Lawyers of Color 2023 Power List Names Four Phelps Partners

NEW ORLEANS — March 22, 2023 — Phelps partners Kim Boyle, Karleen Green, LaToya Merritt and Allen Miller made the Lawyers of Color 2023 Power List. One of the only comprehensive collections of minority leaders in the legal profession, the list recognizes influential attorneys who are pushing diversity forward in the practice of law.

In addition to being seasoned lawyers with long track records of achieving successful outcomes for clients, these partners are also leaders at Phelps and in their communities.

Kim Boyle, who helps to lead Phelps’ New Orleans office as Vice-Managing Partner, represents public and private employers in employment-related claims and commercial and tort litigation matters. She often speaks on employment-related topics, litigation and issues of procedure, as well as diversity, ethics and professionalism.

Kim served as the first female African American president of the Louisiana State Bar Association and the first African American president of the New Orleans Bar Association. She also serves on the boards of Dillard University, the Amistad Research Center, the United Negro College Fund, and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law. She previously provided leadership for the Anti-Defamation League, ACLU of Louisiana and other organizations advancing the rights and inclusion of Black Louisianians and Americans.

In addition to serving on Phelps’ Operations Committee, Karleen Green maintains a thriving labor and employment practice, concentrating on employee benefits and employment matters for public and private companies. She is also a sought-after speaker on employment issues, contributes to local and industry publications, and has been consistently recognized by the nation’s leading peer-review publications, including Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers and Chambers.

Karleen is active in local, state and national bar associations, as well as various civic organizations promoting equal opportunity for all, including the Junior League of Baton Rouge and the Capital Area CASA Association. 

LaToya Merritt focuses her practice on Civil Rights and Title VII issues, as well as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans with Disabilities Act and Fair Labor Standards Act. She regularly represents educational institutions, including HBCUs, in suits alleging civil rights and constitutional law violations. She is also the practice coordinator of Phelps’ Jackson labor and employment group and the chair of the firm's Diversity Committee.

LaToya has been recognized by various publications for her devotion to volunteer work. She has devoted a decade of service as general counsel to The Piney Woods School, the nation’s oldest African American boarding school, is a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Fellow and serves on the board of the Grambling University Foundation.

Allen Miller sits on Phelps’ seven-member management committee, which is the firm’s highest governing body. He represents Fortune 500 companies, privately held business and other institutions in federal and state litigation and disputes throughout the nation. He often leads the trial team in high-stakes suits, including the team that won the first COVID-19 business interruption case tried in the U.S.

When he’s not advocating for clients, Allen lends his time and experience to others through a wide range of organizations, including St. Augustine High School and the Martinet Legal Society. He has also joined changemakers from around the city to tackle economic and social issues as a member of the Young Leadership Council and the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute.

With a community of more than 50,000 legal professionals, Lawyers of Color is a nationally recognized nonprofit that works to promote diversity in the legal profession and advance democracy and equality in marginalized communities. It celebrates attorneys of color and conducts research on the intersection of the legal profession and social justice. The organization releases several yearly publications, including its latest Power Issue, where Kim, Karleen, LaToya and Allen were recognized with their fellow honorees.