Ms. Maria Nan Alessandra
Phelps Dunbar, LLP
M. Nan Alessandra, partner in Phelps Dunbar, LLP, practices in labor and employment litigation, alternate dispute resolution, workplace training and counseling. She also practices in civil rights, business, and constitutional law litigation. She graduated from Loyola University Law School, cum laude, in 1985 (Loyola Law Review). After graduating, she served as a law clerk to the late Hon. A.J. McNamara, U. S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. She is a member of the American Arbitration Association’s Panel of Neutrals for employment-related matters in arbitration and mediation and is admitted to practice in Louisiana and Texas. She has participated as an advocate in mediations and arbitrations and conducted mediations and arbitrations as a mediator/arbitrator in a wide range of employment and labor-related disputes. She is an AV-rated attorney and is listed in the 2003-2024 editions of The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA and in Louisiana Super Lawyers.

Professor William R. Corbett
LSU Law Center
Professor William R. Corbett is the Frank L. Maraist Professor of Law and the Wex S. Malone Professor of Law at LSU Law Center, where he teaches and writes primarily in the area of Labor and Employment Law, but he also teaches Torts. He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Professor Corbett served as Interim Dean at LSU Law Center during fiscal year 2015-2016, and served as Vice Chancellor from May 1997 to January 2000. He was honored by the Louisiana Bar Foundation as the 2013 Distinguished Professor. He received his B.A. from Auburn University and his law degree from the University of Alabama, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Alabama Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. He also received the M. Leigh Harrison Award presented to those graduating in the top 5 percent. He joined the law faculty at LSU in 1991, after practicing in Birmingham, Alabama with Burr & Forman. Professor Corbett has served as Executive Director of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel for the last 22 years. Prior to that, he served for several years as Executive Director, and then as faculty advisor, of the Louisiana Judicial College.

Rebecca Dormon
Regional Director - Region 15
People Results
Rebecca Dormon is an experienced traditional labor and employment law specialist with over 25 years of experience managing and supervising employees. She is well-versed in training managers, supervisors, employees, and outside parties on various aspects of labor relations and labor law, and has successfully negotiated agreements between employers and unions. Rebecca is also skilled at engaging with employees to identify low morale issues or other problems, and helping employers develop programs or other solutions to proactively address employees’ issues with managers and other aspects of their workplace.

Rebecca joined IRI Consultants, now rebranded as People Results, in July 2024. As a labor consultant, she has helped organizations improve employee engagement and performance, strengthen communications, and create positive, productive workplaces. Prior to joining IRI, Rebecca was the Assistant to the Regional Director at the National Labor Relations Board for Region 15- New Orleans, Louisiana.

Rebecca has also completed trainings and presentations at law firms, corporations, the American Bar Association Annual Meeting, American Bar Association P&P Midwinter Meeting, Employer Counsel Network Annual Meeting, and two different committees for the Louisiana State Bar Association. She has also had an article published in the Louisiana State Bar Association, as well as a paper for the American Bar Association P&P Midwinter Meeting.

Rebecca earned her B.A. in English and M.B.A from the University of Mississippi.

Ms. Rachel B. Hudson
Casey Denson Law, LLC
Rachel Hudson is an Associate Attorney with Casey Denson Law. She joined the firm in 2024 and is a passionate advocate for her clients. Ms. Hudson earned her law degree from UCLA School of Law, where she was awarded membership in the Order of the Coif, an honor recognizing the top ten percent of each class. Ms. Hudson received her undergraduate degree in Art History from Barnard College at Columbia University, graduating magna cum laude.

Before joining Casey Denson Law, Ms. Hudson clerked on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. She also has experience working with the ACLU of Southern California, the Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of California, and as part of the legal team on numerous civil rights cases in Louisiana.

In law school, Ms. Hudson joined the Reentry Legal Clinic to assist individuals seeking record expungements post-incarceration. She also served as a student attorney with the Bail Practicum, representing clients in pre-trial criminal hearings. As a co-chair of Law Students for Decarceration, Ms. Hudson organized the quarterly Incarcerated Persons Correspondence Project, where law students provided legal resources to individuals serving prison sentences across the country. Completing specializations in the David J. Epstein Public Interest Law and Policy Program and in the Critical Race Studies Program, Ms. Hudson ensured social justice was the focus of her legal education.

