Minyard Law Office
"After 40 years of litigation, I am convinced that mediation is the best bang for your buck."
"Litigation is like playing football. Games are fun, but practice is pretty miserable. I’ve never had a client tell me after long, difficult litigation that 'Gee, that was fun. I hope I get to do that again sometime.' On the other hand, I’ve never had a client tell me they didn’t like a mediation experience. Clients feel like they’re part of the process in mediation. In courtroom litigation, they often feel like innocent bystanders."
“Litigation is expensive, time-consuming, and unpredictable. Arbitration is litigation that affords the parties and their counsel an opportunity to resolve their dispute quickly and efficiently if they avail themselves of the benefits of the process.”
Litigation
His litigation work began representing the State of Louisiana in the Attorney General’s Office in complex cases involving the ownership of state lands and minerals.
That practice led him to join a growing regional law firm in Lafayette, Louisiana concentrating in complex commercial litigation focused on the energy industry. During that time he represented landowners, oil and gas operators, pipeline companies and oil and gas service companies. The work included bank representation, oil and gas leasing, operating agreements, pipeline projects and other varied aspects of business litigation. “We were representing business clients, most of whom happened to be in the energy business.”
Mediation
In 1993, Chuck continued that practice as a solo practitioner.
At that time, he became a mediator and arbitrator, initially trained through the American Arbitration Association.
He later became affiliated with Mediation Arbitration Professional Systems, known as MAPS, based in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. He has continued his mediation practice since that time through MAPS, handling hundreds of mediations of nearly every type of case, including personal injury and property casualty, construction, corporate and LLC administration, oil and gas title disputes, oil and gas blowouts, pipeline damage cases, and the large, complex environmental disputes known as legacy site cases in Louisiana.
Arbitration
Chuck has continued his arbitration practice through AAA and privately. He has served as the sole arbitrator in a construction case involving the largest freestanding aircraft hangar in the world located in San Antonio, Texas. He served on a panel which conducted what at that time, was the longest running construction hearing in the New Orleans region of AAA. Other cases have ranged from consumer cases to major oil and gas disputes to ICDR seaman’s claims.
For over 40 years, Chuck’s practice has involved litigation, mediation, and arbitration.
SPECIAL MASTER
"Chuck has also been appointed Special Master by Louisiana District Courts in several property partition actions involving large landholdings and has been selected by the party’s counsel to serve as arbitrator in several private arbitrations."
CHARLES R. MINYARD
Chase Tower
600 Jefferson Street, Suite 501
P. O. Box 3642
Lafayette, Louisiana 70502
Office Telephone: (337) 266-2300 Fax: (337) 266-2163
E-mail: Chuck@MinyardLawOffice.com
PERSONAL
Age: 72
Married
Children: 3
EDUCATION
Louisiana State University School of Law
Juris Doctor degree - May, 1977
Admitted to Practice - October, 1977
Class Rank - 66/261
Average - 76.29
Louisiana State University
B.A. - May, 1973
Average - 3.9
Major - English/Creative Writing
Hanson Memorial High School, Franklin, Louisiana
Graduated - May, 1969
Average - 3.9
HONORS AND ACTIVITIES
Law School
Robert Lee Tullis Moot Court Competition Semi-finalist
Moot Court Board
The Civilian (contributor)
Undergraduate School
Magna cum laude graduate
B.A. with "College Honors"
College of Arts and Sciences Honor Award
Editor of "Delta" student literary magazine
LSU Alumni Association Scholarship
National Merit Scholarship
Masters Member, American Inn of Court of Acadiana
WORK EXPERIENCE
Sole Practitioner, Chase Tower, 600 Jefferson Street, Suite 501 (70501), Post Office Box 3642, Lafayette, Louisiana 70502, December 1, 1997 - present.
Minyard & Brener, 600 Jefferson Street, Suite 501, Post Office Box 3642, Lafayette, Louisiana 70502, May 1, 1997 - November, 1997.
Sole Practitioner, 600 Jefferson Street, Suite 501, Post Office Box 3642, Lafayette, Louisiana 70502, February 1, 1992 to April, 1997.
Partner, Mangham, Hardy, Rolfs & Abadie Law Firm, 600 Jefferson Street, Suite 1400, Post Office Drawer 93110, Lafayette, Louisiana 70509-3110, June, 1987 - February 1, 1992.
Equity Partner, Broadhurst, Brook, Mangham & Hardy Law Firm, 666 Jefferson Street, Suite 1400, Post Office Drawer 2879, Lafayette, Louisiana 70502, January, 1985 - May, 1987.
Profit Sharing Partner, Broadhurst, Brook, Mangham & Hardy Law Firm, 666 Jefferson Street, Suite 1400, Post Office Drawer 2879, Lafayette, Louisiana 70502, January, 1983 - December, 1984.
Associate, Broadhurst, Brook, Mangham, Hardy & Reed Law Firm, 666 Jefferson Street, Suite 1400, Post Office Drawer 2879, Lafayette, Louisiana 70502, March, 1981 - December, 1982.
Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, June 1, 1980 - February, 1981.
Deputy Secretary (First Assistant to Secretary, general departmental legal matters, policy, and management), Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, April 1, 1979 - May 30, 1980.
Staff Attorney, Attorney General's Office, Land and Natural Resources Section (Tidelands), September 1, 1978 to April 1, 1979.
Law Clerk, Judge Melvin Shortess, Nineteenth Judicial District Court, October 1, 1976 - August 30, 1978.
AREAS OF CONCENTRATION
“A three-man abstraction panel knowledgeable about the subject greatly reduces the possibility of an aberrant jury or judge finding.”
General litigation, arbitration and mediation, concentrating principally in complex commercial matters, oil and gas including but not limited to, environmental claims related to oil and gas exploration and production, all aspects of commercial construction including, but not limited to, commercial roofs, foundations, piping, delay and disruption.
Since admission to the bar in 1977, oil and gas practice has included contract and JOA disputes, title issues, and drilling-related cases such as downhole failures, logging failures, tool failures, and blowouts.
Involved in the defense of several multimillion-dollar blowout cases. Also worked on various pipeline expropriation matters including damage claims.
Has represented both homeowners and contractors in residential construction cases.
Served on a panel that conducted what was then the longest running trial in the New Orleans AAA district on a piping construction case. Served as arbitrator of a case concerning the largest free-standing hanger roof in the world at a U.S. Air Force Base.
Additional panels served on include oil and gas contract disputes (Chairman), apartment/townhouse development construction, and major oil and gas environmental, title, and JOA disputes.
Have mediated numerous oil and gas “legacy site” cases to settlement as well as many other oil and gas disputes between landowners and operators over royalties, title, servitude and lease maintenance.
Mediation practice has included a wide variety of cases on business disputes (minority/majority), personal injury and toxic tort cases, as well as construction and oil and gas.
"Arbitration was practically invented by owners and contractors who needed a speedy and relatively inexpensive way to resolve inevitable disputes at the end of a project."
ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION
"After 40 years of litigation, I am convinced that mediation is the best bang for your buck. We do more in 3 to 5 hours than can be accomplished in years of litigation."
Member, Mediation Arbitration Professional Systems, Inc. (MAPS), Panel of Mediators. 90.5 hours of training in basic and advanced mediation techniques from MAPS. 40.0 hours of training in basic mediation techniques from American Arbitration Association.
Certified Trained Mediator and Arbitrator through American Arbitration Association (AAA) and Mediator through Mediation Arbitration Professional Systems, Inc. (MAPS).
Cases mediated include areas of employment law, personal injury, oil and gas, Jones Act, Longshoremen and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act, construction, contract disputes, bank fraud and environmental, oil and gas, legacy sites.
Mediation fee: $400.00/hour, plus $325.00/party case management fee.
Arbitration fee: $400.00/hour.
Mediations conducted involving Farm Bureau, State Farm, Allstate, Prudential, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, CNA, and other insurance companies, ExxonMobil, BP, Wagner, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Noble, Apache, and other operators.
REFERENCES
George Arceneaux
Joseph C. Giglio, Jr.
Liskow & Lewis
822 Harding Street
Lafayette, LA 70503
(337)232-7424
John H. Carmouche
Talbot, Carmouche & Marcello
17405 Perkins Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70810
(225)400-9991
Chad E. Mudd
David P. Bruchhaus
Mudd & Bruchhaus, LLC
410 East College Street
Lake Charles, LA 70605
(337)562-2327
Mr. Patrick C. Morrow
Morrow, Morrow, Ryan & Bassett
324 West Landry Street
Opelousas, LA 70570
(337)948-4483
Philip E. Downer, III
Downer, Huguet & Wilhite, LLC
333 Texas Street
Shreveport, LA 71101
(318)213-4444
Bernard H. McLaughlin, Jr.
713 Kirby Street
Lake Charles, LA 70601
(337)310-1609
Lawrence P. Simon, Jr.
George Arceneaux, III
Liskow & Lewis
822 Harding Street
Lafayette, LA 70503
(337)232-7424
Jason P. Bergeron
Exxon Mobil Corporation
4045 Scenic Hwy., RMO 5020
Baton Rouge, LA 70805
(225)540-0326
David Russell
McGowan Working Partners
P. O. Box 55809
Jackson, MS 39296-5809
601-982-3444
L. Victor Gregoire
Kean, Miller, LLP
P. O. Box 3513
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
(225)387-0999
William Tim Allen, III
Blanchard, Walker
333 Texas Street
Shreveport, LA 71101
(318)934-0217
Joseph “Larry” Shea, Jr.
Bradley, Murchison, Kelly & Shea
401 Edwards Street, Suite 1000
Shreveport, LA 71101
(318)227-1131
"Nothing the mediator does is neutral. Everything the mediator does gets the parties closer to a settlement or further away."
600 Jefferson St # 501
Lafayette, LA 70501, USA
Get in Touch
Chase Tower
600 Jefferson St # 501
Lafayette, LA 70501, USA