Top Civil Lawyers Near Me in New Orleans Area

Upon retiring from his litigation practice as a managing parter of his firm, Mr. Ovella formed a highly successful consulting firm three years ago to assist people with litigation related needs. At the request of many attorneys and former, present, and potential clients, Mr. Ovella formed Dominic J. Ovella Attorney at Law, L.L.C. As a litigator, with over 30 years of experience, Mr. Ovella has returned to his litigation practice. Mr. Ovella has handled and litigated hundreds of millions of dollars worth of claims for personal injury and property damage brought by and against his clients. Mr. Ovella's success begins with his personality and knowledge and ends with his ability to obtain great results for clients, whether by settlements or in trials.

Nan Alessandra represents employers in both the public and private sectors in the defense of discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims for age, gender, disability, race, religion, national origin, and other protected categories. Her litigation experience includes the defense of EEOC and other administrative charges filed through the various federal and state court agencies, as well as defense of legal claims filed at both the judicial level, as well as through the arbitration process. She has also represented clients on a wide variety of human resource issues and compliance issues and assists in developing appropriate policies and procedures, as well as provide onsite training to management and personnel on both employment related topics and corporate compliance issues. Ms. Alessandra’s experience for clients involves many different industries including financial institutions, educational institutions, public agencies, manufacturing companies, chemical companies and healthcare organizations. Ms. Alessandra is a member of the American Arbitration Association’s Panel of Neutrals for employment related matters in both arbitration and mediation. She has participated in a wide range of mediations and arbitrations as a mediator, arbitrator and advocate. As part of her mediation and arbitration experience, she has mediated and arbitrated a wide variety of cases in the labor and employment arenas, with both single and multi-party claimants/respondents. As part of her practice in the Employment and Labor arena, Ms. Alessandra has adjudicated cases at both the bench and jury trial levels. In this regard, Ms. Alessandra’s industry experience has varied dramatically and ranges in the gaming, restaurant, engineering, hospitality and academic areas in both the public and private sector. Ms. Alessandra has also represented executives in contractual disputes and has an active counseling/advisory practice involving all aspects of labor and employment in both federal and state administrative agencies, including defense of civil rights claims and constitutional challenges. Ms. Alessandra serves as the Practice Coordinator for the firm's Labor and Employment Group in New Orleans. Prior to going into private practice, Ms. Alessandra was a judicial law clerk upon graduation from law school and was judicial extern for a federal judge while she was in her last year of law school.

Ms. Barrios is a founding partner of BKC, concentrating her work in the field of complex multi-district litigation, products liability litigation, mass torts, and class actions. In 2014, the New Orleans Bar Association presented her with the Arceneaux Professionalism Award; she is the first woman to ever receive the honor. In 2011, the judges of the Eastern District of Louisiana appointed Ms. Barrios to the Lawyers Disciplinary Committee, another honor in recognition of her reputation for her both excellent and ethical advocacy. In addition, Ms. Barrios has also been named a Louisiana Super Lawyer for 2014, an honor she has received every year since 2008. Super Lawyer Magazine has also named her one of the top 25 female lawyers in Louisiana.. Ms. Barrios graduated from Newcomb College in 1974 and from Tulane University School of Law in 1976. In her final year of law school, she received the Admiralty Law Institute Prize, and the American Jurisprudence Prize for Louisiana Civil Procedure. From 1976-1979 she clerked for Chief Justice Joe W. Sanders of the Louisiana Supreme Court, then joined Carl W. Cleveland and Associates, where she made partner in 1980. She co-founded BKC in 1995.. Since the mid-1990s starting with her role in the both the state and national breast implant product liability litigation, Ms. Barrios has been recognized as a leading attorney in the arena of complex products liability litigation. Judges across the country have appointed her to numerous litigation committees in products liability and mass tort consolidated cases, including being appointed Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel in a multi-district litigation against an education testing company. She currently plays an integral role on the committees overseeing the defective Chinese drywall products liability litigation, the Toyota unintended acceleration litigation, the GM ignition switch litigation, the Actos products liability litigation, the testosterone replacement therapy litigation, and in the remaining cases in the Vioxx products liability litigation.. Currently, Ms. Barrios sits on the Board of Governors of the Louisiana Association for Justice, is a Director of the New Orleans Bar Foundation, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans.. Ms. Barrios is a native of New Orleans and is the proud mother of three sons, one of whom was made her law partner in 2014.

