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Chaffe McCall Adds a Mock Trial Courtroom   Chaffe McCall recently completed a space renovation to add a mock trial courtroom to its offices. "This will allow our less seasoned litigators to practice their skills in a courtroom setting," said managing partner, Corinne Morrison. "We'll also use this as a tool to train our summer law clerks," she added. The courtroom has already been put to use in preparation for a multimillion dollar federal court case. "The opportunity to present your case before a jury in a practice setting truly allows one to develop the theme of a case and to listen to the jurors as to how best to present the information so that it is easily understood, " said Morrison. February 2005

Chaffe McCall Has New Partners   Chaffe McCall, recently promoted Keith M. Benit, Julie D. Savage, and Scott A. Soule to General Partner. Corrine Morrison, Managing Partner, made the announcement today.   Mr. Benit, a Minden native, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Louisiana State University and a Masters in Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Finance from Louisiana Tech. He received his Juris Doctorate degree from Mississippi College School of Law where he was a member of the Moot Court Board.   He has been with Chaffe McCall for four years, and his primary areas of practice include general business and corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, contract law, and estate planning. Mr. Benit has been directly involved in an extensive number of mergers, as well as stock and asset acquisitions and dispositions.   Mr. Benit is a member of the Louisiana State and Mississippi State Bar Associations.   Mr. Soule was born in the United Kingdom. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Southeastern Louisiana University and his Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola University.   He is admitted to practice in all Louisiana state and federal courts, all Texas state courts, and the federal Southern District of Texas, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He is a member of the New Orleans, Louisiana, Texas, and American Bar Associations.   Mr. Soule has been with Chaffe McCall for nearly seven years and possesses a diverse litigation background and extensive trial experience in state and federal courts. He practices primarily in the fields of maritime personal injury, marine and general casualty insurance, and state and federal (longshore) compensation claims. He continues to handle and try cases throughout the Gulf coast, from Houston to Miami.   Mr. Soule was the Fifth Circuit Editor for The Sextant, the American Bar Association/Young Lawyers Division Admiralty newsletter from 1991-1996. He has published articles on insurance coverage and various maritime decisions of the United States Fifth Circuit. He speaks at seminars on maritime personal injury and employment-related topics. Mr. Soule is a licensed private pilot and has served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is also a Louisiana Volunteer Lawyer for the Arts.  January 2005

Attorney Howell Crosby quoted in Los Angeles Times article, "Sandra Bullock Sought Advice of Tax Scammer"   Click here for the full article. November 2004

Chaffe McCall Attorneys Elected as Representatives in the LSBA House of Delegates   Corinne Morrison, managing partner, and Nannette Jolivette have been elected for two-year terms as representatives in the LSBA House of Delegates, Orleans Parish, those terms beginning at the commencement at the 2005 Annual Meeting.

Chaffe McCall is Giving Back to the Community   Chaffe McCall is participating in the Homeless Experience Legal Protection (HELP) program pioneered by U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey which offers free legal assistance to the homeless.  Corinne Morrison was recently pictured in two publications discussing the program: the New Orleans City Business, November 1, 2004 issue "Program offering free HELP for homeless seeking a lawyer"  and the New Orleans Bar Association's Briefly Speaking, Fall 2004 issue "Lawyers Helping Homeless."   ©Copyright New Orleans Publishing Group, L.L.C. 2004. Reprinted from New Orleans CityBusiness newspaper. ©Copyright New Orleans Bar Association 2004. Reprinted from NOBA publication, Briefly Speaking.

E. Howell Crosby Takes Over as President of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys E. Howell Crosby was installed as the President of ACMA at its  annual meeting on October 2, 2004 in Whistler, B.C. Canada. The American College of Mortgage Attorneys was formed in 1974 by a group of lawyers seeking to establish and maintain an integrated group of lawyers from each state who are highly skilled and experienced in the preparation of real estate mortgages, lending transactions secured by real estate, and related practice. The College seeks to improve and reform laws and procedures affecting real estate secured transactions and to raise the level of professional responsibility of lawyers practicing in this area.  ACMA’s members (Fellows) include in-house and government lawyers in addition to private practitioners. ACMA is also fortunate to include prominent members of the academic community. ACMA meets annually, provides carefully targeted educational programs and publishes the National Mortgage Law Summary. The College is governed by a Board of Regents who are elected by the Fellows and by Officers elected by the Regents.

Chaffe McCall Sponsors WISTA Meeting

The Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) held their Annual General Membership Meeting on June 24 and June 25, 2004 in New Orleans at the Renaissance Arts Hotel. Chaffe, McCall was one of the Sponsors along with Canal Barge Company, Inc., Otto Candies, LLC, Kingsmill Riess, LLC, the Port of New Orleans, Laborde & Neuner and Corvel. Members attending the Meeting were afforded an opportunity to network over cocktails at the Swizzle Stick Bar located in the Loews Hotel. One of the highlights of the Meeting was the Panel Discussion “Current Developments in Maritime Law” with speakers Machale A. Miller, Partner of Miller and Williamson, LLC and Martin J. Davies, Admiralty Law Institute Professor of Maritime Law and Co-Director of the Maritime Law Center at Tulane University Law School. Lunch was held at The Bourbon House Restaurant featuring Gary LaGrange, Director of the Port of New Orleans who spoke about the development and expansion of the Port of New Orleans. The last activity of the Meeting was a cruise down the Mississippi River on the Fireboat “General Kelley”. The WISTA Meeting was a huge success.

Nannette V. Jolivette Joins Chaffe McCall The Summer 2004 issue of the New Orleans Bar Association publication, "Briefly Speaking," recently featured an announcement regarding Nannette V. Jolivette joining Chaffe McCall.

Scott Soule Interviewed By Tradewinds Tradewinds is an international shipping newspaper, published weekly, and subscribed to by all of our admiralty clients. This article appeared in the April 16, 2004 edition. Attorney Scott Soule was interviewed by their reporter in connection with their representation of clients with foreign arbitration awards and foreign judgments against various Cuban entities. Derek Walker, Dan Tadros, and Scott have successfully recovered more than $5 million from the Cubans over the past year and a half. They are making quite an impression on the maritime community, who have long been unable to collect on awards obtained against the Cuban entities.

Rob Fisher - In the News Appointed to the editorial advisory panel of Shipping & Transport Lawyer International Magazine, ...read more. a quarterly publication with worldwide circulation to businesses and individuals involved in the shipping and transportation industries. Rob is also a frequent contributor of articles to this London based publication. Speaker at the "Port of New Orleans Seminar," ...read more. which recently took place in Athens, Greece. His topic, in the form of a power point presentation, was "Navigation on the Lower Mississippi River-Select Problems", illustrating collisions, groundings and salvage events from the point of view of an admiralty lawyer and former ship's deck officer. Co-speakers at the seminar included Gary LaGrange, Executive Director of the Port of New Orleans; two senior U.S. Coast Guard officers who spoke on vessel and port security initiatives; a New Orleans ship agent, and representatives of the pilot associations that serve the lower Mississippi River. The seminar was presented to an audience of 250 Greek ship management executives and master mariners, and took place at the headquarters buildings of Kristen Navigation Company and Olympic Shipping Company (the Onassis Group) , in Athens. Successful result for the ship owner and the United Kingdom P&I Club, in "Pace Shipping Services Network S.A. v. M/V OCEAN D" ...read more. in which Judge Thomas Porteous found that a lien claimant wrongfully arrested the vessel because he had actual notice of a no-lien clause in a charter party. The court further found that the lien claimant had no maritime lien by subrogation since he had not advanced payment for the ship's bunker fuel and the obtaining of an assignment from an unpaid bunker supplier four days after the arrest was also insufficient to support another arrest. The case is interesting, because not only is it very unusual for a U.S. District Court to hold that a ship arrest is wrongful, attorney's fees were also awarded to our clients. Authored and published in Shipping & Transport Lawyer International & The Maritime Advocate ...read more. An article on the subject of personal injury law written by Rob Fisher recently appeared in Shipping & Transport Lawyer International, entitled, "Forum Non Conveniens - the Battle Goes On in Louisiana".  Rob Fisher and Tom Forbes recently co-authored an article in The Maritime Advocate entitled "Mississippi River Oil Spills". Successful Mediation ...read more. Rob Fisher, assisted by Tom Forbes, recently obtained a good result in the mediation of a salvage case arising from a vessel fire on the Mississippi River. Volunteer firefighters and boat captains from West Feliciana Parish and the Town of St. Francisville came to the rescue of a large line towboat, the KAY A. ECKSTEIN, which caught fire while pushing 30 barges northbound en route from Baton Rouge to Cairo, Illinois. After rescuing the crew, the firefighters, using a state ferry as a fireboat, fought the fire for seven hours, also preventing the barges from breaking away and serious environmental damage from occurring. Following a successful reported decision in the case, West Feliciana Parish Fire Protection District No. 1 et al v. M/V KAY A. ECKSTEIN, et al, before Magistrate Judge Christine Noland and U.S. District Judge Ralph Tyson, Rob and Tom then mediated salvage and damage issues before Tom Grace of MAPS, not only recovering the out-of-pocket costs of West Feliciana Parish and the Town of St. Francisville, but also enough to give the volunteer firefighters and boat crews salvage award payments and obtain a significant recovery of the firm's fees and costs, based upon contingency agreements. Successful defense for a line towboat, the DIANE OAK ...read more. Rob Fisher and Tom Forbes, in Teco Barge Line v. M/T DONAU, successfully defended a Belgian ship owner and the West of England P&I Club in a large claim where a line towboat, the DIANE OAK, alleged crowding or embarrassment to her navigation, causing a line tow of 30 barges to go out of control and hit the Dow Chemical Company dock on the Mississippi River above New Orleans. In ruling for the DONAU and two other vessel defendants, U. S. District Judge Carl Barbier found sole fault on plaintiff's vessel, the DIANE OAK. The case involves interesting interpretations of the Inland Navigation Rules.

