Darrow Lawyers

Bob Hawthorne is of counsel to the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He is one of the founding members of the firm and practices in the estate planning and probate, business and corporate, and real estate groups. Bob represents clients in the finance, acquisition, construction, purchase, refinancing, management, leasing and sale of various types of real estate developments, both commercial and residential, including office buildings, shopping malls, manufacturing facilities, retail centers, industrial facilities, and commercial developments.

Bob advises business and corporate clients with regard to commercial lending transactions, financings, and the structure and formation of corporate entities. He has extensive...

Melissa Hemmans is an experienced Litigation Attorney in Kean Millers's Baton Rouge office. Her practice includes Petrochemical, Manufacturing, Municipal, Civil Rights Defense, Oil and Gas, and Local Business matters. She has extensive experience with cases involving Toxic Tort and Environmental claims. Melissa is dedicated to providing clients with creative solutions, unique strategies, and unparalleled value.

In 1996, Melissa received her B.A. from Louisiana State University. She obtained her J.D. from the LSU Law Center in 1999. Melissa is admitted to practice law in the State of Louisiana, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, United States District Courts for the Eastern,...

Brad’s practice utilizes the Master of Business Administration he earned in addition to his Juris Doctor. In addition to representing businesses of all kinds, he practices many different areas of law, performing both transactional work and litigation. Brad’s trust and estate practice covers everything from simple wills and successions to complex trusts and advanced estate planning. As part of his real estate practice, he is a title agent for Gulf Title Corporation, which is an agent for First American Title Insurance Company of Louisiana. Brad’s collection practice specializes in purchased debt. He also litigates many labor and employment matters and...

Attorney Caj Boatright grew up in Sweetwater, a small town in west Texas. He attended Southwestern University of Georgetown, and graduated cum laude with Honors as a double major in Political Science and History. He earned his J.D. from the University of Texas Law School, where he also met and became friends with Kurt Arnold and Jason Itkin. Following law school, Attorney Boatright worked for the largest firm in Fort Worth, where he handled cases related to all types of litigation and appellate matters. In 2006, he joined Kurt and Jason at their small firm, Arnold & Itkin...

Shane Sandefer is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He practices in the business transactions and environmental law groups and is a Registered Professional Engineer. Shane represents local, regional, and national clients in a variety of real estate, finance, and environmental matters including, industrial and commercial real estate transactions, title insurance matters, general preparation and negotiation, regulatory proceedings, wetlands permitting, wetlands mitigation, and state and federal environmental advice. Prior to law school, Shane was a project engineer for Turner Environmental and a senior staff engineer for URS. He also served as an assistant project manager for...

I focus my practice on intellectual property and environmental regulatory matters, while also handling cases related to energy, administrative law, and utility regulation. As a registered Patent Attorney authorized to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, I have filed both provisional and non-provisional patent applications. My work includes drafting and negotiating licensing agreements and assignments for trade secrets, patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property concerns. Additionally, I assist clients with intellectual property protection, transactions, and litigation matters. My previous experience includes engaging with state and federal agencies in environmental regulatory proceedings. This involved drafting nine-factor analyses in response to...

Gayla Moncla is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller and practices in the areas of toxic tort and environmental litigation, premises liability, and commercial litigation. She has more than 25 years of experience in the chemical and petrochemical industries, defending workplace accidents, chemical exposure cases, products liability cases, as well as advising clients regarding workplace safety issues and OSHA regulations. Gayla also has experience in retail premises litigation having defended retail clients for over 25 years.

Gayla earned her B.S. from Louisiana State University in 1973. She earned her J.D. in 1989 from the LSU Law Center...

Matthew Meiners is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2009 and practices in the business and corporate group. Matthew has experience in the drafting and negotiation of numerous industrial service and purchase agreements. He also has experience representing numerous individuals and small businesses in connection with acquisitions and divestitures of their respective businesses and with formation of new entities, including drafting organizational documents and planning of overall corporate structure.

Matthew earned his B.S. in International Trade and Finance with a minor in Economics from Louisiana State University in 1998. He earned his...

Richard McConnell is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He is trial counsel for energy and financial companies in high stakes lawsuits involving a wide variety of claims. Prior cases involved soil and groundwater contamination, wetlands loss, toxic tort exposure, lost mineral leasing opportunities, mineral lease cancellation, pipeline right-of-way claims, expropriation/condemnation, and commercial litigation. Richard also serves as appellate counsel arguing before state and federal appellate courts.

Richard’s recent experience includes obtaining a successful verdict as trial counsel for national pipeline companies in a wetlands loss lawsuit involving canals that widened over time, he was lead...

Ben Jumonville is an associate in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller.

Kimberly Hymel is an attorney in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 2004 and practices in the energy, oil and gas, pipeline and commercial litigation groups. Kimberly represents national and international energy and petrochemical clients in a wide variety of litigation, with particular experience in environmental property damage cases, commercial contractual disputes, and toxic tort litigation. She has also worked extensively on electronic discovery issues, including management of large-scale discovery efforts for multi-national companies and advising clients regarding development and implementation of workable strategies, procedures, and discovery software tools for the collection, review, and...

Forrest Guedry is an associate in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2018 and practices in the litigation group. Prior to joining the firm, Forrest practiced insurance and worker’s compensation defense in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Forrest earned his B.A., cum laude, from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2012. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2015, where he served as Editor in Chief of the Loyola Maritime Law Journal. He also participated in the Loyola Moot Court Program as an oralist on the 2014-2015 Judge John R. Brown Admiralty...

The Law Office of Natalie Blackman is dedicated to helping individuals understand their rights and explore their legal options when it comes to Employment Discrimination, Criminal Defense, Civil Rights, and Personal Injury. The office represents clients throughout Louisiana. Our Attorney, Natalie Blackman, Esq., has the skills and resources to handle all aspects of your case from start to finish.

Natalie Blackman is a native of Avoyelles Parish. She is known for her strong work ethic and dedication in fighting for the greater good of her community. She graduated from Avoyelles High school in 2000. She graduated from...

Troy Villa practices extensively in the areas of business transactions, corporate advisory, banking and finance. He also represents both lenders and borrowers in leveraged financing transactions, mezzanine financing, private equity funding, venture capital and other high-yield credit facilities. He also represents clients in a wide variety of business transactions, including the structuring, negotiation and drafting of contracts and agreements related to the purchase and sale of businesses, mergers, corporate reorganizations, limited liability company and other entity formations and restructuring and other general corporate matters.

Scott Hensgens is the managing partner and practices in the Baton Rouge office of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P. Scott’s principal areas of practice include business and commercial litigation, contract litigation, consumer credit litigation, and trademark and copyright registration and litigation. His experience includes representing individuals, small and large businesses, insurance companies, corporate shareholders, automobile dealerships, and credit reporting agencies.

Douglas D. Brown, Attorney at Law, is a husband and father of three, and has practiced personal injury law, criminal defense and family law in Tangipahoa Parish for two decades. After working in Washington, D.C. for Congressman Richard Baker, Brown served as a judicial law clerk for State District Judges Ray Chutz in Amite and M. Douglas Hughes in Livingston. He later served as the City of Hammond's Assistant City Prosecutor and first In House Attorney. Before earning a JD degree at Louisiana State University's Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Brown attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and earned a...

I focus my practice on casualty and mass tort, insurance, and commercial litigation matters. My background encompasses a variety of areas including construction disputes, general insurance defense and coverage disputes, trucking and transportation claims, and corporate litigation. I am also well-versed in contract and service agreement review and drafting. Additionally, I have a significant amount of experience in managing the defense of claims against political subdivisions and public bodies, notably school boards across Louisiana. Following my graduation from law school, I had the privilege of serving as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Donald W. Hebert of the 27th Judicial District...

Patrick Roquemore is an associate attorney in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2005 and practices in the litigation, energy, legacy oil field site, and oil & gas groups. Prior to joining Kean Miller, Patrick was a judicial law clerk for the Twenty-third Judicial District Court for the Parishes of Ascension, Assumption, and St. James. He also served as an attorney for the Louisiana Court of Appeal, First Circuit (Criminal Division). Patrick has extensive experience in all aspects of legal research, including the drafting of opinions, jury instructions, and participating in and assisting in...

Patrick L. McCune practices between the Baton Rouge and Shreveport offices of Wiener, Weiss & Madison. He engages in a broad legal practice, including a variety of commercial litigation matters in both state and federal courts, with a particular emphasis on creditor’s rights and litigation in bankruptcy court.

Patrick is licensed to practice law in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida, and has appeared in courts in each of these states to represent the interests of his clients.

An honors graduate of LSU law school, the recipient of a Master of Business Administration and a former manager at a non-profit in New York...

Originally from Michigan, Morley moved to his wife’s hometown of Baton Rouge in 2016. Licensed in Michigan and Louisiana, Morley has experience in a broad range of law but now focuses on Asset and Debt related matters. Morley has a passion for creatively crafting solutions to the difficult problems his clients find themselves in. If you need someone to review your situation with an appreciation for what makes it special, Morley is the one to do it!

The Louisiana State Bar Association LBN: 12347 Member in Good Standing U.S. Eastern, Middle, Western Districts of Louisiana 4th, 5th, and 11th Circuit Courts of Appeal (U.S.) U.S. Court of Military Appeals (Washington, D.C.) Pro Hac Vice Appearances: California, Virginia, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, Massachusetts

Louisiana State University Law School Hall of Fame Law Review, Louisiana State University Martindale Hubble AV rating (highest) for legal ability and ethics Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Louisiana Practicing Engineer before becoming an attorney

Chris Shows has dedicated his life to helping injured clients rebuild after trauma, bringing both professional experience and personal resilience to his work. A Baton Rouge native, Chris’s journey took him from Louisiana to Alaska and back, ultimately leading him to LSU for law school, inspired by his grandfather’s legacy in law. Starting his career in insurance defense, Chris quickly realized he was better suited to fight for individuals, not corporations. In 1992, he founded Pierce & Shows, a firm dedicated to advocating for accident victims with compassion and integrity. Chris understands firsthand the toll of injuries and medical uncertainties, having...