Gordon Arata celebrates firm members Terrence K. Knister and Caroline D. Lafourcade, recently announced as 2022 New Orleans CityBusiness Leadership in Law honorees. Marion Weinstock, a member of the firm’s management committee and prior CityBusiness Woman of the Year honoree said, “Caroline and Terry exemplify the tenets and standards of the firm, providing superlative service to clients. We are delighted they have been selected as honorees this year and we salute our colleagues from other firms who have similarly been chosen.”

Terrence “Terry” Knister has 40 years of litigation experience in bench and jury trials as well as appeals. His practice focuses on energy, environmental, construction and toxic tort litigation, including the defense of individual, mass tort and class action lawsuits. For over two decades, Terry has defended oil and gas companies in numerous “legacy” lawsuits asserting environmental damage claims typically in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Terry’s trial strategy for these cases includes formulating concise discovery for obtaining the most information for the least cost. He is intently involved in selecting key expert and fact witnesses and preparing them for effective testimony at deposition and trial. Where actual environmental damage has occurred, Terry advises the client with respect to any remediation program required as part of the settlement.

Terry has been an invited speaker at the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Environmental Litigation seminar and has previously spoken at legal programs sponsored by the Association of Corporate Counsel, American Association of Professional Landmen, Defense Research Institute National Business Institute, corporations, and insurance companies in the areas of environmental and toxic tort litigation, class actions, mass torts and case management.

Caroline Lafourcade is a Board Certified Tax Law Specialist—as certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization—and has more than 25 years of experience advising individuals and businesses regarding federal taxation and Louisiana state and local taxes. She has significant experience in the resolution of federal tax controversies at all stages of examination, administrative appeals, and litigation with the Internal Revenue Service. Caroline represents clients in state and local tax audits, in administrative appeals, in state and local tax litigation before the Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals and in state courts regarding income tax, sales and use tax, severance tax and ad valorem property tax. In addition to assisting clients with business formation and planning, Caroline helps clients devise estate plans to protect and preserve their assets and counsels clients in the administration of complex estates and successions.

Recently, Caroline was appointed to the 2021-2022 Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization Tax Law Advisory Commission for a three-year term. The board was established by the Louisiana Supreme Court and is charged with regulating existing legal specialty areas and assisting consumers in finding a lawyer who has demonstrated ability and experience in specialized fields of law. From 2020 to 2021, Caroline served as one of 13 members of the S.R. 22 Misclassification of Employees Task Force, established by the Legislature to study and make recommendations for changes to state laws to minimize worker misclassification in Louisiana. She previously served as chair of the Tax Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association.