Raised in Lafayette, with family ties across South Louisiana, Ms. Hudson is dedicated to supporting the workers, families, and communities that make this region culturally rich and resilient. She is admitted to the Louisiana State Bar and the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana. Ms. Hudson has published her writing in Louisiana Advocates and for the New Orleans Bar Association Blog.

Mr. Gregory T. Juge
Supervisory Trial Attorney
United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
http://www.eeoc.gov
Gregory T. Juge earned his bachelor’s degree as the Outstanding Scholar in Economics from Tulane University in 1988, where he graduated summa cum laude. He received his law degree from the Columbia University School of Law in New York City in 1991. Mr. Juge worked in the field of employment defense at the law firms of Jones Walker and McCalla Thompson before opening a solo practice in 1993. Four years later, in 1997, he joined the EEOC as a Senior Trial Attorney, where he handled individual and class cases involving discrimination and harassment on the basis of age, disability, race, national origin, religion, retaliation, and sex. Mr. Juge tried an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) case which resulted in a federal jury award of $1,291,000 against DuPont Corporation and a same-sex harassment suit against Boh Bros. Construction, which resulted in a federal jury verdict of $451,000. The Boh Bros. verdict led to an en banc decision by the Fifth Circuit in 2013 which has had significant impact in the field of LGBT litigation, recognizing the applicability of the sex-stereotyping theory of liability under Price Waterhouse to the same-sex harassment context and reaffirming the breadth of the Supreme Court’s Oncale decision. Mr. Juge has served as a Supervisory Trial Attorney for the Commission since 2011. Mr. Juge was lead counsel for EEOC in the class action nationwide race discrimination suit against Bass Pro, which resulted in a $10,500,000 settlement and a landmark Fifth Circuit decision on “pattern or practice” litigation. Mr. Juge also litigated one of the EEOC’s first cases dealing with the issue of transgender discrimination, which led to a favorable arbitration decision — recognizing transgender coverage under Title VII — and which was settled through a Consent Decree, presaging the Supreme Court’s 2020 LGBT decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. Mr. Juge published an article on the Bostock decision in 2020 in the Louisiana State Bar Journal and has presented on employment discrimination issues at CLE seminars for nearly 30 years.

Mr. Sidney S. Moreland
Attorney at Law
Arbitrator Sidney Moreland has arbitrated civil and labor disputes throughout America since 1989. He has arbitrated over 3,500 disputes in virtually every industrial and economic sector covering an expansive range of issues. Moreland is on numerous arbitration rosters and panels including: National Football League/N.F.L. Players Association; American Arbitration Association; National Mediation Board; Federal Mediation Conciliation Service; International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution. Moreland was among the first to arbitrate a multi-million dollar federal class action litigation. Additionally, Moreland has presided over 75 Public Law Boards, arbitrating disputes within the transportation sector (Airlines and Railroads). He has also been appointed to arbitrate and mediate cases by several federal courts. Moreland has authored numerous published and cited arbitration decisions on issues ranging from discipline, wages/benefits, arbitrability, vacation, off duty conduct, sexual harassment, discrimination, shut down/work stoppage/strikes, bargaining, medical leave, drug testing/usage, back pay, overtime, employment contracts, injuries, insurance claims, contract interpretation, etc. Moreland has lectured on social media/internet and its impact on the American workplace; analyzing discipline cases; wage disputes; evidence; duty of fair representation; contract law; evidence; advocate training; arbitrator training; injury on and off duty, and the avoidance of protracted public litigation by use of private arbitration.

Ms. Denise M. Pilie
Attorney at Law
Denise M. Pilié has mediated, supervised and arbitrated over 1000 cases, primarily involving commercial, employment, insurance and disaster disputes. She is a full-time arbitrator and mediator and serves as a neutral on the American Arbitration Association Commercial, Employment, Consumer and Large-Complex Case panels. She is a past chair of the LSBA ADR Section and has spoken and written extensively on ADR topics, including a book chapter entitled, “Settlement and Alternative Dispute Resolution,” for Louisiana Civil Pretrial Procedure, West Group Civil Practice Series (1999). Ms. Pilie´ taught Mediation and Arbitration at Loyola University, College of Law for 15 years. Before devoting her full time to teaching and alternative dispute resolution, she practiced law for 20 years at Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann and at Couhig Partners for an additional three years.

