Young Lawyer Spotlight

Few would dispute that young lawyers lead busy lives. Between juggling the demands of their law practices, growing families and other professional commitments, there is usually precious little time left for recreation or personal endeavors. Notwithstanding these pressures, there are thousands of young lawyers throughout the state who have made a decision to devote substantial amounts of time to projects that benefit others -- whether such projects are focused on the less fortunate, community groups, professional organizations, or the general public.

The Louisiana State Bar Association's Young Lawyers Section has chosen to publicly recognize some of the young lawyers who are enriching their communities in special ways. In the coming months, a series of "Young Lawyer Spotlight" articles will be featured in LSBA publications and here, on the YLS website.

The young lawyers to be featured have not requested the recognition but have been nominated by one or more of their fellow young lawyers. Although there is no way to recognize all of the young lawyers who have made a commitment to volunteerism, we believe that recognizing even a few serves to commend such efforts on behalf of all so involved.

Each of the young lawyers featured spotlights that Louisiana young lawyers are making a difference for the benefit of their communities.

Ashley Burch is a native of Monroe, where she practices in the areas of creditors' rights, real estate foreclosure, automobile foreclosure, bankruptcy litigation and general litigation with the law firm of McNew, King, Mills, Burch & Landry, L.L.P. She earned her bachelor of business administration degree in 1994 from Northeast Louisiana University and her JD degree in 1997 from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center.

Burch has been active in the 4th Judicial District Bar Association, serving as president in 2006-07, as a board member since 2004, as president of its Young Lawyers Section in 2001-02 and as a board member of its Young Lawyers Section from 1999-2004. She also has been active with the LSBA, serving as a regional coordinator in Louisiana mock trial competitions since 2003 and co-authoring the Louisiana mock trial problem with Jill Futch in 2007 and 2008. She is a member of the 2007-08 Leadership LSBA class. She is a member of the Fred J. Fudickar American Inn of Court and is a Louisiana Bar Foundation Fellow. She is married to Monroe native, Brian Burch, and they have three children.

Jill Futch lives in Monroe, where she practices with Hudson, Potts & Bernstein, L.L.P., in the areas of medical malpractice, insurance defense, and commercial and general litigation. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in political science from Louisiana Tech University in 1996. She earned her JD degree in 1999 at Mississippi College School of Law, where she was a member of the Law Review from 1997-99. She also is a member of Phi Alpha Delta. She is admitted to practice in both Louisiana and Texas.

Futch's professional associations include the LSBA, the State Bar of Texas, the 4th Judicial District Bar Association and the Fred J. Fudickar American Inn of Court. Her LSBA activities include involvement with the Louisiana mock trial program, co-authoring the Louisiana mock trial problem with Burch in 2007 and 2008, and participating in the inaugural class of Leadership LSBA in 2002-03. She served as the president of the 4th Judicial District Bar Association's Young Lawyers Section in 2003 and was an adjunct professor of business law at the University of Louisiana at Monroe from 2006-07.