Loulan Pitre, Jr. is a 1986 graduate of Harvard Law School and a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. Oil and gas litigation comprises the bulk of his law practice.  He also has a growing practice providing advice regarding state and local government, particularly in the area of coastal restoration and protection and the area of transportation infrastructure. New Orleans CityBusiness named Loulan as one of fifty members of its Leadership in Law Class of 2009, based on evaluation of professional and community contributions.

Loulan was admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1986. His law practice has included litigation and counseling involving oil and gas matters, environmental issues, construction disputes, and property rights issues involving land and water rights in Louisiana's unique wetlands and coastal environments, and offshore. He has represented oil and gas companies, oilfield service companies, construction firms, engineering firms, real estate developers, public agencies, and non-profit organizations.   Through his representation of public entities and service in the legislature, he is very familiar with the laws affecting public entities, including the public bid law, the public records and public meeting laws, and the ethics code and lobbying laws. He has represented the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association ("LOGA") on matters pending before the Louisiana Supreme Court.

A significant part of Loulan’s practice is devoted to defending “legacy” environmental claims by landowners alleging inadequate cleanup of oil & gas exploration and production sites.  In Meaux et al. v. Hilcorp et al., Loulan led the team that defended a leading independent oil and gas exploration and production company (as well as its indemnitee, a major oil and gas exploration and production company) from claims by landowners for alleged environmental damage. This was one of the first cases to go to trial subject to the application of Act 312 of 2006, which substantially reformed the procedure followed in such litigation. At the end of a three week jury trial in state court in a coastal Louisiana Parish, plaintiffs asked the jury to return a verdict exceeding sixty million dollars. Instead, the jury returned a verdict that resulted in a judgment of dismissal of all claims, resulting in no liability for the defendants.  Loulan also led the team that successfully defended this result on appeal before the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal and the Louisiana Supreme Court. Loulan has frequently written and spoken on legacy litigation and Act 312, including talks to the Louisiana Mineral Law Institute, the Tulane Environmental Law Seminar, and industry groups, as well as the articles listed below. 

Loulan was first elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1999, and re-elected in 2003. As a member of the House of Representatives, Loulan focused his legislative time and attention on solving Louisiana's land loss crisis and dealing with infrastructure issues related to the land loss. He was an author and floor leader for several pieces of important legislation affecting coastal restoration and highways, including constitutional amendments approved by the voters in 2003. He completed his second four-year term as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives in January of 2008. In 2007, Louisiana Governor-Elect Bobby Jindal appointed Loulan to be Chair of the Transition Advisory Group on Coastal Restoration and Flood Control, and Loulan has also served in leadership roles on numerous other committees and organizations.

As a graduate of South Lafourche High School in 1979, Loulan was a National Merit Scholar and a Presidential Scholar. While in high school, Loulan completed the prestigious Telluride Association Summer Program at Cornell University. He also attained the rank of Eagle Scout. He went on to Harvard University on scholarship, where he received his Bachelor's degree in History magna cum laude, writing his honors thesis about nineteenth-century Cheniere Caminada, a town on the Louisiana coast. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1986, where he served as Editor of the Harvard Journal on Legislation and wrote his senior paper on aspects of the Louisiana state constitution. Loulan was elected Class Secretary by the members of his Harvard Law School class and gave the Class Address at Commencement exercises.

Bar Admissions: Louisiana