Mr. Kingsdorf graduated from Tulane University in 1971 and from Tulane University School of Law in 1974. He clerked at the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal for Judges Peter Beer and Ernest N. Morial and then clerked at the Louisiana Supreme Court for Justice Albert Tate, Jr.. In 1980, he became a partner in the firm of Cleveland, Barrios, Kingsdorf & Casteix where he remained until 1995 when he co-founded the firm of Barrios, Kingsdorf & Casteix, LLP. In addition to serving as faculty member at numerous seminars, he has lectured at the Tulane University School of Law in the area of complex litigation and mass torts.. Mr. Kingsdorf is a member of the Louisiana Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, the Federal Bar Association, and the New Orleans Bar Association, and he has attained for more than 25 years Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating, AV, indicating excellence in legal work and the highest ethical principles. He is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in the State of Louisiana.

Most & Associates is a full service law firm based in New Orleans, handling a range of civil and criminal matters. Lead attorney William Most holds a J.D. from the UC Berkeley School of Law, and an A.B. from Harvard University.Mr. Most has worked with individuals, nonprofits, farmers, businesses, cities, and tribes in a variety of administrative, judicial, and transactional contexts. He has represented a high-profile death row exoneree, challenged widespread discrimination, and fought for the rights of small businesses, tenants, patients, and the disabled.

Mike Gertler is the managing partner of the Gertler Law Firm, a New Orleans personal injury law firm.  The law firm focuses on the following injury and accident practice areas:. We assist residents in the following areas:Orleans Parish:New OrleansJefferson Parish:Gretna, Harahan, Kenner, Westwego, Grand Isle, Jean Lafitte, Avondale, Barataria, Bridge City, Elmwood, Estelle, Harvey, Jefferson, Lafitte, Marrero, Metairie, River Ridge, Terrytown, Timberlane, Waggaman, WoodmerePlaquemines Parish:Belle Chasse, Boothville-Venice, Buras-Triumph, Empire, Port Sulphur, Bohemia, Davant, Homeplace, Jesuit Bend, Pilottown, Pointe a la Hache, Port Eads, VeniceSt. Bernard Parish:Arabi, Chalmette, Meraux, Poydras, Violet, Caernarvon, Contreras, Delacroix Island, Hopedale, Kenilworth, Reggio, Sebastopol, Shell Beach, Toca, Verret, Versailles, YscloskeySt. Tammany Parish:Covington, Mandeville, Slidell, Abita Springs, Madisonville, Pearl River, Folsom, Sun, Eden Isle, Lacombe, Bush, GoodbeeSt. Charles ParishAma, Bayou Gauche, Boutte, Des Allemands, Destrehan, Hahnville, Killona, Luling, Montz, New Sarpy, Norco, Paradis, St. Rose, Taft, Almedia, Frellsen St. James Parish Gramercy, Lutcher, North Vacherie, South Vacherie, Convent, Vacherie

Michael Lane primarily handles construction and suretyship disputes, representing owners, developers, sureties, general contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers.  Mr. Lane’s depth of experience in construction, insurance, and commercial disputes allows him to advise and represent clients on a wide range of legal matters.  He also has considerable experience representing insurers in coverage and defense of property damage and personal injury claims.  Mr. Lane is active with the ABA Forum on Construction Law and has authored several articles on construction law topics.  He has an undergraduate degree from LSU and a JD from Tulane University.

Lance McCardle is a dogged, diligent advocate for his clients-evidenced by the number of thank you notes sent from clients who are ever grateful for his work in recovering their investment losses.  His clients appreciate his honest assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of their case and the on-going advice he shares as their case progresses.

Kevin LaVie practices in the area of admiralty and tort. He has a very broad-based practice involving nearly all aspects of maritime law including personal injury and death claims; cargo damage claims; dock damage and collision claims; Limitation of Liability matters; charter party and related commercial disputes (including ship arrests and Rule B attachments); insurance coverage disputes; oilfield indemnity actions; pollution matters; and various Coast Guard and immigration matters. His practice covers both the offshore energy or “brownwater” industry and traditional “bluewater” shipping.. Litigation is a major focus of Mr. LaVie’s practice, and he has tried personal injury and death cases (including Jones Act and 905(b) cases) in all federal courts in Louisiana, many state courts, and in federal courts in other states on a pro hac vice basis. He has also tried a number of cargo damage claims. A sub–specialty of his litigation practice involves maritime products liability claims, including machinery and equipment failures. Due to the number of cases he has tried, Mr. LaVie has handled numerous appeals, including over two dozen appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.. Prior to joining Phelps Dunbar, Mr. LaVie was with the Terriberry, Carroll, & Yancey, L.L.P. law firm in New Orleans.

