Areas of Practice
- Construction
- Disaster Recovery Client Team
- Government Relations
- Real Estate: Land Use, Development & Finance
Education
- The George Washington University Law School, LL.M. anticipated upon completion of master's thesis
- Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University, J.D., 1992
- University of California, Los Angeles, Masters of Architecture, 1986
- Louisiana State University, Bachelor of Architecture, 1985
Bar Admissions
- Louisiana, 1992
Herman (Bubba) Gesser, III is a Louisiana licensed architect and attorney. He joined Jones Walker in 2007 and is a member of the firm’s Real Estate and Government Relations Practice Groups. In joining Jones Walker, Mr. Gesser returned to a private legal practice primarily focused on design and construction law and government contracting, with selective work in the government affairs arena. During his approximate ten year interruption from private legal practice, he worked for the federal government and pursued an advance law degree in Washington, DC. He anticipates being awarded a master of law degree in government contracting from The George Washington University Law School upon completion of his thesis titled “Federal Design-Build Contracting.”
From 1998 to 2007, Mr. Gesser served as chief counsel and projects director to U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu. He researched, drafted, and provided advice and counsel on legislation primarily relating to the environment, public works, and appropriations. Specifically, this included such matters as transportation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects (coastal restoration, flood control, hurricane protection, and navigation) as well as assisting state and local leaders with project funding and regulatory matters before various federal agencies. Mr. Gesser has extensive knowledge of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other infrastructure/civil works projects.
Before working for Senator Landrieu, Mr. Gesser practiced law as an associate with a large New Orleans law firm. His practice focused on design and construction legal matters. He represented and counseled design professionals (architects and engineers), contractors, subcontractors, building owners, insurance companies, and sureties. He was involved in drafting contracts as well as resolving disputes through litigation, arbitration, and mediation about such matters as negligent design, defective construction, additional costs, payment/lien actions, suretyship, bid protests, and the rescission of sale of a defectively constructed office condominium. These matters arose in either private or public contracts and involved buildings, highways, drainage canals, levees, and pumping stations.
Prior to attending law school, Mr. Gesser practiced architecture with his father’s architecture firm in New Iberia. As an architect, he was involved in the design and construction administration of varied building types. Mr. Gesser has additionally served as an adjunct assistant professor of architecture at Louisiana State University and the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana, Lafayette).
News
- Gesser and Tyler to Speak in Lorman Seminar on AIA Contracts
- Gesser and Tyler to Speak in AIA Contracts Seminar
- Six Jones Walker Attorneys to Speak on "The Development Approval Process in Louisiana"
- Herman (Bubba) Gesser, Former Chief Counsel and Projects Director to Senator Mary Landrieu, Joins Jones Walker’s Baton Rouge Office
Presentations
- "AIA Contracts", January 8, 2009
- "Resolving Problems and Disputes on Construction Projects", December 8, 2008
- "AIA Contracts", April 29, 2008
- "The Development Approval Process in Louisiana", December 13, 2007
Memberships
- American Bar Association (Forum on the Construction Industry)
- American Institute of Architects
- Louisiana State Bar Association
- National Council of Architectural Registration Boards Certified (1988 to date)
