Zoe W. Vermeulen

Zoe Vermeulen is a partner in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 2012 and practices in the admiralty and maritime practice group, as well as the labor and employment group.

• Assisted in the 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)
• Assisted in performing analyses of defense and indemnity issues in drilling and operations contracts, including master service contracts, and in pursing reimbursement of defense fees under defense and indemnity provisions for clients adjudicated free of fault
• Assisted in the 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
• Assisted in the representation and defense of maritime property damage claims, including claims for rig damage caused by vessel allisions
• Assisted in the 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
• Assisted in the 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
• Assisted in the 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
• Assisted in representation and defense of claims asserted under the Fair Housing Act and related civil rights statutes, including § 1981 and § 1982
• Assisted in preparation and filing of oil and gas liens under the Louisiana Oil Well Lien Act

Zoe earned her B.A. in Public Relations from Louisiana State University in 2008. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, in 2012 from Tulane University Law School, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif and Moot Court Board.

• Admitted, Louisiana, 2012; United States District Court for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana; United States Fifth Circuit

• New Orleans, Louisiana State, Federal and American Bar Associations; Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (Marketing Committee Representative New Orleans Chapter); Mariners Club; Association for Women Attorneys; Women's Energy Network

• Employment Update: Tips on the Tip Credit and How to Avoid Sexual Harassment Claims, Kean Miller Hospitality Forum, New Orleans, October 2018
  
• Understanding Similarities and Differences in Four Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Acts, Louisiana Law Blog, September 20, 2018
• Understanding Similarities and Differences in Four Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Acts, The Energy Dispatch Issue 3, August 2018
• Misclassifying Employees as Independent Contractors could Violate the NLRA, Louisiana Law Blog, February 21
• U.S. 5th Circuit Highlights Chasm Between Seaman Classification Under Jones Act and FLSA, Louisiana Law Blog, June 20, 2017
• EDLA Rules Plug and Abandon Contract is Maritime in Nature, Providing Indemnification to Platform Owner for Personal Injury Claims, Louisiana Law Blog, November 28, 2016
• Title III of the ADA Applies to Existing Vessels, Including Riverboat Casinos, Louisiana Law Blog, March 2016
• Comar Marine, Corp. v. Raider Marine Logistics, LLC: A Reminder of the Creation of Maritime Liens, Louisiana Law Blog, December 22, 2015
• U.S. Supreme Court Rules that Agencies are Free to Change Interpretive Rules Without Notice and Comment, Louisiana Law Blog, March 13, 2015
• USCIS Updates Form 1-9 for Employment Eligibility Verification, Louisiana Law Blog, March 2013
• EEOC Seeks Public Input on Quality Control Plan, Louisiana Law Blog, March 2013

• Board of Directors, New Orleans American Cancer Society