Pre-Litigation and Mediation
While Lawrence Legal is always prepared to litigate, it also assists its clients in resolving claims without resort to litigation, or through mediation. In addition, the firm provides advice to its clients on coverage issues relating to life and disability insurance.
Litigation
Lawrence Legal is, first and foremost, a litigation firm. Jennifer Lawrence has litigated in every federal district and appellate court in Louisiana and in many Louisiana state district and appellate courts. She tried her first case, a bench trial before a federal magistrate judge, in her third year of law school. In only her sixth year of practice, she was lead counsel for a one-week long jury trial in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Jennifer has argued before the Fifth Circuit as both appellant and appellee. She has also litigated in bankruptcy courts in the state of Louisiana and in the Chitimacha Tribal Courts.
Appellate
Jennifer Lawrence possesses the excellent verbal and written communication skills which are essential to a successful appellate practice. In addition to handling cases from trial through appeal, Lawrence Legal is able to take on any type of commercial litigation matter at the appellate level, whether acting alone as appeal counsel or as co-counsel on appeal with another firm. We are happy to discuss assisting new clients and other lawyers with appellate matters, including brief writing and oral argument. Click on this link to hear Jennifer's oral argument before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, in Schexnayder v. Hartford Life and Accident Ins. Co., 600 F.3d 465 (5th Cir. 2010).
ERISA
Jennifer Lawrence has litigated ERISA life, health, and disability cases since she started practicing law 22 years ago. One of her first reported decisions in the area was a putative ERISA class action concerning mandated health benefits in which she obtained summary judgment on the merits prior to consideration of class certification. See Berthelot v. Travelers Ins. Co., 973 F. Supp. 596 (E. D. La. 1997). She has represented numerous employers, insurers, funded plans, and self-funded plans in ERISA matters. She has obtained judgments awarding recovery of overpayments made by her clients on disability claims. Jennifer is a contributor and editor of multiple editions of the Fifth Circuit chapter of the ERISA Survey of Federal Circuits, Brooks Magratten, ed. (ABA ) , and spoke at the 2014 DRI Life, Health and Disability Insurance seminar on “ERISA Attorney's Fee Awards: Life After Hardt.”
Life and AD&D Insurance
Over her years of practice, Jennifer Lawrenece has represented numerous insurers and agents in matters involving life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance, including rescission for material misrepresentations, interpleaders and their state court counterparts – concursus proceedings, claims relating to the purchase and sale of life/AD&D insurance, and claims regarding payment of life/AD&D benefits. Jennifer Lawrence successfully defended a case through a U.S. Fifth Circuit appeal by a plaintiff who argued that $1,000,000.00 in travel life insurance proceeds were payable when the insured died while being “shuttled” to the airport by a friend.
Lawrence Legal also provides advice to its clients on coverage issues relating to life insurance, and, when it is prudent, assists its clients in resolving claims without resort to litigation.
Jennifer is the author of the Fifth Circuit chapter of the 1st and 2nd editions of Misrepresentation in the Life, Health, and Disability Insurance Application Process: A National Survey, Joseph M. Hamilton, ed. (ABA).
Disability Insurance
Jennifer has represented numerous insurers, employers, and plans in cases involving claims for disability benefits under individual and group policies, in both state and federal courts. In Pulaski v. Standard, 247 Fed. Appx. 526 (5th Cir. 2007), Jennifer was successful in defending the administrator's interpretation of the offset provision of an “own specialty” disability plan against a “trial lawyer” who continued to work as an attorney and who claimed that his earnings as an attorney were not deductible from his monthly benefits. Jennifer has also provided advice to and represented clients in matters involving rescission of disability policies.