About
The Preston Castille Law Firm
The Preston Castille Law Firm was founded to handle a unique and specialized set of practice areas including Commercial Litigation & Transactions, Education Law & Policy, and Corporate Law. Attorney Preston Castille and his associates have years of experience handling complex business and litigation disputes.
Learn more about our attorneys below.
Contact
PHONE
O: 225.532.4523 | M: 225.317.3363
Preston@PrestonCastilleLaw.com
ADDRESS
201 St. Charles St.
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
PRESTON J. CASTILLE, JR.
Attorney
EXPERIENCE
Preston Castille is the founder of The Preston Castille Law Firm, LLC. Mr. Castille practiced with the Taylor Porter law firm in Baton Rouge for nearly 30 years and was a Partner and member of the Executive Committee. He retired from the partnership in January 2020 and remained with the firm as Of Counsel until 2022. The Preston Castille Law Firm, LLC builds upon Mr. Castille’s nearly three decades of complex business and litigation experience. An experienced trial lawyer, Mr. Castille is licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court, all federal Louisiana District Courts, and state and municipal courts throughout the state of Louisiana. He has also enjoyed a robust appellate practice having argued numerous cases before the Louisiana circuit appellate courts and the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Mr. Castille has been ranked for several years in Best Lawyers in America® in the fields of Administrative Law and Insurance Law. Mr. Castille was an MSI Global Alliance Area Representative for the continent of North America and served on MSI’s Management Board. MSI is a network of more than 250 accounting and law firms in 100 countries. His work with MSI has given Mr. Castille a national and international network of professionals to help better serve his clients.
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In 2009, Mr. Castille was appointed Judge Pro Tempore by the Louisiana Supreme Court and has presided over hundreds of civil and criminal trials and hearings. He later returned to the full-time practice of law and continued to serve as an ad hoc judge for many years. In 2012, the Louisiana Supreme Court appointed Mr. Castille to the Supreme Court’s District Court Rules Committee.
TEACHING & BAR EXPERIENCE:
Mr. Castille is an adjunct professor of law. He began his career as a law professor in 2001 at LSU Law School teaching Pretrial Litigation Practice and taught there for eight years. In 2003, he began teaching at Southern University Law Center and teaches Evidence, Pretrial Litigation Practice, Trial Advocacy, Louisiana Civil Procedure I, Louisiana Civil Procedure II, and Education Law. Having taught law school for more than two decades, Mr. Castille is proud to have former students now serving on the state court bench.
Mr. Castille served as President of the Baton Rouge Bar Association in 2011, and President of the Baton Rouge Chapter of the Louis A. Martinet Legal Society from 1998-2000. He served on the Board of Governors of the Louisiana State Bar Association from 2001-2004 and as a member of the House of Delegates from 2009-2012. He also served as a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association and the Louisiana Law Institute.
BUSINESS & COMMUNITY SERVICE EXPERIENCE:
Prior to attending law school, Mr. Castille worked as an economist for the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. In October 2019, Mr. Castille was elected as the District 8 member of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). BESE is the administrative body for all Louisiana public elementary and secondary schools. Mr. Castille’s BESE district includes 14 parishes spanning from Tangipahoa Parish, the Felicianas, East and West Baton Rouge and much of Acadiana.
Mr. Castille is president of Helix Community Schools, Immediate Past National President of the Southern University Alumni Federation, a member of the Tulane Law School Dean Advisory Board, and a former member of the Board of Directors of Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS). He served on Governor John Bel Edwards’ Education Transition Committee in 2015 and Mayor Sharon Weston-Broome’s Education Transition Committee in 2016.
Mr. Castille is chairman of the Board of Directors for the Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX). He is a board member of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation (BRAF), and a member of the Board of Governors of the City Club of Baton Rouge. He formerly served on the Greater Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce Business Development Advisory Committee. He was a member of the Chamber’s 1997 Leadership class and was selected in 2000 by the Baton Rouge Business Report as one of Baton Rouge’s “Top Forty Under 40” community and business leaders. Mr. Castille is a member of the 2012 Louisiana Leadership class sponsored by Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL).
