John R. Martzell

John R. Martzell received the LBF 2006 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. The award was presented at the Louisiana State Bar Association's (LSBA) Annual Meeting in Sandestin, Florida.

Mr. Martzell was selected for his long-standing devotion to excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the courts, litigants and all counsel in his practice of the law. He received a plaque signifying the honor bestowed to him. In addition, the award carries a $1,000 cash stipend, which the LBF donates to a non-profit law-related program or association providing services in the state of Louisiana in Mr. Martzell's name.

John R. Martzell practices in New Orleans, Louisiana with the firm of Martzell & Bickford. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame in Accounting and a Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame Law School; he also served on the Editorial Board of the Notre Dame Lawyer. He was law clerk to the Honorable J. Skelly Wright, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana and the Honorable Frank B. Ellis, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

He served as Director of the Louisiana Commission on Human Relations, Rights and Responsibilities for six years. He is a member of the Louisiana Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He is also a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American College of trial Lawyers and the Council of the Louisiana State Law Institute. He served as President of the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association and as Chairman of the Department of Public Affairs with the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He is also listed in the in the Best Lawyers of America under Personal Injury, Maritime Law, Criminal Defense and Business Litigation categories. He lectures widely to lawyers and law students on a variety of subjects.

H. Alston Johnson III

H. Alston Johnson III, of Baton Rouge received the 2005 LBF Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. The award was presented in June during the Louisiana State Bar Association's (LSBA) Annual Meeting in Las Vegas.

Johnson was selected for his long-standing devotion to excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the courts, litigants and all counsel in his practice of the law.

Johnson received a plaque signifying the honor bestowed to him. In addition, the award carries a $1,000 cash stipend, which the LBF donates to a non-profit law-related program or association providing services in the state of Louisiana in Johnson's name.

H. Alston Johnson III is a managing partner of Phelps Dunbar's Baton Rouge office. He graduated cum laude in 1967 from Georgetown University. He received his J.D. in 1970 from Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center where he was a senior associate editor of the Law Review . Prior to joining Phelps Dunbar in 1984, he was a full-time member of the law faculty at LSU for twelve years. He continues to teach as an adjunct member of that faculty, teaching primarily conflict of laws, federal courts and insurance.

His practice concentrates primarily in litigation, particularly at the appellate level and with particular emphasis in the areas of tort, insurance coverage, and administrative law. He has extensive experience in legislative, regulatory and governmental matters and has represented numerous public entities in both counseling and litigation capacities.

Johnson served on the LSBA Board of Governors from 1975 to 1976. He is a member of the LSBA, the American Bar Association, and the American Law Institute and a former member of the council of the Louisiana State Law Institute. He is a past president of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel and in 1988 he served as chair of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Tort, Workers' Compensation and Insurance Reform. From 1973 to 1984, he served as consultant for the LSBA Law Reform Committee.

He is the author or co-author of three treatises on Louisiana law published by Thomson/West Publishing Company: Louisiana Workers' Compensation (4th ed.), Louisiana Insurance Law (3rd ed. in manuscript) and Louisiana Civil Jury Instructions (2nd ed.).

Allen Lewis Smith, Jr.

The award was presented to Allen Lewis Smith, Jr. during the Louisiana State Bar Association's Annual Brunch held Friday, June 11, 2004, in conjunction with the 63rd Annual Meeting at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Sandestin, Florida.

Smith received the award for his long-standing devotion to excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the courts, litigants, and all counsel in his practice of the law.

Allen Lewis Smith, Jr. was born in Woodville, Mississippi, May 9, l936. He was raised in Baton Rouge and received his undergraduate degree in Petroleum Engineering from LSU in January, l959. He returned to LSU for Law School and graduated with his Juris Doctor degree in May, l964. While in Law School, he was on Law Review for two years, inducted into Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and was a member of the Order of the Coif.

His law career began in l964 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, with Plauche & Plauche, now Plauche, Smith & Nieset, where he is a senior partner. He is a charter member of the LSU Law Center Fellowship Program, was President of the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association l978, President of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel in l988, and received the President's Award from the Louisiana State Bar Association in l990 for contribution in developing “Rules of Professionalism” for the Bar. He was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers in l982. In addition to maintaining a defense practice, Mr. Smith is a life member of the American Bar Foundation and he currently serves as General Counsel for the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury.

At the brunch, Smith received a plaque signifying the honor bestowed to him. In addition, the Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy award carries a $1,000 cash stipend, which the LBF donated to the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association's inaugural Bench-Bar Conference in Smith's name.

• 2003 John J. Weigel

• 2002 Robert B. Acomb, Jr.

• 2001 Jack C. Benjamin, Sr.

• 2000 Herschel E. Richard, Jr.

• 1999 Charles S. Weems III

• 1998 Gene W. Lafitte

• 1997 John B. "Spike" Scofield

• 1996 Patrick A. Juneau

• 1995 William K. Christovich

• 1994 Wood Brown III

*Deceased