New Orleans personal injury attorney Michael S. “Mike” Brandner Jr. was arrested on November 30, 2025, by the Mandeville Police Department and booked into the St. Tammany Parish jail on charges of false imprisonment, domestic abuse battery, and domestic abuse battery with serious bodily injury.1WAFB. New Orleans Injury Attorney Michael Brandner Accused of Domestic Abuse in St. Tammany Parish The charges remain pending.
The Charges and What’s Known So Far
Brandner faces three counts stemming from an incident in St. Tammany Parish. The most serious is domestic abuse battery with serious bodily injury, which typically carries felony-level penalties under Louisiana law. The other two counts are domestic abuse battery and false imprisonment.2Fox 8 Live. New Orleans Injury Attorney Michael Brandner Accused of Domestic Abuse in St. Tammany Parish
As of early December 2025, bond on each count was listed as “to be set by judge,” and jail records showed no release date.1WAFB. New Orleans Injury Attorney Michael Brandner Accused of Domestic Abuse in St. Tammany Parish Several Louisiana news outlets reported the arrest, but none have published details identifying the alleged victim or describing what is said to have happened. No arraignment date, plea, or further developments in the case have been publicly reported.
Who Mike Brandner Is
Brandner is the founder of Mike Brandner Law, a plaintiffs’ firm with offices in Metairie and Hammond. He earned his undergraduate degree at Louisiana State University in 1999, his J.D. from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2002, and an LL.M. in taxation from Boston University School of Law in 2003.3Avvo. Michael S. Brandner Jr. He was admitted to the Louisiana bar in 2002 and started his career at a national firm doing commercial and tax litigation for Fortune 500 clients. He later attended the Trial Lawyer’s College in 2011.4Mike Brandner Law. Michael S. Brandner Jr.
He opened his own firm after Hurricane Katrina to handle storm-related insurance claims. Over time, personal injury work came to dominate the practice, now accounting for roughly 85 percent of its caseload. Brandner has been named a Super Lawyer from 2014 through 2025 and recognized as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers in multiple years. His Avvo profile carried a 10.0 rating and no disciplinary history at the time of his arrest.3Avvo. Michael S. Brandner Jr.
Cases That Made His Name
Brandner’s firm was the first to sue on behalf of construction workers injured when the partially built Hard Rock Hotel on Canal Street in New Orleans collapsed in October 2019. The firm started with three clients and grew to represent more than 40 workers in litigation against 19 companies, alleging negligence, recklessness, and willful indifference at the 1031 Canal Street site.5WDSU. Law Firm Now Representing 42 Hard Rock Collapse Clients Suing 19 Companies He sat on a 13-attorney plaintiffs’ committee negotiating with the developers and contractors, and in 2022 Civil District Judge Kern Reese appointed John Perry Jr. as special master to run a compensation program funded by the defendants’ insurers.6OHS Canada. Judge Appoints Mediator in Hard Rock Hotel Collapse Lawsuits in New Orleans
Earlier, Brandner argued Demma III v. Automobile Club Inter-Insurance Exchange, decided by the Louisiana Supreme Court on June 26, 2009. The question was whether an insurer’s unconditional payment to its own policyholder could interrupt the two-year prescriptive period for filing suit. Marco Demma III had been hurt in a 2005 crash; Auto Club made an unconditional tender of $23,000 in November 2006; Demma sued in May 2007. The district court and the Court of Appeal both held the claim time-barred. The Supreme Court reversed, finding the payment amounted to a tacit acknowledgment that restarted the clock, a ruling that protected policyholders who had received partial payments from being cut off from further recovery.7FindLaw. Demma III v. Automobile Club Inter-Insurance Exchange
What the Arrest Could Mean for His Law License
Louisiana attorney discipline runs under Rule XIX of the Louisiana Supreme Court Rules. Section 19 lays out the procedure when a lawyer is convicted of a “serious crime,” and Section 19.2 permits an immediate interim suspension when there is a threat of harm.8Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board. Rules for Lawyer Disciplinary Enforcement – Rule XIX Appendix E to the rule lists conduct that may warrant permanent disbarment, including felony convictions involving physical coercion or substantial injury to a person.9Louisiana Supreme Court. Rule XIX Appendix E
Any discipline would depend on how the criminal case plays out. Brandner has not been convicted of anything, and his bar profile at the time of the arrest showed no prior disciplinary findings and confirmed he remained eligible to practice.3Avvo. Michael S. Brandner Jr.