T. JAY SEALE, III was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1947, and has made his life in Hammond for most of his adult years. Seale obtained his Juris Doctor degree from LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law School in 1973 and began his practice in Hammond in October of that year. Seale practiced as a solo practitioner for two years before beginning to build the present firm, now with offices in Hammond, Baton Rouge and Madisonville.
Seale’s career includes both litigation and business experience. As a litigator, Seale has represented casualty insurers like Travelers, State Farm, Insured Lloyds through Marinco, Tycor, Phoenix Aviation Underwriters, and has served as lead or local associate counsel in medical, dental, and architectural E&O Litigation. He has represented many public entities in litigation, including state agencies, university clients, and parish and municipal government clients. He is a member of SuperLawyers© in Commercial Litigation and has for 20 years held the “AV/Preeminent” rating by Martindale-Hubbell and is listed by Best Lawyers as a member of Best Attorneys in Louisiana.
As a business lawyer, Seale has served as legal counsel or executive counsel for banks and commercial entities, developers, contractors, medical practices, and political subdivisions. For larger clients this work has included managing legal matters, including litigation in other jurisdictions, and coordinating claims handling procedures with the client’s insurance carriers. He is experienced in mergers and acquisitions and generational transfers within family businesses.
Seale has also served as Chairman of the Louisiana State Mineral Board where he supervised the Board’s major litigation against Fortune 500 defendants, including hundreds of millions of dollars in dispute.
Economic Development has been an interest of Seale; he is a former Chair of the Northshore Business Council, an invitation-only organization of Presidents and CEOs of Northshore businesses which actively pursues business interests in coordination with regional business councils and Chambers of Commerce. Seale is a Director of GNO, Inc., a regional economic development alliance covering a 10-parish region of the state, and is a member of the Executive Committee and the Public Policy Committee.
Seale is a Member of First Presbyterian Church in Hammond and leads a theological study group within the local church and beyond. He was married to Susan Fagan Seale in July, 2017. Seale has a son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons who reside in Austin, and Susan has a son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren who reside in Covington, Louisiana, as well as a daughter and son-in-law who reside in New Orleans. Seale’s recreational activities have included flying, scuba diving and photography. As a pilot, Seale holds multi-engine, instrument and seaplane ratings.
Mr. Seale was appointed by Governor John Bel Edwards to serve as a member of the Board of Regents. He represents the 1st Congressional District, and his term expires on December 31, 2022.