Carmelite M. Bertaut

Ms. Carmelite M. Bertaut concentrates her practice in the field of class actions and mass litigation with particular emphasis in products liability. She joined Stone Pigman in 2004 and is special counsel to the firm.

BAR ADMISSIONS:

• United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
• Louisiana Federal and State Courts

EDUCATION:

• Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, J.D., 1977
• University of New Orleans, B.A. in Political Science, magna cum laude, 1974

Professional and Civic Activities:

Ms. Bertaut is a past president of the New Orleans Bar Association, serving the Association during the period of the City’s return after Hurricane Katrina. She is currently chair of the Association’s Wellness and Stress Relief Committee and has previously chaired the Bench Bar, Publications, Continuing Legal Education, Lawyer Referral Service, Public Relations and Women’s Committees of the Association.

She received the Association’s 2003 Outstanding Service Award.  Ms. Bertaut is a Master Barrister in the New Orleans Bar Association American Inn of Court and served as the Inn’s president (1997 – 2003). She was appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to The Committee on Mandatory Continuing Legal Education. Ms. Bertaut was the treasurer of the New Orleans Bar Foundation and a fellow of the Louisiana Bar Foundation.

Ms. Bertaut has been appointed to the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs Advisory Committee. She is also a member of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, the Defense Research Institute, the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, and the Association of Women Attorneys. She is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.

Ms. Bertaut is an active speaker and lecturer and has served on the faculty of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.  Her views on the defense and management of mass torts have been published nationally by the Defense Research Institute.