PROFILE

Leila has wide-ranging trial and appellate experience in both state and federal courts in Louisiana and across the country. In addition to defending manufacturers against product liability claims involving consumer products, prescription drugs, and medical devices she has frequently been involved in multi-party cases and class actions alleging securities fraud, director and officer liability, ERISA claims, commercial product matters, and complex insurance coverage claims. She has particular knowledge in briefing and arguing appeals and writ applications. Additionally, she has worked with teams identifying and developing expert witnesses in scientific, medical, and technical fields and has prepared numerous experts to appear in depositions and before judges and juries. From 1990-1993, Leila served as an adjunct professor at the Loyola University School of Law, where she taught Appellate Moot Court, and from 2001-2004, she served as an assistant professor at the University of Wyoming College of Law, where she taught Civil Procedure, Federal Courts, and Trial Practice.

AREAS OF PRACTICE

• Asbestos
• Casualty
• Complex Litigation
• Insurance
• Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
• Products Liability
• Science & Experts
• Environmental & Toxic Tort
• Premises Liability
• Trials
• Professional Liability

Representative Matters / Experience

• Briefing and arguing key motions, including class certification, Daubert, prescription/statute of limitations, preemption, and causation in United States Fifth Circuit as well as Louisiana and Texas state courts
• Working with clients and jury consultants to select juries
• Trying a variety of cases to verdict including product liability, medical malpractice, ERISA, insurance, contract, and real estate appraisal malpractice
• Preparing and arguing writ applications and appeals in state and federal courts, including successful petitions for certiorari to the Louisiana Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court.
• Taking and defending depositions of class representatives, individual plaintiffs, physicians, scientists, engineers, and experts
• Serving on a national counsel team that identified pertinent documents, interviewed current and former company personnel, analyzed complex issues, assembled witness kits for use in preparing dozens of company witnesses.
• Presenting and cross-examining witnesses before AAA panels during arbitrations of disputes between Fortune 100 companies
• Preparing expert witnesses, company witnesses, and 30(b)(6) witnesses for depositions and trial testimony

Honors

• Loyola Law Review, Comment Editor
• Loyola National Moot Court Team, 1987 Top Oral Advocate in the Region

AFFILIATIONS

• Louisiana State Bar Association
• Loyola Law Alumni Board, Immediate Past President; President 2017; President-Elect 2016; Treasurer 2015; Secretary 2014; Member 2008-2013
• Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy, Board of Directors, 1991-1999, 2009
• New Orleans Bar Association, Business Law Committee 2016
• National Institute for Trial Advocacy, Faculty 1991-2004

EDUCATION

• J.D.,cum laude, Loyola University School of Law (1988)
• B.S., Louisiana State University (1983)

ADMISSIONS

• Louisiana and Texas state courts
• United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
• United States District Court Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana
• United States District Court Northern and Southern Districts of Texas

Publications and Presentations

• Ethical Issues in Working with Expert Witnesses, Panelist
  University of Wyoming College of Law September 2003
• Pattern Jury Charges in Criminal Cases, Panelist
  Open World Center for Russian Leadership Development, Cheyenne, WY August 2002
• Appellate Considerations for the Trial Lawyer, Panelist
  Wyoming State Public Defender Seminar September 2001
• Federal Preemption and Removal under ERISA and the Food & Drug Act, Panelist
  Medical Malpractice, Medical Device & Pharmaceutical Litigation Seminar, Dallas, TX December 1997
• Removal and Federal Jurisdiction: the Hot Issues, Panelist
  University of Houston Law Foundation Advanced Business Litigation Seminar, Houston, TX April 1996
• Business and Public Records: When the Documents Really Do Speak for Themselves, Panelist
  University of Houston Law Foundation, Houston, TX March 1996
• Federal Preemption and Removal of Medical Device Cases, Panelist
  University of Houston Law Foundation Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Litigation Seminar January 1996
• Product Liability Update: Admitting and Excluding Expert Testimony under Daubert & DuPont, Panelist
  Advanced Personal Injury and Insurance Law Seminar, University of Houston Law Foundation, Dallas, TX July 1995
• Civil Liability for Environmental Hazards in Foreign Operations
  1 The Louisiana Environmental Lawyer Spring 1992