Chair
Ms. Senae Deneal Hall Senae D. Hall is an assistant district attorney in the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office in Shreveport. She is the Human Trafficking Victims Diversion coordinator. She also works with the STAR Court Program in Caddo Parish Juvenile Court to combat human trafficking issues. She received a BA degree in mass communications in 2008 from Dillard University and her JD degree in 2011 from Southern University Law Center. She was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2011.
Hall has served as the 2022-23 chair-elect, the 2021-22 secretary and as an at-large representative on the Louisiana State Bar Association’s (LSBA) Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Council. She was a member of the 2018-19 Leadership LSBA Class and served on the LSBA YLD Awards Committee for two years. She also volunteered as a mock trial competition judge from 2017-20.
She is a member of the Shreveport Bar Association (SBA), the Louisiana District Attorneys Association and the Harry V. Booth/Judge Henry A. Politz American Inn of Court. She is currently the Law Week and Service chair for the SBA’s Young Lawyers Section. She served as the Social Media chair from 2021-23 for the SBA’s Young Lawyers Section and the treasurer for the SBA’s Women’s Section in 2022.
Hall was recognized as the Teen Court Volunteer of the Year in 2018 and the Abounding Faith Temple Youth Leader Volunteer of the Year in 2017. She was featured as the February 2019 Member Spotlight by the Shreveport Bar Association Women’s Division and was a 2019 panelist for Macy’s Black History Month Historical Black Colleges and Universities Program. She was recognized as a 2021, 2022 and 2023 “Top Attorney” by SB Magazine and was selected for the 2020-21 Dillard University’s “40 Under 40” list. She also was selected for the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 “40 Under 40” Class. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
In her community, she serves as a board member for Volunteers for Youth Justice and enjoys serving as a judge for the Volunteers for Youth Justice’s Teen Court Program. Every year, she organizes a service project or fundraiser for her birthday to give back to her community.
501 Texas St
Shreveport, LA 71101
Phone: (318) 226-6829
Fax:
Chair-Elect
Ms. Kristen D Amond Kristen D. Amond is an attorney in New Orleans. Her practice is diverse, but she especially enjoys assisting small businesses. As a member of the civil pro bono panels of the Middle and Eastern Districts of Louisiana, she regularly volunteers her professional time to the representation of plaintiffs in civil rights cases.
Amond served as a clerk to Judge Susie Morgan of the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. In law school, she served as an intern for Judge Brian A. Jackson of the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana.
She received her JD/DCL degree, magna cum laude, in 2016 from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center (editor-in-chief of the Louisiana Law Review; chair of SBA’s Ethics Board; 3L representative of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee; member of LSU Law Powderpuff Football team).
Before law school, she taught second and third grades in New Orleans charter schools and has been an advocate for public education ever since. She has a special commitment to Louisiana’s economic development, its culture, and, in particular, its underserved communities.
Amond served two terms as the District 1 representative on the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division Council and served as the Council’s 2022-23 secretary. She also serves on the board of the New Orleans Federal Bar Association’s Younger Lawyers Division.
She teaches the course, “Making Your Case: What Makes Judges Read and Hear What Lawyers Say,” with Judge Susie Morgan at LSU Law’s Apprenticeship Week.
Amond loves all things New Orleans and looks forward to traveling the world with her wife, Nancia Sterling.
3640 Magazine St
New Orleans, LA 70115
Phone: (504) 556-5523
Fax: (504) 556-5523
Email:
kristen@amondlaw.com
Secretary
Mr. Collin R Melancon Collin R. Melancon is a partner/owner of Mansfield Melancon Injury Lawyers in New Orleans. He received a bachelor’s degree in international studies in 2011 from Louisiana State University and his JD degree in 2015 from Loyola University College of Law. He was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2015.
Melancon previously served as the District 1 representative on the Louisiana State Bar Association’s (LSBA) Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Council and is the YLD representative on the Louisiana Judicial Council. He has been a speaker for several conferences and CLEs, including the Louisiana Young Lawyers Conference, the Bridging the Gap CLE program and the LSBA Professionalism CLE.
He is a member of the New Orleans Bar Association and the Louisiana Association for Justice. He served on the Planning Committee for the Pro Bono Project’s Justice for All Ball in 2019. He was recognized as a Louisiana Super Lawyer “Rising Star” from 2020-2023.
While in law school, he was a member of the Loyola Law Review and was selected as a Law Review board member in his 3L year. He received the Spirit of St. Ignatius Award for Outstanding Law Graduate (highest award given to a graduating law student) at Loyola Law School. He also received the LSBA Civil Code Award at Loyola Law School for graduating first in his class in the civil law division.
