Lawrence W. “Larry” Pettiette, Jr. (Gamma Nu–Louisiana-Monroe ’72) is the 2021 recipient of the Professionalism Award by the Shreveport Bar Association (SBA). This award is given annually to attorneys whose practice and personal conduct exemplify the highest level of integrity, dedication, and honor in the practice of law.
Larry was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1953. After living for a period of time in East Texas he moved to Shreveport in 1959 and has lived in Shreveport since that date. He graduated summa cum laude from Northeast University with degrees in Government and Spanish in 1975. He graduated from Emory University School of Law in 1978. He was director of the moot court board. He returned to Shreveport upon graduation to clerk for United States Federal Judge Tom Stagg. After this two year clerkship, he entered private practice focusing primarily on civil litigation. He is a member of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, a founding member of the Harry V. Booth-Henry A. Politz Inn of Court, and a member of the Georgia and Louisiana Bar. Additionally, Larry has been a lawyer and a member of the Shreveport Bar Association since 1978.
Since completing that clerkship, Larry has been a litigator. He spent 1980 to 1984 working with the great Arthur Carmody and became a partner in that firm which, at the time, was named Wilkinson, Carmody, Pettiette & Gilliam. He was a partner in the firm Blanchard, Walker, Armand, Dunkelman, Woodley, Byrd and Cromwell. For the past 25 years, his practice has focused on the representation of doctors and hospitals.
Larry has served the as SBA president, SBA treasurer, SBA archives chairman, Krewe of Justinian Captain, King of Justinian (this year), Justinian Duke, Shreveport Bar Foundation treasurer and, currently, president-elect of the Shreveport Bar Foundation. He is active in the Booth-Politz Inn of Court. Larry and his wife Janey were instrumental in starting and maintaining the Red Mass tradition in Shreveport. He speaks frequently in CLE programs, has lectured at LSU Law School and the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport and taught a law class at Loyola College Prep High School. He is a devoted Catholic and was made a member of the Order of St.Gregory, in recognition of extraordinary service to the Church. He and Janey are longtime parishioners of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in downtown Shreveport and Larry received the first annual Trlnttarlan service award.
“Larry was my most important early mentor in lawyering,” commented Donald Armand, Jr., then President of the Shreveport Board Association. “He has been my true friend and loyal, dedicated partner in law practice for 35 years.”
As an undergraduate, Larry was the President of the Interfraternity Council and was the Number I of the Gamma Nu chapter in 1974 and 1975, when the chapter was awarded the J. Edgar Hoover Award for Chapter Excellence. He was a recipient of the Robert McCall Scholarship which helped him to attend Emory University School of Law, where he also affiliated with the Epsilon chapter during his first year of law school.
In 2008, Larry was inducted in to the Horace H. White Province Court of Honor. He is a member of the Loyal Order and a three-year member of the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation’s Crimson & Gold Society.
Larry and his wife Janey live in Shreveport and have four children and five grandchildren.
