Firm Mourns the Passing of Long Time Partner Peter Anthony Feringa, Jr.

With deep sorrow, Chaffe McCall, L.L.P. mourns the passing of its former New Orleans Partner, Peter A. Feringa, Jr., who died on Sunday, July 10, 2022.

After graduating from Tulane Law School in 1959, where he was a member of the Board of Editors of the Tulane Law Review, Pete joined Chaffe McCall and began his outstanding legal career as a civil and commercial litigation lawyer.  As a Partner since 1964, he served on almost every firm committee, including the Management Committee. 

During his approximately 62-year tenure at Chaffe McCall, Pete litigated some of the largest cases the firm has handled.  Over the years,  Pete acted as lead counsel in many environmental and complex construction litigation matters, including his representation of American Bridge, a former United States Steel Corporation subsidiary, in disputes involving the construction of the New Orleans Superdome.  His list of clients was impressive, including Ford Motor Company, Ford Motor Credit Company, USF&G, Samedan Oil Corporation, Holiday Inns of America, Grinnell Corporation, Citicorp Person to Person, and USX (U.S. Steel), Marine Shale, General Foods Corporation, and Domino Sugar Corporation.  

In 1981, the Louisiana Supreme Court appointed Pete to fill a vacant judgeship in the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District Court, where he presided as a Judge Pro Tempore for six months.  For many years, in addition to his active law practice, he also served as a member of the panel of arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association and acted as an arbitrator in numerous construction and commercial disputes.

“Pete was a stern taskmaster and an excellent teacher, who enjoyed working with young attorneys assigned to him. He truly cared about the firm’s success and played a large role in its history,” said managing Partner Julie Livaudais. “I am grateful to Pete for the skills he passed along to me and every attorney who had the honor of working with him.”

A gifted attorney and devoted family man, Pete is survived by his beloved wife Linda, his children (Peter, Matt, Barbara, and Lisa), and his grandchildren.   Multiple generations of his friends and partners at Chaffe McCall, whose careers he mentored and whose lives he enriched, remember and miss him.