Picture of John Butler, the founding attorney and current partner at the Butler McDonald Law Firm.

John Butler

John is the founding attorney and current partner at the firm. John grew up in Amherst, New Hampshire. Strategy and tactical thinking were drilled into him from an early age: he took his first chess lesson around age four and didn’t stop until, among innumerable other championships, a national chess title in Charlotte in 1999. After high school John attended Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, graduating with a major in Computer Science and Mathematics.

A full academic scholarship to Tulane Law School brought John down from the North to New Orleans in 2004, where he met his wife, Dr. Isolde Butler, and has stayed ever since. John has operated his own firm in complex tax planning and defense for the past fourteen years. In that time, John has personally handled thousands of advisory cases, tax workouts, criminal defenses and requests for specific tax advice on behalf of clients ranging from individuals to local businesses to Fortune 500 financial institutions.

John fondly describes defending his clients as playing chess on paper.

Picture of David McDonald, current partner at Butler McDonald Law Firm.

David McDonald

David is a partner in the firm. David was born in Metairie, Louisiana into a family that was directly involved in the hospitality industry. Following this, David played saxophone in the marching band at LSU and graduated with a major in Sociology. David travelled north for law school at Ave Maria School of Law in Michigan. Prior to joining the firm, David gained an enormous amount of trial and litigation experience representing corporate interests, including some of the largest insurance firms in the State, in both federal and state courts. David is one of the few lawyers who is a Certified Litigation Management Professional. David also brings significant experience at the appellate level and has practiced for well over a decade in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, the highest federal court in Louisiana.

Together with his team, David is in charge of all civil issues at the firm across a wide range of industries and represents both plaintiffs and defendants. Typically, David will tell a client that when they are staring at a legal problem and telling themselves “I literally have no idea what to do” that they should call him. To this day, David is the only lawyer to have ever beaten John in a federal jury trial.

Picture of attorney Molly Jones.

Molly Jones

Molly Jones grew up in Terrell, Texas and majored in English at Texas Christian University.  Molly has ridden horses since age 4 and while at TCU she lettered on a Division 1, Big 12-competitive equestrian team.

After graduation, Molly migrated to New Orleans due to her love of Anne Rice and her vampire novels that take place in New Orleans.  Once here, Molly met her husband in 2017 and started her career in real estate, title and Louisiana civil law at Latter and Blum Property Management. Taking advantage of the City, Molly attended Loyola Law School and graduated in 2016.  Once she graduated Molly worked for five years at Southern Title, learning Louisiana real estate law inside and out.  Molly loves both plants and animals, living in an adjacent rural area of the City, and is the firm's specialist in any lawsuit or issue involving real estate especially wills, titles, successions and any type of civil litigation.

Picture of attorney John Perez.

John Perez

John Perez was born in Cebu City, Philippines. He immigrated to the US as a child and grew up in West Monroe, Louisiana. After majoring in Cellular and Molecular Biology at LSU Shreveport, John decided to pursue a career in law. He attended Loyola Law School, where he worked as a student practitioner at the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice. Mr. Perez began his career at Law Office of John Butler as a contract attorney, but his work was so impressive he was quickly brought on as a full-time associate. He is the firm’s primary conduit to the IRS and the Department of the Treasury.

Picture of attorney Sara Breaux.

Sara Breaux

Sara Breaux was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Sara attended college at the main LSU campus in Baton Rouge and graduated with a bachelor's of arts in political science and international studies with a minor in French.  Sara speaks French fluently and has been fluent for over a decade.

After graduating college ahead of schedule, Sara attended Tulane University Law School and is a barred Louisiana attorney.  Sara enjoys cooking, reading and playing chess.  Sara clerked under Judge Wicker at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeal and is barred in the United States Tax Court.

Picture of CPA Phillip Hymel.

Phillip Hymel

Phillip Hymel is a licensed and practicing CPA in Louisiana. He was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, his family migrating to New Orleans when he was a 3-year old. The 4th child of eight, Phillip became an avid reader, his favorite to this day biographies of famous Americans and novels of world history. Phillip attended the University of New Orleans on a full scholarship where he earned his degree in Accounting, interning his last 2 years at what is now Ernst & Young, then joining their audit staff full time at graduation. Phillip has been a licensed CPA since 1980 and eventually rose to be CFO of a US based district energy business with operations in 8 major cities.