John Ladue

I am a founder of SouthBank Legal. My practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, white-collar criminal defense, and serving as a mediator to help litigants resolve commercial disputes without incurring the time, expense, and uncertainty of modern litigation. I am a member of the firm’s commercial litigation team ranked in Chambers in 2023. In more than 30 years of practice, I have represented individuals and companies in state and federal courts around the country and tried more than 40 cases to jury verdict. My litigation experience has involved a wide variety of substantive issues, including contract disputes, trade secret and non-compete claims, product liability and warranty cases, employment discrimination and retaliation, claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, trademark and copyright infringement, conducting internal investigations for companies and universities, and representing individuals and businesses under investigation for alleged criminal conduct. I began my legal practice as a Judge Advocate in the United States Marine Corps.I served primarily as “trial counsel,” prosecuting more than 300 criminal cases under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including seven murder cases, two of which resulted in the death sentence. After I was honorably discharged, holding the rank of Major, I began my litigation practice with an Am Law 100 firm. In addition to my law practice, since 2004, I have served as an adjunct professor at the Notre Dame Law School. I have taught trial advocacy, deposition skills, and military law, and also serve on the faculty of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.