Fishman Haygood Partner Steven Serio Featured in Louisiana Super Lawyers Magazine

Partner Steven Serio was featured in the 2026 edition of Louisiana Super Lawyers magazine. The article, titled “From There to Here: Four Attorneys on the Ups and Downs of Practicing Law for 20 Years,” spotlights four New Orleans attorneys who began their careers in 2005 — just as Hurricane Katrina reshaped the city and the legal landscape along with it.

Steven reflects on a career that began at Fishman Haygood straight out of law school, at a moment when the entire region was rebuilding from one of the worst natural disasters in American history. With a background in accounting from the University of Notre Dame and early experience at Deloitte, he found real estate law to be immediately grounding: “I really liked seeing the tangible evidence of the deals I was working on. If I was representing a grocery store owner or a real estate developer, I was seeing those projects being built. It was a motivating factor to see your work in real life.”

That hands-on, results-driven approach has defined his practice ever since. The article highlights some of the landmark transactions Steven has helped shepherd over his two decades at the firm, including representing Rouses Markets in its 2006 acquisition of 20 Sav-A-Center and A&P stores — a deal that doubled the grocer’s footprint overnight and now counts nearly 70 stores. Steven credits much of what he learned on that transaction to his mentors at Fishman Haygood, Scott Willis and Louis Fishman, noting that the deal touched on all aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and real estate at once, making it an invaluable education early in his career. 

He has also maintained a long-standing relationship with Stirling Properties on major commercial developments, including Fremaux Town Center in Slidell and Ambassador Town Center in Lafayette, two projects spanning more than 400 acres of mixed-use regional development.

Looking ahead, Steven sees growing momentum in the commercial real estate market after a period of rising interest rates and insurance costs: “I’m starting to see a lot more bullish behavior by developers [and] more activity in the commercial real estate market here. Locally in New Orleans, I’m optimistic with new leadership that they’ll be improved economic opportunity and growth.”

Steven has been recognized on the Louisiana Super Lawyers list in Real Estate since 2020 and was recently ranked by Best Lawyers as “Lawyer of the Year” in Commercial Finance Law. His practice encompasses all aspects of commercial real estate — including acquisitions, leasing, mixed-use development, CMBS financings, and non-recourse loans — as well as mergers and acquisitions and corporate law. He is a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers.

We congratulate Steven on this well-deserved recognition and thank him for two decades of exceptional client service and dedication to our firm and community.

Learn more about Fishman Haygood’s Real Estate Practice here.