Marksville, LA

Digger Earles

After graduating law school in 2004, Digger returned home to rural Louisiana and went straight to work, trying his first case the week after being sworn in as a lawyer. Since then, Digger has spent his entire career representing individuals and entities in civil litigation and successfully representing clients in complex personal injury cases. “I always wanted to be in a position to help people, and I love the role being a lawyer allows to me to play,” he says. “I’ve always hated bullies and enjoy helping people combat bullies and large corporations. Digger has represented individuals in all facets of litigation, from filing the initial claim in state and federal courts, through trial, through courts of appeal and through the Louisiana Supreme Court. He has been admitted to practice in Louisiana State District Courts, Louisiana Appellate Courts, the Louisiana Supreme Court and in federal courts, including the Western, Middle and Eastern District of Louisiana, the Southern District of Mississippi, the Southern District of Texas and the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. “One of the things I find most satisfying is helping people put the pieces of their lives back together after a serious accident or life-changing event,” says Digger. “These are difficult times, and I can help them to take a step back and relax, knowing we are here to take care of everything.” Digger has an unmatched work ethic and upholds the highest ethical standards. He is a member of the American Association of Justice, the Louisiana Association for Justice, the Louisiana Bar Association, the Avoyelles Parish Bar Association and various local, civic and religious organizations. “When I’m not practicing law, you can find me with my wife and my children, just kicking back and enjoying our great state and our family time,” he says. “I love the outdoors, I love to hunt, I love to fish, and just be outside with my family and friends.”

David Laborde

David has spent his entire career successfully representing injured individuals in complex personal injury cases. “Initially, I thought I wanted to go to school to be a doctor, but soon realized I really wanted to be a lawyer like my father,” David says. “In the legal world, my father, a lawyer and a judge, is my hero.” Upon graduating from LSU in 1988 and Tulane Law School in 1991, David worked for the Honorable Juan Torruella of the United States First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. Upon completing his clerkship, David returned home to Louisiana and entered private practice in Lafayette, founding Laborde Law Firm in 1995. “I’ve lived out of the country and in other parts of the country, and there’s nothing like living in Louisiana, from the people to the culture to the food,” he says. David has served a diverse client base. He’s fluent in Spanish and has represented Native American Indians before various Native American, state and federal tribunals and agencies. “It’s very satisfying to know you that you made a difference in someone’s life and helped them during a time they were really in need,” says David. David is rated as a distinguished personal injury lawyer by his peers and upholds the highest ethical standards. He is recognized as a top trial lawyer and is a life member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He is a member of the Louisiana Association for Justice, the Louisiana Bar Association, the Lafayette Parish Bar Association and other local and civic organizations. “I’ve represented young people who have suffered some horrific injuries,” he recalls. “One young lady was paralyzed and having spent many hours with her through recovery, though adjusting to a new lifestyle, it made me appreciate how important it is that we can make a person’s life more comfortable in a terrible situation.” David has represented individuals in all facets of litigation, from filing the initial claim in state and federal courts, through trial, through courts of appeal and through the Louisiana Supreme Court. He has been admitted to practice in Louisiana State District Courts, Louisiana Appellate Courts, the Louisiana Supreme Court and in federal courts, including the Western, Middle and Eastern District of Louisiana, the Southern District of Texas and the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Aaron Broussard

Aaron Broussard does not remember making the decision to be a lawyer. He does not recall ever considering another profession.This may have been because his father was both a lawyer and judge for most of Aaron’s formative years. While Aaron cherishes the example set by his father, he knows there is something in his core nature that drove him to the law. More than anything, Aaron loves winning when no one else can see the path to victory. Sometimes winning impossible cases takes deep thought and creativity, while other times only sheer determination and a hard head will get the job done. Aaron is calm and collective at the office, but he comes to life in the courtroom. Contrary to what the public believes, most lawyers rarely enter a courtroom. Courtroom experience is a key differentiator in law- lawyers who take cases to trial know what really matters and get better settlements. A big part of being a good lawyer for people is maintaining focus on representing your client’s interests. Aaron believes that loyalty to the client comes before everything, including your own pocketbook and especially your own ego. Their interests come first, and that’s why he sees every case through to the end, exhausting every path available. When many people meet with a lawyer for the first time they are apprehensive and unsure, but Aaron has a way of putting new clients at ease. Aaron’s client can often feel his dedication in their first meeting with him and they quickly let go of any preconceived fears and worries. They know they are in good hands. Most people just want to know that someone is going to fight for them, win or lose. That is what Aaron provides.

Daniel Snellings

Dan’s work goal is to utilize his extensive litigation experience as a valued member of the Laborde Earles litigation team to provide injured victims with high-caliber, expeditious, successful legal representation. For over thirty years Dan has stood firm to these goals, handling large-loss complex state and federal court litigation in the following areas: automobile/eighteen-wheeler negligence, class actions, maritime, product liability, sexual abuse, premises liability, toxic torts, and breach of contract. Prior to obtaining his law degree from Tulane Law School, Dan worked consulting minority-owned businesses on behalf of the Small Business Administration while obtaining his M.B.A. from Loyola University. Dan is a Louisiana native and has practiced before forty-four of the state’s sixty-four parishes. Dan is an avid Saints fan and fisherman, having caught 399 different species of fish on hook and line. Dan has been married for thirty-five years, and has four children and two grandchildren.

Taylor Hale

Taylor is a seasoned and creative litigator who began his legal career over fifteen years ago working as an insurance defense attorney in New Orleans for Phelps Dunbar LLP, one of the largest and oldest insurance defense law firms in the Gulf Coast region, where he gained extensive litigation experience representing large insurance companies in the defense of injury cases filed against maritime companies. After practicing with Phelps Dunbar, LLP, Taylor returned to his hometown of Lake Charles to join his father in practice. Since joining the firm, Taylor has devoted his entire practice to helping those injured through the carelessness of another receive the compensation they deserve. As a former insurance defense attorney, Taylor is able to use that knowledge and experience to provide his clients with valuable insight into the insurance company’s tactics and how his opponents and insurance companies value and defend certain claims. Every case taken by Taylor is prepared as if it is going to trial. Taylor attributes his success to his attention to detail, outworking his opponent, grit, and determination to see his cases through. Taylor has recovered millions of dollars in damages through settlement and trial for clients injured in maritime, offshore, Jones Act, automobile, 18-wheeler, commercial vehicle, and workplace accidents. Taylor has worked on cases that resulted in a recovery in excess of $10,000,000.00 and over five cases involving verdicts or settlements in excess of $1,500,000.00. Taylor spends time building a relationship of trust and respect with each of his clients. He understands and empathizes with the trauma his clients have suffered and sees a path to compensation. Taylor’s practice focuses exclusively on personal injury cases. His caseload is focused on serious personal injury, car accidents, big truck accidents, maritime and offshore injury cases, wrongful death cases, workplace accidents, and all other serious injury cases. In his maritime practice, he has handled numerous cases involving the Jones Act, OCSLA, LHWCA, DOHSA, and the general maritime law. Taylor has successfully litigated hundreds of cases throughout the State of Louisiana, acquiring extensive experience. He has represented clients in all phases of the litigation process from inception through resolution in motion practice, mediation, and bench and jury trials in state and federal court. In addition to his Louisiana state court experience, Taylor has litigated a multitude of cases at the federal level within the State of Louisiana and across the Federal Fifth Circuit. Taylor has experience conducting maritime shipboard investigations involving personal injuries, vessel collisions, and cargo damage, requiring him to liaise with insurers, vessel crewmembers, government actors, and response professionals. Taylor was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Taylor earned his Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School in New Orleans, where he was elected to serve on the Editorial Board of the Loyola Law Review as Articles Editor and graduated at the top of his class. Taylor’s law review comment, A Critical Misdiagnosis: Re-Evaluating Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act, was selected for publication in the Fall 2007 edition of the Loyola Law Review. During his time at Loyola, he was the recipient of the Lemle & Kelleher, LLP Law Firm Scholarship award for academic excellence. Taylor graduated from St. Louis Catholic High School, attended Louisiana State University and earned his B.S., cum laude, from McNeese State University. Taylor is a Life Member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, which requires a settlement or verdict over one million dollars on behalf of his clients for membership. Taylor was voted by his attorney peers as a Louisiana Super Lawyer Rising Star in the area of Plaintiff’s personal injury in 2015 - 2022. This recognition is conferred upon no more than 2.5% of attorneys in Louisiana that have practiced 10 years or less. Taylor was voted by his attorney peers as a Top Lawyer in Acadiana in the practice area of Personal Injury Litigation in 2019, 2021 and 2024. Each year, Acadiana Profile publishes its Top Lawyers list. The voting to determine the top attorneys for Acadiana Profile magazine is open to all licensed attorneys in the Acadiana, Louisiana market area. Each attorney is asked which attorney, other than himself or herself, they would recommend in the Acadiana area. Taylor was named a Top Trial Lawyer in America in 2012. He was named a member of The National Trial Lawyer’s Top 40 under 40 for the State of Louisiana in 2017. Taylor is admitted to practice in all of the state and federal district and appellate courts of Louisiana and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Taylor is an active member in his local community, and serves as an officer on the Board of Trustees for Bishop Noland Episcopal Day School. Taylor has served as Treasurer of the Young Lawyer’s Section of the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association and as co-chairman of Holiday Helping Hands. Taylor has served in a leadership role in the fight against cancer by participating in the Real Men Wear Pink campaign during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Louisiana State Bar Association, Southwest Louisiana Bar Association, Louisiana Association for Justice, American Association for Justice, Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Louisiana Super Lawyers Rising Stars The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 under 40 for the State of Louisiana, and the Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute (“SEALI”), a forum for the discussion of admiralty and maritime law and its practice and administration among practitioners in the ports of the Southeastern United States. In his spare time, he enjoys being outdoors, spending time at the gym, tennis, travelling, grilling outdoors, fishing, hunting, and spending time with family and friends.

Ben Alexander

Ben is a litigation attorney with the Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers. He graduated from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU with a Juris Doctorate and a Bachelor of Civil Law degree in 2004. After law school, he joined a multi-state defense firm and immediately began working on catastrophic personal injury cases in the offshore, oil and gas, construction and trucking industries, while at the same time litigating insurance coverage and indemnity disputes. Ben provides valuable high stakes litigation experience, having worked on multiple catastrophic personal injury and damages cases, including the "In re: Deepwater Horizon" Multi-District Litigation that arose from the BP Macondo oil spill. "I place my focus and efforts on gaining a full understanding of the client and the case. And I always strive to utilize the full depth of my experience, study, research, investigation, and empathy to achieve the best possible result for the client in the most efficient way possible." Ben has authored Continuing Education Materials for fellow lawyers in the area of admiralty and maritime law and has served as an annual speaker on Insurance Law for the LSU Law Center’s CLE program. After 13 years of defense practice, Ben decided to change roles and use his skills and experience to help individuals who have been injured in an accident through no fault of their own. Ben is a Louisiana native, having grown up in Ville Platte in Evangeline Parish, which is located in the middle of the State and at the northern part of Acadiana or 'Cajun Country'. After law school he made Lafayette his home, but devotes much of his time traveling throughout Louisiana's towns and courtrooms in order to serve his clients' legal needs. He also maintains a Texas law license and handles Texas cases as well.

Robert (“Rob”) Marionneaux Jr

Focusing his legal career on catastrophic injury and death cases, Rob Marionneaux has been fighting for justice on behalf of victims of negligence across Louisiana for over 25 years. He understands the significance of providing support, compassion, and excellent legal representation to individuals facing tragedies and disputes.