In 2002, Raymond P. Ward joined the Adams and Reese appellate team. His accomplishments, before and after joining our firm, include the following notable decisions:

• Brown v. ANA Ins. Group, 994 So.2d 1265 (La. 2008), rev’g 965 So.2d 902 (La. App. 1 Cir. 2007). Reversing the court of appeal, this decision holds that, when two separate corporations are liquidated by the Insurance Commissioner as part of a single business enterprise, the owner of one corporation does not acquire a claim to the other corporation’s assets.
• In re Gramercy Plant Explosion at Kaiser, 927 So.2d 492 (La. App. 5 Cir.), writ denied, 929 So.2d 1271 (La. 2006). Reversal of an $88.75 million judgment against an electrical-products manufacturer, in a case arising from an explosion at an industrial plant.
• Davis v. Jazz Casino Co., LLC, 849 So.2d 497 (La. 2003). The intermediate court had dismissed our client’s appeal from a class-certification order. The Louisiana Supreme Court reinstated appeal, holding that a class-certification order, though interlocutory, can be appealed as of right. This rule has since been codified by the Louisiana Legislature in Act 205 of the 2005 Regular Session.
• Horrell v. Horrell, 808 So.2d 363 (La. App. 1 Cir. 2000). Win on rehearing. This decision is among the first that addresses the distinctions between claim preclusion and issue preclusion under Louisiana’s res judicata statute.
• Dual Drilling Co. v. Mills Equipment Investments, Inc., 721 So.2d 853 (La. 1998), reversing 705 So.2d 1246 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1998). Won reversal of lower-court judgments holding client liable for conversion. Established that under Louisiana law, liability for conversion depends on a finding of fault. Opinion on rehearing (unreported) clarified that comparative fault applies to conversion cases.
• Succession of Villarrubia, 680 So.2d 1147 (La. 1996), reversing 662 So.2d 85 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1995). Established that a succession closed under forced-heirship laws could not be reopened due to later abrogation of forced heirship.
• Roppolo v. Moore, 644 So.2d 206 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1994). Court of appeal held that Louisiana does not recognize a cause of action for clergy malpractice, the first such holding in Louisiana.
• Harsh v. Calogero, 615 So.2d 420 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1993). Court held that prescription (statute of limitations) on brain-injury claim was not interrupted by plaintiff’s inability to understand her legal rights, even though she claimed that her inability was caused by the brain injury.
• DeSalvo v. State, 624 So.2d 897 (La. 1993). Personal-injury lawyers challenged the constitutionality of a statute restricting their access to vehicular-accident reports. Trial court ruled the statute unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court reversed. Mr. Ward represented State Farm as amicus curiae in support of the statute.

Mr. Ward is on the Steering Committee for the Defense Research Institute's Appellate Advocacy Committee, which he served for several years as chair of publications. He has written several articles for DRI publications on appellate practice and legal writing. He is one of four co-editors of A Defense Lawyer’s Guide to Appellate Practice, published by DRI in 2004, for which he also wrote two chapters.

From 2002 through 2004, Mr. Ward taught an undergraduate course in legal writing for the English Department of the University of New Orleans. He has also taught several continuing-legal-education classes on appellate practice, legal writing, and other topics.

From 1997-2002, Mr. Ward served on the Court Rules Committee of the Louisiana State Bar Association, and from 2002-2004, he served on the Court Rules Committee of the Louisiana Supreme Court. He is a member of the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit and the Appellate Advocacy Committees of the ABA's Litigation Section and Torts and Insurance Practice Section. He is an active member of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in New Orleans, where he serves as a lector and team member for RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults).

Selected Publications (on Appellate Practice or Legal Writing)

• Counting Each Shot: Techniques for Emphasis and De-emphasis, For the Defense, November 2008, at 35.
• The Right Tool for the Job, Certworthy, Winter 2008, at 16.
• Counting Each Shot, Certworthy, Summer 2007, at 23.
• At Your Fingertips: Online Resources for Writers, For the Defense, June 2007, at 81.
• How to Write an Appellate Brief, Chapter 27 of A Young Lawyer's Guide to Defense Practice (DRI 2006).
• Noun Plague: Breaking the Chains, For the Defense, December 2005, at 74.
• Punching up Your Writing: Advice from the Experts, Certworthy, Summer 2005, at 41.
• Good Writing, Good Reading: Advice on Typography, For the Defense, January 2005, at 60.
• Style, Chapter 14 of A Defense Lawyer’s Guide to Appellate Practice (DRI 2004).
• Standards of Review, Chapter 7 of A Defense Lawyer’s Guide to Appellate Practice (DRI 2004) (co-authored with Louis C. LaCour, