Picture of Zoë W. Vermeulen

Zoë W. Vermeulen

Partner

Zoë Vermeulen brings proven skill to advising businesses regarding labor and employment, commercial litigation, offshore energy, and admiralty/maritime law matters. As an advocate and service provider, she is considerate of her client’s specific needs without losing sight of the evolving legal framework in which they are required to operate.

Zoë is that trusted employment law advisor, strategic HR partner, and tempered yet formidable advocate employers need to succeed. She delivers a highly personal and focused approach to guiding organizations through the challenges and opportunities of managing today’s workforce.

Zoë’s labor and employment practice is extensive and ranges from compliance counseling to dispute resolution and state and federal court litigation. She also advocates client rights before administrative agencies and through behind-the-scenes and often discrete and tactical negotiation. She litigates claims of wage and hour violations, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Moreover, she resolves disputes involving invasion of privacy, wrongful termination, and other employment-related torts and liabilities brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ADA, FMLA, the Davis-Bacon Act, and other state and federal laws. Zoë also negotiates and documents high-level executive compensation and other employment contracts.

In addition, Zoë represents energy industry businesses – particularly oil and gas and pipeline companies – involved in the litigation of lease disputes, joint operating agreements, contractual and indemnity obligations, offshore decommissioning matters, IBLA appeals, General Maritime Law (GML) issues, Jones Act and Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) matters, high-exposure personal injury claims, and maritime contracts. She prosecutes and defends master service contracts and pursues reimbursement of legal fees under defense and indemnity provisions for clients adjudicated free of fault.

Zoë brings proven skill to litigating maritime property damage claims, including claims for rig damage caused by vessel allisions and claims by non-operating investors, including breach of exploration agreements, breach of joint operating agreements, conversion, and breach of duties owed as a reasonably prudent operator. Moreover, she prepares and files oil and gas liens under the Louisiana Oil Well Lien Act.

Representative Experience

Labor and Employment

  • Representation and defense of employers against employee claims of discrimination under Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act in both EEOC proceedings and lawsuits
  • Representation and defense of employers in suits alleging sexual harassment
  • Assisted in counseling and representation of employers in defense of claims brought under wage and hour laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Davis-Bacon Act
  • Representation and defense of claims asserted under the Fair Housing Act and related civil rights statutes, including § 1981 and § 1982

Commercial and Energy Litigation

  • Representation of drilling companies and oil companies in lawsuits filed by offshore workers based on the Jones Act, General Maritime Law, Louisiana state law, and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA)
  • Performed analyses of defense and indemnity issues in drilling and operations contracts, including master service contracts, and in pursuing reimbursement of defense fees under defense and indemnity provisions for clients adjudicated free of fault
  • Representation of oil and gas companies and platform owners and operators in defense of personal injury and wrongful death claims files under General Maritime Law
  • Representation and defense of maritime property damage claims, including claims for rig damage caused by vessel allisions
  • Representation and defense of oil and gas exploration companies in claims by non-operating investors, including claims for breach of exploration agreements, breach of joint operating agreements, conversion, and breach of duties owed as a reasonably prudent operator
  • Prepared and filed oil and gas liens under the Louisiana Oil Well Lien Act
Education
  • Tulane University Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, 2012 
    • Member, Order of the Coif
    • Member, Moot Court Board
  • Louisiana State University, B.A., 2008  
Admissions
  • Louisiana
  • United States District Court for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana
  • United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Memberships
  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Member, Association for Women Attorneys
  • Member, Federal Bar Association
  • Member, Louisiana State Bar Association
  • Member, Mariners Club
  • Member, New Orleans Bar Association
  • Member, Women’s Energy Network
  • Member, New Orleans Chapter Marketing Committee Representative, Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association
  • Member, Association Evaluation and Attorney Development and Marketing Committees; Past Member, Technology and Recruiting Committees, Kean Miller
Articles, Publications, Presentations
Recognition
  • "Top Lawyer," New Orleans Magazine, 2023
  • Fellow, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), Class of 2022
Community Service
  • Past Member, Board of Directors, New Orleans American Cancer Society