New Orleans boutique Fishman Haygood represents both plaintiffs and defendants in complex high-stakes cases involving class action, tax, securities, and environmental litigation. Fishman’s business department deals in commercial and government clients and spans a range of areas including corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, private equity, and public finance.
Distinguished as one of Benchmark’s Top 250 women in litigation,
Lori Mince has developed a unique mix of practices in the areas of media law, commercial litigation, and tax litigation. Mince is the lead partner representing the Louisiana Department of Revenue in a lawsuit focusing on several transfer pricing cases against General Mills, W.W. Grainger, Monsanto Company, Rent-A-Center, and Home Depot. The Department of Revenue seeks to enforce its right to adjust taxable income among two or more related parties to reflect the income earned by each party in the state of Louisiana. These cases are ongoing.
James Swanson represents clients in cases involving municipal finance, derivatives, Ponzi schemes, corporate tax, and environmental damage. He is acclaimed for his securities practice and has obtained multimillion-dollar judgments for his clients in trials and arbitrations. Swanson is one of the lead attorneys that filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of customers of FTX cryptocurrency derivatives exchange. The lawsuit seeks to recover damages from the investment losses against the banks and venture capital firms that allegedly aided and abetted Sam Bankman-Fried and his company in a scheme to defraud customers out of billions of dollars and crypto assets.
Securities litigator Benjamin Reichard continues to make waves as a burgeoning investor-fraud authority. Reichard is working alongside Swanson on behalf of FTX customers. His practice includes class action, environmental litigation, and international arbitration. He is the lead partner representing a contractor in a dispute over unpaid invoices for construction work performed in Libya. The contractor won a settlement in the Libyan court system but was never paid. Later, the contractor won in the International Criminal Court (ICC) and now the firm is litigating across multiple jurisdictions worldwide to enforce the ICC award.
Over the course of 40 years, Brent Barriere has cemented his status as a preeminent commercial and bankruptcy force in Louisiana’s litigation landscape. He has built a specialized practice representing trustees and receivers. He is currently the Receiver’s counsel to the estates of Arthur Lamar Adams and Madison Timber Properties. The two parties were charged with operating a $100 million Ponzi scheme, purportedly one of the largest in Mississippi history.
Jason Burge is known for his prowess helping victims of financial misconduct. Leveraging his economics background, he represents clients in single plaintiff and class actions against financial institutions. Currently, Barriere and Burge are prosecuting securities fraud claims against the underwriter Raymond James, amounting to more than $30 million of public finance municipal bonds. The bonds were used to construct a wood-pellet manufacturing facility that went into bankruptcy. The case is still pending.
Lance McCardle has developed a practice encompassing expertise in securities, environmental, oil and gas, and general commercial litigation. He is on the team that filed a class action against the operators of three pipelines that stretch along the entire coast of Louisiana. The lawsuit alleges that the pipeline companies caused damage to the land on which they were built and seeks an injunction requiring the pipeline companies to restore the land that has been lost. Class certification is upcoming.
Fishman Haygood continues to distinguish itself in high-stakes litigation spanning environmental, international arbitration, financial fraud, securities, and insurance class actions.
Lance McCardle serves as lead counsel to plaintiff John A. Adema in a significant environmental breach-of-contract matter. The case centers on expansive tracts of land in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, where the defendant allegedly dredged pipeline canals that far exceeded contractual width limits. This overreach has allegedly caused extensive damage and erosion to the plaintiff’s property, with McCardle spearheading efforts to hold the defendant accountable for these violations. In the international arbitration arena,
Benjamin D. Reichard leads representation of a contractor in a dispute against the State of Libya. After prevailing in ICC arbitration with a $22.3 million award and defending it against challenges before the Swiss Federal Tribunal, the firm has successfully secured confirmation of the award in US courts. Reichard now guides post-judgment discovery to enforce the award domestically, reinforcing the firm’s prowess in cross-border disputes and sovereign enforcement actions. The firm also leads in an ongoing litigation fallout from the collapse of FTX. Partners
James R. “Jim” Swanson and
Kerry J. Miller filed one of the most comprehensive class actions to date on behalf of FTX customers. Their claims target banks, venture capital firms, accounting firms, and law firms alleged to have aided and abetted the massive fraud. The team’s February 2024 amended complaint was grounded in newly uncovered encrypted Telegram communications. Clients describe Swanson as “extremely competent and disciplined” who is “very dedicated to adding value to their clients.”
Rebekka Veith
represents Morris Bart in defending attorneys’ fee interests tied to hurricane cases previously handled by a now-suspended Texas firm. Veith has successfully established that this former firm is not entitled to fees due to its unauthorized Louisiana practice. Veith continues to defend Morris Bart in similar claims. Veith is described by a client as being “exceptionally responsive, clear, and
solution-oriented”
who “combines deep subject-matter knowledge with the ability to translate complex legal points into practical business guidance, and she builds strong rapport with both executives and technical teams. Her written work is crisp and persuasive, and she keeps stakeholders proactively informed at every stage.”
Brent Barriere serves as lead counsel to Craig Jalbert, the liquidating trustee for German Pellets Louisiana and Louisiana Pellets. The case targets an underwriter of over $330 million in municipal bonds financing a failed wood pellet facility. Following the revelation of misrepresentations in the bond prospectuses, Barriere has overcome significant procedural challenges, including dismissal
attempts
and jurisdictional removals.
The trial was scheduled for June 2025, marking a pivotal test of securities fraud accountability in the public finance sector. Kaja Elmer, along with Barriere, are co-lead counsel representing Phanindra
Kilari and other stockholders of TS Innovation Acquisitions in a class action alleging TS Innovation Acquisitions’ board and sponsors breached fiduciary duties by pushing a conflicted merger with Latch, Inc., misleading
investors and causing major losses; the case settled in December 2024. Elmer is described as “extremely smart and
quick. She processes information quickly and uses it effectively. She is precise and persistent in depositions and gets what she needs.” Lori Mince defends GoAuto in a series of class actions challenging the insurer’s policy cancellation and total loss adjustment practices. One putative class action, involving over 400,000 members and potential damages exceeding
$2 billion, was dismissed on the merits in September 2024, though plaintiffs have appealed. Mince also defends against
additional class actions concerning adjustment methodologies and payment practices, each involving tens of millions of dollars in alleged liability. Her work underscores the firm’s strong approach to large-scale, high-exposure claims.
