Van C. Seneca

Van maintains a general civil practice based in Lake Charles, focused on business and corporate law, corporate governance, civil litigation, insurance disputes, real estate and mortgage closings, wills and successions, and creditor rights in state courts and bankruptcy.

He earned his Juris Doctorate from LSU's Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1989 after completing his Bachelor of Criminal Justice at LSU in 1986. He graduated 25th in his class of 174 and received American Jurisprudence Awards for the highest grades in Business Associations I, Commercial Paper, and Successions and Donations, and was named to the Chancellor's List.

Van began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable James T. Trimble, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (1989–1990). He then practiced as an associate and partner with Bergstedt & Mount and Bergstedt, Mount & Seneca from 1990 through 1999, before founding Van C. Seneca, LLC, where he practiced as a solo civil practitioner from 1999 to 2018. From August 2018 through July 2023 he served as civil defense counsel with Plauché, Smith & Nieset, LLC. He joined Loftin Law Group as a partner in July 2023.

Van has served on the corporate boards of Brookshire Brothers Holding, Inc. (1999–2010) and South Texas Cellular Services, Inc. (2016–present), and he is a licensed title insurance agent for First American Title Insurance Company.