Joe is the managing member of Peiffer Rosca Abdullah Carr & Kane. His practices consist of representing individuals and institutions that have been harmed by investment banks and brokerage firms, prosecuting ERISA class actions, and representing victims of labor trafficking and those who have suffered catastrophic injury. He has co-authored a treatise Litigating Business and Commercial Tort Cases, which is published by Thompson West.. Joe has also taught and lectured extensively. He co-created and taught a class entitled Storytelling and Advocacy at Loyola Law School. Also, at Loyola Law School, he has taught a course entitled “The Basics of Arbitration” and he also serves as an adjunct professor teaching Trial Advocacy. He has guest lectured at Tulane Law School in its Securities Regulations class and Syracuse Law School on securities arbitration. He has spoken at many national conventions on a variety of topics including prosecuting large, multi-client claims, broker’s deficient advice to retire and FINRA arbitration.. Joe has represented hundreds of individual retirees against their brokers in FINRA arbitration. The highlights of this practice include representing 32 Exxon retirees in a 90-day FINRA arbitration against Securities America that resulted in a $22 million verdict — one of the largest ever awarded by a FINRA arbitration panel. He has also represented hundreds of Xerox and Kodak retirees against their broker resulting from the broker’s fraudulent advice to retire and subsequent unsuitable investments. He has represented hundreds of families in cases involving private placements and Ponzi schemes.. His financial services fraud practice also includes representing about 25 hospitals and municipalities around the country in cases involving their issuance of auction rate securities. He also filed several ERISA class actions against large financial services firms alleging that they did not prudently invest retirement money and had conflicts of interest. He also is on the plaintiffs’ steering committee in a nationwide antitrust class action involving the illegal tying of cable set-top boxes to the provision of premium cable services.. Joe also currently represents hundreds of clients in cases involving serious injuries sustained by pharmaceutical products such as Pradaxa, Nuvaring, Granuflo, and Lexapro.. Finally, he represents victims of human trafficking and labor exploitation. In one such case, the plaintiffs have alleged that the defendants have failed to pay overtime, improperly deducted for employee housing, and held the plaintiffs passports while in the United States. He has travelled extensively to the Philippines for this case and another one involving a rig explosion where two of his clients working on a rig owned by Black Elk exploded.. Joe was one of three Louisiana lawyers ranked by Chambers USA for securities litigation in 2011. He has been named a 2013 Rising Star by his peers in the Class Action Administration organization. He has been quoted by USA Today, Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, New York Times, New York Daily News, The Los Angeles Times, Business Week, Investment News, and many other publications. Mr. Peiffer has also appeared on CNN. He was named as one of the fifty Leaders in Law by New Orleans City Business Magazine.. He has also successfully risen into the leadership of several national bar associations. He twice served as the chairman of the Business Torts Section of the American Association for Justice. He has served on the Board of Directors of PIABA – a nationwide bar association of lawyers that represent individuals and institutions in arbitrations to recover money lost by investment banks and brokerage firms. He was recently elected Executive Vice President of PIABA and will become PIABA President in October, 2014.. Joe graduated from Tulane School of Law, cum laude, in 1999. While at Tulane, he served on the Tulane Law Review and was involved with the Tulane Legal Assistance Program. Prior to attending Tulane, he graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1996 with a major in communications. While at Bowling Green, he worked as the General Manager of the campus radio station and City Editor of the daily newspaper.

Jay Sever is a partner in the Insurance and Reinsurance group of Phelps Dunbar. He is also the Practice Coordinator for the Insurance and Reinsurance group in the New Orleans office. He serves as local, regional and national coverage counsel for both foreign and domestic insurance companies. He counsels clients, manages disputes and tries cases involving a wide variety of insurance coverage issues, including matters arising from bad faith, construction defects claims, third-party liability claims, first-party claims, professional liability claims, crane and rigging claims, racing and competitive sport claims, entertainment claims, transportation claims, environmental claims, general and toxic tort claims, advertising, copyright and trademark claims, media liability claims, multiple-year trigger and allocation issues, marine liability claims, Louisiana direct action claims and numerous others. In addition to handling cases in Louisiana and California courts in which he is admitted, Mr. Sever also has acted as lead counsel in cases pending in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Mr. Sever's practice, both litigation and counseling, involves attorneys from all of Phelps Dunbar's offices in the Gulf South and, where necessary, local counsel in states throughout the United States.. Mr. Sever serves as the Practice Coordinator for the Insurance and Reinsurance group in the New Orleans office.

