Roberts, Valerie Pearsall

Mike Durand was born New Orleans, Louisiana on December 27, 1951. He began his legal practice with the Onebane Law Firm in Lafayette, Louisiana in 1979 and has been with the firm ever since. He was admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1979. He is also admitted to practice before all of the Louisiana U.S. District Courts (Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts of Louisiana). He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth and Eleventh Circuits. He graduated from Louisiana State University (B.A., 1975; J.D., 1978). He attended the prestigious University of Vermont Environmental Law Center in 1989 for a concentrated course of study in Environmental Law studying such topics as CERCLA, RCRA and Risk Assessment. He is a member of the honor fraternity of Phi Kappa Phi and graduated from the LSU law Center as a member of the Order of the Coif. He was also a member of the LSU Law Center Moot Court Board. He is a member of the Lafayette Parish, Louisiana State, and American Bar Associations as well as the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. He is regional environmental counsel for the southeastern United States for a national insurance company.

Sampling of Cases of Significance:Diamond Crystal Salt Company v. Texaco, Inc. (damage claim for loss of salt mine due to collapse of drilling rig; represented Diamond Crystal Salt Company); Meredith v. Ieyoub (action challenging constitutionality of Louisiana Attorney General hiring private attorneys to sue oil and gas companies for environmental damages on contingency fee basis; represented Robert Meredith, et al, and the Louisiana Independent Oil & Gas Producers); American Waste and Pollution Control, Inc. v. Parish of St. Martinville (action challenging constitutionality of parish zoning ordinance prohibiting waste disposal facility within the Parish; represented American Waste and Pollution Control, Inc.); Motorola, Inc. v. Associated Indemnity Company, et al (represented insurer in case by cell phone manufacturer for defense and coverage for underlying class action lawsuits seeking headsets from manufacturer because of RF exposure and risk of cancer and other diseases).