A Statement from Board Chair Jim Swanson on Fishman Haygood’s 30th Anniversary

This year marks 30 years since Fishman Haygood opened its doors in July 1996, and I want to take a moment to reflect on what that milestone means to me.

Fishman Haygood was founded on a simple idea: be the firm organizations and individuals turn to when the stakes are high and the answers aren’t obvious. Judgment, rigor, and hands-on involvement have carried us through three decades of billion-dollar disputes and complex transactions, affording us the kind of work that requires creativity, efficiency, and strategic thinking. When we opened our Baton Rouge office in 2015, we not only deepened our Louisiana roots but also continued building sophisticated practices that operate at the national level. We’re not a full-service firm, but that was never the goal; what Fishman Haygood does, we do well, and that discipline has defined us for 30 years.

None of this would mean anything without our clients. To every client who has entrusted us with their hardest problems and most exciting opportunities over these three decades, thank you. Your confidence in our judgment, and your willingness to bring us into the matters that mean the most to you, is the foundation this firm is built on. We do not take that trust for granted, and we intend to keep earning it in the years ahead.

Thirty years is a milestone worth marking with intention. To celebrate, we announced the launch of Fishman Haygood’s Employee Charitable Giving Program by awarding two $30,000 donations to Ubuntu Village in New Orleans and Line4Line in Baton Rouge. A firm is only as good as its team, and our employees are at the heart of this initiative; they nominated, made cases for, and voted on the nonprofit recipients. This annual program reflects who we are: people committed to investing in the communities we serve, not just the matters we handle. I could not be prouder to work alongside the fine folks of Fishman Haygood.

Over 30 years, the firm’s throughline has remained the same: people who care about the work, clients who trust us with the hard stuff, and a team that believes in something bigger than itself. Thank you for being part of Fishman Haygood’s first 30 years. We look forward to what comes next, together.

—Jim Swanson, Fishman Haygood Board Chair