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June 2005
Phelps Dunbar Partner Awarded 2005 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award by the Louisiana Bar Foundation
Phelps Dunbar LLP is pleased to announce that H. Alston Johnson III, managing partner of the Baton Rouge office and a partner in the Litigation practice group, has been awarded the 2005 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award by the Louisiana Bar Foundation. Mr. Johnson was honored at the Louisiana State Bar Association Annual Brunch, which was held on Tuesday, June 28, 2005, in conjunction with the 64th Annual Meeting at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award was established in 1994 to honor Mr. Boisfontaine, a consummate trial lawyer who, throughout his career, adhered at all times to the highest standard of the profession. The award was created to encourage others to emulate the standards to which he adhered. Mr. Johnson was selected as the recipient of this year’s award for his long-standing devotion to excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the courts, litigants, and all counsel. The award carries a $1,000 cash stipend, which the Louisiana Bar Foundation will donate in Mr. Johnson's name to a non-profit law-related program or association providing services in the State of Louisiana.
Mr. Johnson concentrates his practice primarily in litigation, particularly at the appellate level and with particular emphasis in the areas of tort litigation, insurance coverage and litigation, and administrative law. He has extensive experience in legislative and regulatory and governmental matters and has represented numerous public entities in both counseling and litigation capacities. Prior to joining Phelps Dunbar in 1984, Mr. Johnson was a full-time member of the law faculty at Louisiana State University for twelve years. He continues to teach as an adjunct member of that faculty.
Mr. Johnson is an active member of both the Louisiana State (past member, Board of Governors, 1975-1976) and American Bar Associations. In addition, he serves on the council of the Louisiana State Law Institute. Mr. Johnson is also involved in the American Law Institute; Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel (past President); Governor’s Advisory Committee on Tort, Workers’ Compensation and Insurance Reform (Chairman 1988); and Law Reform Committee (past consultant 1973-1984). In addition, he is the author or co-author of three treatises on Louisiana law published by Thomson/West Publishing Company: Louisiana Workers' Compensation (4th ed.), Louisiana Insurance Law (3rd ed. in manuscript) and Louisiana Civil Jury Instructions (2nd ed.).
Phelps Dunbar is a regional law firm of more than 250 attorneys, with offices in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jackson, Tupelo, and Gulfport, Mississippi; Houston, Texas; Tampa, Florida; and London, England. The firm has been nationally recognized in the area of diversity by the Minority Law Journal (2002, 2003, 2004) for having the highest percentage of African American lawyers, received the Defense Research Institute’s National Diversity Award (2002), and ranked among the Top 100 Firms by the Multicultural Law Magazine (2005).