Judy Barrasso

Judy Barrasso is a founding member of Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver, L.L.C. Her practice focuses on commercial litigation, and includes complex commercial litigation matters and class actions involving insurance coverage and bad faith, director and officer liability, securities fraud, and commercial contracts.

Judy has been recognized by Chambers USA as a top commercial litigator, by Benchmark Litigation, Benchmark's Top 250 Women in Litigation, and Lawdragon 500 as a leading lawyer, and by Best Lawyers as a leading lawyer in the fields of Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Insurance Law. According to Chambers, Judy “has a reputation as a formidable trial lawyer,” “stands ‘head and shoulders above much of the competition,’ and is “considered one of the state’s finest litigators.” Judy is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a fellow of the International Society of Barristers.

Notable Representations

Insurance Litigation

• National Coordinating Counsel for Insurer in Sandy Storm litigation.
• Court appointed Insurer Liaison Counsel in Hurricane Katrina litigation.
• Court appointed Insurer Liaison in Chinese Drywall MDL.
• Court appointed Insurer Liaison Counsel in putative legionella class action.
• Led the defense of multiple insurers in thousands of class actions and coverage disputes arising out of Hurricane Katrina.
• Led team defending insurer in statewide Preferred Provider Organization litigation, including successful arguments at U.S. 5^th Circuit and Louisiana Supreme Court.
• Led trial team successfully defending commercial general liability insurer in coverage trial in federal court in Houston.
• Successful defense of director and officer liability insurer against environmental claims in a class action arising out of a chemical spill
• Led trial team defending commercial general liability insurers in environmental coverage case in New Mexico arising out of multiple mine sites in New Mexico and Arizona.
• Defending excess commercial liability insurer in a MDL securities litigation class action suit.
• Defense of excess insurer against a bad faith claim coverage dispute in multidistrict litigation related to a large oil spill.
• Defense of excess insurer in multi state coverage litigation arising out of sinkhole damage.

Commercial Litigation

• Member of trial team successfully defending retailer in collective action under Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Successfully represented international oil and gas company in an arbitration involving multi-million dollar contract dispute.
• Co-counsel for large independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company in suit relating to arbitration involving multi-million dollar drilling contract dispute.

Professional and Civic Activities

Judy also is actively involved in professional and civic activities. She is Second Vice President of the International Society of Barristers, and served as chair of the 50th anniversary annual meeting in March 2015. She is the President Elect of the New Orleans Bar Association. Judy has taught as an adjunct professor at Tulane Law School, the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy, and at continuing legal education programs throughout the United States. She previously served as a board member and then chair of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board from 2001-2005. She was also appointed by the United States District Court for the Eastern District to the initial Court Attorney Disciplinary Committee on which she still serves.

Judy presently serves as Immediate Past Chair of the Downtown Development District and she is a Board Member of the Contemporary Arts Center. She previously served on the Board of Directors of Newman School, the Pro Bono Project, Summerbridge, Dress For Success, and the Anti-Defamation League (South Central Region).

Recognitions

• American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
• International Society of Barristers, Second Vice President
• Litigation Council of America, Fellow
• Lawdragon: 500 Leading Lawyers, 2013/2014, 2014/2015
• Chambers USA, Ranked in Band 1, Litigation: General Commercial
• Best Lawyers, Bet-the-Company Litigation 'Lawyer of the Year' New Orleans 2012, 2015
• Best Lawyers, since 2001
• Benchmark Litigation, Louisiana’s Litigator of the Year 2012
• Benchmark Litigation, Local Litigation Star since 2008
• Benchmark Litigation, Top 250 Women in Litigation since 2013
• Diversity Journal, “Women Worth Watching,” 2013
• Euromoney LMG Women in Business Law Awards, 'Best in Litigation', 2014
• Louisiana Super Lawyers, Top 10 since 2009
• New Orleans CityBusiness, Top 50 Lawyers
• New Orleans Magazine, Top Lawyers
• Association of Women Attorneys, Michaelle Pitard Wynne Professionalism Award
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated in Martindale-Hubbell

Past Experience

• Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann, L.L.C.

Education

• Tulane University Law School, J.D. Summa Cum Laude, 1981
• University of Tennessee, Masters of Science in Social Work, 1976
• California State University, Fullerton, California, B.A., 1973

Bar Admissions

• Louisiana

Practices

• Class Actions and Complex Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith