SEALE & ROSS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Louisiana State Bar Association
GEORGIA KOBOS THOMAS hails from the small town of Bay Minette in Baldwin County, Alabama. It was her grandmother who instilled in her the notion that if you work hard doing what you enjoy, then you will have a great career with many satisfied clients. With these lessons in mind, Thomas brought her eleven years of practice in the New Orleans area to SEALE & ROSS in June, 2011.
Biography
Practice Areas
Thomas is an active member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, the 21st and 22nd Judicial District Bar Associations. She is past vice president for the Association of Women Attorneys - New Orleans and past board member of the New Orleans Center for Speech and Hearing. In addition, she is founder of the Russian Orphans Relief Foundation which strives to make life better for children living in Russian orphanages.
GLEN R. GALBRAITH was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1965, but has lived in south Louisiana for most of his life. He was graduated from Louisiana State University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. Glen worked in industry for several years as a manager, computer programmer/analyst and engineer before attending law school. He was graduated from LSU's law school and was admitted to the bar in 1994.
Biography
Practice Areas
GLEN R. GALBRAITH was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1965, but has lived in south Louisiana for most of his life. He was graduated from Louisiana State University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. Glen worked in industry for several years as a manager, computer programmer/analyst and engineer before attending law school. He was graduated from LSU's law school and was admitted to the bar in 1994.
His areas of concentration in the practice of law are commercial litigation, employment discrimination, intellectual property, governmental liability, commercial transactions, succession litigation, and appellate advocacy. For more than 10 years, he taught part-time at Southeastern Louisiana University in the Department of Management, and occasionally works as a political consultant. Glen is a licensed private pilot.
He is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Louisiana, as well as the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. Some of his representative cases include:
KENNETH L. ROSS was born in Orange, Texas in 1944 and has been a resident of Hammond for more than 60 years. He is married to the former Linda Cooper and they have four children. Ross graduated from LSU Law School in 1971 and then admitted to the Bar. The primary thrust of his law practice is civil litigation including casualty; employment law; business formation and corporate issues; estate planning and successions; and insurance issues.
Biography
Practice Areas
Lesli S. Bolner enters her third decade of practice having counseled her clients' real estate, business, and personal concerns during the ever evolving financial cycle - from the prosperous times of land development, financing expansion, and construction boom, through economic contractions resulting in business reorganization and foreclosures.
MORGAN BROWN was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In May 2022 she graduated cum laude and received her Juris Doctor from Southern University Law Center. While attending law school, she was co-chair of the Office of Student Affairs, and she was also a member of the Board of Student Advisors, the Tax Law Society, and the Class Planning Committee.
MORGAN J. BROWN was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She graduated from the University of Iowa (go Hawkeyes!) in 2018 and decided to relocate to Louisiana for warmer weather.
In May 2022 she graduated cum laude and received her Juris Doctor from Southern University Law Center. While attending law school, she was co-chair of the Office of Student Affairs, and she was also a member of the Board of Student Advisors, the Tax Law Society, and the Class Planning Committee.
She started working for Seale & Ross in August and was admitted to the bar in October 2022. Her practice is concentrated in family law and commercial litigation.
Morgan currently lives in Baton Rouge. She has a passion for running. She has participated in five half-marathons and over a dozen 5K runs. She spends her free time going out to eat, going to movies, or hanging out with friends and family.
Areas of Expertise
Practice areas with which they can be of service:
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the St. Joseph Catholic Church
NICOLE ROBERTS DILLON was born and currently resides in Hammond, LA. She received her B.S. Degree in Accounting from Louisiana State University in December 2000, graduating Magna Cum Laude in her class and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.
Biography
Practice Areas
NICOLE ROBERTS DILLON was born and currently resides in Hammond, LA. She received her B.S. Degree in Accounting from Louisiana State University in December 2000, graduating Magna Cum Laude in her class and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.
After graduation, Ms. Dillon worked as a staff accountant, performing governmental audits, preparing individual and corporate tax returns and dealing with simple and intermediate tax issues. While pursuing her legal degree, she joined the firm of Seale & Ross as a law clerk. She received her Juris Doctorate degree from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans in May 2004. She was admitted to the bar for the State of Louisiana in 2005. Ms Dillon made Partner in the Law Firm in 2010. She is admitted to practice in all Louisiana State and Federal Courts.
Ms. Dillon has chosen to concentrate her legal practice in the area of domestic litigation and settlement and premarital planning. Ms. Dillon is one of two Board Certified Family Law Specialists in Tangipahoa parish, a designation awarded by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization after passing written testing and meeting other criteria. She was named a Rising Star by Louisiana Super Lawyers for the years 2013-2019. Nicole also received the 2015 Client Satisfaction Award from the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys.
