Andre P. BellefontaineAssociate

"I am a driven and hard-working attorney who takes pride in my ability to assist clients in navigating the challenging and complex nature of oil and gas litigation. With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, I strive to provide clients with a deep level of understanding of the potential resolutions and risks associated with each case to optimize client resources and attain the best outcome."

Andre Bellefontaine primarily works with the firm’s Energy and Environmental Litigation practice groups. He provides legal advice on issues associated with environmental regulatory compliance, oil and gas legacy litigation, coastal zone litigation, and groundwater contamination. Andre also assists the firm’s Tax group in providing counsel in corporate income and franchise tax litigation.

Andre serves on legal teams that represent, defend, and advocate for a selection of the largest energy companies doing business today. In this capacity, he conducts legal research on issues arising from environmental regulation and litigation, insurance and indemnity disputes, toxic tort defense, and regulatory compliance and enforcement. With the nuanced claims associated with coastal litigation, Andre also has extensive experience in motion practice relating to statutory interpretation and the constitutionality of regulatory enforcement. Andre is experienced in administrative litigation and has handled appeals of agency orders and rulings by the Department of Energy and Natural Resources under the APA.

Moreover, Andre has experience in contract litigation relating to mineral leases, solar farm testing agreements, surface leases, property sales and exchanges, right of way agreements, and commercial lease agreements. Andre’s litigation experience also extends to the federal forum where he’s defended numerous lawsuits for land and groundwater contamination.

As an environmental litigator, Andre has experience in dealing with expert witness on complicated issues such as induced subsidence, hydrology, vapor intrusion, toxicology, reservoir compaction, fault reactivation, and other experts on subjects relating to the causes of land loss and environmental contamination. In addition, Andre is involved in issues that range from mineral rights, coastal use permitting, and wastewater discharges to Louisiana RECAP, Statewide Order 29-B and other state oilfield remediation rules.

In everything he does, Andre is committed to providing the best quality legal services to energy industry clients, whose work, he believes, will ultimately improve the Louisiana economy and bolster the regional energy industry as a whole. A team player who excels at fostering collaboration and building strong relationships with others, Andre has a unique ability to bring people together, creating a positive and cooperative environment.

Prior to joining the firm, Andre served as a research and writing assistant for Resources for the Future, a nonprofit research institution in Washington DC which publishes impartial economic policy studies on federal environmental regulation to assist and improve US decision making relating to the energy industry.

Andre also served as a Law Clerk in the Executive Division at the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office. This experience is a value add to the clients he serves today – as many of their litigation claims involve the Attorney General’s Office. As a result, Andre is better prepared to understand and leverage the AG's procedural mechanisms and the office’s decision-making processes to the client’s advantage.