Independence Estate Planning Lawyers

DeVonna Ponthieu attended Southeastern Louisiana University in 1993 and graduated cum laude in May 1998. She applied and was accepted to the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law School and graduated in 2001. After passing the bar exam, she opened her private office in Denham Springs and has been practicing law there ever since. She has had cases in all of the 21st Judicial District (Livingston, Tangipahoa and St.Helena), East Baton Rouge Parish, Ascension Parish, East Feliciana and other parishes.

DeVonna is a member in good standing with the Louisiana State Bar Association. She was a past president, vice-president and secretary/treasurer...

Edward J. McCloskey has proudly served the Greater New Orleans area for over 45 years. He is an av-rated expert in Business and Successions Law, making him the one to trust while making important decisions for the future.

Phillip Lynch, Jr. BIO 2019
Phillip M. Lynch, Jr., has practiced law for over thirty years in the New Orleans area and
focuses on successions, real estate matters, and family law issues. In 1996, he was
elected as Justice of the Peace and served two 6-year terms in Ward Four of St.
Tammany Parish. He was also Captain of Professional Standards and a Staff Attorney
for the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office. A former president of the Greater Covington
Bar Association, he served the LSBA’s House of Delegates, and its MCLE Committee.
A former reserve deputy in Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, and St. Tammany Parishes,
he is a...

My legal career began long before I went to law school. As a daughter of a prominent New Orleans litigator, I have been around the Law my whole life. I have worked for a law firm in one capacity or another since I was an intern in high school. After getting my bachelors at LSU, I went from a legal assistant and paralegal to an associate attorney in October, 2014. I began attending and assisting at trials in my teens, coming to understand the degree of preparation and attention to detail that marks me as a lawyer today.

In...

My name is Anton Martynenko, and I am a proud member of the Scott Vicknair team. My journey to becoming a lawyer started from humble beginnings in the former USSR during some of the most fascinating but challenging times. Today, I am oddly thankful for facing poverty and hardship from an early age because those struggles instilled in me a strong work ethic, a drive to succeed, and compassion for folks from all walks of life. At the age of 15, I had a rare opportunity to come to the United States as an exchange student. Three years later, I...

My practice is primarily focused on estate and probate litigation as well as wrongful death litigation. My team and I represent families and clients throughout the country and internationally with legal matters in Louisiana. We handle a wide range of estate matters; from the simple transfer of assets from parents to kids to multimillion-dollar estate battles over rights of inheritance, we have handled it and everything in between. I was born and raised in Lafourche Parish, La., in a small community where I was related to almost everyone. My great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all lived there as well. We...

I am a lifelong resident of New Orleans. I attended Benjamin Franklin Senior High School, graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and returned home to attend Loyola Law School. As a third-year law student, I worked as a student-practitioner in what is now known as the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice. My experience as a student-practitioner allowed me to give back to my community while developing legal skills with on-the-ground experience. After graduating from Loyola Law School, I worked briefly for a solo practitioner who had a general civil practice. I represented a...

J. Douglas Sunseri is founding partner of Nicaud & Sunseri Law Firm, LLC . Since his admission to the Louisiana Bar in 1988, J. Douglas Sunseri has practiced in diverse areas of the law. From 1990-1994, J. Douglas Sunseri worked under Attorney J. William Becknell, the legal counsel for Mr. John Mecom, Jr., the initial owner of the New Orleans Saints. As a result, Mr. Sunseri was fully educated in broad areas of law and business. Also, Mr. Sunseri served as outside counsel for Mr. Tom Benson, former owner of New Orleans Saints, for special projects. Mr. Sunseri’s practice encompasses...

Attorney Eric Kallio is the founder of Kallio Law, focusing his practice on estate planning, wills, successions, business law, tax law, aviation law, and veterans benefit law. Eric brings the depth of his professional and educational experience to bear for his clients, advocating passionately on their behalf. Eric knows the value of hard work. He started as a medic in the Army, enlisting after high school. Within five years, Eric began flight training and retired as a Chief Warrant Officer 4 after nearly 23 years of service and several deployments. Serving his community is also important to Eric, and he volunteered...

John attended Louisiana State University where he earned his Bachelor degree in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing. At LSU, John was on the Dean’s List, he was a recipient of the LSU Centennial Award, and he was a recipient of the TOPS Honors Award. John was also an active member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, where he served as Scholarship Chair.

John earned his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. While at Loyola, John earned the Law Excellence Award multiple times for his top performance in Torts I, Regulation of Sports Industry, and the...

I was raised in Lafayette, Louisiana and am a proud graduate of Lafayette High School. After earning my undergraduate degree from Tulane University in 2013, I spent two years serving in the Phoenix Corps of Teach for America. I returned to my hometown in 2015 and spent a year working as a legal assistant to Attorneys Marc W. Judice and Daniel C. Palmintier at Judice & Adley law firm. These early lessons on best practices in a legal career were formative for me, and I carry them with me to this day. After enrolling at LSU Law in 2016, I was...

I really enjoy working with clients and handling the delicate legal issues that are incredibly important to the families I represent. My background and experience in real estate, successions, wills, and estate planning, partitions, and property litigation are learning experiences that I believe help bring value and results to our clients. Before joining Scott Vicknair, I owned and operated a successful real estate closing company and law firm for many years. In that role as a business owner and operator, I further developed my skills in successions and real estate. Working in the title industry provided me with a lot of...

I have practiced law in the New Orleans metropolitan area since 1982.

Toni R. Arnona, Esq. is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. She graduated from St. Mary’s Dominican High School in 2002. In 2006 she graduated from Tulane University, Newcomb College with a Bachelor of Arts in French and Linguistics. After college, she attended Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and graduated with her Juris Doctorate in 2009. During law school, Ms. Arnona participated and competed in Trial Advocacy and was also a Student Practitioner in the Loyola Law Clinic, Family Law Section. Ms. Arnona also had the honor of interning with the Honorable Robin M. Giarrusso in the Civil District Court...