Current:Home > ScamsLouisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards will join law firm after leaving office -FinanceCore
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards will join law firm after leaving office
View
Date:2025-04-12 00:04:11
BATON ROUGE, La (AP) — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Thursday that once he leaves office next week he will join a New Orleans-based law firm where he will focus on renewable energy litigation.
During Edwards’ past two terms as governor, which has spanned eight years, the Democrat has prioritized developing and expanding Louisiana’s renewable energy sources and reducing the state’s carbon dioxide emissions. Before entering the political world, Edwards, who was unable to run for governor again because of consecutive term limits, was a trial attorney who had opened a civil law practice in his hometown of Amite.
“It has been the greatest honor of my lifetime to serve as governor of the State of Louisiana,” Edwards said in a news release Thursday. “I look forward to rejoining the legal profession and continuing to serve the state by establishing Louisiana as a leader in green energy while maintaining our commercial competitiveness.”
Edwards will join Fishman Haygood LLP as special counsel when he leaves office on Jan. 8. He will work with the law firm’s business and litigation teams.
“We are thrilled to have the governor join our team,” John Werner, a partner of Fishman Haygood, said in a statement. “John Bel has been a proven leader throughout his life, including his recent efforts to grow the renewable energy sector in Louisiana. We are excited that he has chosen to join us in this next phase of his career.”
The law firm, which was founded in 1996, has been involved in negotiating complex land deals and corporate mergers as well as high-profile cases like the Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme and the BP Deepwater Horizon settlement, The Advocate reported.
Over the past two decades, Louisiana has had a front-row seat to the effects of climate change, with hurricanes making landfall more frequently, coastal areas being eaten away by erosion, subsidence and rising sea levels, and the Mississippi River reaching record-low water levels, causing barges with agricultural exports to get stuck. In addition, the state, which shares its southern border with the Gulf of Mexico, has tens of thousands of jobs tied to the oil and gas industry.
Recently, efforts to expand Louisiana’s renewable energy opportunities have come to the forefront. Last month, the state’s first-ever wind energy operating agreements in offshore waters were approved.
Edwards has long told reporters that after leaving the governor’s mansion he plans to move back to Tangipahoa Parish with his wife and go “back into private business.” While he has repeatedly said he has “no expectation or intention” to run for political office in the future, he hasn’t outright ruled it out.
Edwards’ successor, Republican Gov.-elect Jeff Landry, will be inaugurated Monday.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Meet the underdogs who overcame significant obstacles to become one of the world's top dog-sledding teams
- Authorities are seeking a suspect now identified in a New Mexico state police officer’s killing
- Get Your Carts Ready! Free People’s Sale Is Heating Up, With Deals of up to 95% Off
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- Former Tesla worker settles discrimination case, ending appeals over lowered $3.2 million verdict
- Host, radio station apologize for 'offensive' quip about South Carolina star Kamilla Cardoso
- Former four weight world champion Roberto Duran receiving medical care for a heart problem
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Boeing plane found to have missing panel after flight from California to southern Oregon
Ranking
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Boeing plane found to have missing panel after flight from California to southern Oregon
- In close primary race, trailing North Carolina legislator files election protests
- Former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel hired by Cleveland Browns as coaching consultant
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Cable TV providers must offer clear pricing totals for video subscriptions, FCC rules
- Nathan Wade resigns after judge says Fani Willis and her office can stay on Trump Georgia 2020 election case if he steps aside
- Bracketology: Fight for last No. 1 seed down to Tennessee, North Carolina, Arizona
Recommendation
'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
Aaron Donald and his 'superpowers' changed the NFL landscape forever
As spring homebuying season kicks off, a NAR legal settlement could shrink realtor commissions
Home sellers cut list prices amid higher mortgage rates as spring buying season begins
New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
Boeing plane found to have missing panel after flight from California to southern Oregon
Supreme Court lays out new test for determining when public officials can be sued for blocking users on social media
Home sellers cut list prices amid higher mortgage rates as spring buying season begins