Tad Bartlett Appointed to the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization Appellate Practice Advisory Commission

Fishman Haygood partner Tad Bartlett, head of the firm’s Appellate Group, has been appointed a 2025-2026 member of the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization (LBLS) Appellate Practice Advisory Commission. During his first three-year term, Tad will help advance the LBLS mission, with a particular focus on Appellate Practice, to promote the availability, accessibility, and quality of the services in areas of law that serve the public interest and improve access to legal services. Learn more about the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization here.

The LBLS is comprised of nine legal specialization areas in which attorneys can apply to become specialists. In order to become a certified Appellate Practice Specialist, applicants must have served as lead counsel for (or had substantial responsibility in) 20 or more appellate matters, must have presented at least five oral arguments in an appellate court, and must certify that a minimum of 25% of their law practice is in the field of appellate practice for four out of the five years prior to application. Read more about the certification process and requirements here.

The LBLS Board oversees each specialization area’s Advisory Commissions, including the Appellate Practice Advisory Commission. The 2025-2026 Commission is made up of nine board certified appellate practice specialists from cities statewide.

This appointment marks a major milestone in Tad’s legal career.

“I’m very excited to be asked to serve on this Commission with this small but exceptionally talented and dedicated group of appellate lawyers from across the state,” says Tad. “Appellate law has been my focus since I first graduated from law school and served as a judicial clerk to Judge James Dennis on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and being nominated now to this Commission is a recognition of the strong appellate practice we’ve built at Fishman Haygood.”

Tad assists clients on appellate matters in all Louisiana state courts, as well as in matters before the U.S. Second, Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits, and in certiorari practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. He runs the Take the Fifth blog, which digests all opinions released by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, summarizes all opinions designated for publication, and tracks statistics on opinion releases from the Circuit. Read more about his practice here.