About the Board

Board Member Profiles -- 2012

DOW M. EDWARDS, Board Chair: Dow Michael Edwards is Partner at Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore LLC. His practice areas include railroad and transportation, insurance, casualty, product liability, premises liability, and complex litigation. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America. Dow received a Juris Doctor-Cum Laude from Southern University Law Center where he served as Managing Editor of the Southern University Law Review and was a member of the Moot Court Board. He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Oklahoma Panhandle State University. He is a former Law Clerk for Chief Justice Pascal Calogero at the Louisiana Supreme Court. He served as an Adjutant General Officer in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Corps. He is also a former paralegal, claims adjuster and professional football player. He is a member of the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute and serves as Co-chairman on the Langston Hughes Academy Charter School Board.

He is admitted to the practice of law in the State of Louisiana, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States District Court for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana. In addition, he is a member of the Federal Bar Association, American Bar Association, National Bar Association, Louisiana State Bar Association, New Orleans Bar Association, National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel and American Inns of Court.

He is married to his lovely bride Lisa and they have five children Daniel, David, Erika, Jonathan and Dow II.

JOHN T. COX, JR., Board Vice Chair: Mr. Cox is a practicing attorney and mediator and is the senior director in the Shreveport law firm of Blanchard, Walker, O'Quin and Roberts, APLC. Mr. Cox holds a B.S degree in Business Administration and Public Administration from LSU and a J.D. degree from the LSU Law Center.

In addition to being admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Louisiana, he is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeal for the 5th, 8th and 11th Circuits, the United States District Courts for the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of Louisiana, and the Eastern District of Texas as well as the United States Tax Court.

Mr. Cox has over forty-two years of legal experience, handling both transactions and litigation in virtually every aspect of general practice, with greater emphasis on labor and employment law, business and corporate affairs and litigation. Mr. Cox also is a qualified mediator.

Mr. Cox is a frequent speaker at CLE programs around the state and has served as adjunct lecturer in business law and ethics at both LSUS and Centenary College. He has served as President of the Shreveport Bar Association and is currently serving as President of the Committee of One Hundred, a group of business and professional leaders committed to do all things of a civic, educational, and charitable nature to promote community relations and the general welfare of the cities of Shreveport and Bossier, their respective parishes and the surrounding area of northwest Louisiana. Mr. Cox holds the designation of Senior Master of the Bar in the Harry V. Booth and Judge Henry A. Politz American Inn of Court, is the recipient of the Valley Forge Freedom Foundation's George Washington Honor Medal and is listed in "Who's Who in American Law." He has formerly served as a member of the Board of Directors of Legal Services of North Louisiana, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Shreveport, as a member of Board of Directors and Treasurer of the Shreveport Symphony.

Mr. Cox was appointed to the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board in 2009. Prior to his appointment to the Disciplinary Board, Mr. Cox served as a Hearing Committee Chairman and prior to that as a Lawyer Member of a Hearing Committee.

CARL A. BUTLER, Lawyer Member: Mr. Butler was appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2011.

STEPHEN F. CHICCARELLI, Lawyer Member: Mr. Chiccarelli was appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2010.

GEORGE L. CRAIN, JR., Public Member: Mr. Crain is a graduate of Nicholls State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and Economics in May of 1969. He served in the U.S. Army from June 1969 through 1971 when he received an honorable discharge. He is currently the President of WHC, Inc. since 1976 and is responsible for all operations of the business. Mr. Crain is active in numerous professional and civic activities including the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry; Member of the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors; Westpac Area Committee; Chairman of the Louisiana Oilfield Legislative Committee since 1988; Performing Arts Society of Acadiana; Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and the Bayou Vermillion Commission from 1989 to 1998.

Mr. Crain served as a hearing committee member from 2003 to 2008. He was appointed to serve as a member of the Board in 2009.

JAMIE E. FONTENOT, Lawyer Member: In 1995, Jamie Elizabeth Fontenot graduated ranked number 1 in her class of 107 graduating students at Southern University Law Center, where she was a Law Review Candidate, member of the Moot Court Board, and Vice Justice of the Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity. She was admitted to the Louisiana State Bar Association in October of 1995, and on January 1, 2002 became Board Certified as a Family Law Specialist for the State of Louisiana. There are presently slightly over one hundred board certified family law experts in the entire state.

