Westlake Consumer Lawyers

With offices in Lafayette and Opelousas, I have a statewide civil litigation practice and am admitted in all state and federal courts of Louisiana. I am proud to represent my clients, from Louisiana citizens to Fortune 1000 companies.

Fred A. Pharis' legal career began in 1983 when he joined the law firm of Pharis & Pharis to practice with his father, Jean, and his uncle, James. Since then, he has successfully represented dozens of consumers in litigation in Federal, State, and City courts and has advised 100's more. He also maintains an active practice in the areas of personal injury law and products liability law. Successful suits have been brought against such major manufacturers as General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, Mercedes Benz of North America, Nissan, Winnebago, American Honda, Toyota, Polaris, Caterpillar, Kenworth, Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc.,...

Jenny graduated from the Loyola University College of Law, and earned her undergraduate degree from Our Lady of Holy Cross College. Jenny began her bankruptcy practice in 2011 as the Law Office of Jenny Abshier. Jenny's office took great pride in providing options to reduce the upfront costs required for filing bankruptcy, as well as providing access to pro bono services when available. As Jenny's reputation grew, so did her practice. Jenny has partnered with two similar minded attorneys to form the Big Easy Law Group in order to further spread her beliefs in compassion and accessibility...

Kenneth L. Tolar focuses primarily on general intellectual property matters including patent, trademark and copyright prosecution, intellectual property litigation and licensing on behalf of both corporations and independent inventors nationwide, patentability and trademark availability opinions, inter partes practice before both the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board; during his career, he has secured over 350 patents on behalf of independent and corporate inventors.

Mr. Tolar also engages in general commercial litigation, insurance defense, labor disputes arising under The Fair Labor Standards Act, personal injury and first-party insurance claims.

Attorney Noah Wexler is a highly experienced trial lawyer who has handled tens of thousands of cases in the past decade. Due to his commitment to his clients, keen skills in preparing for trials, attention to detail, and his ability to identify strategies that force insurers and negligent companies to pay maximum compensation, Noah has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars. While he is highly skilled in various areas of personal injury law, he focuses the majority of his work handling catastrophic truck accident cases, pharmaceutical cases, complex product liability cases, wrongful death cases, and catastrophic offshore injury cases throughout...

Mr. Sterbcow’s practice focuses on consumer financial services and real estate regulatory compliance and litigation including: Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Truth In Lending Act (TILA), Fair Housing Act, Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Dodd-Frank Act, Sherman Anti-Trust Act, Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act involving federal and state mortgage lending and consumer credit compliance issues, title insurance compliance, real estate brokerage programs and operational compliance, affiliated business arrangement compliance, financial services marketing and promotional programs, state and federal licensing compliance, multiple listing service compliance, Best Practices compliance, and consumer fair financing practices....

Samuel Ford is a dedicated consumer attorney, protecting the rights of consumers in Louisiana, the gulf coast, and throughout the nation. Samuel's practice is focused on providing individuals relief from relentless debt collectors who use abusive and illegal tactics to squeeze money out of hard-working Americans. Prior to joining Varadi, Hair & Checki, Samuel was a defense attorney for creditors and debt collectors, witnessing first-hand the injurious methods utilized by these corporations and learning the best ways to fight back against them. If you are receiving calls or letters from a debt collector, have been sued on a debt, or...

Federal and state trial court practice with emphasis on lawsuit avoidance if possible and aggressive consumer representation and defense when settlement efforts fail; arbitration proceedings; consumer debt reorganization under Chapter 13 and consumer bankruptcy under Chapter 7, but only as a last resort.

Benjamin Wise brings practical and legal expertise to bear as your legal representative. Ben is an experienced professional working for the past thirty years in both the maritime industry and legal sector. His career includes sailing internationally on merchant vessels as a licensed navigator officer, as well as experience with diverse legal matters. This diverse life experience helps him offer innovative, “people first” solutions to even the most complex dilemmas. I understand that your priorities are my priorities; I succeed only if you do.

Ben holds a JD from Mississippi College in Jackson, Missisisppi and a BS in Marine...

Mr. Caplinger concentrates his practice on representation of debtors, creditors, and creditor committees in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization cases, creditors in Chapter 7, 11, and 13 cases, and creditor defendants in all aspects of prosecution and defense of claims and actions before bankruptcy courts and in related litigation before federal district courts. He also represents clients in other commercial litigation matters. Mr. Caplinger was admitted to practice before all State and Federal Courts in the State of Louisiana in 1998 and has been admitted pro hac vice and has appeared before the Northern District of Oklahoma, the Bankruptcy Courts...

Clifford Tucker represents people and their families who have been hurt or experienced a death by carelessness, negligence, and wrongdoing. Clifford Tucker also represents consumers who were cheated out of their hard-earned money by misleading and deceptive business practices. Since earning his licenses to practice law in New York and New Jersey, Clifford Tucker has represented plaintiffs in the areas of: automobile negligence, premises liability, malicious prosecution, false arrest, construction accidents, firefighter injuries, electrocution injuries, consumer class actions, and 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund Claimants.

Susan became interested in guiding families through the legal process when she witnessed the suffering caused by uncaring attorneys and a misunderstanding of the legal process by the average person who simply want results and to move forward with their lives. Susan is especially interested in helping fathers fight for custody and/or time with their children, because fathers often seem to get the least respect from the courts. Susan offers reasonable flat rate fees for Louisiana or Mississippi family law clients once she determines how she might best assist them. She recently partnered with attorney William...

I founded DeT Law Firm, LLC, in New Orleans, to assist good, local individuals and businesses struggling with tough times. Through my years of practice, I have taken great pride in helping individuals facing odds that have been stacked against them. Whether its going after large corporations or insurance companies, I have never been afraid to step into the ring and fight for what our clients deserve.

Over the years, we have assisted clients in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to:

Chapter 7/Chapter 13 bankruptcies;
personal injury, automobile accidents, and "bad-faith" insurance coverage denials;
managing/consulting...

Scott R. Simmons earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1990 from Louisiana State University and his juris doctor in 1993 from Loyola University in New Orleans School of Law. Mr. Simmons was admitted to the Louisiana Bar in 1994 and subsequently to the bars of the United States District Court for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana. He has practiced in the areas of commercial litigation, residential and commercial real estate, title examination and title insurance, real estate development and financing, class actions, personal injury and consumer representation. Mr. Simmons is a Louisiana Notary...

Mr. Joshua Johnson is a local Gulf Coast resident from Pensacola, FL. moving to New Orleans in 2012 to attend Loyola University. He then continued his education Loyola Univesity, School of Law in 2016, completing his education 2020.
While in law school Joshua participated in student government, clinic, and other organizations. As the class representative, he organized and advocated for the wishes of Loyola Law students. During Clinics, he focused on family law working closely his team representing eight different clients during this time. The Clinic cases dealt predominantly with custody and estate planning. Throughout this process, Joshua supported and...

"Philip Bohrer is the founder of Bohrer Brady LLC and holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubble*. He received his J.D. from Louisiana State University in 1984. Mr. Bohrer practices in the fields of maritime personal injury, plaintiff personal injury and insurance litigation, class actions and consumer claims.

Mr. Bohrer is licensed to practice in the states of Louisiana and Texas. He has also served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Bohrer has lectured in the field of maritime personal injury to various trial lawyer organizations and is a member of the Million...