The attorneys at Oats & Marino are both counselors and advocates. As counselors, we advise our clients of their options; as advocates, we aggressively pursue our clients’ interests in adversarial contexts. We take an interdisciplinary approach, moving between the roles as necessary to address client needs while searching for solutions across practice areas and beyond traditional legal options.

 

In business, we assist clients in starting and nurturing enterprises with counsel regarding management and corporate governance, financing and capitalization, labor and employment matters, risk anticipation and avoidance, and contractual relationships. We handle complex business matters, including commercial transactions, corporate compliance, representation before regulatory bodies, insurance audits and negotiation of coverage, and litigation audits. We also maintain an active real estate practice, including commercial transactions, right of way acquisition, and residential closings. Where possible, we introduce clients to other clients whose business goals and services complement each other.

 

We learn the business of our clients and work within their philosophies. Depending on a client’s needs, we can be proactive or serve in a more advisory capacity. We work best as an extension of management at both policy and operational levels, as either general or contract counsel.

 

In litigation, we represent both plaintiffs and defendants in commercial matters. The firm represents only defendants or insurers in personal injury litigation. We often handle complex litigation, including class action and mass joinder cases, sometimes dealing with demands in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Our attorneys are equally comfortable in state or federal court, and in administrative, trial, and appellate proceedings. We work well with in-house counsel and often coordinate the primary defense with excess or reinsurance interests. The firm includes certified mediators and arbitrators, and maintains an active alternate dispute resolution practice.

 

In relation to government, we represent private clients before state, federal, and local regulatory agencies in administrative, regulatory, and procurement matters. We work closely with Louisiana and local governmental agencies. We also offer comprehensive legislative services, including drafting legislation and testifying in committee.