Mr. French joined us as an associate in 2000 and became Special Counsel to the firm in 2004. He is a member of our Corporate Section and practices in the areas of corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, commercial real estate, securities law, estate planning, and digital media. He is also an expert on the Louisiana Motion Picture tax incentives.

Apart from serving as Special Counsel, Will is also the President of Louisiana Production Capital, L.L.C. ("LPC"), which brokers Louisiana motion picture, infrastructure and digital media tax credits. In 2005, LPC traded approximately one-third of all such tax credits issued by the State of Louisiana.

Will has been involved in such matters as middle market mergers and acquisitions for clients such as ASCo PLC and Community Coffee Company, L.L.C.; the establishment of commercial credit facilities for some of the firm’s larger clients; serving as local counsel for Citibank, N.A. and Wyndham International, Inc. on large-scale commercial real estate transactions; serving as outside counsel to Whitney National Bank on oil and gas financing transactions; and advising ASCo PLC on the internal corporate reorganization of its numerous subsidiaries.

Will graduated from Purdue University in 1995. In 1998, he received his J.D., cum laude, from Tulane Law School where he served two years on the Moot Court Board and was a member of the Order of Barristers. He was the winner of the Tulane Moot Court Appellate Competition for second year law students in 1997.

Will is a member of the Young Lawyers Section Council, First District, of the Louisiana State Bar Association, as well as the American Bar Association.