What's New
A & G Attorneys Get Arbitration Award Vacated
Nov 03, 2025
In Carver Theater, LLC et al vs Kristen Melancon et al the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans was misled into referring the case for Arbitration before a panel of three Arbitrators. At the conclusion of the Arbitration which ended with an Award in favor of the Defendants, the Plaintiffs moved the Arbitrators to vacate their Award based on testimony given during the Arbitration by the defendant Kristen Melancon that she never intended to honor the contract at issue…
William D. Aaron, Jr.
Position
Managing Shareholder (Chairman, President and CEO)
Contact Information
Tel: 504.569.1807
Fax: 504.569.1801
Career Overview
Bill is the Managing Shareholder of the law firm of Aaron & Gianna, PLC A Professional Law Corporation. He chairs the firm’s business litigation practice as well as its transactions practice. A graduate of Duke University and Loyola University School of Law, Bill has over forty (40) years of general and specialized legal experience in the public and private sectors and is licensed to practice law in Louisiana, Texas and the District of Columbia. Bill represents a diverse group of clients across a variety of industries with a concentration in the areas of business and commercial litigation, banking and trusts, insurance and insurance coverage, serious personal injuries and wrongful death, state and municipal government, constitutional law and civil rights, land use and zoning, ethics and professional responsibility. Other areas have included real estate and housing, professional liability/licensing, wills and estates, alternative dispute resolution, creditors’ rights and bankruptcy, class and collective actions, health care, toxic torts, criminal law, public education, media law, public utilities, telecommunications, labor and employment and product liability.
Prior to his joining the earliest predecessor to Aaron & Gianna in January of 2000, Bill was a Partner in the New Orleans Office of Phelps Dunbar, LLP, an Am Law 200 firm. Bill has served as Assistant District Counsel for the U. S. Small Business Administration, Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Louisiana, Special Prosecutor for the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office, City Attorney for the City of New Orleans and outside general or special counsel for a variety of business, financial, governmental and not for profit clients.
Bill is an experienced litigator and has served as lead counsel in complex and high-profile trials, appeals and writs before a variety of state and federal courts including the Louisiana Supreme Court and the U. S. Supreme Court. He has overseen thousands of civil and criminal cases, argued over 650 pre-trial motions and served as lead counsel in over 200 Judge and Jury trials. Bill has authored over 125 appellate briefs and argued over 75 appeals. He has twice convinced the U. S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in cases of national importance including City of Arlington, Texas vs FCC combined with Cable, Telecommunications and Technology Committee of the New Orleans City Council vs FCC (Case No. 11-1547) involving the Chevron Doctrine, and Connick vs Thompson (Case No. 09-571) involving municipal liability. Bill has been successful on both sides of the “v” and is frequently brought in as lead trial counsel, by either side, in complex, high profile and bet the ranch litigation involving millions of dollars.
In addition to being an experienced litigator, Bill is a seasoned transactional attorney and a licensed title insurance agent. He regularly oversees complex financial, real estate, corporate and commercial transactions as well as regulatory and compliance matters for private developers, financial institutions, government agencies and entrepreneurs.
Bill is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell in the areas of Litigation, Commercial Law and General Practice. He is listed in the Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Municipal Law and Municipal Litigation. and in Louisiana Super Lawyers in the area of Business Litigation. Bill is a two-time recipient of the New Orleans City Business Newspaper’s Leadership in Law Award.
Bill has served as a court-appointed special master in toxic tort and other complex civil cases and as an expert witness on legal ethics, legal malpractice, and attorneys fees. He is a former member of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board, and in 2011 served as its Chairman. Prior to serving six years on the Disciplinary Board Bill served the attorney disciplinary system for five years as a Hearing Committee Chairman/Lawyer Member. Bill has had intensive training in alternative dispute resolution and has previously served as a Mediator, Arbitrator and Umpire with Mediation Arbitration Professional Systems, Inc. (MAPS) with offices in Metairie, the Northshore and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Over the past forty years, Bill has been an active participant in the activities of the various bar associations in which he has held membership.. Such participation has included service on the Board of Directors of the Federal Bar Association, New Orleans Chapter, and the Board of Directors of the Louis A. Martinet Legal Society, New Orleans Chapter.