Ms. Fontenot is a native of Mamou, Louisiana, having graduated from Mamou High School in 1984. After one year at LSU-Eunice, she transferred to Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. She graduated in 1988 with a B.A. in psychology. In 1991, she received her degree in paralegal education from LSU. From November 1995 through June of 2001, Ms. Fontenot practiced in Plaquemine, Louisiana. In July of 2001, she relocated and established her current office in West Baton Rouge Parish. She has also been the Juvenile Public Defender in Plaquemine City Court from January 1998 through December 2004, District Court Public Defender from October 2000 through December 2001, and the Town Attorney for Brusly, Louisiana from January 2001 through May 2006.

Ms. Fontenot was first appointed to the Board as a Hearing Committee Member in 2008 until 2010. She was appointed to serve as a member of the Board in 2011.

FRANK A. FERTITTA, LSBA Representative: Mr. Fertitta was appointed as the LSBA Representative in 2012.

KIM LEIJA, Public Member: Ms. Leija was appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2010.

RALPH K. LEE, JR., Lawyer Member: Mr. Lee was appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2009.

TARA LAVEL MASON, Lawyer Member: Ms. Mason was appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2012.

EDWIN G. PREIS, JR., Lawyer Member: Mr. Preis is the Managing Partner and founder of Preis & Roy, a regional defense law firm with offices in Lafayette, New Orleans, and Houston. Mr. Preis earned his undergraduate B.A. Degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1969, and obtained his Juris Doctorate Degree from the LSU Law Center in 1972. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Preis served as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Nauman S. Scott, U.S. District Judge, Western District of Louisiana (1972-1974).

Mr. Preis is licensed to practice in Louisiana and Texas. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana, and the Southern District of Texas. Mr. Preis is a member of the American Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit, Louisiana State Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, Lafayette Parish Bar Association, Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, Defense Research Institute, Maritime Law Association of the United States, and Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute.

Mr. Preis is listed in Best Lawyers in America, Louisiana Super Lawyers, and holds an AV Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating. Mr. Preis served as a faculty member for the LSU Law Center’s Trial Advocacy Training Program in 1992 and 1993, and currently serves on the LSU Law Center’s Board of Trustees.

Mr. Preis has approximately thirty-eight (38) years of legal experience, and maintains an active litigation practice focused primarily on maritime and energy disputes, many of which are high profile, complex and involve major casualties.

Mr. Preis has been a member of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board since January of 2010. Prior to his appointment to the Board, he served for seven years as a Hearing Committee Chairman.

R. LEWIS SMITH, Public Member: Mr. Smith is a graduate of Northeast Louisiana University where he earned a Bachelor of Music Education in 1976 and a Master of Business Adminstration from Louisiana State University in Shreveport in 1983. He received his certification as a Public Accountant in 1986. Mr. Smith is currently a partner in Smith & Company, LLC and is active in numerous professional and civic activities including the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountant; Southwest Rotary Club and Broadmoor Baptist Church.

Mr. Smith was appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2011.

LINDA P. SPAIN, Public Member: Ms. Spain is a graduate of Louisiana State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Speech Communications in 1973 and a Master of Education in 1978. She is certified to teach in the areas of Speech Pathology, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, and Visually Impaired/Blind. Currently she contracts her services as a consulting teacher with several school districts around the Baton Rouge area. Ms. Spain is married to John M Spain, Executive Vice President of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. They have two adult children and two granddaughters.

Ms. Spain was appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2007.

R. STEVEN TEW, Lawyer Member: Mr. Tew was appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2010.

Administrative Committee: Dow M. Edwards, Chair; Frank A. Fertitta, LSBA Representative; Stephen F. Chiccarelli, Lawyer Member; Ralph K. Lee, Jr., Lawyer Member; Kim Leija, Public Member

Adjudicative Committee:

[Panel A]: R. Steven Tew, Panel Chair; Carl A. Butler, Lawyer Member; Linda P. Spain, Public Member

[Panel B]: John T. Cox, Jr., Adjudicative Committee/Panel Chair; Jamie E. Fontenot, Lawyer Member; R. Lewis Smith, Public Member

[Panel C]: Edwin G. Preis, Panel Chair; Tara Lavel Mason, Lawyer Member; George L. Crain, Jr., Public Member

Disclaimer: The Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board presents the information on this Web site as a service to Internet users. The LADB does not provide legal advice and the information on this Web site should not be construed or interpreted as such. We make no warranty or guarantee concerning the accuracy or reliability of the content at this site or at other sites to which we link © 1999-2010 Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board.

Direct comments to : webmaster@ladb.org