Mr. Amiel J. Provosty
The Kullman Firm
AMIEL J. PROVOSTY brings deep insight and experience from important and different angles which he gained as a prosecutor at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for twelve years, and since then in private corporate employment litigation. Amiel advises employers nationally in all aspects of traditional labor and employment law, especially union certification elections and campaigns, collective bargaining, NLRB charges, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance, and employment and personnel issues such as wage-and-hour disputes, layoffs, terminations, employee performance controversies, labor concerns arising from the purchase or sale of assets, and all claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and whistleblowing. He is a Labor Law Specialist, certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. As a former trial attorney for the NLRB, Amiel’s clients particularly benefit from his deep knowledge of the composition and inner workings of the NLRB across both Democratic and Republican administrations. He combines outstanding insider knowledge of Federal government regulations, with his courtroom experience, and business acumen. Whether he’s counseling a Fortune 500 company or smaller concern, Amiel finds it gratifying to facilitate clients’ operational and entrepreneurial ambitions by helping them build and grow their businesses. He gets to know his clients well so he can best advise them on a myriad of policies, problems, and disputes, to protect their best interests, and to advance their goals. He also enjoys quickly grasping complex issues that impact the traditional employment law sphere, relying on his valuable past experiences involving licensing, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and intellectual property challenges that impact a workforce. Amiel represents clients in a wide range of industries, such as federal contractors, research and development labs, pharmaceutical and biotech startups, traditional manufacturing, natural resources, engineering, sales and customer support, and in the entertainment industry.

Ms. Sara Grace G. Sirera
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, PC
Sara Grace is an associate at Ogletree Deakins, where she represents employers of all sizes both in and out of court. Sara Grace defends employers in all phases of litigation in a wide range of employment law matters, including state and federal employment discrimination, retaliation, wage-and-hour, and restrictive covenants, as well as FLSA collective action lawsuits. Sara Grace also advises employers on complex employment law issues, including implementation of appropriate policies and practices to reduce the likelihood of future claims.

Mr. J. Arthur Smith Iv
Smith Law Firm
J. ARTHUR "ART" SMITH, IV grew up in Clinton and then Amite, Louisiana before moving to Fayetteville, Arkansas to attend the University of Arkansas. Thereafter, he returned to Louisiana to attend Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Theatre. He started his legal career around 2006 as a paralegal working for his father, J. Arthur Smith, III, at the Smith Law Firm. He then attended Tulane University to obtain a post-baccalaureate certificate in Paralegal Studies. Art worked as a paralegal off and on for about ten (10) years at both plaintiff and defense firms in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. He also worked as a stagehand in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and surrounding areas prior to attending law school. He attended Southern University Law Center’s night program while clerking at the law firm of Maley, Comeaux and Falterman, LLC and then at the Smith Law Firm. While in law school, he was selected for the Dean’s list three times. Prior to joining the firm, Art obtained substantial experience in labor and employment law. He handled all phases of litigation and appeals in matters arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and other areas in both state and federal courts in Louisiana and out of state. Most recently, he was selected for Super Lawyer’s Rising Stars list in 2024 for his work in the area of employment law for workers. Art’s primary area of practice is in the Firm's General Litigation and Public Utility Regulatory Sections. In his spare time, Art enjoys spending time with his wife and children, exercising, woodworking, and practicing martial arts.

Ms. Mercedes A. Townsend
Casey Denson Law, LLC
Mercedes Townsend is an Associate Attorney with Casey Denson Law where she clients at all stages of litigation. Ms. Townsend is dedicated to helping clients navigate equity issues across industries and is passionate about ensuring meaningful opportunities for all. She has been recognized by Super Lawyers® as a Rising Star in Employment & Labor Law for 2023 and 2024.

Before joining Casey Denson Law, Ms. Townsend served as the Litigation and Advocacy Staff Attorney for Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, where she focused on access to justice efforts during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and addressed violations of state and federal anti-discrimination law by public agencies and Louisiana courts.

In addition to her work, Ms. Townsend is the Founder of Friend of the Court, a global, online platform dedicated to developments in Women’s Sports Law. She is a member of Tulane’s Sports Law Advisory Board and regularly speaks on Title IX developments and employment and diversity issues in sport.

Ms. Townsend is a graduate of Tulane University School of Law and holds a Master of Arts in Women’s History from Sarah Lawrence College. She is admitted to practice in Louisiana and the United States District Court for the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of Louisiana. She also enjoys membership in the Plaintiff’s Employment Law Association of Southeast Louisiana, Legal Network for Gender Equity, and the Louisiana State Bar.

Ms. Townsend can be reached at mtownsend@caseydensonlaw.com.