Donald J. Miester, Jr.
back to attorneys »
Donald J. Miester, Jr. is the Chair of Taggart Morton's Appellate Practice Section. Don is a lifelong New Orleanian and was raised in Lakeshore. He graduated from Jesuit High School in 1983, magna cum laude. Don attended Tulane University for undergraduate work and law school, receiving both his Bachelor of Science and Juris Doctorate degrees magna cum laude.
During law school Don was an Associate Editor of the Tulane Law Review, as well as a member of four moot court teams. He then served as the law clerk to United States District Judge F.A. Little, Jr. in Alexandria, Louisiana before entering private practice. Don served as the law clerk to United States District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon from 2000 - 2006.
Don has been lead counsel for appeals and writs in every Louisiana circuit, the United States Fifth and Eleventh Circuit Courts, the Supreme Court of Louisiana, and the United States Supreme Court. He has been invited to speak at several seminars addressing appellate practice. Don was selected to Super Lawyers in 2023-24 in the area of appellate practice, and has been honored as a top appellate lawyer by New Orleans Magazine for over five years.
Don is also an experienced trial attorney, and he has handled many complex commercial cases at the district court level.
PRACTICE AREAS:
- Appellate Practice
- Complex Commercial Litigation
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:
- Louisiana Bar Association (Member of Appellate and Solo/Small Firms Committees)
- New Orleans Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association
BAR ADMISSIONS:
- United States Supreme Court
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana
Experience
- A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University, B.S.M., magna cum laude, 1987
- Tulane University School of Law, J.D.,magna cum laude, 1990
- Associate Editor, Tulane Law Review, 1989-90
- Order of the Coif
- Order of the Barristers
- Law Clerk to the Honorable F.A. Little, Jr., United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, 1990-91
- Law Clerk to the Honorable Mary Ann Vial Lemmon, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, 2000-06
State and Federal Appeals: Basics and Rule Changes, presentation sponsored by Louisiana State Bar Association, Covington, LA, June 15, 2022.
Appellate Practice: COVID-19 and Other Updates, presentation sponsored by Louisiana State Bar Association, CLE Webinar, June 3, 2020.
Better Briefs and Oral Arguments on Appeal, presentation sponsored by Solo and Small Firm Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association, New Orleans, LA May 10, 2019.
Effective Appellate Advocacy, presentation sponsored by Solo and Small Firm Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association, April 9, 2019.
Recent Developments in Appellate Practice, presentation sponsored by Solo and Small Firm Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association, September 7, 2018.
Appellate Practice, presentation sponsored by Slidell Bar Association, Slidell, LA, March 5, 2022.
Common Mistakes on Appeal, presentation sponsored by 21st Judicial District Court Bar Association, October 15, 2014.
How to Handle Post-Trial Issues, Presented as part of a National Business Institute Seminar on “Building Civil Trial Skills,” New Orleans, LA, March 22, 2013
Common Mistakes on Appeal, April 13, 2012 (Presentation sponsored by the Jefferson Parish Bar Association)
Maximizing Your Chances on Appeal No Matter What Your Size, January 24, 2012 (Presentation sponsored by the New Orleans Bar Association)
"Trade Secret Misappropriation under the Louisiana Trade Secrets Act," 44 La. Bar J. 326 (1996)
