NEW ORLEANS – Jones Walker LLP has announced that 100 of its attorneys in New Orleans have been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 peer-review rankings, underscoring the firm’s prominence in its home city.
The total New Orleans lawyers recognized includes 88 who were named to the main Best Lawyers list—among them 10 who earned “Lawyer of the Year” honors—as well as 12 early-career attorneys recognized in the Ones to Watch category.
Firmwide, 160 Jones Walker attorneys were honored. This means more than 60 percent of the firm’s total recognitions went to lawyers based in New Orleans.
Best Lawyers®, founded in 1983, is considered one of the most respected guides in the legal profession. Its rankings are based on millions of peer-review evaluations by attorneys across the country.
Local “Lawyer of the Year” Honorees
Several New Orleans–based attorneys earned the publication’s highest distinction, “Lawyer of the Year,” in their practice areas for 2026. They include:
- Timothy P. Brechtel – Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
- Richard F. Cortizas – Land Use and Zoning Law
- Mark A. Cunningham – Antitrust Law
- Miriam Wogan Henry – Trusts and Estates
- Sidney F. Lewis V – Labor Law – Management
- Michael W. Magner – Corporate Compliance Law
- Kenneth J. Najder – Securities Regulation
- J. Marshall Page III – International Trade and Finance Law
- Chip Saulsbury – Venture Capital Law
- Susan M. Tyler – Equipment Finance Law
“Ones to Watch”
New Orleans attorneys were also recognized in the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America 2026 list, which highlights rising lawyers in their early careers. Local honorees include Austin S. Glascoe, Thomas D. Kimball, Sara B. Kuebel, Ilsa H. Luther, Meghan Dupre Montgomery, Zachary Montgomery, Samantha Oppenheim, Jacob J. Pritt, Timothy P. Scanlan Jr., Abigail Weiland, and Jane Y. White.
New Orleans Attorneys Recognized
Beyond these top categories, dozens of additional Jones Walker attorneys in New Orleans were named to The Best Lawyers in America across a wide range of practice areas, from admiralty and maritime to tax, trusts and estates, health care, construction, corporate law, environmental, and litigation. This breadth of recognition underscores the firm’s deep bench of legal talent in its home city.
Full list of New Orleans honorees:
H. Mark Adams, Jesse R. Adams III, William M. Backstrom Jr., L. Etienne Balart, William C. Baldwin, Allison C. Bell, Edward Hart Bergin, Richard D. Bertram, Robert B. Bieck Jr., Timothy P. Brechtel, Andre B. Burvant, Thomas A. Casey Jr., Richard F. Cortizas, Mark A. Cunningham, Victoria Gallo Davies, Sarah Y. Dicharry, Remy James Donnelly, Michael C. Drew, J. Kelly Duncan, David F. Edwards, Luke Falgoust, Madeleine Fischer, Valerie E. Fontenot, George J. Fowler III, Asher J. Friend, Christoffer C. Friend, Elizabeth J. Futrell, Covert J. Geary, Alida C. Hainkel, Christopher M. Hannan, Pauline F. Hardin, Curtis R. Hearn, Jane H. Heidingsfelder, Miriam Wogan Henry, William H. Hines, Robert “Bob” E. Holden, Thomas P. Hubert, Grady S. Hurley, R. Scott Jenkins, Jonathan R. Katz, P.J. Kee, Tracy E. Kern, Jennifer F. Kogos, Joseph F. Lavigne, Edward F. LeBreton III, Andrew R. Lee, F. Rivers Lelong Jr., Seth A. Levine, Sidney F. Lewis V, Joseph J. Lowenthal Jr., Michael W. Magner, Tyler Marquette, Lauren Courtney Mastio, R. Lewis McHenry, Marjorie A. McKeithen, Stanley A. Millan, Mark A. Mintz, Kenneth J. Najder, J. Marshall Page III, Avery B. Pardee, Rudolph R. Ramelli, Tyler Rench, Carl D. Rosenblum, Chip Saulsbury, Amy Garrity Scafidel, Rachel Scarafia, Britton H. Seal, Rose S. Sher, Kelly C. Simoneaux, Meghan E. Smith, Jefferson R. Tillery, Richard J. Tyler, Susan M. Tyler, R. Patrick Vance, Brett S. Venn, Patrick J. Veters, Christopher M. Wappel, Edward Dirk Wegmann, John D. Werner, Benjamin Paul Woodruff, Chris Wootten, James E. Wright III, Scott T. Zander, and Wayne G. Zeringue Jr.
About Jones Walker LLP
Jones Walker LLP is among the largest law firms in the United States, with more than a dozen offices across the South and beyond. In New Orleans, where the firm is headquartered, its attorneys provide a wide spectrum of legal services to multinational corporations, financial institutions, insurers, and emerging businesses.
