Walter J. Leger, Jr. is a partner in the law firm of Leger & Shaw and former President of the New Orleans Zephyrs Triple A Professional Baseball Team. He has served as Chairman of the Board of the New Orleans Regional Chamber of Commerce and the MetroVision Economic Development Partnership. Leger is past President of the New Orleans Bar Foundation and the New Orleans Bar Association. He s a past Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans and the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad.

The Louisiana Bar Journal named Leger a “Louisiana Legal Legend,” along with Louisiana Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, former U. S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward Douglas White, Jr., Louisiana’s first governor W.C.C. Claiborne, and only eight others. BIZ Magazine called him a “larger-than-life legal legend.”

Leger has spoken widely on legal issues at Harvard Law School, Tulane, LSU, Loyola, and others. Leger was a finalist for the “National Lawyer of the Year” Award, has been named to Louisiana “SuperLawyers, New Orleans Magazine’s “Top Lawyers” and Citybusiness Newspaper’s “Leaders in Law Hall of Fame.” He received the “President’s Award” for leadership and public service from the New Orleans Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, and the Louisiana Association of Justice. He has been named "Volunteer of the Year" by both the Southern Economic Development Council and the Louisiana Industrial Development Executives Association. The Louisiana State Bar Association has given him its “Citizen Lawyer Award.” Lawyers Monthly Magazine named him “Admiralty and Maritime Lawyer of the Year – USA” for 2021and 2023. The Lawyer Network named him “Class Action Expert of the Year for 2022.” He was recently named to “Power 20 List: Ports and Maritime,” by New Orleans CityBusiness

He has been named to “Best Lawyers in the United States” by U. S. News & World Report and by New Orleans Biz Magazine. Biz Magazine also named him one of 25 the lawyers among their “New Orleans 500” business and professional leaders.

GENERAL BACKGROUND

After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree from Louisiana State University, Leger received his legal education at Tulane University. Leger graduated from Tulane School of Law with a concentration in Maritime Law, he was Managing Editor of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal and received the American Admiralty Law Institute Award for highest grades. After graduation, Leger worked as an admiralty associate at the Phelps Dunbar law firm. He later formed his own firm, and his practice has been devoted to admiralty and maritime law, class actions, and complex litigation.

Since 1981, he has been recognized as a "Proctor in Admiralty" by the Maritime Law Association of the United States. He is a member of the Southeast Admiralty Law Institute and the maritime law sections of the American Association of Justice, the Louisiana Association of Justice, and other bar organizations. Over the years he has lectured extensively and written on maritime law and complex litigation topics at Harvard Law School, Tulane Law School, Loyola Law School, the University of New Orleans, LSU Law School, and various law associations. He is Past President of the New Orleans Bar Association, the New Orleans Bar Foundation, and has served in numerous capacities in other bar and legal associations.

CIVIC LEADERSHIP

Leger has also tirelessly served the people of his community and Louisiana. He is a past Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans and the Board of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad. He is a past Chairman of the Board of the New Orleans Regional Chamber of Commerce, Co-Chairman of the MetroVision Regional Economic Development Partnership, and the St. Bernard Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Louisiana Committee of 100 for Economic Development, the Southeast Louisiana Business Council Coalition, the New Orleans/Baton Rouge Super Region Committee, and the Board of Trustees of the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the Louisiana Cancer Research Center. He was Chairman of the St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation/Commission. He was a founding Director of GNO, Inc.

In addition to service as Vice-Chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, Chair of the Louisiana Land Trust and Co-Chair of the St. Bernard Citizen's Recovery Committee, he has served or currently serves on the Boards of GNO, Inc., the World Trade Center, the Committee of 100, the Business Council, the New Orleans Bar Association, the New Orleans Bar Foundation, the LSU Health Science Center Foundation, the Delgado Community College Foundation, Nunez Community College Foundation, Tulane Cancer Center, LSU Cancer Center, and the Louisiana Cancer Research Center.

After Hurricane Katrina, Leger was appointed by Governor Kathleen Blanco to the Louisiana Recovery Authority where he was one of the LRA's most active members. Governor Bobby Jindal re-appointed Leger and he served as Vice-Chairman. He was also appointed by both Governors to serve as Chairman of the Louisiana Land Trust and by Mayor Mitch Landrieu to the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA). Leger became well known as the co-host with Garland Robinette of a weekly WWL radio show on hurricane recovery issues.

 He has testified before the U.S. Senate Sub-Committee on Disaster Recovery whose participants included Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, Senator Joseph Lieberman, and then-Senator Barack Obama. Leger has appeared on behalf of the homeowners of Louisiana before five Congressional and Senate committees and sub-committees and met numerous times with Senate and House of Representatives staff and committee staffs, including the Appropriations and Finance committees, and with U.S. Senators, Congressmen, and editorial and news staff of the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and Associated Press. He has also made appearances on ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CNN, PBS, LPB and numerous local and national television and radio stations.

