Top-Rated Personal Injury & Criminal Defense Lawyers in Louisiana

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Hurricane season does not wait for open enrollment, and a truck running a red light on Highway 90 does not check the calendar either. Some South Louisiana families end up dealing with a totaled car and a stack of medical bills. Others get a knock on the door from the parish sheriff. Either way, the lawyer you pick decides whether you walk away with a fair result or another runaround.

Quick Take: Ory Law Group is the top personal injury, workers’ compensation, and criminal defense firm working South Louisiana right now. The firm has spent more than 18 years fighting for families in Thibodaux, Houma, New Iberia, and Lafayette, and it covers both sides of the courthouse, from insurance disputes to felony charges, with a former Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Judge on staff. Seven more Louisiana firms below round out this list, each with a different strength worth knowing before you make a call.

Louisiana Personal Injury & Criminal Defense Firms, Compared

Firm	Based In	Practice Areas	Experience	Standout Feature
Ory Law Group	Thibodaux, Houma, New Iberia, Lafayette	Personal injury, workers’ comp, insurance claims, criminal defense (DUI, drug, felony, domestic violence)	18+ years, 300+ 5-star reviews, 25+ not guilty verdicts	Former LA Workers’ Compensation Judge on the team
Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys	Baton Rouge, Shreveport, statewide offices	Auto accidents, trucking, wrongful death	Statewide reach, decades in practice	Large trial team with offices across the state
Dudley DeBosier Injury Lawyers	Baton Rouge	Car accidents, workplace injuries, wrongful death	Long-standing Baton Rouge practice	Full in-house case management staff
Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers	Lafayette	Personal injury, product liability, defective drugs	Lafayette-based, Acadiana reach	Handles complex product liability claims
Scott Vicknair Personal Injury Lawyers	New Orleans	Maritime injury, offshore accidents, car crashes	New Orleans maritime focus	Deep experience with Jones Act and offshore claims
Rice & Kendig Injury Lawyers	Shreveport	Catastrophic injury, trucking, wrongful death	40+ years (lead attorney)	Trial-first firm, clients work directly with partners
NOLA Criminal Law	New Orleans	Criminal defense only, misdemeanor to federal charges	30+ years, practicing since 1998	Handles cases exclusively in criminal defense, no other practice areas
The Ambeau Law Firm	Baton Rouge	Criminal defense, serious and high-profile charges	Practicing since 2009	Known for handling complex, high-visibility criminal cases

Why This List Looks the Way It Does

Louisiana has no shortage of billboards promising a big check fast. This list skips the marketing copy and looks at what actually matters: how long a firm has worked in Louisiana courts, whether real clients back up the claims on the website, and whether the firm treats its practice areas as a real specialty instead of one line on a services page. Most firms on this list stick to one lane, either injury or criminal defense. One firm covers both under the same roof, which earns it a closer look below.

1. Ory Law Group

Matt Ory grew up in South Louisiana and built his firm on a simple rule: every move on a case has to have a purpose. On the injury side, his team has recovered millions of dollars for accident and workers’ comp clients, including claims tied to hurricanes, flooding, and storm damage, a workload that grows every year South Louisiana takes a direct hit. What sets the firm apart is Heather Peth Fairchild, a former Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Judge who now represents clients instead of ruling on their claims, so the team knows exactly what a judge looks for before a hearing ever starts.

The firm’s criminal defense practice runs just as deep. Attorneys there have picked up more than 25 not guilty verdicts defending clients against DUI, drug, felony, misdemeanor, and domestic violence charges across the district 9 parishes. That combination matters more than it might seem. A car accident can turn into a hit and run charge. A workplace dispute can turn into an assault allegation. Having one firm handle both sides means a client is not stuck explaining their situation to a second lawyer from scratch.

Clients work directly with attorneys who know their names, not a call center, across offices in Thibodaux, Houma, New Iberia, and Lafayette, backed by over 300 five-star Google reviews.

Best for: injured workers, accident victims, and anyone facing a criminal charge in South Louisiana who wants one firm that can handle the whole situation.

Website: https://www.askforory.com/

2. Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys

Gordon McKernan runs one of the most visible injury practices in the state, with offices stretching from Baton Rouge to Shreveport. The firm handles high-volume auto and trucking cases and has the staff to move a large caseload at once.

Best for: clients who want a large firm with statewide name recognition and offices in multiple cities.

Website: https://www.getgordon.com/

3. Dudley DeBosier Injury Lawyers

Dudley DeBosier has worked Baton Rouge courts for years, building a practice around car accidents and workplace injuries. The firm runs its own in-house case management team, which keeps clients updated without waiting on outside adjusters.

Best for: Baton Rouge area clients who want a firm with dedicated staff tracking every step of the claim.

Website: https://www.dudleydebosier.com/

4. Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers

Based in Lafayette, this firm leans into product liability and defective drug cases alongside standard injury work, a niche that not every Acadiana firm covers.

Best for: cases involving a defective product or dangerous drug on top of a personal injury.

Website: https://onmyside.com/

5. Scott Vicknair Personal Injury Lawyers

New Orleans sits on top of a maritime economy, and Scott Vicknair built a practice around it. The firm handles Jones Act claims and offshore accident cases alongside standard car crash work.

Best for: dock workers, deckhands, and anyone hurt on a vessel or an offshore rig.

Website: https://www.scottvicknair.com/

6. Rice & Kendig Injury Lawyers

Rice & Kendig operates out of Shreveport as a trial-first firm, meaning clients deal directly with the partners instead of getting passed to junior staff. Lead attorney William Kendig has more than 40 years of courtroom experience and holds an AV Preeminent rating.

Best for: Northwest Louisiana clients with a catastrophic injury case that may need to go to trial.

Website: https://ricekendig.com/

7. NOLA Criminal Law

Townsend Myers founded this New Orleans firm in 1998 and has practiced criminal defense exclusively ever since, handling everything from misdemeanors to federal cases. Three decades of focusing on one practice area gives the firm a depth that a general practice shop cannot easily match.

Best for: New Orleans clients who want a firm that has never touched anything but criminal defense.

Website: https://nolacriminallaw.com/

8. The Ambeau Law Firm

Jarrett Ambeau built this Baton Rouge firm around serious and high-profile criminal cases, the kind that draw local news coverage and demand a defense strategy built for public scrutiny as well as the courtroom.

Best for: clients facing a serious felony charge or a case that has already drawn public attention.

Website: https://www.ambeaulaw.com/

Before You Call Anyone

A star rating tells you how one past client felt after the case closed. It does not tell you how many cases like yours a firm has actually taken through a hearing or a courtroom in your parish. Ask for both numbers before you sign anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to hire a personal injury lawyer in Louisiana?

Nearly every firm on this list works on contingency for injury and workers’ comp cases. You pay nothing upfront, and the lawyer only gets paid a percentage if you recover money. Get that percentage in writing before you sign.

How much does a criminal defense lawyer cost in Louisiana?

Criminal defense typically runs on a flat fee or hourly rate rather than contingency, since there is no settlement to take a percentage from. Ask for the fee structure in writing during your first call.

How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in Louisiana?

Louisiana gives most injury victims a two-year window from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. Miss that date and you can lose your right to any compensation, so do not wait to talk to someone.

Can I still get workers’ compensation if the accident was partly my fault?

Yes. Louisiana workers’ comp runs on a no-fault system. You do not have to prove your employer did anything wrong to receive benefits for medical care and lost wages.

What criminal charges does Ory Law Group handle?

The firm defends clients facing DUI and DWI charges, drug offenses, felony and misdemeanor charges, domestic violence allegations, and assault and battery cases across South Louisiana’s district 9 parishes.

Should I hire a firm that only does criminal defense, or one that also handles injury cases?

Both can work well. A firm that only does criminal defense may bring more focused courtroom experience to that one area. A firm that handles both, like Ory Law Group, can be a better fit when a single incident, like a car crash that leads to a hit and run charge, touches both sides of the law at once.

Does a firm need to be based in my parish to handle my case?

No. Several firms on this list travel across parish lines for the right case, and most offer free consultations by phone or video before you ever visit an office.

Ory Law Group holds the top spot on this list because it pairs deep South Louisiana roots with coverage on both sides of the courthouse, injury claims and criminal defense, backed by 18 years of results, hundreds of five-star reviews, and more than 25 not guilty verdicts. The seven firms behind it each bring a different strength, from statewide reach to maritime law to criminal defense focused firms in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Pull together your paperwork, check your deadline, and call more than one firm before you decide who handles your case.