For more than twenty-five years, Tim Hassinger has represented companies and insurers in personal injury, commercial, and insurance coverage litigation. He has cross-examined hundreds of fact, medical, and expert witnesses, becoming versed in the technical aspects of his clients’ operations and the medical nuances of claims when personal injuries are involved. He understands that a targeted approach is the most effective means of both controlling and efficiently resolving litigation for his clients, be it through early case assessments, tailored motion practice to dismiss unsubstantiated claims, timely dispute resolution, or trial.
As evidence of the trust of his clients and his peers, Tim has received an AV-Preeminent rating and the Client Distinction Award from Martindale-Hubbell, and has been appointed Liaison Counsel in complex class action litigation. He also has been named a Top Lawyer by New Orleans Magazine and to the list of Louisiana Super Lawyers®. He also currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Law School in New Orleans, teaching Admiralty, and as an Instructor at the Oil & Gas School in Houston and London, teaching personal injury and contractual claims to industry professionals from across the United States and overseas.
Whether analyzing issues for a client or briefing complex issues to a trial or appellate court, a core focus of Tim’s practice throughout his career has been improving the clarity and quality of legal writing. He is an Advisory Editor of the Loyola Maritime Law Journal and a Life Member of Scribes: The American Society of Legal Writers, which was founded in 1953 to promote better legal writing. Tim also served on the Editorial Board of the Louisiana Bar Journal for three years and as Editor of Briefly Speaking, the quarterly publication of the New Orleans Bar Association, for nine. He is the Managing Director of the firm’s Mandeville office and is admitted to practice before courts throughout Louisiana and Texas.
Representative Matters
- Successfully defended a corporation at trial against allegations of breach of contract and fraud in “bet the company” litigation involving an acquisition of assets.
- Defeated class certification claims asserted on behalf of tens of thousands of residents for damages pertaining to the levee and floodwall failures during Hurricane Katrina.
- Secured the reversal of litigation prosecuted by the Department of Justice under the Oil Pollution Act before the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in the only reported appellate case on a defendant company’s entitlement to a jury trial in this context.
- Successfully defended an insurer in federal court against pollution claims as one of the only reported cases pertaining to a short-term pollution event exclusion in a CGL policy.
- Defended an offshore company at trial in federal court to a defense verdict for a plaintiff asserting personal injuries during a personnel basket transfer offshore.
- Secured summary dismissal of claims against a national product manufacturer involving millions of dollars in damages as being preempted and untimely under Louisiana law.
- Secured summary judgment and dismissal of a personal injury claim for damages exceeding $80 million.
- Secured summary dismissal of multiple claims for insurance coverage in construction, commercial, and personal injury litigation.
- For over fifteen years, serving as Special Assistant Attorney General representing the State of Louisiana in complex litigation, including asbestos, class action, and other high exposure litigation.