Bill has served as a legal advisor to local, state and federal government officials, federal agencies, state agencies, municipalities, parishes, school boards, housing authorities, economic development agencies, sewer and water boards, transit and transportation authorities, aviation boards, charter advisory boards, District Attorneys, charter schools and other public and quasi-public entities in a wide range of areas including: commercial lending, lender liability, governmental ethics, small business lending, home rule charters, municipal franchises, state and local taxation, affordable housing, gaming, real estate, land use and zoning, economic development, labor and employment, civil service, teacher tenure, public bidding and other procurements, open meetings, public records, DBE Policies and Programs, pensions and other benefits, real estate development, real estate financing, constitutional law, civil rights, construction, public finance, class actions, collective actions, insurance and insurance coverage, tax credits, tax abatements, public education, drainage disputes, toxic torts, access television, video services and telecommunications.
Bill has served on the adjunct faculty at Loyola University’s College of Law where he taught Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure as well as its School of Business where he taught Business Law. In 2021 he joined the adjunct faculty at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center where commencing with the Spring Semester (2022) he began teaching the required course entitled The Legal Profession (Legal Ethics). Bill is a much sought after lecturer on legal topics and has spoken at continuing legal education programs sponsored by the American Bar Association, the New Orleans Bar Association, the New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, the National Business Institute, Loyola Law School, Tulane Law School, Southern University Law Center, Stetson University Law Center, the Louisiana Bar Association, the Florida Bar Association, the Louis A. Martinet Legal Society, the National Bar Association, the Professional Educational Systems Institute, the Louisiana Judicial Council, the City of New Orleans Department of Law, the Jefferson Parish Department of Law and the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board.
A prominent figure in local business and civic circles, Bill has served on the Board of Directors of a number of organizations including the Jefferson Business Council (Chairman 2016), Greater New Orleans, Inc., the Pontchartrain Park Community Development Corporation, Laureate Academy Charter School (Chairman 2016/2017, 2017/2018), 2018/2019 and 2019/2020), the New Orleans Museum of Art, CrimeStoppers, Volunteers of America and the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce (Chairman 2012). In January of 2015 Bill was named by New Orleans CityBusiness Newspaper as one of the thirty-five (35) “Driving Forces” on the New Orleans business scene in the ten-year period following Hurricane Katrina. Bill was named by Biz New Orleans Magazine as one of the Most Influential, Involved and Inspiring Business Leaders in the New Orleans Area in 2024 and 2025.
Bill is deeply committed to diversity in the legal profession and is the recipient of the National Diversity Council’s 2012 Multicultural Leadership Award.
Representative Matters:
- Bill served as lead counsel for a local School Board in a multi-year nine figure lawsuit against a municipality filed by the School Board and involving collection fees and other sums unlawfully taken by its tax collector (the Municipality) in connection with property and sales taxes due the School Board. The lawsuit was resolved by settlement calling for a variety of payments to the School Board by the Municipality totalling nine figures ($6 million up front, $2 Million per year for 15 years plus $4.8 million per year for 37 years), and future savings to the School Board of at least nine figures from the elimination of collection fees related to property taxes ($4.8 Million per year in perpetuity), the reduction of collection fees for sale taxes from 1.6% to 1.5% per annum in perpetuity (an annual reduction of $150,000 per year) moving forward and the cessation of all other unlawful diversions from taxes due the School Board.
- Bill served as lead counsel in a nine figure dispute between the firm’s client, a large court authorized non-profit Trust established to provide funding for medical and other services to class members desiring to quit smoking, and the three Tobacco Companies that had funded the Trust in settlement of a prior class action filed in New Orleans. The dispute involved the amount of money required to be returned to the Tobacco Companies at the end of the Trust’s first ten years of operation, and was resolved after complex litigation (which had reached the appellate level) via an eight figure settlement paid by the Trust to the Tobacco Companies.
- Bill was retained four months before trial as lead trial counsel for one of several insured defendants in a seven figure premises liability case brought by one of Louisiana’s leading plaintiff’s attorneys. Bill successfully obtained the release of his client, and its insurer, on the eve of trial in a mid six figure settlement substantially below policy limits.
- Bill served as lead counsel for the Appellee (Respondent) in an unsuccessful appeal by the Appellant to the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal and an unsuccessful writ to the Louisiana Supreme Court seeking to overturn a trial court’s vacating of an Arbitration Award and its corresponding ruling that a seven figure commercial case should be tried before a jury and not arbitrated.
- Bill served as lead counsel for a Senior Level Executive of a local Transit Agency who claimed in her letter of resignation to have been constructively discharged by the Agency based on a hostile work environment created by its outside General Counsel who was assisted by various Agency employees. The case settled for mid six figures without the necessity of a lawsuit being filed.
