Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams
“Our company was born out of tragedy,” notes John W. Houghtaling, CEO of Ocean Therapy Solutions and managing partner of the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams law firm. According to the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams lawyer, actor Kevin Costner and long time friend Patrick Smith came to action and presented a clean up plan during the Gulf Spill in the summer of 2010. “A major oil spill was barreling down on the Eastern seaboard, Gulf Coast areas and along comes Kevin [Costner] with this unique idea,” says the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams managing partner.
According to the nationally known Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams lawyer, it was a “shock to everyone but [Costner].” For nearly fifteen years, reports the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams litigator, the Hollywood actor had been investing in the centrifuge technology. The centrifuge technology, explains the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams legal partner, is a patented technology that separates two liquids.
The tools, adds John W. Houghtaling, best known for his legal work with Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams, had been used for smaller scale clean ups. “There was total success at a smaller level,” says Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams law firm’s Houghtaling. Now the two business partners simply needed to convince BP that their technology, successful on a small level, would work on a larger stage.
“The rest, as they say, is history,” comments Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams managing partner. The Ocean Therapy Solutions technology is designed to capture crude oil at the exact moment there is a spill, explains the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams legal expert. “The technology is the first line of defense,” says the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams executive. The Ocean Therapy Solutions, according to the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams managing partner, was a crucial turning point during a catastrophic event.
Being asked and named Chief Executive Officer was “a humbling and exciting experience,” acknowledges the 39-year-old Houghtaling, whose reputation as a lawyer for Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams is nationally known. “To work with such a team as Kevin [Costner], Patrick [Smith], and Dr. Hoek is an once-in-a-lifetime experience,” comments the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams lawyer. Costner, who began the process as far back as 1993, committed 20 million dollars to the vision, explains the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams super litigator. Patrick Smith, according to Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams law firm’s John Houghtaling, brings an extremely driven style of business to the table. Dr. Hoek brings a “phenomenal technological resume” to the team that “is unmatched,” adds the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams lawyer.
John W. Houghtaling came to Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams, when it was still the Gauthier firm, and started by carrying books in the library. From there, he worked himself up to managing partner in less than seven years. The CEO of Ocean Therapy Solutions has been managing partner of Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams since 2005. For more information about the law firm of Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams, visit them online at http://www.ghwlegal.com.
About Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams
Led by its founder, the late nationally respected trial attorney Wendell Gauthier, The Gauthier firm built a foundation of expertise that is carried on today by Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams. Since 2003 the law firm of Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams, a continuation of the Gauthier firm, has recovered over $138 million for businesses and individual clients. Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams currently represents over one quarter of a billion dollars in negotiated contracts.
In 1980, the Gauthier firm gained national recognition and prominence as founder. Wendell Gauthier navigated a major legal decision for wrongful death victims of the horrific 1980 fire at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. For Wendell Gauthier and the Gauthier firm as well as the future firm of Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams, the MGM Grand decision would represent just one of many successes in prominent courtroom verdicts and litigated settlements. Gauthier and his firm litigated numerous landmark decisions for clients involving product liability, wrongful death, personal injury, medical malpractice, insurance disputes, class actions and labor and employment disputes. Included in the list of successes of this firm which dates back to 1973 is a $9.25 million breach of contract settlement in El Salvador and intervention on behalf of Bhopal, India residents who were victimized by poisonous contamination in 1984.
Perhaps best known for his landmark $246 billion negotiated deal with tobacco companies, Wendell Gauthier received many accolades. Before his untimely death in 2001, Wendell Gauthier had been ranked as a “Nation’s Top 10 Litigation Lawyer”, a three-time named “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” by National Law Journal and was the focus of major publications. Today the partners of Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams have received numerous accolades including “Nation’s Best Advocates: 40 Lawyers Under 40”, “Super Lawyer” recognition, and Hall of Fame Inductees by City Business and Leadership in Law.
John W. Houghtaling became the managing partner of Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams in 2005. Dubbed an American success story, only ten years prior Houghtaling had begun working as a law clerk for the Gauthier firm, now known as Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams. Since then the Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams managing partner has negotiated significant and substantial settlements.
Today Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams continues the tradition of litigation expertise. Following the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams negotiated over $85 million in insurance claims. In addition to legal expertise, Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams has established community involvement and service as a core value. From involvement in the Louis A. Martinet Society to Make-A-Wish to charity work following major hurricanes, Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams believes that service to others, is fundamental.
For more information about the law firm of Gauthier, Houghtaling, and Williams, visit them online at http://www.ghwlegal.com or call (504) 456-8600.
