Firm Profile
We pride ourselves on our commitment to the needs of our clients. This commitment is reflected in our practice of both listening to our clients to determine their legal needs as well as working hard to meet those needs. We regularly update our clients on the results of our research and the status of their cases. We realize and respect that clients' schedules are often as hectic as our own, and we are available to them after normal working hours. It is our belief that preparation and hard work lead to settlements. We are aware of the cost of litigation and attempt to settle cases at the earliest possible time. We realize that our clients should ultimately make decisions regarding their cases and that our role is to advise and recommend a course of action. We settle the great majority of the cases we handle; however, when trial is unavoidable, our firm will be prepared to present your case to the Court or jury.
Thinking out of the box is something we try to do for all situations presented to us. For example, in a libel case we handled against McGraw Hill involving the book "Mafia Kingfish," we took the deposition of James Earl Ray to support our contention that our client was not involved in the assassination of Martin Luther King. In a railroad litigation case, we had train traffic stopped on the main railroad line leading into New Orleans for a period of two hours so that we could make a film describing what was seen by the train engineer leading up to the accident. That film was converted into computer graphics which, when shown to our opposing counsel, led to the settlement of the case.
After Hurricane Katrina we represented a significant number of clients whose homes were totally destroyed by the storm. The insurance companies attempted to convince the courts that our clients’ homes were destroyed by storm surge or flooding (for which our clients had little or no insurance) instead of wind which was covered by their homeowners’ policies. We were able to convince the insurance companies that they should settle with our clients for their policy limits.. For the most part, we were able to convince the insurance companies to pay our fees. Our firm was one of the only firms in the State of Louisiana that successfully sued the engineers retained by one of the insurance companies which insured many of our clients. So, in addition to the policy proceeds they received, our clients also received a separate settlement from the engineering firm. Of approximately 70 cases we handled which arose from Katrina, we only tried one case as the rest were settled to the satisfaction of our clients.
Now that we have another catastrophic event facing New Orleans in the form of an oil spill coming less than five years since Hurricane Katrina almost devastated the City, we are honored to be called upon to represent some of our Katrina clients in their claims for compensation. It is our hope that we can achieve the same measure of success as we did for their Katrina claims.
We also have represented those damaged by large corporations, including Chrysler, Inc., Norfolk Southern Railroad, First Financial Bank, First National Bank of Jefferson, and McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.
We take great pride in the fact that many of our clients have returned to us to handle a variety of their legal problems, whether it be family law, business law, or other useful legal advice.