Hal McCard Spoke at the Hospitals and Health Systems Law Institute Hal McCard was asked by the American Health Lawyers Association to speak at the annual Hospitals and Health Systems Law Institute held on February 12 - February 13, 2004. His topic was "Clinical Research and Community Hospitals-A Legal Guide. " This is a national convention and being chosen as a speaker is quite an honor. Congratulations Hal!

Walter F. Becker, Jr. Chaired Panel Discussion at an ABA Seminar Walter Becker chaired a panel discussion at the Ritz Carlton in New Orleans on the topic of "Pre-Indictment Defense: The Grand Jury Phase." This was a part of the American Bar Association Seminar held entitled "Environmental Criminal Enforcement for Civil and Criminal Practitioners."

Phil Shuler named "Man of the Year" Phil Shuler was named Man of the Year by the Associated Builders and Contractors. Past recipients include public figures such as Governor Foster, Congressman Bob Livingston, Congressman David Vitter and State Representative Steve Scalise.

J. Dwight Leblanc, Jr. Re-appointed Vice President of the World Trade Center of New Orleans Dwight LeBlanc will continue his service to the WTC in 2004 as a Vice President, Chairman of the Transportation Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee.

Scott Landry Elected President of the Baton Rouge Chapter of the Federal Bar Association In December 2003, Scott Landry, an attorney in Chaffe McCall's labor section in our Baton Rouge office, was elected President of the Baton Rouge Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and will serve a one year term. Scott has been an officer of the chapter for the past two years serving as President-Elect for the previous year and Treasurer for the year before that. Congratulations Scott!

Brent A. Talbot and Jonathan C. McCall Tagged as "Skillful Defense Magicians" The following article was published in the December 2003 issue of the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel Newsletter: After His Amtrak Train Clobbered a Stalled Tractor-Trailer, This Engineer Alleged Uncrashworthiness, Inadequate Training, Unsafe Place to Work, LIA Defects and He also Separately Blamed CN/IC for a Bad Roadbed, Inadequate Signals, Excessive Vegetation and (Get This) A Defect in the Emergency Notification Sign Posted at the Crossing: Skillful Defense Magicians Crush Each of These Bold Assertions! The summary judgment rulings: (a) Amtrak did not own or operate the roadbed and tracks (as to which there were no defects anyway) and bears no liability here, (b) plaintiff’s “lack of training” claim fails for lack of proof that any type of training would have helped avoid injury to him, (c) plaintiff failed to prove any LIA Defects and/or the need for other locomotive safety equipment or padding, (d) plaintiff’s allegations towards CN/IC (roadbed, signals, vegetation) preempted, and (e) plaintiff’s whining about the emergency notification sign not complying with the MUTCD was absurd! Summary judgment for the defense! Voila! Nine pesos sent here will bring you this truly excellent eighteen page federal trial court Order in Miciotto v. Brown, et al. U.S.D.C. E.D. Louisiana. October 2003. Details: Brent Talbot and Jonathan McCall of Chaffe, McCall, Phillips, Toler & Sarpy at New Orleans - - 504/585-7059.

Greg J. Walsh Re-elected Vice President of the Board of Directors of the New Orleans Speech and Hearing Center Greg Walsh was elected for his second term as vice-president of the Board of Directors of the New Orleans Speech and Hearing Center for the year 2004-2005, after which he will serve a one-year term as president. The Center, a non-profit organization and United Way Member Agency, has been in operation since 1930. It's mission is to provide a full range of quality and professional services and products to people with communication, speech and hearing disorders and disabilities. The full-time staff of nine speech language therapists and two audiologists initially assess clients either through community outreach programs or by referral, and then create an individualized plan of care that is followed until a successful result is achieved. Through the hard work of those at the Center, countless clients with such disorders who otherwise may have been left behind have been able to lead normal, productive lives.

Chaffe McCall has a New Managing Partner Congratulations to Corinne Morrison , Chaffe's new managing partner.  Click here to read an article from the April 21, 2003 issue of New Orleans CityBusiness. © Copyright New Orleans Publishing Group, L.L.C. 2003.  Reprinted from New Orleans CityBusiness newspaper.

Chaffe McCall,  L.L.P.
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New Orleans, Louisiana 70163-2300
Phone: (504) 585-7000 | Fax: (504) 585-7075