James P. Doré
Jim Doré has experience litigating, negotiating, mediating, and arbitrating cases involving disputes ranging in value from hundreds of millions of dollars to thousands of dollars. A member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, his 45-year practice includes work in personal injury, commercial and business, medical malpractice, environmental, and oil and gas with a specialty in legacy litigation. He has the unique perspective of having practiced extensively in both the plaintiff and defense bar. After graduating in 1973 from LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, he began his plaintiff practice and then became a partner at Kean Miller LLP in 1995, engaging primarily in litigation defense. He retired from the partnership in January 2018. AV-Preeminent-rated lawyer. Listed in Best Lawyers in America and Louisiana Super Lawyers. He attended the Pepperdine Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution.
Education
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
J.D. 1973
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
B.A. 1969
Activities & Affiliations
Baton Rouge, Louisiana State House of Delegates, 1980-1986 (Litigation, ADR, and Environmental Law Sections)
American, Federal, Louisiana, 19th and 18th Judicial District Bar Associations
Registered Civil Mediator by LSBA
Louisiana Bar Foundation (Fellow)
American Board of Trial Advocates (Former Fellow)
American College of Trial Lawyers (Fellow)
Louisiana National Guard (1969-1976), attained rank of captain
Bar Admissions
Louisiana,1973
United States Supreme Court
District Courts for the Middle, Eastern, and Western Districts of Louisiana
Gracella Simmons
Gracella Simmons, after practicing law for over forty years, has retired from the active practice of law. She has participated in hundreds of mediations both as an attorney representing clients and as a mediator. She obtained mediation training in the nineties and subsequently obtained a certificate from the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation. She has lectured on the subject of mediation at both Southern University School of Law and the Paul Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University. She serves as an arbitrator for the Louisiana State Bar Association. She has authored a blog entitled Mediation: A Little History.
Education
PAUL HEBERT SCHOOL OF LAW,
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
J.D. 1976
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
B.A. 1971
Areas of Practice
Professional Liability
Personal Injury
Products Liability
Merchants and Premises Liability
Industrial Accidents
Trucking
Nursing Home Litigation
Professional Activities
Served on the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel
Served on the National Board of Directors of American Board of Trial Advocates
Served as President of the Louisiana Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates
Served in the House of Delegates of the Louisiana State Bar Association
Honors
AV Preeminent, Martindale Hubbell
Super Lawyers 2013-2019
Super Lawyers - Top 25 Women Lawyers in Louisiana 2016
AVVO rated 10