Jennings, LA

Matthew Keating

A Lake Charles native and seasoned litigator, Matt Keating graduated from Barbe High School with honors in 1998. As a member of Mudd Bruchhaus & Keating, he devotes his knowledge and more than ten years of litigation experience to ensuring positive outcomes for his clients. The focus of his practice encompasses a variety of civil claims and transactional work, concentrating on personal injury and environmental litigation. To date, he has represented hundreds of landowners in environmental contamination cases arising out of historical oil & gas exploration and production on their properties. Matt has also successfully handled personal injury cases of all kinds involving motor vehicle accidents to on-the-job accidents with injuries ranging from back and neck surgery, severe burns, traumatic brain injury, and paraplegia. Matt has successfully tried numerous jury and bench trials across Louisiana - including in Calcasieu, Cameron, Beauregard, Orleans, Terrebonne, Lafayette, Acadia, Caddo, East Baton Rouge, and St. Tammany parishes. Matt married his wife Amanda in 2007, and the couple has four children: Rylee, Miles, Alex, and Rosalie. He has served on numerous local boards of directors and advisory boards for schools, churches, and charitable organizations.

Jeanette DeWitt-Kyle

Jeanette DeWitt-Kyle is a lifelong resident of Southwest Louisiana. She joined Stutes & Lavergne in 2012. Her practice focuses solely on helping people who have been injured in automobile, truck, industrial, work-related, and other serious accidents. She also helps people who have bad-faith claims against their own insurance companies. Her persistent, passionate advocacy has led to millions of dollars in recovery for her clients in both settlements and trial awards. Jeanette went to school in Moss Bluff and graduated from Sam Houston High School. After high school, she attended the McNeese State University Honors College, graduating summa cum laude in 2008 with two degrees, one in English and one in French. While she was in college, she worked a swing shift on the copy desk at the Lake Charles American Press. After college, Jeanette attended law school at Louisiana State University, graduating with honors in 2011. While in law school, Jeanette consistently earned high grades, including the top grades in her legal writing, family law seminar, Louisiana civil procedure, and family law classes. She was a member of the Moot Court Board and participated in the Law Center’s family law mediation clinic. Jeanette chose to return home to Lake Charles after law school. She clerked for Judge David Ritchie at the Fourteenth Judicial District Court before she joined Stutes & Lavergne. In 2015, she studied case presentation in Napa, Calif., with the well-known trial strategist Rodney Jew. She is a member of the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association, Louisiana State Bar Association, and Louisiana Association for Justice. Jeanette believes that a good education opens doors, and it is the duty of everyone who has benefited from their education to hold that door open for others. She teaches a U.S. Government class to tenth-graders at Bishop Noland High School, where is she is grateful for a chance to witness the origin story of future senators, surgeons, inventors, and writers. All of Jeanette’s career and personal achievements have had the unconditional support of her amazing husband, Trevor. They have two young children: a son and a daughter. In Jeanette’s spare time, she enjoys growing English roses, reading literary novels, and planning road trips with her family. She loves to learn and is always in the middle of a deep dive into a new and interesting subject. Her son is the same way; both he and his mom enjoy staying up past bedtime to talk about big ideas. Jeanette’s daughter belongs to a lineage of women who value their intellect and are unafraid to use it.

Deil LaLande

Deil J. Lalande is a personal injury attorney representing clients primarily through personal injury, property damage, and medical malpractice claims. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyer 'Rising Star' in Louisiana each of the last 4 years. Deil obtained his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Psychology from McNeese State University. At McNeese, Deil was actively involved as an officer and member of several organizations, as well as a founding member of the McNeese chapters of Pi Kappa Alpha, Order of Omega Society, and McNeese NAACP. Deil received his Juris Doctor in Civil Law from Loyola New Orleans College of Law. He was awarded Top 10 Oral Advocate at the ABA Moot Court Competition in Seattle, WA and coached the National Criminal Procedure team the following year. Deil was President of the Student Bar Association and a member of the Public Interest Law Journal, St. Thomas More Inn of Court, and the Order of Barristers. While in law school, Deil assisted indigent clients as a Rule XX Student Practitioner for the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic in both Criminal Defense and Workplace Justice. He was also chosen as class speaker for the 2016 Loyola College of Law Commencement Ceremony. Prior to working for Stutes & Lavergne, LLC, Deil began his legal career at Davidson Meaux in Lafayette, LA, where he practiced in the areas of civil and commercial defense litigation, with an emphasis on premises liability and employment law. While in Lafayette, he participated in various pro bono services in Lafayette, including representing individuals in divorces and obtaining protective orders for domestic abuse victims. In 2017, he received the Champions of Justice Outstanding Lawyer Award for his service to the Lafayette community. Outside of the office, Deil enjoys cooking and spending time with his family and friends. He is an avid sports fan and enjoys attending several sporting events. He is a proud McNeese alumnus, and he currently serves as an advisor for the Lambda Upsilon Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha.

Wesley Romero

Born and raised in Lake Charles, Wes Romero graduated from Barbe High School in 2002. He attended Louisiana State University, where he graduated with a degree in Biological Sciences. Thereafter, Wes attended Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University. In law school, Wes received CALI awards for earning the top grade in Louisiana Civil Procedure and Legal Research/Writing. Following law school, he returned to Lake Charles as a law clerk for the Honorable Clayton Davis in the 14th Judicial District Court. Wes practiced civil litigation with a local law firm for eight years prior to joining Mudd Bruchhaus & Keating, LLC. In his personal life, Wes enjoys spending time with his family, exercising, and sports. Wes is married to local Veterinarian, Meghan Romero. The couple has two children: Charlie and Kate. The Romeros are members of The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and Charlie attends school at I.C.C.S. Wes has served on the Executive Council and was an Officer of the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association - Young Lawyers Section. His entire career has been devoted to civil litigation. His principal areas of practice include environmental litigation, personal injury litigation, and workers’ compensation. Wes has experience in litigating complex discovery issues, motion practice, and trials.

Chad Mudd

A lifelong resident of Creole, Louisiana, in Cameron Parish, and a graduate of South Cameron High School, Chad Mudd has devoted his career to serving the citizens of his community. After earning his undergraduate and law degrees, Chad returned to his home parish as a law clerk for the Honorable H. Ward Fontenot in the 38th Judicial District Court before founding Mudd Bruchhaus & Keating, LLC a year later. Chad is a seasoned trial attorney, focusing his practice on personal injury litigation, maritime & offshore litigation, general liability claims, and environmental litigation on behalf of landowners who have experienced damage to their property resulting from historical oil & gas exploration and production or plant operations. He is married to Michelle Thompson Mudd, and the couple and their twin daughters, Ava and Alivia, continue to reside in Cameron Parish. Like any true Creole native, Chad is an avid hunter, fisherman, and cattleman. When not spending time with his family or enjoying the great outdoors, Chad spends his free time supporting youth and civic organizations in his community and the surrounding areas.

David Bruchhaus

A founding member of Mudd Bruchhaus & Keating, LLC since 1998, David Bruchhaus is an experienced trial attorney with strong roots in the community. He was raised in Elton, Louisiana, in Jefferson Davis Parish, where he graduated from Elton High School as valedictorian before pursuing his higher education and earning his law degree. Since his admittance to practice law as a member of the Louisiana Bar Association, David has devoted his career to serving the people of Southwest Louisiana and Acadiana. His track record includes achieving favorable jury verdicts for a range of personal injury cases, developing an extensive and successful workers’ compensation practice, litigating large collection and lien cases on behalf of small business clients, environmental litigation of behalf of landowners who have experienced damage to their property resulting from historical oil & gas exploration and production or plant operations, and handling hurricane claims for both homeowners and businesses following the damage caused by Hurricanes Rita and Ike. He has tried cases and handled claims throughout the region - including in Calcasieu, Cameron, Allen, Acadia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, and Iberia parishes. In his personal life, David enjoys spending time with his wife of more than 20 years, Staci, and their two children, Samuel and Maggie. David is a dedicated father, devoting his free time to his children and family.

M. Keith Prudhomme

Since his admittance to the Louisiana State Bar Association in 1984, M. Keith Prudhomme has served the Lake Charles area as a private practice attorney with various local law firms. He joined Mudd Bruchhaus & Keating, LLC in January of 2009, applying his years of legal experience to represent and achieve overwhelmingly positive results for his personal injury victim clients and landowners with environmental damage to their property. Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, but raised in Lake Charles, Keith is a graduate of LaGrange Senior High School, where he met his wife of more than 40 years. Keith and his wife, the former Jan Lungaro, have three children, Todd, and twins Emily and Sarah, all of whom followed in their father’s footsteps as Louisiana State University graduates.