Four Fishman Haygood Attorneys to Present at 2023 State of the Coast Conference

Litigation attorneys Kerry Miller, Blair Schilling, Mike Dodson, and Tad Bartlett were chosen to present during two panel sessions at this year’s State of the Coast conference. The conference takes place in New Orleans from May 31 through Jun. 2, 2023. Learn more about State of the Coast here.

The conference is produced by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and its partners, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana, the Water Institute of the Gulf, and Sea Grant Louisiana. The event is the largest statewide conference of its kind, providing an interdisciplinary forum to exchange timely and relevant information on the dynamic conditions of Louisiana’s coastal communities, environment, and economy.

The opening day of the conference, Bartlett will moderate “Legal Ramifications Surrounding the Latest Scientific Evidence in Pipeline Canals and Land Loss” with Schilling and leading coastal experts Dr. John Day and Dr. Joseph Suhayda. The panel will provide a review of the scientific analysis and data from recent court cases, propose viable approaches to combatting land loss, and offer insight on the legal issues surrounding the land loss caused by pipeline canals. Panelists will offer their unique perspectives on the significant role that pipelines play in Louisiana’s coastal land loss, as well as what can be done to fight this crisis.

On Jun. 2, Dodson will moderate “Public Trust Doctrine: An Evolving Legal Theory for an Evolving Coastline” with panelists Miller, Bartlett, Bessie Daschbach (Partner, Hinshaw & Culbertson), and Machelle Hall (Asst. Attorney General, State of Louisiana). The panel will provide a primer on the public-trust doctrine, its application to asset retirement, and how that application impacts the coast and coastal resources. They also will discuss correlative property rights surrounding servitudes, ESG, and a potential outline for an “Act 312 for the Coast.” As a largely untested area of the law, the public-trust doctrine provides fertile ground for stakeholders to craft legal theories that could advance the mission of protecting and restoring Louisiana’s coastline.

Click here to read about Fishman Haygood’s Environmental practice.