Stephen J. Herman is a partner of Herman, Herman, Katz & Cotlar, L.L.P, as well as the national firm of Herman Gerel, L.L.P.,
with central offices in Atlanta, Georgia. After receiving a B.A. from Dartmouth College, he attended Tulane Law School, where he was admitted to the Order of the
Coif, graduating magna cum laude in 1994. He then spent a year clerking for Justice Harry T. Lemmon of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Developing a broad civil practice, Mr. Herman has handled everything from highway defect and products liability cases, to fire and flood loss cases, to attorney
fee disputes and employment cases, to special appellate work before the Louisiana Supreme Court and other courts of appeal. In addition to the favorable resolution
of two significant workplace explosion cases, Mr. Herman has dedicated a significant part of his practice to Tobacco Litigation and ERISA cases on behalf of physicians,
consumers, unions, and the sponsors of welfare benefit plans against the managed care and PBM industries. He is currently focusing on commercial, class action,
insurance coverage and professional liability cases, representing both plaintiffs and defendants.
Mr. Herman is the author of America and the Law: Challenges for the 21st Century , first published
by Austin & Winfield in 1998, now available from Gravier House Press . He served as the President of the Civil Justice
Foundation, a national non-profit organization dedicated to the support of grassroots organizations that protect workers, consumers, children, the environment,
and access to the courts. In 2001, he was presented with a special CJF President's Award, as well as a Wiedemann-Wysocki Award from the American Association for
Justice. He was recently named a 2007 Louisiana "Super Lawyer" in class actions and mass tort cases, and was a Finalist for TLPJ Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2005.
In August of 2005, Mr. Herman was picked to teach a seminar on class actions, mass torts, and other complex litigation to Loyola Law School students, as an adjunct
professor.
He has given speeches on consumer fraud, tobacco litigation, HMO and managed care litigation, electronic discovery, personal injury law, preemption, spoliation,
privilege, subrogation, trial preparation, deposition strategy, motion practice, class actions, and complex litigation. His essays have been published in Winning
Techniques of Successful Trial Attorneys, Tort Litigation, The Federal Lawyer, Louisiana Advocates, the Australian Products Liability Reporter, TRIAL Magazine
and the Tulane Law Review.
Mr. Herman maintains a Legal Blog with updates on Class Action Law, Products Liability, ERISA Litigation, Spoliation and Electronic Discovery, at
www.gravierhouse.com .
In addition, Mr. Herman has published three novels, The Gordian Knot ,
The Sign of Four , and A Day in the Life of Timothy Stone .
PRACTICE GROUPS
EDUCATION
- Tulane University School of Law, J.D. Magna Cum Laude 1994
- Dartmouth College, B.A. 1991
ADMITTED TO PRACTICE
- State Courts of Louisiana
- U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
- U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
- U.S.D.C. Eastern, Western and Middle Districts of Louisiana
AFFILIATIONS
- Louisiana State Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- American Association for Justice - Constitutional Litigation Committee, Keyperson Committee, and ATLA Press Advisory Board (2000-2002)
- Louisiana Association for Justice - Board of Governors, Amicus Curiae Committee, Constitutional Litigation Committee, and Speakers Bureau
- Loyola Law School, Adjunct Professor
- Civil Justice Foundation President (2003-2004), Board of Governors, Board of Trustees
- Trial Lawyers for Public Justice - Louisiana State Network Coordinator