Ogletree Deakins Grows New Orleans Office

Office Doubles in Less Than a Year

NEW ORLEANS, LA – May 14, 2010 – Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), one of the nation’s largest labor and employment law firms, is  pleased to announce that Elvige Cassard and Wesley Garten have joined the firm’s New Orleans office.  Cassard joins as Of Counsel and Garten as an Associate.  
 
“We are very excited to have doubled the size of our office in just one year with the addition of our two new colleagues,” said Mark Mallery, managing shareholder of the New Orleans office.  “As we celebrate our office’s one year anniversary, our growth will help us continue to provide high quality labor and employment law services to the New Orleans business community and to employers throughout Louisiana.”  

“Not only has the office grown, but our firm has demonstrated its commitment to the city by bringing convention business here, such as our firm-wide Attorney Retreat that will bring more than 500 visitors to New Orleans later this year,“ said James M. McGrew, Ogletree Deakins’ Client Relations Executive.  “In 2007, the firm held its annual national Workplace Strategies Seminar in the city, which brought some 600 key leaders in the human resources industry, firm attorneys, and staff to the city from across the country.  Three years before that, the firm held its firm-wide Attorney Retreat in New Orleans.”
 
Of the two new attorneys to join the firm, Cassard, a native of New Orleans, maintains an extensive practice in the area of labor and employment law through proactive advices to and legal representation of employers.  In addition to successfully representing employers in labor and employment related lawsuits, arbitrations, mediations and other actions before various state and federal courts and agencies, Cassard counsels clients on a wide spectrum of personnel issues and policies and has given and contributed to numerous trainings, speeches and presentations on labor and employment law issues.  Cassard earned her J.D. from Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans in 1988, and a B.A. from Newcomb College of Tulane University in 1978. 

Garten practices primarily in the area of employment litigation and represents management in claims arising under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as well as other federal and state employment laws.  He also regularly represents employers in various federal and state administrative proceedings.  Garten earned his J.D. from Tulane Law School in 2009 and a B.S., cum laude, from Tulane University in 2002.  Prior to attending law school, Garten worked in the securities and insurance industries.

About Ogletree Deakins

Ogletree Deakins is the nation’s third-largest labor and employment law firm, representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters.  The firm has more than 450 lawyers located in 39 offices across the United States.  In addition to handling labor and employment law matters, the firm has thriving practices focused on business immigration, employee benefits, and workplace safety and health law.  Ogletree Deakins represents a diverse range of clients, including more than half of the Fortune 50 corporations in the United States. For more information, please contact Ryan King, public relations manager, at (404) 870-1742.