- Two weeks before trial Bill was brought in to serve as lead trial counsel for the plaintiffs in a medical malpractice case filed in state district court in New Orleans and involving the death of their eighteen month old child. After a five day trial the jury, after deliberating a mere forty five minutes, returned a verdict for the plaintiffs and awarded them the maximum amount allowed by Louisiana Law.
- For nearly twenty years Bill served as outside General Counsel for one of the largest downtown development districts in the State of Louisiana
- For nearly twenty years Bill served as the principal legal advisor to the City Council of one of the largest municipalities in the State of Louisiana on telecommunications, technology and cable television matters
- For over twenty years Bill has served as the principal legal advisor to a large school school district with respect to the auction and sale of its former school sites and other immovable properties nolonger needed for public purposes
Education
Bachelor of Arts, Duke University (1972) (Member Junior Varsity and Varsity Fencing Teams)
Juris Doctor, Loyola University School of Law (1977) (Member National Moot Court Team)
Bar Admissions/Admissions to Practice
State of Louisiana (1977)
District of Columbia (1979)
State of Texas (2011)
U. S. District Courts Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of La.
U. S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
U. S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U. S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
Supreme Court of the United States
Major Areas of Practice:
State and Federal Litigation including:
Complex and High Profile Civil and Commercial Litigation
Appellate Practice
Class and Collective Actions
Constitutional Law and Civil Rights
Media Law
Health Care including the representation of Medicare and Medicaid Contractors
State and Municipal Government Law
Telecommunications
Insurance (Defense, Coverage, Products and Self Insured Claims)
Professional Liability/Licensing (Legal, Medical, Accounting, Director & Officer)
Toxic Torts and Environmental Law
Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits
Serious Personal Injury and Wrongful Death
Land Use and Zoning
Corporate, Transactional, Regulatory and Advisory Services including:
Corporate and Public Agency Governance
Contracts and Other Agreements
Public Education
Telecommunications, Cable TV and Technology
State and Municipal Government
Banking, Finance and Trusts
Real Estate, Housing, Land Use and Zoning
Ethics (Legal, Governmental, Judicial and Business)
Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits
Public/Private Partnerships and Economic Development
Alternative Dispute Resolution including:
Mediation
Arbitration
Umpire Services
Other Areas of Practice:
Expert Witness Testimony (Legal Malpractice, Legal Ethics, Attorneys Fees, Louisiana Sunshine Laws)
Special Master Services (Mass Torts and Other Multiparty Litigation)
Internal Investigations
Criminal Law
False Claims Act Litigation
Governmental Affairs
Media Law
Maritime Law
Product Liability
Public Utility Regulatory Law
Tax Exempt Organizations
ERISA
Wills and Estates
Previous Legal and Adjudicative Positions Held
- City Attorney, City of New Orleans
- Special Prosecutor, Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office
- Panel Chair (and Chairman of Adjudicative Committee), Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board
- Court Appointed Special Master, Orleans Parish Civil District Court (various complex civil cases)
- Hearing Committee Chairman/Lawyer Member, Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board
- Partner, Phelps Dunbar, LLP
- Of Counsel, Polack, Rosenberg, Rittenberg & Endom
- Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Louisiana
- Managing Shareholder, William D. Aaron, Jr., PLC
- Assistant District Counsel, U. S. Small Business Administration
Law Teaching Positions Held
- Faculty Member, National Institute For Trial Advocacy (NITA) (1991- Present)
- Adjunct Professor [Business Law], Loyola University College of Business Administration (1980 -1988)
- Adjunct Profesor [La. Code of Civil Procedure], Loyola University College of Law (1994)
- Adjunct Professor [Legal Profession (Legal Ethics)], LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center (2021 – Present)
Honors/Awards/Distinctions
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America (Municipal Law; Municipal Litigation) (2008 – 2026)
- Named by Biz New Orleans Magazine as One of the Most Influential, Involved and Inspiring Business Leaders in the New Orleans Area (2024 and 2025)
- Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America (2022 – Present)
- Listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers (Business Litigation) (2009 – 2026)
- Listed as a Top Area Lawyer, New Orleans Magazine (2008 -2025)
