About Donnie O'Pry
Growing up
Donovan “Donnie” Jay O'Pry II was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana. His father, Donovan O'Pry, worked for 35 years as an elementary educator in the Lafayette Parish School system, serving as an assistant principal and teacher at Lafayette Middle School, and then finishing his career at Acadian Middle School. Donnie's mother, Karen O'Pry, worked for the Department of Social Security in Opelousas with 35 years of service. Donnie attended St. Leo Seton Elementary and then graduated from Carencro High School in 1995. While at Carencro High School, Donnie was a member of the 1992 State Championship football team and was nationally ranked in speech and debate.
Education
Donnie attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on a full academic scholarship. While attending LSU, Donnie won LSU's annual public speaking contest as a sophomore. Donnie received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science in 1999. After graduating, he enrolled at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. While in law school, Donnie was chosen to serve as a member of the Moot Court Board, and also represented LSU at the Association of Trial Lawyers of America's National Mock Trial Competition in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Donnie graduated with a Juris Doctor from LSU Law School in 2002 and was admitted to the Bar that same year.
Work Career
Donnie began his legal career as an associate with the Lafayette firm of Jeansonne & Remondet. Donnie's practice was primarily in the fields of workers' compensation defense and automotive and premises liability. In 2007, Donnie became a partner at Jeansonne & Remondet, where he served in that capacity until opening the O'Pry Law Firm in 2014. On March 1, 2014, Donnie opened the O'Pry Law Firm. The firm's mission is to provide its clients with first class representation in an aggressive yet cost effective manner. The O'Pry Law Firm's client base is very diverse and includes several Fortune 500 Companies.
Professional Affiliations and Recognition
Donnie has been nationally recognized in the fields of workers' compensation and personal injury practice. He has been repeatedly rated as one of the Top Lawyers in both Acadiana and Louisiana by multiple publications including the Times Picayune, American Lawyer Media and Acadiana Profile Magazine. Donnie holds the highest rating of "AV Preeminent" awarded by Martindale-Hubble®, the most widely recognized and respected lawyer peer review service in the nation. In addition, Donnie has achieved a perfect 10.0 rating on Avvo.com, one of the most widely used lawyer rating services in the country. He has been inducted as a life time member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an elite group of attorneys who have achieved multi-million dollar verdicts or settlements for their clients. Donnie was selected to the 2017 Rising Stars list of Superlawyers®, an honor given to no more than 2.5 percent of attorneys in each state under the age of forty. Donnie was also selected to the "Top 10 Under 40" list of the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys, a list which recognizes the top 10 personal injury attorneys in Louisiana under the age of forty. Most recently, Donnie was named to the "Top 10 Attorney List" for the State of Louisiana by both the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys and Attorney and Practice Magazine.
Donnie is a member of the Lafayette Bar Association and has been a Director on its Board of Directors since 2013. Donnie serve as President of the Lafayette Bar Association in 2018 and currently serves as the Immediate Past President. He is also a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association and has served as a representative of the 15th Judicial District in the LSBA House of Delegates since 2012. Donnie is a member of the Duhe Inn of Court and is licensed to practice law before all Louisiana State Courts, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and all United States District Courts in Louisiana.
Family
Donnie is married to Stephanie Hulin O'Pry and they have five children. Stephanie is originally from Loureaville and graduated from The University of Louisiana in Lafayette in 2002. Donnie and Stephanie are very active in their church, community, and children's school. Their entire family loves attending both LSU and UL games and socializing with their friends.
Meet The Team
John P. Barron, Personal Injury Attorney
John P. “Johnny” Barron is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana. He graduated from Comeaux High School. After high school, Johnny attended Louisiana Tech University on an academic scholarship, then transferred to the University of Southwestern Louisiana, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Finance in 1995. After college, Johnny worked in the oil and gas industry as a drilling and completion fluids engineer, eventually becoming an account manager for completion fluids on the Gulf Coast.