In house counsel for a growing and innovative healthcare finance company.

In his more than 20 years practicing law, Mike has recovered awards of more than $300 million in settlements and in excess of $1 billion in jury verdicts for his clients.

I'm a construction lawyer defending clients in construction defect, design and professional liability, and third-party injury claims. I also handle general liability matters for local restaurants and department stores which include well-known regional restaurant chains with Louisiana locations, the nation's largest broad-line closeout retailer and one of the largest food retailers in America.

I have over 40 years experience as a civil litigator representing corporations and insurance companies in a wide variety of matters.  My main focus includes civil litigation defense; admiralty and maritime litigation; insurance defense litigation; insurance coverage; product liability litigation; class action and mass tort / disaster litigation.

I have developed a very diverse legal practice that encompasses all facets of civil litigation with an emphasis on both insurance defense and coverage work as well as domestic/family law.

I have been working on issues that confront the intersections of racial, environmental and social injustices for the past eigtheen years.  My client-centered legal practice incorporates my experiences in confronting corporate consolidation of our natural resources and the prison industrial complex.

I defend clients in complex litigation matters covering products liability, medical malpractice, transportation, and commercial litigation and frequently select appellate cases.

I defend clients against employment and constitutional claims. I am best known for litigation involving Title VII, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, and Family Medical Leave Act, as well as general employment claims.

I am privileged to represent clients who share a desire to “get to the right result, quickly.”. “Unfortunately, an offshoot to Louisiana’s intertwined networks of transportation, tourism, and industry is a significant human cost. Whether it’s a trucking accident or a conventioneer failing to navigate a side-walk, severe injuries occur on a daily basis.” While most of my practice is dedicated to achieving the best-possible result for clients in litigation, I work with my clients in Louisiana and around the country to develop training and investigation protocols to reduce accidents and to effectively investigate the ones that happen. By developing claim and case-handling protocols, for example, I am able to significantly reduce a client’s exposure in high-value personal injury across multiple jurisdictions.

I am a passionate writer of state and federal appeal briefs with experience in alternative dispute resolution methods. I am certified by the American Arbitration Association as an arbitrator and mediator.. In my professional liability practice, I defend architects, engineers, lawyers and insurance agents against coverage disputes, malpractice, and construction claims.  I also have an active products liability practice.

I aim my career on trying all types of commercial matters before juries, judges and arbitration panels.  I have over 25 years of extensive experience defending insurance carriers and insurance guaranty associations in the areas of professional liability, employment law, securities and commodities fraud, and insurance.. I also defend life, health, disability, directors & officers, and errors & omissions claims for the insurance industry and malpractice suits for CPAs, attorneys, surveyors, appraisers and insurance agents.

I act as general counsel to two national credit data exchanges, one in the consumer space, and one in the small business space.. I am an active member in the ABA's Antitrust, Business, Healthcare and Litigation Sections.

Harry Rosenberg practices in the area of commercial litigation, concentrating in the areas of business torts, trial practice, civil rights, and white collar criminal law. Mr. Rosenberg is the regional practice coordinator of the firm’s commercial litigation practice. Prior to joining Phelps Dunbar in 1974, Mr. Rosenberg served as a judicial clerk to The Honorable Jack M. Gordon, Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. He also served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana from 1990 through 1993.

Gerald J. Calogero was born and raised in New Orleans.  He received his undergraduate degree from Loyola University of New Orleans in 1988, with a major in political science.  After working in the medical industry for several years, Mr. Calogero attended Loyola University School of Law, earning his Juris Doctorate degree in 1999.  After graduation, Mr. Calogero worked as a law clerk in Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, State of Louisiana, which maintains the largest volume of civil cases in the State of Louisiana.. Priot to forming Calogero Law Firm in 2003, Mr. Calogero worked for two private law firms for several years where he was exposed to diverse practice areas.  Mr. Calogero has represented thousands of clients in cases involving Personal Injury, Automobile Accidents, Wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice, Defective Products, Insurance Claims and Business Litigation.. Mr. Calogero currently serves as an Assistant Examiner for the Louisiana Supreme Court Committee on Bar Admissions.  He was previously appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to serve as a Hearing Committee Member for the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board.