EDUCATION:
Mr. Castille received his Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University School of Law in 1994. He was a member of the Tulane Moot Court Board (1993-1994) and the Tulane National Environmental Law Moot Court Team (1992-1993). Upon graduation, Mr. Castille was selected to The Order of Barristers. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Business (Economics) in 1990 from Southern University and A&M College at Baton Rouge. As a student at Southern, he was elected by the Council of Student Body Presidents and appointed by Governor Edwin W. Edwards to serve as a member of the Louisiana Board of Regents for Higher Education. He also served as President of the Student Government Association.
CREDENTIALS
Commercial Litigation & Transactions
Education Law & Policy
Corporate Law
EDUCATION:
Tulane University, J.D., 1994
Order of Barristers; Moot Court Board
Southern University, B.S. Business (Economics), 1990
BAR ADMISSIONS:
Louisiana, U.S. Federal and State Courts
U.S. Supreme Court
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Best Lawyers, 2013-2022; “Lawyer of the Year” in Baton Rouge, Insurance Law (2013, 2018)
LSBA Citizen Lawyer Award, 2016
Top Forty Under 40, Baton Rouge Business Report, 2000
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS & ASSOCIATIONS:
BESE (Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education) – Board Member, District 8
Helix Community Schools, President
Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX), Chairman
MSI Global, North America Area Representative; Management Board
Former Adjunct Professor, LSU Law School
(Pretrial Litigation Practice)
Adjunct Professor, Southern University Law Center (Education Law, Evidence, Pretrial Litigation Practice, Trial Advocacy, Louisiana Civil Procedure I & II)
Ad Hoc Judge and Judge Pro Tempore, Baton Rouge City Court
Louisiana Supreme Court Rules Committee, Past Member
Louisiana Law Institute, Past Council Member
Louis A. Martinet, Past President
Baton Rouge Bar Association, Past President
Louisiana State Bar Association, Board of Governors/House of Delegates
National Conference of Bar Presidents
ABA, House of Delegates, Past Member
Baton Rouge Area Foundation (BRAF), Board Member
Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, Business Advisory Committee
Louisiana Leadership Class of 2012 (CABL)
Southern University System Foundation,
Legal Counsel
Southern University Alumni Federation, Immediate Past National President
New Schools for Baton Rouge, Immediate Past Chairman, Board of Directors
City Club of Baton Rouge, Board of Governors
NIKKI ESSIX-MANUEL
Attorney
EXPERIENCE
LAW PRACTICE EXPERIENCE:
During her over 20 year career, Ms. Manuel has represented plaintiffs and defendants in both the public and private sectors. She has significant experience in managing all aspects of complex litigation matters from inception to completion at the trial and appellate court levels. Clients have utilized her sound legal advice when making critical decisions on high profile matters. It is her goal to render an exceptional standard of legal service to each of her clients.
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BUSINESS & COMMUNITY SERVICE EXPERIENCE:
Ms. Manuel’s breadth of experience will be of tremendous value to The Preston Castille Law Firm and its clients. Outside of her professional career, Ms. Manuel is past President of the Baton Rouge Association of Women Attorneys, the Immediate Past President of the Baton Rouge Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., and Co-Chair of the Louisiana University Laboratory School’s Policy, Diversity and Student Recruitment & Retention Committees. She consistently serves as a leader in her community in various local, regional, and national philanthropic and community service initiatives.
EDUCATION:
Ms. Manuel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Political Science and Speech Communications from The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She relocated to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to attend Southern University Law Center where she was a published member and Comments Editor of the Southern University Law Review, member of Moot Court and a contributing student journalist for The Public Defender, the law school sponsored publication. Ms. Manuel later received her Juris Doctor degree and passed the Louisiana State Bar. She then served as the judicial law clerk for the Honorable Charles Jones of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in New Orleans, Louisiana. During her tenure as a judicial law clerk, she was privileged to author several published opinions, while gaining extensive knowledge of the appellate process that she has utilized in her practice.
