Mr. Whittaker represents clients in a wide variety of transactions, including buying, selling and merging companies; private placements of securities; venture capital and private equity transactions; joint ventures; roll-ups, spin-offs and split-ups; and all phases of real estate acquisitions, development and financing. Mr. Whittaker joined Stone Pigman in 1984.

Representative Matters

Represented Chicago Bridge and Iron Company (CB&I) as Louisiana counsel in its acquisition of a Louisiana-based company in a transaction valued at over $3 billion.  The acquisition, which closed in February 2013, created one of the most complete energy-focused technology, engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction, maintenance, and associated services companies in the world with a global workforce of nearly 50,000 employees and a backlog of over $28 billion.

Represented Westway Group, Inc. in connection with its sale to the Swedish private equity firm, EQT, for a reported $419 million.  That transaction, which was accomplished through a tender offer and merger, closed in January 2013.  Westway operates bulk liquid storage terminals in North America and Europe.

Represented a major Louisiana supermarket company in connection with its joint acquisition of a chain of over 100 supermarkets and related facilities located in the states of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois.

Represented a major Louisiana health care provider in connection with the split-up of Louisiana’s first statewide health maintenance organization, which then had over 100,000 members.

Represented a major shareholder in connection with the sale of an international restaurant chain, with owned and franchised locations in 28 states and foreign countries.

Represented a global commodity trading company in connection with its acquisition of the second largest green coffee trading business in the world, with a presence in more than 20 countries.

Represented a Louisiana based oil field services company with operations in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, Sakhalin Islands and Brazil, in connection with its sale to a Fortune 100 company, including an ancillary divestiture of the client’s Nigerian subsidiary.

Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann L.L.C.

At Stone Pigman, we believe that outstanding lawyers deliver superior client service. Stone Pigman attorneys are experienced, creative and focused on finding the best solution for our clients. Our goal is to help you advance your interests and grow your business, whether that business is a local start-up, a regional manufacturer, or a Fortune 100 company. We are serious advocates and partners for all our clients, large and small.

Throughout its history, Stone Pigman has hired the top law school graduates. Our lawyers come from local law schools, including Tulane, Louisiana State University and Loyola – as well as national law schools such as Harvard, University of Virginia, New York University, University of Texas, University of Notre Dame and Emory. We regularly hire lawyers who graduate Order of the Coif and members of the law review and moot court competition teams.

Our lawyers are not solely distinguished by their academic achievement. They are also professional leaders. Stone Pigman lawyers are former law clerks to justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court and judges of the United States Circuit Courts of Appeals and District Courts. We lead the legal profession as bar association officers, delegates, examiners, section leaders and committee chairs; as members of committees of the Judicial Conference of the United States and the council of the Louisiana State Law Institute; as instructors for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy; and as members of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, International Society of Barristers, American College of Trial Lawyers, American College of Real Estate Lawyers, American College of Mortgage Attorneys and American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Beginning with our founder, John Minor Wisdom, several members of the firm have been elevated to the federal bench.