Melancon and his wife, Jillian Melancon, have been married for five years and have one child together.
318 Harrison Ave
New Orleans, LA 70124
Phone: (504) 814-1496
Fax: (504) 208-3427
Email:
collin@mmcdlaw.com
Immediate Past Chair
Ms. Danielle Lauren Borel Danielle L. Borel is an equity partner in the Baton Rouge office of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, LLP, practicing commercial litigation and healthcare litigation. She advises clients on general business issues. She has a focus on supporting and defending women-owned or led businesses and handling complex healthcare litigation.
She received a BS degree, magna cum laude, in 2011 from Louisiana State University and her JD degree, magna cum laude, in 2014 from LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center (Louisiana Law Review, 2012-14; Order of the Coif). She was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2014.
Borel served on the Louisiana State Bar Association’s (LSBA) Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Council as the 2022-23 chair, the 2021-22 chair-elect, the 2020-21 secretary and the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Young Lawyers Division representative in 2018-20. In 2019, she received the LSBA YLD’s Bat P. Sullivan, Jr. Chair’s Award in recognition of her contribution to the LSBA YLD. She is a leader in the ABA’s Young Lawyers Division and the ABA Health Law Section and will chair the ABA YLD in 2024. She has been recognized by the ABA as a Star of the Year (2021), On the Rise: Top 40 Young Lawyer (2020), Emerging Young Lawyer in Healthcare (2019) and Star of the Quarter (2017, 2019). She also is a member of the Louisiana Hospital Association and participates in the Baton Rouge Bar Association’s Holiday Star Program.
In her community, she is a member of the board of directors and chairs the Baton Rouge advisory board for Lighthouse Louisiana. She was recognized three times with the Lighthouse Louisiana Door Knocker Award for her service. She also volunteers as a trial advocacy coach and judge for LSU Law Center. Her commitment was recognized with the Kalinka Award for Advocacy Programs Coach of the Year (2021).
Borel and her husband, Nathan Judice, have been married for 12 years and are expecting their second child in the fall.
301 Main St Ste 2300
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
Phone: (225) 387-4000
Fax: (225) 381-8029
Email:
danielle.borel@bswllp.com
District One Representative
Ms. Jennifer Gordon Lampton Jennifer Gordon Lampton is the research attorney for Judge Nakisha Ervin-Knott with the Louisiana 4th Circuit Court of Appeal, Division A, in New Orleans. Previously, she was senior law clerk for Judge Ervin-Knott at Orleans Parish Civil District Court. She received a BS degree in management in 2009, with a focus on legal studies in business and political science, from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University and her JD degree (Civil Law Division, Common Law Certificate) in 2012 from Loyola University College of Law. She was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2014.
Lampton is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Diversity Committee and Outreach Committee and was a member of the Leadership LSBA Class of 2019-20.
She is a member of the New Orleans Bar Association (current Young Lawyers Section secretary and 2021-22 YLS treasurer), the Greater New Orleans Louis A. Martinet Legal Society, Inc. and the A.P. Tureaud American Inn of Court.
In her community, she is a board member for VIBE (Voices for International Business and Education).
Lampton and her husband Kevin have been married for nine years and are the parents of one child.
410 Royal St Ste 3020
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: (504) 412-6088
Fax:
Email:
jgl@la4th.org
District One Representative
Ms. Margaret Louise Manning Margaret L. Manning is an associate in the New Orleans office of Phelps Dunbar, LLP. She graduated, cum laude, in political communications in 2017 from Louisiana State University, with Honors College distinction, and received her JD degree in 2020 from the University of Notre Dame Law School. She was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2020.
While in law school, she competed as a member of the Notre Dame Law School Barrister’s Mock Trial Team and was an active member of the Notre Dame Law Student Bar Association, serving as 1L representative, communications director and Executive Board secretary. Upon graduation, she received the faculty-elected Kyle D. Smith Mock Trial Award and the King Williams Memorial Award.
Prior to joining Phelps, Manning clerked for two years for Chief Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
She is a member of the New Orleans Bar Association, the New Orleans Bar Association Inn of Court, the New Orleans Bar Association Young Lawyers Section, where she serves as co-chair of the Section’s Pro Bono Project Fundraiser, and the Association of Women Attorneys of New Orleans where she serves on the board as member at-large. She was a member of the 2020-21 Leadership LSBA Class.
In her community, she is a parishioner of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church.
