Blanchard, Walker, O’Quin & Roberts has expanded its legal team with the recent addition of William C. Bradford, Jr., and Taunton Melville to the firm.
Bradford most recently served as City Attorney in Shreveport during the administration of former Mayor Ollie S. Tyler. As the Chief Legal Officer for the City of Shreveport, Bradford was responsible for collecting more than $10 million of outstanding insurance payments owed to the City, overseeing the issuance of all municipal debt, managing all litigation against the City, negotiating regulations for the deployment of 5G Technology across the community, and a host of other tasks related to the operations of a billion dollar organization with more than 2,000 employees.
Bradford brings a wealth of knowledge related to complex matters regarding negotiations, public finance, crisis management, human resources, workers’ compensation, business transactions, financial operations, compliance, grant writing, and office management. Prior to his tenure as City Attorney, Bradford maintained a private practice focused on municipal government, general civil and family law matters, and litigation.
Taunton Melville, a Bossier City native, brings a broad civil law background to the firm, including transactional experience in estate planning, successions, and corporate governance. Since 2010, Melville has litigated a host of cases in the areas of premise liability, successions, oil and gas, personal injury, property ownership, tax adjudication, employment litigation and family law. He formerly practiced with Charles W. Strickland, Attorney at Law in Shreveport, as well as the law firm of Colvin, Smith & McKay, with offices in Shreveport and Homer, Louisiana. He is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University and the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
“Blanchard Walker continues to evolve and grow to meet the needs of our clients; Mr. Bradford and Mr. Melville are dedicated to our community and bring both strong reputations and experience to our team that will only enhance how we serve our clients,” said Michael E. Riddick, president of Blanchard Walker.
Blanchard Walker is a full-service business law firm with more than a century in northwest Louisiana. The firm offers services in most areas of civil law and has deep expertise in oil and gas, banking, real estate, estate planning and probate, as well as many other areas of litigation for corporate and individual clients.
