Ashley Belleau joined Montgomery Barnett’s New Orleans office in 2008 as a Partner. She currently serves as the firm’s Deputy Loss Prevention Counsel and Marketing Committee Chair. A native of Mobile, Alabama, Ms. Belleau received her B.A. from Newcomb College in 1980 and her J.D. from Tulane University School of Law in 1984. Upon graduating from Tulane University School of Law, she clerked in the Eastern District of Louisiana for Judge Henry A. Mentz, Jr. (now deceased) and was awarded the Eastern District of Louisiana Distinguished Service Award. Prior to joining Montgomery Barnett, she was a Managing Member of Patrick, Miller, Burnside & Belleau, L.L.C.

Ms. Belleau served as the 83rd National President of the Federal Bar Association for 2010-2011. Prior to being elected President, she served as National President-Elect for 2009-2010, National Treasurer for 2008-2010 and General Counsel for 2006-2008.

Selected as a Louisiana Super Lawyer in the area of Business Litigation, Ms. Belleau advises businesses, financial institutions, and individuals concerning bankruptcies, contracts, construction, environmental issues, fidelity, surety and financial institution bonds, insurance, professional malpractice, real estate, corporate, and estate matters. She also mediates and arbitrates business disputes. For more than a decade, Ms. Belleau has served as a member of the Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators for FINRA, f/ka National Association of Securities Dealers Regulation, Inc. (NASD). From 2006 to 2007, she served as a member of the Panel of Mediators for the Louisiana Department of Insurance Hurricane Mediation Program administered by American Arbitration Association (AAA)mediating over 350 hurricane wind damage disputes between homeowners and insurance companies.

Ms. Belleau works with business owners and entrepreneurs assisting them with every aspect of the business from inception through growth and development to, when necessary, dissolution. She assists her clients in obtaining financing, provides on-going business advice, represents clients during litigation, and counsels them through the dissolution of the business. Ms. Belleau also consults with individuals on how to protect their personal assets through estate and trust vehicles.

What Ms. Belleau loves about her practice is that she helps bring her clients peace of mind by minimizing their legal and business risk exposure in operating their businesses. With the assistance of her team of associates and partners, she crafts individual solutions and keeps clients informed so that they can make their decisions.

Ms. Belleau knows how a business operates from the inside out since she has been a business owner herself since 1988. First as the owner of a publishing company, and then a law firm, she understands the need to be efficient in the management and marketing of the business and how to address the employee and financial aspects of the business.

In 2007, Ms. Belleau served as a hearing examiner of property assessment tax appeals for the City of New Orleans.

From 2008 to 2009, Ms. Belleau served as a hearing officer for the City of New Orleans.

Published Works:
- Social Media and Your Practice: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You!

Areas of Practice: 

Alternative Dispute Resolution
Banking
Bankruptcy Creditors Rights
Business Structures
Business Transactions
Commercial Litigation
Construction Law
Estate, Trust and Probate
Fidelity, Financial Institution and Surety Bond Litigation

Bar Admissions:

Texas
Louisiana
Wisconsin
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana
U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana
U.S. District Court Middle District of Louisiana
U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court

Education:

Tulane Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1984
Juris Doctorate

Newcomb College, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1980
B.A.
Honors: Cum Laude

Published Works:

An Editor, The Handbook of Louisiana Alternative Dispute Resolution Laws, Bobby Marzine Harges, Esquire Books, 2011
Social Media and Your Practice: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You!, Fall 2011 Edition of The Primerus 180 Magazine
Louisiana Chapter, Co-Author, State-by-State Guide to Architect, Engineer, and Contractor Licensing, Aspen Publishers, 2012
Louisiana Chapter, Co-Contributor, Fifty State Construction Lien and Bond Law, Second Edition, Aspen Publishers, 2012
Bankruptcy Nationwide Service: Does it Equate to Personal Jurisdiction?, Louisiana Bar Journal, Vol. 54, No. 1, 2006
Bankruptcy Nationwide Service: Does it Equate to Personal Jurisdiction?, The Federal Lawyer, Vol. 52, No. 2, 2005
A Critique of the “New” Discovery Rules, The Federal Lawyer, Vol. 42, No. 6, 1995
Editor, The Louisiana United States Court Newsletter, 1988-1998

Honors and Awards:

• CityBusiness Women of the Year Class of 2012
• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America, The Trial Lawyer Honorary Society
• Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers Inaugural Edition, 2011 and 2013
• Louisiana Super Lawyers, 2007 – 2013
• Life Fellow, Foundation of the Federal Bar Association, 2002 – Present
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation, 2007 – Present
• Barrister, American Inns of Court – Tulane Chapter, 1987 – Present
• Fellow, American Bar Association, YLD, 1995 – Present
• Fellow, Louisiana Bar Foundation, 1989 – Present

Professional Associations and Memberships:

Federal Bar Association, 2011 – Present
National Immediate Past-President

Federal Bar Association, 2010 – 2011
National President

Federal Bar Association, 2009 – 2010
National President-Elect

Federal Bar Association, 2008 – 2009
National Treasurer

American Bar Association, 2012 – 2013
Vice-Chair, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section Fidelity and Surety Law General Committee

American Bar Association, 1995 – Present
Fellow, ABA/YLD

American Bar Association, 1989 – 1991
Chair, Young Lawyers Division Securities Law Committee

American Bar Association
Coordinator, Securities Law Glossary

American Bar Association
Member, Fidelity & Surety Law Committee, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS)

American Bar Association
Member, Business Law Section

American Bar Association
Member, Alternative Dispute Resolution Section

Defense Research Institute, 2010 – Present

Louisiana State Bar Association, 1997 – Present
House of Delegates

Louisiana State Bar Association, Bankruptcy Law Section, 2007 – 2010
Vice-Chair

Association of Women Attorneys

Louisiana Bankers Association

The Federalist Society, Louisiana Chapter, 2004 – 2006
Executive Committee

Louisiana Bar Foundation, 2000 – 2003
Chair, IOLTA Banking Committee

Fraternities/Sororities:

Kappa Alpha Theta
Phi Alpha Delta