CREDENTIALS
Southern University Law Center, J.D., 1998
The University of Alabama (Bachelor of Arts, Political Science & Speech Communications), 1994
BAR ADMISSIONS:
Louisiana, U.S. Federal and State Courts
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Southern University Moot Court Board (Secretary)
Southern University Law Review (Comments Editor)
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS & ASSOCIATIONS:
American Inns of Court
Baton Rouge Association of Women Attorneys (President, 2007-2008)
Baton Rouge Bar Association (Publications, Membership, Mock Trial Committee Chair 2007)
Defense Research Institute (State Liaison 2001)
Local Government Representative (Public Law School Section of BRBA 2008)
Louis A. Martinet Legal Society
Louisiana State Bar Association (Insurance, Medical Liability, & Ethics Advisory Service Committees)
VOLUNTEERISM / COMMUNITY SERVICE:
Louisiana University Laboratory School Policy Committee (Chair 2020-2021, Co-Chair 2022)
Louisiana University Laboratory School Diversity Committee (Co-Chair 2020-2022)
Louisiana University Laboratory School Student Recruitment & Retention Committee (Member 2020-2022)
Baton Rouge Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. (President 2019-2021)
Baton Rouge Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. (Vice President 2018-2019)
Baton Rouge Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. (Community Service & Legislative Chair 2010-2018) *National Award for Legislative & Community Service
Dr. James C. Carver
Attorney
EXPERIENCE
LAW PRACTICE EXPERIENCE:
Dr. Carver is dedicated to providing timely, high quality legal services to his clients. In addition to being an attorney, Jim is a Ph.D. chemist, who has been able to effectively blend these disciplines. He concentrates his practice in the areas of litigation, environmental law, and intellectual property law. Jim began his legal career more than 30 years ago at Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips, where he was a partner for many years. After leaving Taylor Porter, he became the managing partner at Oats & Hudson. Before pursuing his career in law, Jim was a practicing chemist. After receiving his Ph.D. in chemistry, Jim worked as a staff chemist at EXXON Research and Development Laboratories for Exxon for approximately 7 years. Prior to that, he served on the chemistry faculties of Texas A&M University and the University of Georgia for about 4 years. Jim understands the science aspects of law both from a legal perspective and from the perspective of a practicing scientist.
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Areas of Practice
- Litigation
- Environmental Law
- Intellectual Property
Bar Admissions
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Louisiana
- Texas
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Louisiana
- U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
CREDENTIALS
EDUCATION:
- Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- J.D. – 1989
- Honors: Finalist, Tullis Moot court
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
- J.D. – 1972
- Major: Chemistry
- Centenary College, Shreveport, Louisiana
- B.S. – 1967
- Major: Chemistry
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Published Works:
- “Hindcasting Volatile Chemical Emissions to Air from Ponded Recycle Oil,” Carver and Thibodeaux, Environmental Progress (Vol. 16, p. 106, Summer, 1997)
- “The Importance of the Hypothetical Question,” James Carver, Comments on Toxicology (Vol. 7, p. 191, 2000)
Classes/Seminars:
- Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, 1975-1978
- University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, Department of Chemistry, Instructor, 1974-1975
- University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, Post-Doctoral Researcher, 1972-1974
Honors and Awards:
- A/V rating / Martindale-Hubbell, Reed Reference Publishing Company, 1994-Present
- West’s Legal Dictionary, West Publishing Corporation, 1994-Present
- LSU Law Center, Susan C. Kalinka Trial Advocacy Coach of the Year, 2012
- Roger D. Middlekauff Award for outstanding service, Division of Chemistry and the Law of the American Chemical Society
- American Chemical Society, Fellow
- American Chemical Society, Committee on Bylaws and the Constitution, Chair
- American Chemical Society, Select Task Force on Governance, 2016-Present
Professional Associations and Memberships:
- Baton Rouge City Court, Judge pro tempore
- Better Business Bureau, Arbitrator
- Louisiana State Bar Association, Member
- Texas State Bar Association, Member
- Dean Henry George McMahon American Inn of Court, Member
- American Intellectual Property Law Association, Member
Past Employment Positions:
- Oats & Hudson, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Managing Partner, 01/2009 to 06/2011
- Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Associate/Partner, 1989 to 2008
- Office of the U.S. Attorney, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Law Clerk, 1987 to 1988
- Exxon Research & Development Labs, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Staff Chemist, 1978 to 1986
Pro Bono Activities:
- Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University, Board of Trustees
- American Chemical Society, Councilor
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Department of Chemistry, Board of Visitors