After working for over a decade in the oil and gas industry, Johnny returned to school, obtaining a Juris Doctor and Masters in Business Administration from Louisiana State University in 2011. Johnny has since practiced law in multiple fields, including insurance defense, personal injury, workers' compensation, contract litigation, and successions.
He is a member of the Louisiana Bar Association and the Lafayette Bar Association and is admitted to practice in Louisiana Courts, the U.S. 5 th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District Courts for the Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts of Louisiana.
Johnny has been with the O'Pry Law Firm since 2017 where he primarily represents personal injury clients. He also handles Workers' Compensation claims, general business litigation, collections, successions, and estate planning.
Glen Marcantel, Personal Injury Attorney
Glenn graduated from LSU in 1983 with a degree in Business Administration and obtained his law degree from LSU Law School in 1986. Over the years, Glenn has handled a variety of legal matters including personal injury, worker's compensation, family law, real estate, business, bankruptcy, successions, criminal and social security. He has argued before the Louisiana Third and First Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Since 2006, Glenn has been and remains an Assistant District Attorney in the 27th Judicial District and has extensive experience in selecting juries and trying serious felony matters. Glenn and his wife, Cindy, have been married for 38 years and have 7 children and 10 grandchildren (so far!). Playing music and singing have been a big part of his life and he enjoys getting his hands dirt handling cattle and horses.
Emma Businelle, Paralegal - Auto Accidents
Coming Soon
Britni Mouton, Paralegal - Workers' Compensation
Britni is a paralegal and Workers' Compensation Coordinator at the O'Pry Law Firm. She assists our attorneys in all phases of litigation, such as pretrial discovery, drafting of pleadings, and trial preparation. Britni received her bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and thereafter obtained her law degree at Southern University Law Center. In her free time, Britni loves traveling, organizing, arts/crafts, and painting.
Heidi Thevis, Paralegal - Auto Accidents
Heidi assists our team with document management, file preparation, communications and setting up transportation for clients. She is a 2016 graduate of Lafayette High School and graduated magna cum laude at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in Journalism with a minor in French. She was UL Lafayette's 2020 Outstanding Senior in the Journalism Department. In her free time, Heidi enjoys watching movies, spending time with family and going on adventures.
Sydni Borel - Medical Coordinator
As our firm's Medical Coordinator, Sydni is dedicated to making sure our clients' medical treatment is continuously ongoing. She facilitates our clients' medical treatment by following up on statuses, appointments, reviewing and inputting medical records. Sydni graduated from Carencro High School in 2014 and was a 2019 graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a bachelor's degree in General Studies. In her free time, Sydni enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling and shopping.
Trenelle Calligan - Customer Service/Intake Specialist
Trenelle began working for the O'Pry Law Firm in September of 2019. As an intake specialist, she has the pleasure of acting as the first point of contact for all prospective personal injury clients and relaying their information to the attorney so they can determine a unique course of action moving forward. From there, she has responsible for the initial registration and case management for all new clients. Trenelle believes that working for the O'Pry Law Firm is truly a blessing because there is a high level of mutual respect amongst every team member. Additionally, she is able to help hundreds of people a year recover from a traumatic experience and be adequately compensated. During her free time, she enjoys touring different areas of Louisiana and traveling to learn more about our Cajun culture and taking as many photos as she can along the way!
Jonai Shields - Customer Service/Front Desk
Lafayette native who graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a Bachelor's of Science and Northcentral University with a Master's Degree in Health Psychology. She has years of customer service experience and uses that experience to focus on our clients' needs during representation. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, planting, decorating, and spending
Karen O'Pry - Bookkeeper
Karen makes sure that the firm's financial data is handled accurately and timely. She performs bookkeeping and accounts receivable functions using computer programs such as QuickBooks, Amicus and Excel. Karen retired after 35 years as a claims rep and technical expert with the Social Security Administration. She is now proud to be a part of her son's law firm. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with and cooking for her family, especially her six grandchildren.