365 Canal St Ste 2000
New orleans, LA 70130
Phone: (504) 566-1311
Email:
margaret.manning@phelps.com
District Two Representative
Mr. Rory Vincent Bellina Rory V. Bellina is a partner in the Metairie office of Chehardy, Sherman, Williams, Recile & Hayes, LLP. He received a BS degree in 2010 from Louisiana State University and his JD degree in 2013 from Loyola University College of Law. He was admitted to practice in Louisiana in May 2014.
Bellina is a health law specialist certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization and a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Health Law Section. He is a member of the American Health Law Association and the American Bar Association’s Health Law Section.
In his community, he is president of the St. Dominic School Board and a former president of the Lakeview Civic Improvement Association.
Bellina and his wife Danielle have been married for 13 years and are the parents of three children.
1 Galleria Blvd Ste 1100
Metairie, LA 70001
Phone: (504) 833-5600
Fax:
Email:
rbellina@chehardy.com
District Two Representative
Ms. Rachal Cox Cassagne Rachal Cox Cassagne is an assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she worked as a commercial litigation associate in a defense firm and as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Greg G. Guidry.
She received a BA degree in English in 2011 from Louisiana State University-Shreveport, a MA degree in literary studies in 2013 from Universiteit van Amsterdam and her JD degree, magna cum laude, in 2016 from Southern University Law Center. She studied at the Universiteit van Amsterdam as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and gave presentations to various Rotary Clubs throughout the country. She was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2016.
Cassagne is a volunteer for the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Disaster Recovery Hotline. She is an active member of the Jefferson Parish Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association. She previously served as an observer with the Louisiana State Law Institute for the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division. She participated in Forum 35’s John W. Barton, Sr. Community Leadership Program in 2018.
In her community, she attends St. Anthony Church in Gretna. She and her husband, Craig Cassagne, Jr., have been married for four years, and they have one daughter.
650 Poydras St Ste 1600
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: (504) 680-3027
Fax:
Email:
rachal.cassagne@usdoj.gov
District Three Representative
Mr. Jared Elijah-Akeem Nelson Jared E. Nelson is an associate in the Lafayette office of Liskow & Lewis, APLC. He received a BA degree in government in 2008 from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville; a master’s degree in public administration in 2010 from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge; and his JD degree, cum laude, in 2018 from Southern University Law Center. He was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2018.
Prior to joining the law firm, he served as an assistant attorney general for the Louisiana Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, handling tort and civil rights litigation for the state of Louisiana. Prior to practicing law, he served as a probation and parole officer for the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections for seven years.
Nelson is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association’s (LSBA) House of Delegates, representing the 15th Judicial District. He is a member of the LSBA’s Criminal Justice and Diversity Committees. He was a member of the Leadership LSBA 2019-20 Class and co-chair of the Leadership LSBA 2020-21 Class.
He is a member of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel (Young Lawyers Committee as a Third Board District representative), Institute of Energy Law (Young Energy Professionals’ Committee as Program Subcommittee vice co-chair and member of the 2022-23 Institute of Energy Law Leadership Class), and the Lafayette Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section.
He was recognized by National Black Lawyers as a “Top 40 Under 40” Lawyer in Louisiana in 2020-2023 and was a member in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s Pathfinders Program in 2021-22. He was awarded the 2022 Frank L. Maraist Award by the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel and its Young Lawyers Committee. He was selected as a “Top Lawyer” by the Acadiana Profile Magazine for 2023.
In his community, he is a lector at St. Benedict DeMoor Church in Duson. He is a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He and his wife, Joelle Mary Nixon, have been married for 10 years and are the parents of one child.
1200 Camellia Blvd Ste 300
Lafayette, LA 70508
Phone: (337) 267-2359
Fax: (337) 267-2399
Email:
jenelson@liskow.com
District Four Representative
Ms. Brooke A Roach Brooke A. Roach is an attorney in The Roach Law Firm, APLC, in Lake Charles. She received a BA degree in human resources in 2016 from Louisiana State University and her JD degree, magna cum laude, in 2019 from Southern University Law Center. She was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2019. She clerked for Chief Judge Ulysses G. Thibodeaux, Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal, from 2019-21.
Roach followed in her father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, becoming the third generation to practice law at The Roach Law Firm. Her practice focuses on personal injury litigation and first-party bad faith property damage litigation. She is admitted in all Louisiana state courts; the U.S. District Courts for the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of Louisiana; and the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
She is a member of the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association (SWLBA) and its Young Lawyers Section, currently serving as treasurer of the SWLBA’s Young Lawyers Section.