He is often consulted by members of the media for his expertise on maritime and complex litigation issues.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

Leger has been known as a prominent attorney in complex litigation. More particularly, he has demonstrated his leadership in major maritime disaster cases, in class action litigation against the tobacco industry, and as special counsel for the Attorney General of the State of Louisiana and the Governor of the State of California. After Hurricane Katrina he was involved in the Murphy Oil Spill Litigation and represented dozens of homeowners and businesses against their insurance companies.

Leger has repeatedly been recognized for his leadership and experience. He is currently counsel to numerous governments in the nationwide Opioid Litigation and Chairs the Louisiana Local Government Opioid Attorneys Steering Committee. He represents numerous parties including businesses and insurers in the Hard Rock Hotel Collapse Litigation and was appointed by the Court as Co-Lead Counsel of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee on behalf of businesses, injured persons, and families of those killed.

He was Special Trial Counsel in the BP/DEEPWATER HORIZON Oil Spill Case and was a member of the Phase I and Phase II Trial Team. He was the lead negotiator on behalf of Louisiana local governments in the historic government settlements with BP. He represented hundreds of businesses, citizens, and governments in the litigation.

Appointed by U.S. District Judge Lance Africk as a member of the Claimants’ Steering Committee, he represented businesses and governmental entities (including the Port of New Orleans and the St. Bernard Port) damaged as a result of the collision of a ship and barges causing a massive Oil Spill in on the Mississippi River in 2008. Leger was appointed by U.S. Judge Peter Beer as Chairman of the Plaintiff’s Committee and served as Lead Appellate Counsel in the case of The State of Louisiana, ex rel. v. M/V TESTBANK, involving the claims of over 2,000 fishermen and businesses damaged as a result of a ship collision causing the spill of PCP into the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. The Fifth Circuit’s en banc decision and its progeny continue to guide the determination of economic loss and business damages in maritime cases to this day. Representing dozens of businesses, he was appointed by U.S. District Judge Morey Sear as Co-Lead Counsel in the M/V BRIGHT FIELD/Riverwalk Disaster.

Other notable maritime cases include but are not limited to M/V INCA TUPAC collision, (U.S.D.C., E.D. La.)(Lead Counsel, collision and explosion involving numerous deaths and burns);M/V POET, (U.S.D.C., E.D. Pa.)(mysterious ship disappearance in Atlantic Ocean with 25 crew lost); M/V TEXACO NORTH DAKOTA, (U.S.D.C., E.D. La.)(fiery ship collision with post hurricane damaged oil platform); M/V MISS CHRIS/Claiborne Ave. Bridge allision and collapse; M/V LEE III/M/V ZIM MEXICO III (Collision in Southwest Pass causing deaths of entire crew and closure of river and port).

Leger’s experience and leadership extends far beyond admiralty and maritime law. In the Castano Tobacco Litigation, he served on the Trial Team, Discovery Committee, Science Committee, and Administrative Committee. This case was brought against the Tobacco and Cigarette industry in numerous states, including the Castano Tobacco Litigation, California Tobacco Litigation, and the Brown Case. Leger served as Class Counsel, Trial Counsel, Trial Liability Team Captain, and Expert Team Captain in the Scott Tobacco Litigation. In Louisiana Breast Implant Litigation, Leger served on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee as Chairman of Discovery Committee and Member of the Strategy Committee, Planning Committee, Administrative Committee, and Law Committee. After Hurricane Katrina, he was appointed by U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon to Plaintiffs’ Legal Committee in the Murphy Oil Spill Litigation. He was appointed by U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance to Plaintiffs’ Legal Committee in the Education Testing Services Litigation. In the Billieson Lead Paint Class Action, he was appointed as Class Counsel. Leger was also a member of F. Lee Bailey’s Litigation Sub-Committee in the Bhopal, India/Union Carbide Disaster.

He has had experience in actions involving major collisions, numerous claims, and limitation of liability proceedings. His career has spanned over 45 years in the litigation of individuals, businesses, port authorities, towing companies, barge owners, shipyards, and ship pilots, officers, and crew. He has represented clients in the state and federal courts of Louisiana and others, and at U.S. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board hearings.

Recent and CurrentPublic Service:

Port of New Orleans, Board of Commissioners, Past Chairman

 (Appointed by Governor John Bel Edwards)

           New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, Past Chairman

Louisiana Land Trust, Chairman (originally appointed by Governor Kathleen Blanco and re-appointed by Governor Bobby Jindal)

New Orleans Redevelopment Authority Commissioner (NORA)(appointed by the Mayor)

           New Orleans City Park Board