My Toughest Case:
Transcontinental Depositions
Corinne Morrison knows what it’s like to grow up in the public eye. Her father, Chep Morrison, served as mayor of New Orleans from 1946 to ’61. In that time, he was instrumental in projects including the city’s first permanent VA hospital, the current city hall and the civic center.
“It’s funny, actually,” Morrison says. “He was the one that really spearheaded the Mississippi River Bridge – now called the Crescent City Connection – and from my office I look at it every day.”
But even with a huge family legacy in law – not only her father, but her uncle and brother all received law degrees – Morrison says she never considered following in their footsteps.
“You won’t believe this, but I was married with a 4-year-old child and I remember I went to bed and woke up in the middle of the night with this one clear thought: I want to be a lawyer. That was it. I decided to go to law school.”
Morrison says watching her dad over the years prepared her in some ways for her future.
“When I got out of school I was the first female hired by a major law firm in the city,” she says. “For me it was an interesting and enjoyable experience. I guess I had grown up watching women play important roles in my dad’s political career and campaigns, and so it didn’t seem strange to me.”
Morrison now serves as head of Chaffe McCall’s Commercial Litigation Section.
In her career she’s represented companies and organizations such as the Ford Motor Company, the FDIC, and in one case, 17 Louisiana liquor wholesalers. She says one of her toughest cases occurred a few years ago when she was brought in at the last minute.
“In one weekend I had to go to California to take a deposition from a former SEC commissioner and then hop on a red eye to New York to be there when the other side deposed our expert right in the airport,” she says.
While she admits her work may sound dry to some, Morrison thrives on the fact that there’s always something new to learn and do.
“I recently represented the winning bidder at the Orleans Parish sheriff’s auction of the Brennan’s restaurant on Royal Street, and I was the actual bidder for my client with the successful bid. It was very exciting!”
39 years in practice
B.A. from Loyola University – 1972
J.D. from Tulane University – 1975
Native of New Orleans
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