H. Alston Johnson III
Senior Partner
Alston Johnson practices in the area of litigation, particularly at the appellate level and with particular emphasis in the areas of tort litigation, insurance coverage and litigation and administrative law. He has extensive experience in legislative and regulatory and governmental matters and has represented numerous public entities in both counseling and litigation capacities.
Prior to joining Phelps in 1984, Alston was a member of the full-time law faculty at the Hebert Law Center of Louisiana State University for 12 years. He continued to serve as an adjunct member of that faculty from 1984-2011. When he took senior partner status with the firm in early 2012, he taught full-time again on that faculty until the end of the spring semester of 2013, when he reverted to his prior adjunct status. He has taught courses in Federal Courts, Conflict of Laws, Torts, Insurance, Louisiana Civil Procedure and several of Louisiana’s civil law subjects.
Experience
- Briefing and oral argument in approximately 200 appellate matters before the Supreme Court of Louisiana, all five intermediate appellate courts of the State of Louisiana, and the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, involving a wide range of subject matters such as commercial disputes, personal injury matters, insurance coverage issues, insurance policy interpretations, procedural issues, constitutional law, workers’ compensation, allocation of fault issues, conflicts of law, punitive damages, mineral interest disputes and others.
- Appointment and service as Special Master, 19th Judicial District Court, State of Louisiana, relative to issues in large succession under administration, and in dispute over legislation involving state retirement systems.
- Writ and appeal preparation in breast implant class action litigation and in lead paint class action litigation.
- Handling class action suits in both state and federal trial courts involving claims related to post-hurricane insurance coverage, vanishing-premium life insurance policies, installment fees as premium payments in casualty policies, treatment of insurance agents as independent contractors rather than employees, and payment of membership dues to organizations in order to be permitted to purchase insurance products.