Louisiana and Mississippi Co-Counsel.
Admitted in Louisiana since 1997 and Mississippi since 1998, and available as co-counsel when a matter reaches into either state.
When your client has a Louisiana problem.
Louisiana is the only civil-law jurisdiction in the United States, and it is unforgiving of improvisation. Forced heirship, usufruct, community property, the authentic act, and prescription have no common-law equivalents, and an instrument that would be unremarkable in any other state can fail here on form alone.
If your client owns Louisiana immovable property, has a Louisiana succession to open, or has a matter that must be filed in a Louisiana court, that piece can be handled here as co-counsel while you keep the client and the balance of the matter.
When your client has a Mississippi problem.
The reverse is equally available. Mississippi divides its trial work between Chancery and Circuit Court, and a Louisiana practitioner arriving with civilian vocabulary will not get far with a chancellor.
Matters on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and throughout South Mississippi — Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, and Pearl River Counties, and the Southern District of Mississippi — are handled directly, without pro hac vice or associated local counsel.
How the engagement works.
Referral arrangements are structured to comply with the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct. Louisiana requires the client’s written agreement to representation by all lawyers involved, written disclosure of each lawyer’s share, and meaningful legal services from each. A bare referral fee is neither ethical nor enforceable in Louisiana, and this firm does not offer one.
What is offered instead is a working co-counsel relationship: the Louisiana or Mississippi component is prosecuted here, the client stays yours, and the division of fees is papered correctly at the outset.
What is handled.
- Successions, ancillary successions, and probate in both states
- Estate planning that must work in both jurisdictions
- Real property, title, boundary, and mineral matters
- Family law, including interstate custody and relocation
- Personal injury, maritime, and medical malpractice
- Business formation, transactions, and commercial litigation
A matter in Louisiana or Mississippi?
Attorney-to-attorney · 985·612·7220 · stephen@aertkerlegal.com
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