Richard J. Arsenault
Partner rarsenault@nbalawfirm.com
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Toll Free: 800.256.1050
Fax: 318.561.2591
2220 Bonaventure Court
P.O. Box 1190
Alexandria, Louisiana 71301
With a diverse career spanning over a quarter of a century, Richard J. Arsenault's experience as a trial lawyer, speaker, mediator, expert witness, and teacher has provided a unique foundation for navigating complex litigation.
| COMPLEX LITIGATION |
At a recent class action fairness hearing, Harvard Law Professor Arthur Miller testified that Richard is one of the "leaders in the area of complex litigation." Likewise, Professor Edward Sherman, former dean of Tulane Law School and author of the Complex Litigation treatise, has described Richard as one of the "experts" in class actions.
| LEGAL EXPERIENCE |
Arsenault's commitment to legal excellence is reflected in years of service which has included teaching at law schools, publishing law review articles, lecturing at Judicial Colleges and assuming leadership roles in both local as well as national bar associations. This includes serving as:
- LSU Law Center’s Trial Advocacy Faculty;President of the Alexandria Bar Association;President of the American Inns of Court’s Crossroads Chapter;Chair of the Louisiana Bar Association’s Section on Insurance, Negligence, Worker’s Compensation and Admiralty;
- Chair of American Trial Lawyers Association Admiralty Section;
- Chair of both the Louisiana Bar Association’s Annual Admiralty Symposium and Annual Class Action Symposium since their inception;
- Speaker at a variety of complex litigation symposiums, including those sponsored by Tulane Law School, LSU Law School, the Louisiana Judicial College and the U.S. Fifth Circuit Judicial Conference;
- Editor of the Louisiana Bar Journal’s Recent Developments for the Section on Insurance, Negligence, Worker’s Compensation and Admiralty;
- Tulane Law School’s Continuing Legal Education Committee;
- Guest lecturer for Professor Edward Sherman at Tulane Law School.
| NATIONAL COMMITTEES |
Appointed by courts around the country to serve on Steering Committees in some of the nation's largest litigation, Richard's recent appointments by the federal bench include:
- Appointed by U. S. District Magistrate Judge Arthur J. Boylan to serve on the Claims Review Committe In Re: Medtronic, Inc. Implantable Defibrillators Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 05-1726 (JMR / AJB) United States District Court, District of Minnesota
- Appointed by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier to serve as Class Counsel in Lincoln, et al vs. Shell Pipeline Company, L.P., et al, Civil Action no. 05-CV-4197 c/w 05-cv-4199 & 06-cv-5154, United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana
- U. S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry to serve as a member of the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in Re LLRICE601 Contamination Litigation, Case Number 4:06 MD 1811-CDP, U. S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division (Rice Contamination Litigation)
- U. S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon, Eastern District of Louisiana, to serve on the Executive Committee for the Murphy Oil Katrina Settlement;
- U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon, Eastern District of Louisiana, to serve on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the Vioxx MDL litigation;
- U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer, Northern District of California, to serve on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the Bextra/Celebrex MDL litigation;
- U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank, District of Minnesota, to serve as Co-Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel in the Guidant MDL litigation;
- U.S. District Judge James M. Rosenbaum, District of Minnesota, to serve on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the Medtronic litigation;
- U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance, Eastern District of Louisiana, to serve as Liaison Counsel in the Educational Testing Service PRAXIS litigation;
- U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle, Eastern District of Louisiana, to serve on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee and as Plaintiffs’ Legal Committee member and Expert Committee Co- Chair in the High Sulfur Content Gasoline Products Liability Litigation (Shell);
- U.S. District Judge David A. Katz, Northern District of Ohio, to serve on the Plaintiffs’ Discovery Committee in the Ortho Evra Litigation.
| PRESENTATIONS & PUBLICATIONS |
Experience in a variety of litigation roles has been instructive. In addition to a busy litigation practice, Richard has been retained to provide expert testimony and has served as a mediator in mass tort litigation. He has also been appointed to numerous editorial boards, and has made presentations throughout the U. S. and Canada on a variety of mass tort, class action, and complex litigation related topics. He has over 200 articles and presentations to his credit. Most recently, he co-authored a Law Review article accepted for publication in the Federal Courts Law Review (Knowledge is Power: A Practical Proposal to Protect Putative Class Members From Improper Pre-Certification Communication). Other recent publications include:
- Gathering Digital Data published in "Trial," the Journal of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America;
- Class Action Settlement of “Future Claims” which appeared in a recent edition of the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association publication; and
- Daubert in Class Certification published in Louisiana Bar Journal.
Through a recent appointment by the President of the Louisiana Bar Association, Richard joined the Professional Assessment Committee which is composed of a distinguished panel including state and federal judges along with members of the Bar. He also coordinates an annual tort law presentation by the United States District Judges and the former Dean of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Thomas C. Galligan, Jr.
| NETWORKING |
Networking nationwide, Richard moderates a national mass tort program conducted several times each year; speakers have included former President Bill Clinton, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Eliot Spitzer, Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz, Morris Dees, Arianna Huffington, Al Franken, Bob Woodard, Al Sharpton and Paul Begala.
Richard has participated in and organized numerous counsel meetings and conferences, comprising hundreds of law firms in venues across the country. These have been designed to facilitate consensus for leadership roles, consider organizational structures and promote coordinated litigation efforts. Consequently, he understands and functions well in the national litigation landscape.