Business News

Title Match

by Leslie Turk

Longtime title firm Andrus Boudreaux brings Turnkey into its fold.

Title attorneys and husband-wife team Elisa and Jonathan Davis look over a piece of property with Andrus Boudreaux co-founder Phil Boudreaux. The Davises merged their firm, Turnkey Title & Escrow, with Andrus Boudreaux earlier this year.
Photo by Robin May

The fast-growing title business in Lafayette — the parish broke another record for residential real estate sales last year — is a fiercely competitive but collegial environment (so we’re told).

And while mergers among the firms offering title services are unusual in this market, it should come as no surprise that attorneys working in the same field might eventually see the wisdom in joining forces. That’s just what happened with the 30-year-old law firm of Andrus Boudreaux Complete Title and Turnkey Title & Escrow, founded by a local couple, attorneys Jonathan and Elisa Davis, in the summer of 2013.

Andrus Boudreaux, which serves as title insurance agents for First American Title Insurance, Stewart Title Guaranty and Fidelity National Title Insurance, handling both commercial and residential transactions, is led by partners Philip Boudreaux, Mitchell Landry, Jean-Paul Coussan, Steven T. Ramos and Sara Tannehill Zuschlag. After a banner year for its real estate business in 2013, the firm began expanding its services to include banking and business law, asset-based lending and estate planning.

For the Davises and their three employees, teaming up with one of the best-known names in the local title biz has lots of benefits. (Say Turnkey Title really fast, and you’ll know one of them. That’s right, “Turkey Title” is no more.) The Davises joined as partners in the firm, located at 1301 Camellia Blvd. in River Ranch.

“The pace of our growth became unmanageable with us being both law partners and married to each other with young children,” Jonathan Davis tells ABiz. “We were in discussions to hire additional attorneys and staff when Jean-Paul Coussan approached us and stated they had the same problems. Our firm cultures are identical, so it was an easy decision for us to make to merge our practice with theirs and grow together.”

Elisa earned a degree in political science and international studies from Rhodes College in Memphis in 2004 and three years later graduated from LSU with a juris doctorate and bachelor of civil law degree. She spent several years of her legal career as corporate counsel to one of the largest global manufacturers of protective building systems.

Jonathan earned his undergraduate degree from Tulane University in 2002 and his law degree from LSU in 2007. While in law school, Jonathan served as an intern for the Honorable James J. Brady of the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana. He also served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable William D. Hunter (Ret.), Sixteenth Judicial District Court in Franklin. Jonathan currently serves as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

In general, a title company coordinates the interests of all parties to a real estate transaction — including buyers, sellers, mortgage lender and real estate agents. It ensures that the title to a piece of real estate is legitimate and then issues title insurance for that property. Title insurance protects the lender and/or owner against lawsuits or claims against the property that might result from disputes over the title.