Baker Energy, Oil & Gas Lawyers

Michael S. Brandner, owner of the Brandner Law Firm, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He grew up there and attended Jesuit High School. After graduating from high school, he attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he earned his bachelor's degree in political science in 1999. He then went on to study law at the Loyola University New Orleans School of Law where he served on the Executive Board of the Loyola Student Bar Association and was a member of the Loyola University School of Law Board of Trial Advocates. Mr. Bradner received his juris doctor in 2002....

JOHN R. WALKER is a Partner in SBSB's Houston office. For the past almost twenty-five years, it has been my privilege to represent insurance and employer interests focusing on the defense of claims brought under the Longshore and Harbor Act, the Defense Base (DBA), the Non-Appropriated Funds (NAF) Instrumentalities Act, the Jones Act, and General Maritime and Admiralty Law. Additionally, John also has extensive experience in First Party Insurance Defense matters, representing employers, insurance carriers, and third parties in State, Federal and Appellate courts. Prior to joining the firm, John handled First Party Insurance Defense,...

Karen Waters Shields is a partner in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller. Karen is an experienced litigator with particular experience in a wide variety of admiralty and oil & gas casualty issues, including Jones Act, personal injury, oil and gas exploration, well blowouts, cargo damage, vessel collisions, vessel damage, platform damage and barge damage. Her experience with oil and gas casualties is both offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and on land. Karen also has experience in construction law, consumer credit reporting, products liability, and general personal injury litigation. Following law school, she served for one year as...

Tyler Kostal is an associate attorney in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller. She practices in the energy and environmental litigation group, defending energy companies in lawsuits involving oil and gas, environmental, toxic tort exposure, wetlands loss, pipeline, and commercial litigation and appeals. She also assists clients with Medicare reporting and compliance obligations for toxic tort exposure claims.

Tyler is listed as a Rising Star by Louisiana Super Lawyers for 2019.

Tyler earned her B.B.A., cum laude, in economics and marketing in 2005 from the University of Mississippi. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Loyola University New Orleans College of...

Kyle Polozola is a partner in the Lafayette office of Kean Miller. He practices in the oil and gas, business and corporate, and real estate groups. Kyle has more than 21 years of experience handling complex oil and gas and commercial litigation disputes, environmental litigation, oil and gas transactional matters, including mineral title examination, due diligence, acquisition and sale of oil and gas properties, and energy regulatory matters. He represents lenders and business interests in commercial real estate matters, and assists clients with a variety of corporate and business transactional matters.

Following law school, Kyle clerked for the Hon. Catherine D....

Amanda Howard Lowe is a partner in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 2009 and practices in the admiralty and maritime, energy and corporate litigation groups. Amanda has considerable experience in a wide variety of admiralty issues, including Jones Act and personal injury defense, maritime litigation, oil and gas exploration, drilling accidents, well blowouts, cargo damage, ship collisions, ship allusions, vessel groundings, lift board and jack-up rig accidents, vessel mortgage filings, product liability, redhibition, as well as premises liability, construction defect litigation and general personal injury litigation. Amanda's experience also includes assisting clients in...

Mr. Kingsdorf graduated from Tulane University in 1971 and from Tulane University School of Law in 1974. He clerked at the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal for Judges Peter Beer and Ernest N. Morial and then clerked at the Louisiana Supreme Court for Justice Albert Tate, Jr. In 1980, he became a partner in the firm of Cleveland, Barrios, Kingsdorf & Casteix where he remained until 1995 when he co-founded the firm of Barrios, Kingsdorf & Casteix, LLP. In addition to serving as faculty member at numerous seminars, he has lectured at the Tulane University School of Law...

Tod Everage is a partner in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2011 and practices in the Offshore Energy and Maritime Litigation Practice Group. Tod’s practice primarily involves representing oil and gas operators (offshore, midstream, and onshore) and their service providers and contractors in litigation in both state and federal courts. Tod has gained extensive experience representing vessel owners, shipyards, and diesel engine service providers in warranty claims. Tod’s practice also includes assisting clients in contract review, drafting, negotiations, transactional disputes, and general corporate advices. Tod has tried several cases to verdict as well...

Lou Grossman is a partner in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller and practices in the environmental litigation, energy, and appellate groups. Since being admitted to practice in 2003, he has handled complex disputes involving the energy and petrochemical industries, including toxic tort claims, environmental damage claims, and commercial litigation. In addition, Lou has handled the appeals of numerous high-profile legal issues at the trial and appellate court level. He is listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers as a Rising Star for 2013 and 2014. Lou was admitted to the Colorado Bar in 2015, and was listed as a Rising...

Chuck Talley is a partner in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller. He practices in the admiralty and maritime, and oil and gas practice groups. Chuck has particular experience in admiralty and maritime law, personal injury defense, including defense of Jones Act seaman claims, property damage claims, Corbello litigation, appeals, and oil & gas law. He has more than 31 years of trial and appellate experience before state and federal courts throughout the United States.

Chuck is listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers, 2008-2019. He is also listed in Best Lawyers in America, 2020.

Chuck was selected by New Orleans CityBusiness as...

I've been a trial lawyer for 23 years and my focus is on criminal defense with a heavy practice areas in OWI/DWI/OUI, Drug Related Arrest, Battery, Internet Crimes, and Domestic cases. On the civil side, my practice involves personal injury cases, workers compensation cases, and complex oil field litigation. I was recently awarded membership in the American Association of Premier DUI/OWI Attorneys and USAttorneys.com/Louisiana/Lafayette Parish. I love fighting for my clients even if it gets dirty!

Mark Doré is senior counsel in the Lafayette office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2018 and practices in the oil and gas, business and corporate and real estate groups. Mark’s practice focuses on representing upstream energy companies in Louisiana, including oil and gas transactional matters, mineral title examination, due diligence, acquisition and sale of oil and gas properties, regulatory compliance, and providing advice to attorneys and landmen at companies engaged in upstream activities.

While in law school, Mark launched his own oil and gas/real estate title company in Lafayette, Louisiana, and continued working full time as an independent...

Julie Silbert is special counsel in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 1994 and practices in the environmental law and commercial litigation groups. Julie has extensive experience in the Louisiana energy, petrochemical and manufacturing industry and works with clients regarding litigation strategy and litigation management. She has experience in litigation involving complex commercial matters, casualty, toxic mold, NORM litigation, and environmental contamination.

Julie earned her B.A., summa cum laude, from Tulane University. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Tulane University Law School in 1984. Julie was a recipient of a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship...

Claire Juneau is a partner in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 2011 and practices in the litigation group, including energy and petrochemical, oil field legacy sites, and appeals.

Prior to joining the firm, Claire served as a Law Clerk to Supreme Court Associate Justice Jeffery Victory. She also served as a judicial intern to First Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Randolph Parro.

Claire received her B.A., summa cum laude, in 2007 from Louisiana State University. Claire received her J.D., magna cum laude, in 2010 from the LSU Law Center where she was a member of...

Christopher L. Williams focuses his practice on complex employment litigation, including cases involving violations of wage-and-hour laws, employment discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, unpaid wages, breach of contract, whistleblower claims, and non-compete issues. After working for some of the nation’s largest labor-and-employment law firms, he opened his own practice in 2014 to concentrate on protecting the rights of workers and employees. Mr. Williams draws on his previous experience representing employers to provide legal advice to individuals regarding potential claims and legal remedies under state and federal employment laws. Mr. Williams has litigated a wide variety of employment issues in...