My Toughest Case:
Overseeing thousands of Asbestos Cases
One look at Lynn Luker’s résumé and you’ll quickly discover a few things about her: She loves to learn, she loves to teach and she’s passionate about the practice of law.
In addition to raising five children, Luker has owned her own firm, Lynn Luker & Associates, LLC, since 1999.
“I had been at Adams and Reese for 18 years, starting as an associate in the maritime section, and was very happy there” Luker says. “In 1999 one of my clients acquired a company that triggered a conflict with another of the firm’s clients. We unfortunately had to terminate the relationship with my client. That client then asked me to start my own firm.”
Luker says it was a tough decision, especially since she had been a partner with her firm over 12 years at the time, “But it seemed like an incredible opportunity.” Luker has since continued to make a name for herself as a trial lawyer, predominantly serving as a defense attorney representing companies in complex litigation. She says one of her biggest challenges was serving as national counsel for thousands of asbestos cases, starting in the 1980s.
“I trained and worked with lawyers from all over the country in very complex litigation, appearing in both state and federal courts,” she says.
Never one to shy away from a daunting task, Luker says, “I’m the ‘go to’ person if you have a tough case. Clients need a lawyer who will take that difficult case and try it.”
She also loves being in the classroom. Next year marks her 30th year as an adjunct professor at Tulane Law School, where she has served as co-director of the Trial Advocacy Program since 1992. She has also received Tulane Law School’s Distinguished Teaching Award.
A public school graduate, Luker says she’s grateful for the mentoring that she has received throughout her life and is committed to giving back. A recipient of the Human Rights Award from the Louisiana State Bar Association, she regularly works with members of the bar on mentoring and how to be more inclusive of women, minorities and young lawyers.
And as if her schedule wasn’t demanding enough, Luker is currently serving until the end of the year as judge pro tempore at Civil District Court, an honor that was bestowed on her by Bernette Joshua Johnson, the first female black chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
33 years in practice
B.A. from University of New Orleans – 1978
J.D. from Tulane University – 1981
LL.M in Admiralty Law from Tulane University – 1985
LL.M. in Energy and Environment from Tulane University – 1992
Native of New Orleans
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