2917 Ryan St
Lake Charles, LA 70601
Phone: (337) 433-8504
Fax: (337) 433-3196
Email:
broach2@larryaroachinc.com
District Five Representative
Mr. Brad Cranmer Brad W. Cranmer is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Mansfield, Melancon, Cranmer & Dick, LLC. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science, with a minor in criminology, from Louisiana State University and his JD/DCL degree from LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
In law school, he served on LSU Law’s Trial Advocacy Board as a member, competitor and coach, and in Student Government. He has competed and coached for LSU Law in mock trial competitions. He attained the highest grade in his law school class for White Collar Crime and Insurance Law.
Following law school graduation, he opened his own law practice. He also spent several years as a prosecutor for the City of Baton Rouge, prosecuting cases ranging from DWI to domestic abuse battery.
Since helping form Mansfield, Melancon, Cranmer & Dick in 2018, he has devoted the majority of his practice to family law, assisting hundreds of clients with divorces, custody, visitation, community property, domestic restraining orders, spousal support and other family law issues. He is admitted to practice in all Louisiana state courts, the U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Eastern Districts of Louisiana, and the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Cranmer is a member of the Baton Rouge Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section Council and the Family Law Section. He has taught legal seminars on litigating family law issues.
In 2017, he received Avvo’s Clients’ Choice Award for his dedicated legal service. He received awards from the Expert Network as a Distinguished Lawyer; American Law Society’s America’s Top Lawyers 2018; the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys 10 Best Attorney Client Satisfaction Award; Club Blue 2020 Great Futures Honoree; and Louisiana Super Lawyers Rising Star 2020-2023.
In his community, he is involved with Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Baton Rouge, Club Blue, St. Vincent DePaul and the Louisiana Association of Justice.
Cranmer is married to his wife Chloe and has one child.
404 Europe St
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Phone: (225) 612-0800
Fax: (225) 754-9127
Email:
brad@mmcdlaw.com
District Five Representative
Ms. Quinn K Brown Quinn K. Brown is an associate in the Baton Rouge office of LaFleur Laborde, LLC. She received her BA degree, cum laude, in 2013 from Louisiana State University and her JD degree and graduate diploma in comparative law in 2017 from LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center. She was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2017. Her practice has included asbestos, toxic torts, products liability and insurance defense litigation, as well as premises and general liability, personal injury and insurance coverage disputes.
Brown is chair for Opportunity 2 Restore, an organization that works to increase educational opportunities for those formerly or currently incarcerated. She is secretary-treasurer-elect for the Baton Rouge Bar Association’s (BRBA) Young Lawyer’s Council and a committee member for the BRBA’s Belly Up with the Bar.
Brown and her husband, Jeffrey Warnhoff, have been married for one year.
6160 Perkins Rd Ste 225
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
Phone: (225) 535-7590
Fax:
Email:
qbrown@lalalawfirm.com
District Six Representative
Ms. Ashley Unique Johnson Ashley U. Johnson-Firven is an associate in the Baton Rouge office of Hammonds, Sills, Adkins, Guice, Noah & Perkins, LLP. Her practice is focused on civil litigation defense, employment law and insurance defense. She received a BA degree in 2014 from the University of California-Santa Barbara and her JD degree in 2019 from Southern University Law Center. She was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2019.
Johnson-Firven is a member of the Leadership LSBA Class of 2022-23 and a member of the Young Lawyers Division’s Awards Committee. She also has been involved with the Access to Justice Disaster Relief Hotline and the Lawyers in Libraries project.
She is a member of the National Bar Association, the Baton Rouge chapter of the Louis A. Martinet Legal Society, Inc. and the Baton Rouge Bar Association.
In her community, Johnson-Firven is a member of Grace Community Baptist Church and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
She and her husband, Leon Firven, have been married for one year.
2431 S Acadian Thrwy Ste 600
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
Phone: (225) 916-9880
Fax: (225) 923-0315
Email:
ajohnson@hamsil.com
District Seven Representative
Ms. Jasmyne Astarri McConnell Jasmyne A. McConnell, an attorney, entrepreneur and community activist, is the owner of several entities including the McConnell Law Group and Cajun Title Agency in Monroe. She has professional experience in criminal law, successions, personal injury, divorces, real estate investments and real estate transactions. She received her BA degree in political science from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and her JD degree from Southern University Law Center.
She serves her community in several capacities. She is the vice president of diversity, small business and membership of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
She is the wife of Nicholas McConnell and the mother of two sons.
