COMPREHENSIVE
Joseph L. "Larry" Shea, Jr., a lifelong resident of Louisiana, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974 from Tulane University. He was awarded a Juris Doctor, ranking in the top ten in his class, in 1978 from Louisiana State University. At LSU, he was a member of Delta Theta Phi, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Delta Phi, and Order of the Coif. He was a member of the Louisiana Law Review from 1976 to 1978 and served as Executive Editor from 1977 to 1978. He was the winner of the Robert L. Tullis Moot Court Competition in 1978 and was later inducted into the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center Hall of Fame. He was admitted to the Louisiana Bar in 1978, to the Texas Bar in 1996, to the Bars of the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuits, and of the United States Supreme Court in 1998.
Mr. Shea's areas of practice include oil & gas and energy (litigation and transactional work), toxic tort and environmental litigation, insurance defense, including products liability, tax litigation, banking and financial litigation, and contract and commercial (litigation and transactional work). His professional experience includes extensive litigation representing various businesses. He has represented numerous oil and gas producers and pipelines in matters ranging from environmental complaints to oil field operations to contract disputes to ownership issues. Some of his more notable legal decisions include Bondy v. Texas Eastern, a seminal case often cited for establishing the standard to be met in asserting a fear of cancer claim; Lieber v. Rust, relating to the establishment of predial servitudes; AmCom v. Patterson, one of the first modern era decisions of the Louisiana Supreme Court upholding enforcement of an employee non-compete agreement; Winterrowd v. Travelers, the leading case at the time establishing the manufacturer's duty to warn in products liability matters. More recently, Mr. Shea successfully obtained a complete estate tax refund of all deductions claimed in Anderson v. IRS involving oil and gas property valuation; secured reversal by the Louisiana Supreme Court of the Court of Appeals in Hudson v. City of Bossier relating to the proper distribution of gaming revenues; and obtained a reversal of the lower court by the Arkansas Supreme Court in Blanchard v. Sonat establishing industry favorable law in Arkansas relating to seismic exploration and trespass. Mr. Shea also has considerable experience in non-litigation matters, including oil and gas leasing and operations, exploration and production joint ventures, and business operations, formations, and acquisitions.
Mr. Shea has been an Adjunct Professor of Business Law in the School of Business at Centenary College since 1998. He was honored to serve as a member of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board from 1995-2002, and as Chairman in 2002. Over the years Mr. Shea has been appointed to serve on various committees of the Louisiana Supreme Court, including the Supreme Court Task Force on Lawyer Advertising and Supreme Court Ad Hoc Committee to Study the Finances and Workload of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board. He has been an associate member of the American Board of Trial Advocates since 1992, a member of the National Institute of Trial Advocates since 1994, and an Inn Master with the Harry V. Booth and Judge Henry A. Politz Inn of Court since 2000.
Mr. Shea has been a very active member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, for which he was honored as a recipient of the 2002 Louisiana State Bar Association President's Award for Exceptional Service. In addition to being elected as a House of Delegates member, he has served on numerous committees of the Louisiana Bar, including the Ethics 2000 Committee, the Advisory Reading Committee for the LSBA Handbook on Professional Responsibility, the Practice Assistance and Improvement Committee as an Ethics School Instructor, the Mentoring and Internship Committee, the Special Committee on MCLE for New Admittees, the Public Access & Consumer Protection Committee, the Rules of Professional Conduct Committee, as Chair of the Multi-Jurisdictional Practice Committee, and as Chair of the Ethics Advisory Service Subcommittee.
Mr. Shea is named The Best Lawyers in America® from 2009-2012 for commercial litigation, energy law, mass tort litigation, and oil & gas law and in 2012 for environmental litigation, real estate litigation, and labor & employment litigation. He has been repeatedly recognized by Louisiana Super Lawyers® for his work in class action/mass torts and energy & natural resources.
PUBLICATIONS
He has been a frequent speaker at seminars on a variety of topics including Professional Ethics, Professionalism, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Insurance Law, Trial Techniques, Business Litigation, and Troubled Financial Institutions.
HONORS
- The Best Lawyers in America® 2009-2012 edition - Commercial Litigation, Energy Law, Mass Tort Litigation, and Oil & Gas Law and 2012 edition for Environmental Litigation, Labor & Employment Litigation, and Real Estate Litigation.
- Centenary College, Adjunct Professor of Business Law (1998-present)
- Louisiana Law Review (1976-1978), Executive Editor (1977-1978)
- Robert L. Tullis Moot Court Competition, winner
- Order of the Coif
- Louisiana Super Lawyers® 2008-2012 - Class Action/Mass Torts; Energy & Natural Resources
- AV® Peer Review Rating in Martindale-Hubbell. CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties, Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings fall into two categories-legal ability and general ethical standards.
PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS
Shreveport Bar Association
Louisiana State Bar Association
Chair of the Ethics Advisory Service Subcommittee
Member of the Rules of Professional Conduct Committee
Member of the Public Access & Consumer Protection Committee
Former Chair of the Multi-Jurisdictional Practice Committee
Former Member on the Ethics 2000 Committee
Adjunct Professor of Business Law at Centenary College
Former Member of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board - Served as Vice-Chair of the Board in 2001 and Chair in 2002
American Board of Trial Advocates, Associate Member
Senior Inn Master with the Harry V. Booth and Henry A. Politz Inn of Court
NEWS
Named The Best Lawyers in America® in 2009-2012
