Overview
Michael Heier is an associate attorney with Strauss Massey Dinneen and practices as a generalist in civil litigation. With a decade in practice, he will handle the defense of general liability, commercial transportation, premises liability, personal injury and property damage defense in connection to auto accidents, casualty, breach of contract, and insurance bad faith litigation.
Michael built his career on opportunities to work in local, state, and federal government offices. He served in the Felony Trials Division of the Office of the District Attorney for Orleans Parish and in the Lands and Natural Resources Section of the Louisiana Department of Justice before joining the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Office of Counsel. Through these agencies, Michael honed his skills as an advocate and advisor on an array of topics including public and private property, public records, public works, public finance, fish and game, natural disasters, maritime casualties, civil and criminal procedure, and administrative proceedings. He authored numerous attorney general opinions on a wide range of complex legal issues. Most recently, Michael served as the Director of Regulatory Affairs for the Offshore Marine Service Association, which represents coastal transportation interests operating in traditional and renewable offshore energy.
Michael has deep roots in southeastern Louisiana. He worked through college at the L.S.U. Aquaculture Research Station tending alligators and catfish, and through law school researching and writing for the Louisiana Sea Grant Law & Policy Program. He now offers his leadership and organizational skills to the Deutsches Haus and the New Orleans Rugby Football Club.
Publications and Speaking Engagements
- 2016 Center for Natural Resources Economics & Policy, “Dredging the Legal Channels of ‘Changing Course’”, Speaker
- 2013 Center for Natural Resources Economics & Policy, “Restoration v. Reclamation – Resolving a Constitutional Conflict”, Presenter
- Louisiana Attorney General Opinions:
- 15-0126 – laws pertaining to drainage and neighboring estates
- 15-0132 – procedural provisions regulating tax adjudications and redemptions
- 15-0158 – procedure for expenditure of revenue generated from hunting licenses
- 16-0126 – guidance to administrators of State retirement systems
- 16-0151 – laws applicable to prison finance
- 16-0159 – official duties of a sheriff
- 16-0160 – provisions applicable to flood-damaged watercraft
- 16-0170 – applying open meetings laws to subcommittees of public bodies
- 16-0184 – tax rebates as donations potentially prohibited by La. Const. Art. VII, § 14
- 16-0188 – the authority of a mayor over an appointed police chief
- 16-0206 – conflicts in laws conferring homestead exemptions and other tax exemptions
- 17-0015 – law applicable to possession of cremated human remains
- 17-0073 – regulatory authority of a municipal waterworks
- 17-0153 – mandatory reporting of sexual abuse of minors
- 17-0177 – collection of fees from persons seeking release on bail
- 17-0181 – procedures applicable to governmental maintenance of drainage
- 18-0069 – authority to conduct background investigations of license applicants
- 18-0079 – relative priority of governmental privileges and security interests
Recognition and Honors
- The Best Lawyers in America, Insurance Law, 2014-2023
- AV® Preeminent Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
- Louisiana Super Lawyers, 2016-2019
- New Orleans CityBusiness “Leadership in Law” List, 2012
- Civilian Service Commendation Medal, Department of the Army – for service to the New Orleans District during the 2020 Hurricane Season
- Civilian Service Commendation Medal, Department of the Army – for service to Terrebonne Parish during Hurricane Ida
Professional and Community Affiliations
- Louisiana State Bar Association
- Deutsches Haus – Board of Directors Member, Fundraising Committee Chair
- New Orleans Rugby Football Club, Pontchartrain Poboys – President
- Jesuit High School Brother Dardis Fishing Rodeo – Committee Member, Weighmaster
Education
- Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert School of Law, Juris Doctor and Graduate Diploma in Comparative Law, 2013
- Louisiana State University, B.A., Latin, 2009; B.A., Political Science, 2010
Bar and Court Admissions
- Louisiana – All State and Federal Courts