102 Bres Ave
Monroe, LA 71201
Phone: (318) 516-3182
Fax: (318) 516-3185
Email:
jmcconnell@cajuntitle.com
District Eight Representative
Ms. Audrius Monique Reed Audrius M. Reed, with Audrius M. Reed, Attorney at Law, LLC, in Shreveport, is a graduate of Southern University Law Center and is a solo practitioner in the areas of family law, criminal defense, personal injury and estate planning. She serves as the program attorney for the LRVDV (Legal Representation for Victims of Domestic Violence) Program of the Shreveport Bar Foundation and the Northwest Louisiana Family Justice Center.
631 Milam St Ste 105
Shreveport, LA 71101
Phone: (318) 606-2234
Fax: (318) 606-4364
Email:
areed@attyaudriusreed.com
At-Large Representative
Ms. Jasmine Carlette Cooper Jasmine C. Cooper is an assistant district attorney for the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office in Shreveport. She received her BA degree in political science in 2017 from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge and her JD degree in 2020 from Southern University Law Center. She was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2021.
Cooper is a member of the 2022-23 Leadership LSBA Class. She also is a member of the Shreveport Bar Association and the Harry V. Booth/Judge Henry A. Politz American Inn of Court. She was named to the Top Lawyers 2023 Shreveport/Bossier list by SB Magazine.
In her community, she is a member of the League of Women Voters, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the NAACP.
501 Texas St Fl 6
Shreveport, LA 71101
Phone: (318) 226-6829
Fax: (318) 841-5532
Email:
jcooper@caddoda.com
YLD Representative to the ABA House of Delegates
Ms. Megan Sara Peterson Megan S. Peterson is a partner at Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn, LLP, in New Orleans, where she represents local, regional and national clients in litigation and alternative dispute resolution. Although she handles a variety of civil litigation matters, her practice focuses on defense of clients in the retail, restaurant, hospitality, trucking and transportation industries. She is licensed in all state and federal courts in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Peterson received her BA degree in political science and business administration from Louisiana State University. She earned her JD degree, magna cum laude, from Loyola University College of Law and was honored as a William L. Crowe, Sr. Scholar. While at Loyola, she served as print managing editor of the Loyola Law Review and participated in Moot Court.
She served as the 2022 co-chair for the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Conference.
She is an active member of the Defense Research Institute, serving as the vice chair of the Retail and Hospitality Committee. She is active in the American Bar Association, serving as the Louisiana Young Lawyers delegate in the House of Delegates and in the Young Lawyers Division Assembly. She is a former president of the Association for Women Attorneys in New Orleans.
Peterson and her husband, Matt McCluer, are the parents of two children.
1100 Poydras St Ste 3000
New Orleans, LA 70163
Phone: (504) 569-2030
Fax: (504) 569-2999
Email:
meganp@spsr-law.com
ABA YLD Representative
Mr. Josef Philip Miranda Ventulan Josef P. Ventulan is a staff attorney with the Louisiana State Law Institute (LSLI), a board attorney for the Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals and an adjunct professor with Southern University Law Center (SULC). Prior to joining the LSLI, he was the staff attorney for Judge Lisa M. Woodruff-White (Ret.). He received his undergraduate degree in accounting from Louisiana State University and his law degree from SULC, where he graduated first in his class and received a certification in tax law. He also served as the editor-in-chief of the Southern University Law Review. He was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2020.
Ventulan is an active member of the American Bar Association (ABA) and serves as the District 14 representative on the ABA YLD Council and as a member of the ABA YLD’s Long-Range Planning Board. He currently serves on the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee and the Baton Rouge Bar Association’s Publication and Pro Bono Committees. He formerly served as a junior council member of the LSLI. He is a member of the Wex S. Malone American Inn of Court and the Louis A. Martinet Legal Society, Inc., Greater Baton Rouge Chapter. He received the Bat P. Sullivan, Jr. Chair’s Award during the LSBA’s Annual Meeting in 2022.
In his community, he serves on the board of directors of Forum 225, a Baton Rouge nonprofit focused on creating opportunities for young professionals to grow philanthropically, professionally and civically, and as a council member of the Future Leaders Council of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana. His professional interests include economic and tax policy and local economic development. His articles have been published in the Southern University Law Review, the American Bar Association for Law Students and the Baton Rouge Lawyer.
1 E Campus Dr Ste W127
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Phone: (225) 578-0200
Fax: (225) 527-0211
Email:
ventulanj@lsli.org