E-mail: kduncan@joneswalker.com

J. Kelly Duncan is a Partner at Jones Walker and is a member of the Firm's Board of Directors. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (Woodward/White, Inc.) in Gaming Law and Maritime Law, and was featured in the December 2004 issue of New Orleans Magazine. Mr. Duncan is also listed in the 2007 edition of Louisiana Super Lawyers in the area of Transportation/Maritime. He is ranked in Gaming & Licensing by Chambers USA – America’s Leading Business Lawyers 2005, 2006, and 2007. Mr. Duncan was honored in 2005 as a recipient of the inaugural CityBusiness Leadership in Law Award which recognized 50 New Orleans attorneys for their success in law and contributions to the community based upon professional achievements and community service.

Mr. Duncan has over 25 years of experience in handling admiralty and maritime, and international and customs law matters. His maritime practice includes both domestic and international matters relating to marine acquisitions, financings, vessel construction, regulatory issues and claims, maritime lien enforcement and foreclosures, charter parties, and cargo. Mr. Duncan has been a speaker at maritime seminars throughout the country. Mr. Duncan’s international practice includes, among other things, international commercial transactions, customs rulings, protests, reliquidations, seizures, forfeitures, and classification disputes.

Mr. Duncan serves as the firm’s Gaming Practice Chair and is a member of the International Association of Gaming Attorneys and the International Masters of Gaming Law. Since the passage of legislation in Louisiana in the early 1990's authorizing video poker, riverboat gaming and the land based casino, Mr. Duncan has been integrally involved in the representation of major casino companies, manufacturers, suppliers and financial institutions regarding all matters relating to the development, financing and operation of such facilities. His extensive experience in such matters includes public private leases, financings, and land use approvals as well as statutory and regulatory interpretation and compliance, gaming operations, administrative hearings, and litigation. His clients include many of the largest gaming operators and gaming equipment manufacturers and suppliers in the world as well as major investment banking firms and large commercial lenders involved in secured and unsecured lending, debt offerings and bond offerings in connection with the development of various gaming projects. As a result of his maritime, gaming and international practices, Mr. Duncan has extensive experience in appearing before regulatory bodies, and state and federal courts.

Practice Areas:

• Admiralty & Maritime
• Gaming
• International

Bar Admissions:

• Louisiana, 1979

Education:

• Tulane University Law School, J.D., 1979
• Georgetown University, A.B., 1976, cum laude

Memberships:

PROFESSIONAL

• American Bar Association - Member, Sections on Admiralty and Maritime Law and Business Law - Marine Financing and Gaming Law Committees; Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section
• Federal Bar Association - Member
• Louisiana State Bar Association – Member, Sections on Admiralty and International Law
• New Orleans Bar Association – Immediate Past Chairman, Maritime and International Law Committee
• Maritime Law Association of the United States - Member, Sections of Marine Financing and Carriage of Goods and Past Speaker at the Annual Meeting
• Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute – Member and Past Speaker at the Annual Meeting
• Association of Average Adjusters of the United States - Member
• American Association of Exporters and Importers - Member
• New Orleans Maritime Seminar – Member, Advisory and Planning Committees, Past Moderator and Speaker at this annual seminar
• International Masters of Gaming Law – Member
• International Association of Gaming Attorneys - Member
• Gaming Law Review - Editorial Board

CIVIC

• Audubon Boulevard Association - Member of the Board of Directors and Past President
• Audubon Nature Institute - Chairman (and Past Vice Chairman, Treasurer and Parliamentarian) and Member of Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Finance Committee and Nature Center Committee, Past Chairman of Legal Committee and Past Member of Grounds Committee; Annual Fund - 1998 Chairman; Member of Zoo-To-Do Sponsor Committee
• Bureau of Governmental Research - Member of the Board of Directors; Chairman of the Development Committee; Member of the Executive, Strategic Planning and 75th Anniversary Committees
• Chamber of Commerce of New Orleans and the River Region - Past Chairman of the Port and Waterways Advisory Committee, Past Member of the Long Range Planning, State Legislation and Area Committees
• Georgetown University Alumni - Member of Louisiana Admission Committee
• Georgetown University Board of Governors - Past Member of the Board of Governors
• Georgetown University Club of Louisiana - Member and Past President
• Louisiana Children’s Museum - Member of Advisory Committee and Past President of the Board of Directors, Past Member of the Executive Committee, Finance Committee, Development Committee and Long Range Planning Committee, Chairman of the 2007 Nominating Committee
• Louisiana Nature and Science Center - Past President of Board of Directors, Past Member of Executive Committee, Long Range Planning Committee and Finance Committee; National Center for Wetlands Education - Past President; Society for Environmental Education - Past President, Board of Directors
• Metropolitan Area Committee - Member and past participant in the MAC Leadership Forum - 1982
• New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute - Class of 2005
• Trinity Episcopal Church - Member, Endowment Committee
• Trinity Episcopal School – Past Member of the Board of Trustees and Finance Committee; Past Chairman of the Development Committee
• United Way - Past Professional Group Solicitor
• World Trade Center - Member and Past Member of Transportation Committee
• Young Leadership Council - Past Member of the Board of Directors

Books:

• Chapter 24 “Import Procedures and Restrictions”, A Foreign Investor’s Guide to Doing Business in Louisiana, 1993