St. Landry-Evangeline Parishes. In 2019 she served as the President of that board for the United Way. She serves in the New Zion Baptist Church as a Deaconess, Sunday School Adult class teacher, WOM Sponsor and Senior Mission Ministry. Also, Ms. Frank is serving as the Vice-President of the Board of Directors for the Southwest Louisiana Medical Clinic. Ms. Frank is currently a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, American Bar Association, National Bar Association, and St. Landry Parish Bar Association. Josie is mother to Pride J. Doran (Patience) and Jeremiah Bell. She has seven grandchildren and two great-grandsons. Her mantra is "You BE the change you want to see."
Mr. Keith Friley
owner
Friley and Dugas, LLC
Keith Friley has practiced law in the Greater Baton Rouge area since 1984. Since 1993, Keith has been a solo practitioner, practicing primarily in the family law area. Keith graduated in accounting from LSU in 1979, and became a CPA (unlicensed) in 1981. Keith graduated from Tulane Law School in 1983. Keith has been married to his wife, Diane for 34 years. They have two boys and four grandchildren.
Keith has observed over the last 35 or so years the increase on the demands on the family law attorney. Like most family law attorneys, Keith has observed the stress levels of the practitioners on the rise as well. Keith has made a pointed effort to learn practical ways to properly deal with the stress, that have helped improve his quality of life. Keith is eager to share what he has learned with his colleagues in hopes that they will also find the suggestions helpful.
Ms. Catherine M. Maraist
Partner
Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, LLP
Catherine Maraist defends health care providers and other businesses in claims arising from federal regulatory statutes. She is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P. She focuses her practice on white collar civil and criminal defense and healthcare. Catherine has extensive experience in matters involving federal criminal law, federal civil law and procedure, civil and criminal health care fraud, appellate advocacy, trial advocacy, and professional responsibility. Catherine is a writer and lecturer in various areas of federal civil and criminal law, including health care fraud and compliance. Catherine has also served as an instructor in criminal and civil trial advocacy and appellate advocacy programs at LSU Law School and at the United States Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center.
Before joining Breazeale, Catherine served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana for over 15 years, serving in both civil and criminal capacities. As a federal prosecutor, Catherine investigated and prosecuted a wide range of federal criminal crimes, including firearm violations, narcotics, embezzlement, money laundering, tax fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, health care fraud, asset forfeiture, and money laundering. Catherine spent several years as a member of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, a federal government task force focused on prosecuting health care providers for fraud on the Medicare and Medicaid programs. After becoming Civil Chief for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2011, Catherine prosecuted businesses and individuals under the False Claims Act, the federal government’s tool for recovering damages and penalties based on civil fraud. As Civil Chief, she also supervised the litigation of all civil matters involving the United States, including Federal Tort Claims Act Litigation, Title VII employment discrimination claims, Rehabilitation Act/ADA claims brought by and against the government, asset forfeiture, and other related civil financial and regulatory matters.
Mr. Jeffrey E. Meyers
Co-Founder
Asher Meyers, LLC
Mr. Meyers is a Managing Director of Asher-Meyers, LLC, and has utilized his experience in financial forensics and statistical background in providing detailed, analytic analysis in advising hundreds of disputes and consulting matters.
He is routinely involved in a variety of complex issues relating to commercial damages, lost profits, personal injury damages, matrimonial disputes, business interruption claims, intellectual property impairment and fraud.
Professor Tracy L. M. Norton
LSU Law Center
Tracy L. M. Norton joined the LSU Law faculty in 2022 and is the Erick Vincent Anderson Professor of Professional Practice. Prof. Norton is an accomplished legal educator and scholar whose significant contributions to the field of legal communication and pedagogy include published works and influential presentations on a variety of pressing issues such as the application of artificial intelligence in law practice and legal education; the transition to online teaching before, during, and after the pandemic; and the challenges and opportunities presented by generational shifts in the legal profession. She began introducing technology into the law school classroom in 1998 with her pioneering self-paced legal citation tool, the Interactive Citation Workstation, housed on Lexis+. Through her scholarly work and advocacy for effective teaching strategies over the past 27 years, Prof. Norton has left an indelible mark on the landscape of legal education – both nationally and internationally -- with her forward-thinking approach to pedagogy and law practice. She has taught at Touro University School of Law in New York, South Texas College of Law in Houston, and Texas Tech University School of Law in Lubbock. She currently researches and writes about using generative artificial intelligence within the bounds of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
Clare S. Roubion
Louisiana Legal Ethics, LLC
Clare Roubion is a 2014 graduate of the LSU Law Center. Clare Roubion is engaged in a limited law practice and in law-related consulting, principally in the areas of legal ethics, lawyer discipline, and judicial discipline. Her practice includes handling disciplinary matters before the Louisiana Supreme Court, the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board and the Louisiana Judiciary Commission, legal malpractice cases, lawyer disqualification motions and lawyer fee disputes.
