Charles Wilmore is a trial lawyer specializing in complex disputes involving energy, toxic torts, environmental, maritime, construction, and insurance coverage.  He serves as Practice Group Leader for the firm’s Product Liability, Class Action, and Toxic Tort Team.  His toxic tort and environmental practice includes occupational disease, personal injury, mass tort, class actions, property damage, and regulatory litigation.  Charles’ maritime practice focuses on near-shore and offshore litigation for personal injury, property damage, and spill-related claims.  He also handles construction and commercial disputes arising out of marine and shore-based facilities.

Although based out of New Orleans and licensed in Louisiana, Charles provides guidance to clients with much larger geographic interests and often enrolls pro hac vice in litigation in other states.  He is an approved trial counsel for industry-leading companies and has successfully defended thousands of cases as both counsel of record and as a strategic advisor.  He is particularly noted for his effective utilization of scientific and medical expert testimony in complex litigation.           

In a recent high-stakes toxic tort case, Charles was one of two trial lawyers defending an international joint venture against thousands of claims following a chemical release in a densely populated area.  The defense succeeded in removing the case to federal court, arguing application of the Class Action Fairness Act, a federal statute that expanded federal diversity jurisdiction over class actions.  The trial result: a defense verdict on liability.

In another recent mass tort case, Charles was a primary trial lawyer representing an international company in a multi-week trial in state court in Orleans Parish.  Thousands of plaintiffs claimed personal injury as a result of alleged chemical exposure in an urban area.  Through the use of expert witnesses and effective cross-examinations of the plaintiffs’ witnesses, the trial team was able to undermine the exaggerated claims.  The trial result: another defense verdict on liability.

Charles’ defense work often requires him to focus on insurance coverage.  "In my practice, a primary objective is securing insurance and indemnity protection for my client," he notes.  “And that often requires an understanding of the complex interplay between potential insurance coverage, operations, and the contractual responsibilities of the parties involved in the underlying work."