Maury Herman | Louisiana Personal Injury Lawyer

Maury A. Herman was a senior partner of  Herman, Katz, Gisleson & Cain, L.L.C. from 1985-2018. As of September 2018, he attained senior status and is now Of Counsel. He is Managing Partner of the national firm HERMAN GEREL, LLP, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with offices in New Orleans and the Washington D.C. area. Born in New Orleans, Mr. Herman received his J.D. from Tulane University School of Law and was admitted to the Bar in 1968. He won the Moot Court Competition in 1968 and, from 1967 to 1968, clerked for Judge Luther Hall at the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Immediately upon graduation from law school, Mr. Herman joined his father, Harry Herman, and uncle, David Herman, in the family practice at Herman & Herman (now Herman, Katz, Gisleson & Cain, LLC).

Mr. Herman is a sustaining member of the American Association for Justice, a Diplomat of Trial Advocacy of the National College of Advocacy, and regularly serves on the faculty of the Trial Advocacy College sponsored by the National College of Advocacy. He has served on the faculty for AAJ’s Essentials of Civil Litigation College and The Ultimate trial Skills College at various times since 1992.

Mr. Herman was the co-chair of the Tobacco Products Liability Group of AAJ and is a member of the Board of Governors and Executive Committee of LAJ. HKGC is among 60 law firms comprising the Plaintiffs’ Legal Committee of the Castano Tobacco Class Action. Mr. Herman was a member of the PLC’s Finance Committee, Administrative Committee, and the Public Relations Committee. HKGC was also a member of the trial team representing Richard Ieyoub, Attorney General for the State of Louisiana, in Louisiana’s claim against the tobacco industry. Mr. Herman has appeared numerous times as a speaker on trial practice, ethics and professionalism and has authored numerous papers on these subjects.

Mr. Herman is currently a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Louisiana Association for Justice. He is past president of the Louisiana Association for Justice and served as a member of its Board for many years.  He is the past Chairman of the New Orleans Central Business District Historic District and was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of a Louisiana community bank. Mr. Herman served as a member of the Board of Trustees of WYES Television, the local PBS affiliate. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Endowment Foundation and has served on the Boards of the New Orleans Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans.

He was general counsel of the New Orleans Saints from 1986 through 1993. Through new ownership, which included members of the firm, he and his law partners were instrumental in negotiating the purchase of the Saints in 1986 by Tom Benson who was the firm’s client.

EDUCATION

• Tulane University School of Law, J.D. 1968

RECOGNITION

• Best Lawyers in America (2014-present)
• Named in Louisiana Super Lawyers (2007-2013, 2015-2023); Plaintiff Personal Injury, Top 50 (2022)
• AAJ Citation of Excellence Wiedeman-Wysocki Award (2003)
• LAJ President’s Award (2001-2002)
• Committee on Amendment of Rules of Professional Conduct – appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court
• AAJ Heavy Lifting Award (2010)
• The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers (2012)
• CityBusiness Leadership in Law Award (2017-2018, 2020)

PRESENTATIONS

• “Who Will Speak for the Victim? Practical Treatise on Plaintiffs’ Jury Argument” (1989)
• “At Home in the Courtroom” (1989)
• “The Five Question Rule: A Simplified Approach to Effective Cross Examination” (1991)
• “The Ethics of Advocacy Brainstorming Theory of Case Art of Cross-Examination” (1993)
• “Ethics for Lawyers Avoiding Malpractice Claims” (1993)
• “Winning Techniques from the Beginning: Opening Statement,” Essentials of Civil Litigation/NCA (1993)
• “Genesis of Tobacco Litigation,” Association of Trial Lawyers of America, (1995)
• “Slip and Fall Litigation – An Update of the Law & Jurisprudence” (1996)
• “Controlling the Witness- Developing the Evidence on Cross Examination from the Plaintiff’s Perspective” (1996)
• “How to Give a Compelling Opening Statement, Being the Best from the Best: Trial Techniques For a New Lawyer,” Association of Trial Lawyers of America (1996)
• “Limitations and Scope of Discovery,” Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association (1996)
• “Implementing Winning Litigation Strategies Using Computers & CD-Rom Technology” (1997)
• “Creative and Practical Use of Experts,” Essentials of Civil Litigation/NCA (1998)
• “Crafting the Closing and Rebuttal Argument,” Essentials of Civil Litigation/NCA (1998)
• “Opening Statements and Use of Storyboards,” Essentials of Civil Litigation/NCA (1999)
• “Storytelling in Opening/Closing Arguments Louisiana,” Trial Lawyers Association (1999)
• Tobacco Productions Litigation Group Association of Trial Lawyers of America (Chair & Moderator, 1999)
• Railroad Law Section and Railroad Highway/Crossing Derailment Litigation Group Association of Trial Lawyers of America (Chair & Moderator, 1999)
• “Castano (Scott) is Alive and Well and So Is Medical Monitoring” Tobacco Litigation Seminar (2000)
• “Case Evaluation Acceptance” Association of Trial Lawyers of America (2000)
• ATLA Atlanta Convention – “A Call to Arms” and “Relating to the Jury,” (Speaker, 2003)
• “Professional Liability Insurance: How to Avoid a Black Eye or Worse” (2012)
• “The Rules of Professional Conduct vs. Jurisprudence,” IATL/AAL Seminar at Sea (2014)
• “Lecture and Demonstration: Differing Perspectives—The Art of Storytelling in Closing Arguments,” AAJ Convention, Chicago (2015)
• “Ethics and Professionalism,” New Orleans Bar Association (2016)
• “Ethical Considerations, Estate Planning from A to Z,” NBI (Speaker, 2016)

REPORTED CASES

• Benson & Gold Chevrolet, Inc. v. Louisiana Motor Vehicle Comm., 403 So.2d 13 (La. 1981)
• Latter & Blum, Inc. v. Richmond, 388 So.2d 368 (La. 1980); In re Smith, 337 So.2d 524 (La. 1976)
• Comeaux v. C.F. Bean Corp., 750 So.2d 291 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1999)
• Gottsegen v. Diagnostic Imaging Services, 672 So.2d 940 (La.App. 5 Cir. 1996)
• Armstrong v. Rabito, 663 So.2d 512 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1995)
• Sanders v. Wysocki, 655 So.2d 713 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1995)
• Landry v. Union Pac. R.R., 631 So.2d 623 (La. App. 3 Cir. 1994)
• Sanders v. Wysocki, 631 So.2d 1330 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1994)
• Minge v. Weeks, 629 So.2d 545 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1993)
• Kiefer v. Hainkel, 627 So.2d 710 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1993)
• Brown v. Hartford Life Cos., 593 So.2d 1376 (La. App. 5 Cir. 1992)