Ms. Dillon has successfully handled child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, civil restraining orders, paternity, protective orders, complex community property settlements, as well as premarital planning and prenuptial agreements. Ms. Dillon additionally practices in the areas of wills, successions, estate planning, commercial transactions and real estate transactions and is licensed to write title insurance policies in the State of Louisiana.
Ms. Dillon is a member of the St. Joseph Catholic Church parish and is a lector there. Her son Collin attended St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School (Class of 2016) and is currently active in the Navy, stationed in Norfolk, Virginia with his wife and two children. Nicole held the position of Secretary of the Hammond Rotary Club for 6 years, and has been a board member for the Louisiana Children's Discovery Center as well as the pro bono attorney since the formation of the center, and a member of Hammond's Krewe of Omega for a number of years. She has volunteered her time and efforts for a number of community projects, including the BBQ N Blues, Hammond Rotary 10K, Jazz Brunch for the Children's Museum, Dictionary Project, and others. Ms. Dillon has also spoken to students wishing to become attorneys to help provide insight and guidance into their future decisions.
Ms. Dillon represents spouses who are caught in the turmoil of divorce and the related problems of child support, custody and visitation of children of the marriage, and separation of community property. She devotes a large portion of her practice to this most important work. She develops a plan of action that is most economical and effective for her clients whether that be mediation or litigation. Her goal is to ease the amount of distress for her clients during the trying time of divorce or custody litigation.
In order to avoid many of the unnecessary struggles of a divorce, she also offers premarital planning, including prenuptial agreements. This type of planning can be a beneficial tool to avoid spousal disputes related to family estates and separate property.
Rebecca A. Gilson was born in Virginia and raised in Louisiana since the age of three. Raised in the New Orleans area, she attended Archbishop Blenk High School. She graduated with honors from Southeastern Louisiana University with Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, a Bachelor's Degree in Communications with a concentration in written journalism, and an Associate's Degree in Biology. She won first place award for her written journalism, had numerous articles published in the campus news letter, and had published an article in Hammond's Daily Star newspaper. Rebecca was also a member of the Southeastern Louisiana debate team and won first place in a tournament held in California.
Rebecca attended Loyola University College of Law in New Orleans where she earned her Juris Doctorate degree in 2006. While at Loyola she volunteered in the Family Law Clinic, edited the Law Clinic newsletter, and was published in the Law Clinic newsletter. Her contribution to community efforts included counseling members of the community and assisting with a disaster relief center in Houston, Texas after Hurricane Katrina. After Hurricane Katrina, Rebecca moved to Hammond in 2005, where she has made her home.
Rebecca practiced law in the New Orleans area for 13 years before joining Seale & Ross, PLC in February 2020. Rebecca assisted clients with family law matters, successions, wills, custody, child support, spousal support, appeals, and all other areas of domestic law practice. Rebecca is a member of the Jefferson Parish Bar Association. She serves her professional community as a board member of the New Orleans Family Justice Center.
Areas of Expertise
Practice areas with which they can be of service:
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Board Certified Estate Planning and Administration Specialist
STEVE McKNEELY joined Seale & Ross in 2000 and became a partner in 2005. His practice is focused on assisting individual and family clients with successions, estate and gift tax (planning, including drafting wills, trusts, and advance directives; implementation of plans; trust operation and maintenance; representation before the IRS), federal income tax, and planning for disabled family members, including special needs trusts to preserve eligibility for governmental benefits.
Steve is a Board Certified Estate Planning and Administration Specialist (by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization), and is past president of the Northshore Estate Planning Council, an association organized to promote the education of its member professionals engaged in estate and trust planning in the parishes of Tangipahoa, St. Tammany, and Washington.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Partner
- Legal Counsel or Executive Counsel
- Member of First Presbyterian Church
T. JAY SEALE, III was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1947, and has made his life in Hammond for most of his adult years. Seale obtained his Juris Doctor degree from LSU's Paul M. Hebert Law School in 1973 and began his practice in Hammond in October of that year. Seale practiced as a solo practitioner for two years before beginning to build the present firm, now with offices in Hammond, Baton Rouge and Madisonville.
Seale's career includes both litigation and business experience. As a litigator, Seale has represented casualty insurers like Travelers, State Farm, Insured Lloyds through Marinco, Tycor, Phoenix Aviation Underwriters, and has served as lead or local associate counsel in medical, dental, and architectural E&O Litigation. He has represented many public entities in litigation, including state agencies, university clients, and parish and municipal government clients. He is a member of SuperLawyers® in Commercial Litigation and holds the AV/Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell and is listed by Best Lawyers as a member of Best Attorneys in Louisiana.
