Rick Lazio served four terms in the United States House of Representatives, where he chaired the Housing Subcommittee of the Financial Services Committee, was Deputy majority whip and assistant majority leader. Following his service in Congress, Mr. Lazio held positions with several financial services entities. Mr. Lazio’s practice focuses on issues of affordable housing and related housing finance. He leads the firm’s housing and housing finance industry team and serves clients in the real estate, banking and financial services, and government relations practices. He serves as head of the firm’s New York office. Before joining Jones Walker, Mr. Lazio served as president and CEO of the Financial Services Forum and was a member of the executive committee of JPMorgan Chase. He also served as managing director with the real assets group of JPMorgan Asset Management. Mr. Lazio is admitted in the state of New York. Mr. Lazio earned his bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and his juris doctor from American University Washington College of Law. 

Brian E. Lawlor is special counsel in the firm's real estate practice group. His practice focuses on affordable housing and housing finance to which he offers deep industry knowledge and firsthand government experience. Mr. Lawlor has more than 25 years of successful senior level experience in planning, designing and implementing revitalization and development programs for urban, rural and suburban communities that have created new housing and businesses and have preserved existing housing and businesses. As a chief executive, Mr. Lawlor has led and transformed the operations of large and small organizations in diverse parts of the United States. Mr. Lawlor has hands-on experience with every major housing and community development program, including low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), CDBG, Disaster Recovery CDBG, CDBG 108 loans, HOME, NSP, Weatherization, HOPWA and Mortgage Revenue Bonds. Most recently, Mr. Lawlor served as the city of New Orleans' director of housing policy and community development as a member of the Mayor Mitchell J. Landrieu's administration. During a three-year period, he developed housing and community development policies that guided the strategic investment of resources to accomplish the rebuilding and revitalization of neighborhoods throughout New Orleans. Previously, Mr. Lawlor was the commissioner/CEO of all New York state's housing agencies, collectively known as New York State Homes and Community Renewal. He successfully designed and led the initiative to consolidate all housing finance, development and regulatory agencies and policies under a single management structure in order to align resources and streamline the delivery of housing services and financing throughout the state. Mr. Lawlor earned a juris doctor degree from New York Law School and a bachelor of arts from Hofstra University. He is admitted to practice by the New York State bar, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Mr. Lawlor frequently guest lectures at Tulane University, Howard University, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cornell University, State University of New York at Albany and Albany Law School. He is also speaks regularly at housing industry conferences in Louisiana, New York and around the country. 

Michelle Whetten directs Enterprise Community Partners’ work in Louisiana and Mississippi, where Enterprise has invested more than $300 million in loans, grants and equity toward the production of nearly 9,000 affordable homes in the years following Hurricane Katrina. Ms. Whetten oversees Enterprise’s involvement in the award-winning transformation of the former Lafitte public housing complex in New Orleans’ Treme neighborhood into a healthy mixed-income community. Before her assignment in the Gulf Coast, Ms. Whetten was deputy director for Enterprise’s New York office, where she led neighborhood initiatives and public policy efforts. In that role, Ms. Whetten managed organizational development, resident services-related technical assistance and grant-making programs, and directed advocacy and outreach to local, state and federal officials on housing and community development issues. Ms. Whetten serves as chairwoman of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas Advisory Council and on the boards of Reconcile New Orleans, Louisiana Housing Alliance, Gulf Coast Renaissance Corporation, the Mississippi Association of Affordable Housing Providers and the Louisiana Association of Affordable Housing Providers.

Andy Kopplin has served as first deputy mayor and chief administrative officer since May 3, 2010. In this capacity, he oversees the day-to-day operational functions of City Hall. The deputy mayor also leads the mayor’s effort to improve the performance of city government and the mayor’s charge to return the city to fiscal stability. Mr. Kopplin worked at Teach For America from 2008-2010, where he most recently served as senior advisor to the founder and CEO. From October 2006 to January 2008, Mr. Kopplin served as founding executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA), the agency charged with leading the state’s recovery efforts after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, where he developed the strategy and built the bipartisan coalitions that more than doubled congressional appropriations for Louisiana's rebuilding, from $13 billion to $28 billion. Before heading the LRA, Mr. Kopplin was chief of staff to two consecutive Louisiana governors, Democrat Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and Republican M.J. "Mike" Foster, Jr. He joined Foster’s staff in 1996 as policy director, and in that role led the pioneering effort to create the state’s community college system by building a collation of Republicans, Democrats, business, labor, educators and students. Mr. Kopplin holds a bachelor’s degree from Rice University, a master’s in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and is a 1986 Harry S. Truman Scholarship winner.