Picture of Victor J. Suane Jr.

Victor J. Suane, Jr.

Partner

Vic Suane is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller, and Chair of the firm’s Diversity Council. He joined the firm in 2007 and practices in the energy and environmental litigation group. Vic is a counselor and litigator for local, regional and national clients in a variety of oil and gas, regulatory, soil and groundwater contamination, wetlands loss, pipeline right-of-way negotiation and expropriation, toxic tort, lost leasing opportunity, commercial, environmental, and general litigation matters.

Over his career, Vic has been named the Outstanding Young Lawyer of Louisiana by the Louisiana State Bar Association, listed by The Best Lawyers in America, listed as a Rising Star by Louisiana Super Lawyers, is a member of the 2018 class of Fellows for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and was selected for the National Black Lawyers’ Top 100. Vic is an active member of the National Bar Association’s Commercial Law Section, currently serving on its Executive Committee, has served on the Federal Bar Association’s Professional Ethics Committee, and was selected as a Fellow for the American Bar Foundation in 2022.

Representative Experience
  • Representation of energy companies [Fortune 100, 250, 500, and independents] in multi-jurisdictional litigation brought by governmental entities claiming that historical oil and gas activities have contributed to coastal land loss in Louisiana.
  • Representation of supermajor, major, and independent oil and gas companies in Louisiana “Legacy” lawsuits, brought by landowners seeking property and remediation damages, including surface, subsurface, sediment, NORM, groundwater contamination and wetlands loss, related to historical oil and gas exploration, transportation and production activities.
  • Representation of oil and gas companies in royalty and production in paying quantity lawsuits brought by lessors seeking damages and lease cancellation.
  • Representation of operators and former operators seeking site closure and letters of no further action before the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.
  • Representation of major pipeline companies in expropriation and other property law matters, including pipeline rights of way involving federal and state laws of eminent domain and surface rights in south Louisiana.
  • Representation of industrial services company in lawsuit alleging personal injuries resulting from chemical release.
  • Representation of national non-profit organization in a lawsuit seeking damages for defamation and restriction of privilege.
  • Representation of local non-profit organization in lawsuit by former director seeking injunctive relief.
Education

Vic earned his B.A. in Business Administration from Rhodes College in 1998. He earned his J.D., cum laude, in 2007 from the Southern University Law Center where he was a member of the Southern University Law Review and American Inns of Court. While at Southern, he received several awards for his classroom excellence.

Admissions
  • Admitted, Louisiana, 2007; United States District Court for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana; United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Memberships
  • Baton Rouge Bar Association
  • Louisiana State Bar Association
  • National Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
Articles, Publications and Presentations
Community Service
  • Member, Federal Bar Association Professional Ethics Committee
  • Member, Commercial Law Section CLE Committee, National Bar Association
  • Past President, Member, Board of Directors, Louisiana School for the Deaf Foundation
  • Member, Past Board of Directors, Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge
  • Council Member, Young Lawyers Section (2011-2013), Baton Rouge Bar Association
  • Past Chair, Member, Belly Up With the Bar Committee, Baton Rouge Bar Association
  • Kean Miller Team Co-Captain, Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area, Walk to Remember, 2007-2009
  • Volunteer, Kean Miller Dictionary Project
  • Volunteer, Baton Rouge Bar Association, Easter Egg Hunt, Buchanan Elementary, 2006–present; North Highland Elementary, 2006-2007
  • Volunteer, Literacy Night, Buchanan Elementary, 2006-2007
Recognition
  • The Best Lawyers in America, Environmental Litigation, 2024
  • Fellow, American Bar Foundation, 2022
  • The National Black Lawyers Top 100, 2020
  • Fellow, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, 2018
  • Israel M. Augustine Award, Louis A. Martinet Society, Greater Baton Rouge Chapter, 2016
  • Rising Star, Louisiana Super Lawyers, 2016
  • Outstanding Young Lawyer of Louisiana, Louisiana State Bar Association, 2014
  • President's Award, Baton Rouge Bar Association, 2013
Super Lawyers
SuperLawyers
Leadership Counsel on Legal Diversity
Leadership Counsel on Legal Diversity logo
Fellows of the American Bar Foundation
Fellows of the American Bar Foundation logo