Laurie A. Dearman

Laurie Dearman is a senior associate with the firm. Laurie was raised in Natchitoches, Louisiana.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from Louisiana State University and her Juris doctorate, magna cum laude, from Tulane Law School, where she served as Senior Articles Editor of the Tulane Law Review. She graduated Order of the Coif and received the Rufus C. Harris award her senior year at Tulane. While at Tulane, Ms. Dearman worked for legendary civilian scholar Professor A.N. “Thanassi” Yiannopoulos. In that role, she assisted Professor Yiannopoulos in drafting updates for the Louisiana Civil Law Treatise, editing the Louisiana Civil Code and drafting the Civil Code for the Republic of Estonia.

In her legal career, Ms. Dearman has represented insurers, for-profit businesses, and non-profits in commercial and tort litigation. She has represented and counseled clients in the areas of maritime, energy, labor and employment, antitrust, toxic torts, intellectual property, and banking. Ms. Dearman has argued motions and tried cases in state and federal courts in North Carolina, Texas and Louisiana. Ms. Dearman is licensed in Louisiana, Texas and North Carolina.

Before beginning private practice, Ms. Dearman clerked for the Honorable Morey L. Sear on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Later in her career, while living in North Carolina, she clerked for the Honorable P. Trevor Sharp, Magistrate Judge, on the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.

Ms. Dearman has been involved in numerous community and legal organizations, including the American Heart Association, the Youth Leadership Council, the New Orleans Film Society, the Tulane Alumni Association, the Federal Bar Association, and the New Orleans Pro Bono Project. She has been Martindale-Hubbell A-V rated since 2008. Ms. Dearman also has authored several scholarly articles and has been a faculty member on Continuing Legal Education panels for both the legal profession and the judiciary. She taught a Federal Rules of Civil Procedure course at Tulane Law School with Chief Judge Sear between 1996 and 2000.