Hootsell III

Ault's practice is focused on bankruptcy, restructuring and commercial litigation. He represents clients in commercial contract disputes, defense of lien rights, acquisitions and financial litigation matters.

• Commercial Litigation
• Bankruptcy & Restructuring
• Class Actions

Commercial

• Representation of multiple clients in commercial contract disputes.
• Defense of servitudes and related rights of third party in connection with sale of chemical facility.
• Defense of lien rights of multiple clients.
• Defense of corporate and individual defendants in $100 million lawsuit arising from the sale of oil and gas properties in south Louisiana.
• Representation of marine service company in connection with dispute with shipyard over breach of multiple shipbuilding contracts.
• Defense of corporate pharmaceutical defendant in Thimerosal litigation across multiple states.
• Defense of named defendant in welding rod litigation across multiple suits.
• Defense of financial institution and officers in class action brought to contest merger.
• Representation of marine company in redhibition suit (engines).
• Defense of multiple clients in actions for copyright infringement and related claims.
• Defense of client in multiple subcontractor/supplier claims arising from industrial construction project.
• Defense of industrial client in action for breach of supplier contract.
• Defense of numerous clients in contract and business tort actions, including defense of contract and business tort claims asserted against a national relocation service.
• Representation of both financial institutions and individual officers and directors in defense of lender liability, director and officer liability, and related claims.
• Representation of clients in franchisor/franchisee disputes.

Bankruptcy

• Representation of a chemical company in acquisition of significant industrial plant assets.
• Representation of purchaser in acquisition of manufacturing concern.
• Representation of purchaser in acquisition of certain oil and gas properties.
• Representation of numerous corporate and individual clients in the handling of claims and the preservation of contract and other rights in the bankruptcy context, and in the defense of avoidance actions arising from such proceedings.
• Representation of terminal operator in assertion of reclamation rights.
• Representation as debtor’s counsel for a 1,200+ person regional restaurant franchise.
• Bankruptcy advises to numerous clients in connection with the drafting of commercial contracts, leases and related documents.

• Martindale-Hubbell®
  • AV® – Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated, 1997-2017
• Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business
  • Bankruptcy/Restructuring – Louisiana, 2015-2017
• Best Lawyers in America®
  • Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights Law/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 2008-2025
  • Litigation – Bankruptcy, 2011-2025
  • Litigation - Real Estate, 2024-2025
• Super Lawyers®
  • Louisiana Super Lawyers, Business Litigation, 2007-2024
• Top Lawyers, Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, New Orleans Magazine

• Louisiana, 1986
• Texas, 2001
• U.S. District Courts
• Texas: Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western
• Louisiana: Eastern, Middle, Western

• Louisiana State University, J.D., 1986
• Louisiana State University, B.S., Finance, 1983

• New Orleans Bar Association
  • Bankruptcy Committee
    • Past Chairman
• Louisiana State Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• Federal Bar Association
• Louisiana Bankers Association
• International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC)

• Co-Author, "Jurisdictional Survey of Local Requirements Governing Class Actions: Louisiana," A Practitioner's Guide to Class Actions, Published by the American Bar Association's Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, November 2010.
• Co-Author, "A Bankruptcy Principal: Defining Construction Surety's Interest in Contract Balances," Defense Counsel Journal, Volume 58, Number 1, January 1991.