About Fishman Haygood

Community Roots, Global Connections.

The former Governor of Louisiana. A prior New Orleans City Attorney. The 2023-24 president of the New Orleans Bar Association. Past chairs of the Southeast Louisiana (SoLA) Super Region Committee, New Orleans Bureau of Governmental Research, and LSU Foundation. Twelve federal and state clerks for Louisiana judges. And the leads, both plaintiff and defense, in the Deepwater Horizon/BP Oil Spill litigation.

At Fishman Haygood, LLP, we’ve got roots and reach.

 


What to Expect When Working with Fishman Haygood

Whether working locally, nationally, or internationally, Fishman Haygood is a 40-plus lawyer boutique firm servicing clients with sophisticated litigation and transactional matters. We might not do everything, but—what we do—we do well.

Litigation Practice

Fishman Haygood offers a unique resource for litigation in Louisiana. Our team is known for handling high-stakes cases, both plaintiff and defense, with winning at trial the focus from the inception of litigation. Oftentimes, we enter into engagements where our compensation is tied to the results we obtain, giving us stake in the game. The firm’s distinctive entrepreneurial spirit led to the creation of an in-house team with the ability to stage data-driven jury testing and focus groups, which only further demonstrates our commitment to actually trying cases.

As plaintiffs, we have handled many substantial matters and have obtained some of the largest verdicts, awards, and settlements, ranging into the billions of dollars. We mostly focus on securities, international arbitration, environmental, director and officer, tax, commercial, and casualty matters. Recent examples include the R. Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme case against the domestic banks, the FTX MDL, the Limetree Refinery litigation, and various litigation to remedy extensive pollution and land loss on the Louisiana Coast.

We also have handled important national and local defense assignments, such as serving in lead roles in the BP Deepwater Horizon case, the Hard Rock Hotel collapse litigation, the Chinese Drywall MDL, and proposed class actions against Rouse’s Supermarkets and GoAuto Insurance Company. Our clients come to us for results, and we deliver with efficient, practical, and creative solutions.

Fishman Haygood attorneys are problem solvers. As mentioned, several litigation team members have served on different sides of the same cases, including the Deepwater Horizon/BP Oil Spill litigation, which included the largest Limitation of Liability Act proceeding in U.S. history. In 2024, Chambers and Partners recognized eleven of our litigators, with seven ranked Band One, illustrating our battle-tested attorneys’ depth of experience. Our team members’ unparalleled resumes allow them not only to enter any complex litigation matter but also to reach resolution—whether we are hired by the defendant, as a mediation team by the parties, or by the court as special masters.

We also know what we don’t know. In addition to our highly qualified team, the firm’s network of local counsel across the state is ideally suited to handle any major litigation set to be tried throughout Louisiana. We routinely work with and against the best.

Business Practice

Fishman Haygood provides innovative solutions to the businesses, organizations, people, and places that form the backbone of commerce in their communities. Our attorneys advise a variety of commercial and government clients—including large, national and international businesses as well as smaller, entrepreneurial enterprises—across a broad range of practice areas, like corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, private equity, and project and public finance. No matter how complex the deal, our goal is always to achieve desirable outcomes for each party through creative, solution-driven collaboration with our clients.

Like our litigators, the firm’s business team is similarly engaged in many high-dollar, sophisticated transactions. We have worked on major deals for clients like Sanderson Farms, Inc., H&E Equipment Services, Provident Resources Group, Stirling Properties, and Rouse’s Supermarkets.

In the firm’s Baton Rouge office, our transactional team finds itself at the forefront of what makes the city vibrant: from representing the Tiger Athletic Foundation in the development of a new community arena and serving as lead counsel for the Memorial Park Redevelopment, to holding board leadership positions with organizations such as the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, and the LSU Foundation. Our Capital City attorneys are committed to their community—both professionally and personally—and often provide pro bono services for the betterment of Baton Rouge.

Fishman Haygood’s business section is also leading the way in providing transactional advice in the energy sector. The firm is closely aligned with New Energy Management, a company working to facilitate large-scale, sustainable energy management projects throughout Louisiana and the Gulf South. Ongoing projects include those related to blue and green hydrogen, biodiesel and carbon negative jet fuels, and industrial scale batteries. In these deals, the firm is retained to provide advice on structure, fundraising, securities regulation and compliance, location, local compliance, and zoning, as well as vendor identification and contracts.

 

Firm History

Fishman Haygood was formed in 1996 by senior partners from some of the area’s most well-known law firms. They sought to create a “Super Firm,” consisting of the best lawyers, and focused on bank mergers and other significant corporate work. The firm’s focus has expanded over the years to place a greater emphasis on trial work, but it has retained the philosophy of hiring only the best people and emphasizing quality and entrepreneurship.

 

Firm Values

Since the firm’s founding, we’ve focused on one thing: excellence. Clients and peers have consistently recognized our lawyers for their experience, professionalism, and innovation across numerous peer review publications. On a percentage basis, we are among the most awarded law firms in the South, with seventy-three percent of our partners recognized by Chambers & Partners in 2024; in fact, eight partners are recognized as Band One in one or more practice area. Additionally, eighty-four percent of our partners are recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America® for 2025, with more than sixty percent of attorneys firm-wide recognized.