Special Counsel to the Babcock Law Firm is Mark D. Plaisance, a native of Cut Off, La., and a resident of Baker, Louisiana for 18 years. Mr. Plaisance earned an A.S. in General Business and B.A. in Communication Arts from Nicholls State University and subsequently received his J.D. from the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, where he was a member of the Appellate Advocacy Board and represented LSU for two years in the LSBA Young Lawyer’s Mock Trial Competition.

Mr. Plaisance, who concentrates in the areas of appellate practice, complex legal research, criminal law and civil litigation, has handled numerous appeals in both state and federal court. He has argued cases before the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal, Third Circuit Court of Appeal, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal and the United States Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal on such topics as desegregation law, school building ownership law, medical malpractice law and personal injury law.

In addition, he has lectured on several topics including Lawyer Professionalism and the legal aspects of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated. He has also written articles for the Baton Rouge Bar Association, “Around the Bar” on subjects such as changes in uninsured motorist insurance waiver forms and in practicing law in city courts.

Mr. Plaisance was instrumental in the creation of a City of Baker School system, leading the legal challenge which resulted in the City of Baker system becoming one of the first systems ever in the United States to be created from a school system undergoing court-ordered desegregation. In conjunction with this case, he successfully argued – for the first time in Louisiana – that the newly created Baker system succeeded to the administration, management and ownership of school property located within the Baker City limits without the necessity of monetary reimbursement to the remaining system.

He is a member of the Louisiana Bar Association and the Baton Rouge Bar Association. Some of Mr. Plaisance’s civic associations include membership in the Baker Chamber of Commerce and the Baker Rotary Club where he has served as president of each organization. He is also active in the Boy Scouts of America where he is a member of the Quinipissa Lodge 479 Order of the Arrow.

Mr. Plaisance is admitted to practice in the Louisiana Supreme Court, all Louisiana Courts of Appeal, all Louisiana District Courts, the U.S. District Court (Middle District) and the U.S. Federal Appeal Court, Fifth Circuit.

In 2002, Mr. Plaisance was elected Judge, Baker City Court, a position he still holds today. As a part-time judge, Mr. Plaisance is able to maintain a full-time practice which is located in Baker.