- Recipient, New Orleans City Business Newpaper’s Driving Forces Award (2015)
- Recipient, New Orleans City Business Newspaper’s Leadership in Law Award (2008, 2012)
- Recipient, Harmony Neighborhood Development Service Award (2012)
- Recipient, National Diversity Council’s Multicultural Leadership Award (2012)
- Recipient, Outstanding Service Award, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of New Orleans
- Faculty Designation, National Institute For Trial Advocacy (NITA)
- “AV” peer review rating (Litigation, Commercial Law and General Practice), Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory
- Licensed Title Insurance Agent, State of Louisiana (2006 – Present)
- Recipient, Loyola Law School Law Alumni Award For Appellate Advocacy (1976)
- Former Member, Merit Selection Panels for the Appointment and Reappointment of U. S. Magistrate Judges, U. S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana (1993 – 2000)
Professional Memberships/Activities
- Louisiana State Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- District of Columbia Bar Association
- State Bar of Texas
- National Bar Association
- The Federalist Society
- Federal Bar Association, New Orleans Chapter (Board Member September, 2020 – August, 2023)
- Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (Board Member: 2006 through 2011); (Board Chairman: 2011); Board Vice Chairman: 2010); Hearing Committee Chairman/Lawyer Member: 2001-2006)
- Assistant Bar Examiner (La. Code of Civil Procedure), Louisiana Supreme Court Committee on Bar Admissions (2001-2015)
- Louisiana Bankers Association, Bank Counsel Section
- Visiting Committee, Loyola Law School (Emeritus Status) (Former Chairman)
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) (Former Member)
- New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Title Attorneys (NOMATA)
Publications
Aaron, William D. Jr., “Fifth Circuit Symposium: Federal Jurisdiction and Procedure” 38 Loyola Law Review 805 (1992-1993)
CLE and other Presentations
Frequent speaker at continuing legal education programs and other seminars on a wide range of topics including Civil Procedure; Insurance Coverage, Telecommunications, Labor & Employment Law, Land Use & Zoning Law; Constitutional Law & Civil Rights, Depositions, Legal Ethics, Governmental Ethics, Open Meetings and Public Records. Complete listing and copies of speeches and other presentations furnished upon request. Notable examples include the following:
“Legal Ethics” — National Institute For Trial Advocacy (NITA), New Orleans, LA. (2023, 2024, 2025)
“Identifying and Avoiding Conflicts of Interest” — ABA/YLD Seminar, American Bar Association (2009)
“Bad Faith Litigation” — Insurance Coverage Litigation Seminar, National Business Institute (2007)
“Ethics in Insurance Law” — Louisiana State Bar Association (2007)
“Directors and Officers Insurance in a Post-Enron Environment” — National Business Institute (2007)
“Expert Testimony” — Masters of the Courtroom Seminar, New Orleans Bar Association (2006)
“Direct and Cross Examination of Fact Witnesses” — New Orleans Bar Association (2004)
“Major Land Use Laws in Louisiana” — Co-author and lecturer, National Business Institute (2002)
“Public Records and Open Meetings in Louisiana” — Lorman Educational Services (2002)
“Basic Wage and Hour Law in Louisiana” — National Business Institute (1997, 1998, 2000)
“Louisiana Labor and Employment Law” — National Business Institute (1999)
Civic and Community Activities
- Member, Jefferson Business Council (Vice Chairman – 2015; Chairman – 2016)
- Former Co-Chair, Legislative Affairs Committee – New Orleans Chamber of Commerce
- Member, Chairman’s Council – New Orleans Chamber of Commerce
- Former Member, Board of Directors, New Orleans Chamber of Commerce (Chairman 2012)
- Former Member, Board of Directors, Laureate Academy Charter School (Chairman – 2016 – 2020)
- Former Member, Board of Directors, Greater New Orleans, Inc.
- Former Member, Board of Directors, Pontchartrain Park Community Development Corporation
- Former Member, Task Force on the Crescent City Connection (appointed by Governor, nominated by Jefferson Business Council)
- Former Member, Board of Directors, Volunteers of America
- Former Member, Board of Directors, Travelers Aid Society of Greater New Orleans
- Former Member, Board of Directors, Mental Health Association of Greater New Orleans
- Former Member, Board of Directors, Crime Stoppers
- Former Member, Board of Directors, Big Sisters (now Big Brothers/Big Sisters) of Greater New Orleans
- Former Member, Board of Directors, New Orleans Neighborhood Development Collaborative (now known as Harmony Neighborhood Development)
- Former Member, Board of Trustees, New Orleans Museum of Art
Other Business Interests and Affiliations
- Managing Member, Aaron Management and Development, LLC
