Douglas R. Holmes

Douglas R. Holmes is the Firm’s Managing Partner and a Leader in the Civil and Commercial litigation practice groups. He combines strong advocacy skills and litigation experience to deliver results in high-profile cases through settlement, arbitration, and trial.  Doug believes that a client’s interests are best served by establishing a productive relationship and an understanding of their business goals.

With over 25 years of experience, Doug has deep and extensive experience supporting clients on sophisticated issues involving:

• Products and premises-liability actions
• Trucking and Transportation Litigation
• Insurance coverage and defense
• Business Litigation

In addition, he has successfully defended business owners, product manufacturers, and premises owners in jury trials in both Louisiana and Texas.

Doug sits on the board of the Metropolitan Crime Commission and is the former President of the New Orleans Association of Defense Counsel.  He is a member of the Defense Research Institute and the New Orleans Bar Association. He is a past director of the New Orleans Center for Nonprofit Resources.  In 2005, he was elected as a Fellow in the Louisiana Bar Foundation, and he has served as a judge for Tulane Law School’s Moot Court competition.  Doug is a member of the Louisiana and Texas State Bar Associations.

HONORS AND AWARDS

• Featured in the Biz New Orleans 500 Listing, a list of “influential, involved and inspiring” business leaders in the New Orleans area, 2023
• Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America^© in Commercial Litigation, 2015- present
• Selected for inclusion in Louisiana Super Lawyers, 2018-2023
• Named as a New Orleans City Business 2016 “Leadership in Law Honoree”
• AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating in Martindale-Hubbell
• Named as a “Top Lawyer” in Insurance and Railroad Law in New Orleans Magazine
• Fellow – Louisiana Bar Foundation

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

• Board Member of the Metropolitan Crime Commission
• Board Member of the New Orleans Association of Defense Counsel
• Board Member of Girls on the Run
• Former Board Member – New Orleans Track Club

• Successfully defended a matter brought by a daycare center in a jury trial involving a loss of life
• Obtained successful defense verdict at trial for condominium association over association’s governance of premises
• Successfully defended numerous summary judgments in coverage disputes involving the application of policy provisions
• Obtained summary judgment for a homebuilder in construction defect case
• Obtained summary judgment for premises owner in trip and fall case
• Successfully obtained a defense verdict for a warehousing company that allegedly improperly loaded lumber onto an 18-Wheeler.  The trial court found no fault on the defendant, and the Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s ruling, Bolton v. Sea-Mar Warehousing and Logistics, 2010-0286 (La. App. 4 Cir. 11/10/10), 51 So. 3d 836
• Obtained summary dismissal of a traffic camera operator. The district court found no violations of due process or other federal laws and dismissed plaintiff’s claims with prejudice. Sevin v. Parish of Jefferson and Redflex Traffic Systems, 621 F. Supp. 2d 372 (E.D. La. 2009)