Appellate Practice Head Tad Bartlett focuses on appellate advocacy and brings deep experience across state and federal courts nationwide. An Appellate Practice Specialist certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization, he serves as the 2026-2027 Secretary of the LBLS Appellate Practice Advisory Commission.
Tad has built a nationally recognized appellate practice, representing clients in all Louisiana state courts, multiple federal circuit courts of appeal—including the Second, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits—and in certiorari proceedings before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Tad first practiced under the Louisiana student practice rule in 1999 as a member of the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic before graduating magna cum laude and Order of the Coif from Tulane Law School in 2000. While at Tulane, Tad served for a year as a research assistant to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (U.S. Supreme Court) and Judge James L. Dennis (U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit) for a class on comparative human rights law. After graduating, he served as a judicial clerk for Judge Dennis.
Tad was an integral part of a multi-firm team that developed the coastal litigation practice regarding land-loss on behalf of both landowners and governmental entities. In addition, Tad has been deeply involved in numerous complex commercial cases, from preferential rights disputes to bet-the-company litigation, as well as construction litigation.
Since 2019, Tad has served on Tulane Law School’s faculty as an adjunct professor, teaching an advanced seminar on Coastal Law Litigation & Policy. He also serves as an advisory board member of the Tulane Institute of Water Resources Law and Policy.
In addition, Tad runs the Take the Fifth blog, which digests all opinions released by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, summarizes all opinions designated for publication, and tracks statistics on opinion releases from the Circuit.
- Represents the Plaintiff in the appeal of a summary judgment dismissal of a breach of contract claim arising from a sophisticated energy consulting relationship. The outcome of this appeal will shift the Fifth Circuit’s precedent as to how to measure and apply conclusions as to the reliability of expert testimony at summary judgment as to damages in a complex business claim, particularly when there is copious non-expert/fact evidence and testimony as to the damages that could survive summary judgment and go before the fact-finder.
⠀ - Represented ASM Global in litigation arising from the alleged defective roof replacement of the Caesars Louisiana Superdome. ASM was brought into the case through third-party claims asserted by the roofing contractor and roofing material manufacturer. The trial court granted ASM’s exception of no cause of action and dismissed those third-party claims. The Fourth Circuit then granted the third-party plaintiffs’ appeal. On March 31, 2026, the firm achieved a unanimous grant of certiorari from the Louisiana Supreme Court and reversal of the Louisiana Fourth Circuit opinion, resulting in the reinstatement of the district court’s judgment dismissing a third-party claim against client ASM Global, LLC. The third-party plaintiffs filed an application for rehearing that was denied by the Louisiana Supreme Court.
⠀ - Represents Bradish Johnson Co., Limited in a class action against the operators of three pipelines and pipeline canals that stretch along the entire coast of Louisiana from St. Bernard Parish to St. Mary Parish. The lawsuit alleges that the pipeline companies failed to abide by their legal obligations to prevent damage to the land across which their pipelines and pipeline canals traverse, causing massive destruction and land loss. The lawsuit seeks a mandatory injunction against the pipeline companies requiring them to construct projects that will restore the land that has been lost as a result of the breach defendants’ legal obligations. The case is the biggest class action ever filed attempting to hold the pipeline industry responsible for the devastation they have caused to Louisiana’s coastline. Plaintiff’s motion to certify the class was denied in July 2026. The named Plaintiff’s individual action remains ongoing. A two-week jury trial is scheduled for September 20–October 1, 2027. (Bradish Johnson Co., Ltd. v. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC and Kinetica Energy Express, LLC, No. 2023-10295 (E.D. La.))
⠀ - Represents Plaintiff in a suit against Dresser, L.L.C. et al. Dresser is the current owner/operator of the GE-Dresser facility near Pineville, Louisiana, which is a manufacturing facility that has contaminated neighboring properties with carcinogenic materials, heavy metals, and radioactive substances. The Plaintiff's property was classified by Dresser as a “Greatest Risk Property,” and Plaintiff seeks remediation of his property under the Louisiana Environmental Quality Act, the Louisiana Ground Water Act, and compensatory damages.
⠀ - Represents the NCAA in appeals throughout Louisiana in its defense of a series of lawsuits challenging the Association’s student-athlete-eligibility rules.
- Appellate
- Class action
- Environmental
- Plaintiff
- Consumer goods and services
- Fisheries and aquaculture
- Government and public policy
- Insurance
- Natural resources
- Oil and gas
- J.D., magna cum laude, - Tulane Law School - 2000
- M.F.A. - University of New Orleans - 2015
- B.A., magna cum laude, - Spring Hill College - 1994
- New Orleans Bar Association
- Louisiana State Bar Association
- American Association for Justice
- Federal Bar Association – New Orleans Chapter
- The Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
- Louisiana - 2000