New Orleans, January 6, 2016 – Jones Walker LLP is pleased to announce that Richard F. Cortizas, Peter J. Rivas, and David K. Theard have been elected to partnership effective January 1, 2016.

"We are pleased to have Richard, Peter, and David join the Jones Walker partnership. Each attorney brings a set of skills and experience that is an asset to our firm and our clients," said William H. Hines, Managing Partner of Jones Walker. 

Mr. Cortizas practices from the New Orleans office and focuses on transactional matters, representing clients in complex land use and zoning matters, public finance, and economic development projects. Mr. Cortizas served as City Attorney for the City of New Orleans for three years, where he was responsible for directing and supervising legal affairs for the City and was part of the team that negotiated the New Orleans Police Department consent decree. He served as Executive Counsel to Mayor Mitch Landrieu from 2010 to 2011. Prior to his tenure with the City of New Orleans, Mr. Cortizas practiced law with Jones Walker for six years.

Mr. Rivas practices from the Washington, D.C., office and counsels clients on a wide range of corporate and securities matters, including mergers and acquisitions, public and private securities offerings, SEC reporting obligations, and corporate governance matters. He also regularly represents financial institutions in various regulatory and compliance matters before federal and state regulatory authorities.  

Mr. Theard practices from the New Orleans office and focuses on Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), workers' compensation retaliation, noncompete agreements, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) compliance and position letters, and business and commercial litigation. His practice also focuses on protecting clients from - as well as defending clients against - alleged trade secret theft, unfair competition, and conspiracies. Mr. Theard has handled and assisted with matters involving commercial contracts, covenants not to compete, and errors and omissions for insurance agents, directors, and officers. Mr. Theard is also an author for the Trade Secret Insider (www.tradesecretsinsider.com), a legal blog committed to providing timely legal insights on trade secrets, non-competes, computer fraud, and data theft.

About Jones Walker
Jones Walker LLP (www.joneswalker.com), with approximately 390 attorneys in Alabama, Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, and Texas, provides a comprehensive range of legal services to a national and international corporate client base.

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