Patrick H. Patrick graduated from the University of South Alabama and from Tulane Law School in 1984, where he served as articles editor for the Tulane Law Review. Prior to the formation of Patrick Miller LLC, Pat was a partner at one of the largest New Orleans law firms. Pat’s practice focuses on insurance and maritime issues. He also has a commercial litigation practice that includes intellectual property and antitrust cases. Pat is admitted to the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and all federal and state courts in the state of Louisiana. He has handled matters before agencies such as the United States Custom Service, the United States and Louisiana Departments of Labor, the United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the Louisiana Insurance Commission, the Louisiana Commission on Public Ethics, all gaming regulatory agencies in Louisiana and Mississippi, and the Louisiana Department of Public Health. He is a registered lobbyist in Louisiana.
Pat is a member of numerous professional organizations including the Defense Research Institute, Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, and Association of Average Adjusters of the United States. He is past president of the Port of New Orleans Chapter of the Propeller Club of the United States.
Pat is a frequent lecturer and writer on continuing legal education topics, primarily involving insurance, workers’ compensation, maritime law, and trial practice. He authored the materials and is the instructor for Wickstrom Insurance and Risk Training Center’s online tutorial for Louisiana workers’ compensation, a comprehensive training course for workers’ compensation administrators, adjusters, and professionals. You may register for the tutorial with an author’s discount here - use Activation Code LAWCDISCOUNT at checkout. Pat is married, with three sons. He is an avid outdoorsman.
Pierre V. Miller II received a finance degree from the University of Notre Dame and a juris doctorate with honors from Tulane Law School in 1986. Pierre served as a law clerk for the late Earl E. Veron, United States District Judge, Western District of Louisiana. Prior to founding Patrick Miller LLC, Pierre practiced at one of the largest New Orleans law firms, where he gained invaluable experience and extensive training.
He is an experienced litigator who has handled bankruptcy, commercial litigation, and business tort cases in areas including intellectual property infringement and misappropriation, construction, contract, insurance, collections, breach of fiduciary duty, professional malpractice, maritime, and trade regulation at all levels of the state and federal court systems. Pierre handles successions and estates and related succession litigation. He advises clients on oil and gas and other transactional matters, including business formations and the negotiation and drafting of contracts and other instruments. Pierre has been named to Louisiana’s 2008 list of Super Lawyers for Business Litigation and to the 2009 list of Super Lawyers in its Corporate Counsel Edition.
Jennifer Stierman Edwards graduated from Louisiana State University in 1976 with a B.A. in English, and from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in 1988, where she was a Semi-Finalist in the Robert Lee Tullis Moot Court Competition. Following law school, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Melvin A. Shortess of the First Circuit Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and as Staff Attorney for the Louisiana House of Representatives Civil Law and Procedure Committee, where she advised members of the Civil Law and Procedure Committee and drafted substantive and procedural Louisiana civil law provisions in areas of secured transactions, sales, obligations, property, successions, and torts. She subsequently practiced in New Orleans, specializing in state and federal appellate litigation, commercial litigation and business bankruptcy, and later became licensed in Texas, where she likewise handled appellate matters both in state and federal court and practiced in areas of legal malpractice defense, commercial litigation, and maritime law. She published “Bankruptcy and Your Client’s Collection” in the April/May issue of GP Solo Magazine, a publication of the American Bar Association. Jennifer brings a wide range of litigation experience to her practice at Patrick Miller, which includes bankruptcy, workers’ compensation, insurance, tort, commercial litigation, and appellate work.
Derek M. Mercer graduated from the University of Florida and from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2003. Derek served as a Senior Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Social Policy and the Law. Experienced in many different types of litigation, Derek's focus has been in disputes arising under admiralty and maritime law and workers' compensation claims falling under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act. Derek also handles many transactional matters involving business formation and advices, contracts, estate planning and successions. He is admitted to the bar in Louisiana and is admitted to all federal courts within that state.
Laurence R. DeBuys IV is a 1984 cum laude graduate of Tulane University Law School, where he was a member of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal and served as its Research Editor. He is a member of the State Bars in both Louisiana and Texas and is also admitted to practice before all Federal Courts in Louisiana and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Larry’s practice has involved primarily maritime and admiralty litigation, and he has extensive experience in defending vessel owners, P&I clubs, and other insurers against seamen and longshoremen personal injury claims. He has handled numerous vessel collision and allision cases both on behalf of vessel owners and on behalf of the owners of maritime facilities. He has also handled numerous cargo matters, including cases that involved detailed evaluation of charter parties, bills of lading, the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act and the Harter Act. Additionally, Larry has both litigated and performed transactional work regarding vessel construction and offshore service contracts. Larry is a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States and holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell.