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Alex Onstott
Alex is a managing member of Ciolino & Onstott. He is a strong oral and written advocate who is committed to achieving exceptional results for his clients.
Alex represents businesses, entrepreneurs, and investors throughout the country. Alex’s clients range from start-ups to national corporations, and participate in diverse industries including retail, construction, pharmacy, and software development. Alex provides cost-effective representation and advise on organization, governance, commercial transactions, contracts, risk management, regulatory compliance, and more. As a small business owner himself, Alex believes good legal services should add value to a business rather than be a liability. He prides himself on finding solutions rather than merely identifying problems. Alex applies this same mindset and approach when helping investors identify, negotiate, and close on their opportunities.
Alex also assists individuals who need to manage business or real estate interests by: administering successions; brokering and negotiating business and real estate sales or transfers; and negotiating disputes between co-owners.
Prior to joining the firm in 2017, Alex worked at a local boutique litigation firm, working on complex environmental, products liability, and antitrust cases in state and federal courts across the country. Alex also served as a Term Law Clerk for Hon. Jennifer P. Wilson in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. One of his primary goals is to use his litigation knowledge and experience to help his clients be prepared for disputes. Good preparation is key to avoiding unnecessary lawsuits, and saving time and money when you are forced to pursue or defend your rights.
Alex is a native New Orleanian who firmly believes that his hometown is the world’s greatest city. In the rare times when he is not working, he enjoys sports, travel, and spending time with his dog, Jude.
Education
Alex earned his B.S. in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2010. After spending several years working in IT and marketing Alex decided to pursue a legal career. In 2015 he earned his J.D. from Tulane University Law School where he was a member of the Tulane Juvenile Law Clinic, Moot Court Board, and the Tulane Civil Law Society. While at Tulane, he was appointed as Special Programs Chair of the law school’s Moot Court Board, and as Head Coach of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Team. As part of the Vis Team, he won an award for his writing at the 2014 Vis East Moot in Hong Kong, a competition featuring nearly 100 teams from law schools around the world. He has also been noted for his work in Tulane’s Juvenile Law Clinic, where he represented indigent minors at the trial and appellate levels.
Licenses
- Attorney - Louisiana Bar Association - 2015
Memberships
- New Orleans Bar Association
- Jefferson Bar Association
Primary Practice Areas
FAQs
Alex Onstott is a co-founder and partner at Ciolino & Onstott, a New Orleans law firm at 318 Harrison Avenue in Lakeview. He focuses real estate transactions and business law throughout the Greater New Orleans area. Alex has been practicing in New Orleans since 2015.
Yes. Alex Onstott regularly works with out-of-state attorneys who refer Louisiana-specific matters to Ciolino & Onstott — particularly ancillary successions, partition actions, and real estate transfers that require Louisiana-licensed counsel. The firm is familiar with the procedural and substantive requirements that make Louisiana matters distinctive, including the state's civil law framework, community property rules, and forced heirship provisions.
You can schedule a free 15-minute consultation with Alex Onstott through the Ciolino & Onstott contact page, by phone, or by email. Consultations are available in-person at 318 Harrison Avenue in Lakeview, in downtown New Orleans, or remotely. The consultation is a no-commitment opportunity to discuss your matter and determine whether the firm is the right fit.
Alex Onstott handles the business law and commercial real estate transactional dimensions of client matters — entity formation, business counsel, real estate transactions, and out-of-state referral work. Max Ciolino handles the estate planning and succession dimensions — wills, trusts, forced heirship planning, real estate partitions, and personal injury. For matters spanning both areas, such as business succession or estate-driven real estate transfers, both attorneys collaborate directly on the engagement.
Alex Onstott's practice at Ciolino & Onstott covers real estate transactions and business law including entity formation and counsel. He handles the business law and real estate transactional dimensions of the firm's client work, and regularly works with out-of-state attorneys who refer Louisiana matters requiring local counsel.
Yes. Commercial Real estate transactions are a core part of Alex Onstott's practice at Ciolino & Onstott. He handles real estate transfers, including those involving trusts and LLCs, partition actions for co-owned property, and related business law matters throughout the Greater New Orleans area. The firm does not offer title insurance, title opinions, or full real estate closings — it focuses on transfers into or out of trusts and LLCs, and partition proceedings.
Yes. Business succession planning is part of Alex Onstott's practice at Ciolino & Onstott, handled in tandem with co-founder Max Ciolino who covers the estate planning dimensions. Because business succession sits at the intersection of business law and estate planning, having both attorneys working together on the same matter means clients receive a plan that is coherent across both domains. Ciolino & Onstott serves family-owned businesses, small and mid-sized companies, and business owners planning ownership transfers, buy-sell arrangements, or exit strategies in New Orleans and Louisiana.