As a business lawyer, Seale has served as legal counsel or executive counsel for banks and commercial entities, developers, contractors, medical practices, and political subdivisions. For larger clients this work has included managing legal matters, including litigation in other jurisdictions, and coordinating claims handling procedures with the client's insurance carriers. He is experienced in mergers and acquisitions and generational transfers within family businesses.
Seale is a member of state and local bar associations and is a Past President of the Florida Parishes Inn of Court (an organization dedicated to civility, professionalism and ethics in the legal profession). He also serves as a member of the Bank Counsel Section of the Louisiana Banker's Association.
Seale has also served as Chairman of the Louisiana State Mineral Board where he supervised the Board's major litigation against Fortune 500 defendants, involving hundreds of millions of dollars in dispute. He has served as legal counsel to the Tangipahoa Parish Council, Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 1, Water Works District No. 1, and has represented public bodies including the Cities of Hammond, Amite, and Covington, as well as Southeastern Louisiana University, and the State's Division of Administration and Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. He currently serves as general counsel and Management Committee Member for Sheriff Daniel Edwards, Sheriff of Tangipahoa Parish.
In January, 2017, Governor John Bel Edwards appointed Seale to a six year term on the Board of Regents of the State of Louisiana, the policy-making board that sets standards for and oversees the performance of the state's 33 degree-granting public institutions of higher education.
Economic Development has been an interest of Seale; he is a former Chair of the Northshore Business Council, an invitation-only organization of Presidents and CEOs of Northshore businesses which actively pursues business interests in coordination with regional business councils and Chambers of Commerce. Seale is a Director of GNO, Inc., a regional economic development alliance covering a 10-parish region of the state, and is a member of the Executive Committee and the Public Policy Committee. Seale also serves as legal counsel to the Hammond Area Economic and Industrial Development District ("HAEIDD"), which has economic development responsibilities in Hammond. In that role, Seale has worked in the area of public finance law to facilitate recruitment of businesses to the area.
Seale has long held an interest in banking, serving as a Director of Parish National Bank and its holding company for a dozen years, until its merger with Whitney National Bank in 2008. While a Director of the bank, he served as Vice Chair of the Board of Regents, Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Executive Committee.
Seale is a Member of First Presbyterian Church in Hammond and leads a theological study group within the local church and beyond. He was married to the late Judy Milburn Seale and has a son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons who reside in Austin. Seale's recreational activities have included flying, scuba diving and photography. As a pilot, Seale holds multi-engine, instrument and seaplane ratings. As a photographer, Seale maintains his own digital darkroom and his works have been displayed in gallery showings in Maine and Louisiana. A collection of his photography hangs in the Hammond office of the firm.
Victoria T. Heyer lived most of her life in Louisiana, although she was born in Charleston, South Carolina, but has lived in Louisiana for almost twenty years. She is an alumna of Ponchatoula High School and graduated from Louisiana State University with a B.A. in Anthropology and History.
Victoria Heyer was born in Charleston, South Carolina, but has lived in Louisiana for almost twenty years. She graduated from Ponchatoula High School and graduated from Louisiana State University with a B.A. in Anthropology and History.
After graduation, she worked as a legal secretary for a small law firm which specializes in tax law and estate planning. While working full-time, she completed Louisiana State University's Paralegal Studies Program and graduated with honors. She had always been passionate about helping people, but her work during that time helped her realize this dream would be achieved by becoming a lawyer.
In May 2019, she received her Juris Doctor and Graduate Diploma in Comparative Law from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center. While attending law school, she was devoted to her studies and to giving back to her community. She worked at the Nineteenth Judicial District Public Defender's Office and worked extensively with the LSU Law Immigration Clinic. She was the VITA Coordinator with the LSU Tax Law Society where she completed federal and state income tax returns for members of the community. She was also the Pro Bono Chair of the Public Interest Law Society and received the Louisiana State Bar Association's 2019 Law Student Pro Bono Award.
She was admitted to the Bar in October 2019 and began working for Seale & Ross in January 2020. Her practice is concentrated in the areas of successions and estate planning, business and commercial law and litigation, and family and domestic law. She also practices in the areas of landlord tenant disputes, appellate practice, and public entities law.
She is a member of the Tangipahoa Professional Women's Organization and a graduate of the 2020-21 Leadership Tangipahoa program. In her free time, she enjoys watching football, cooking, and spending quality time with family and friends.
Areas of Expertise
Practice areas with which they can be of service: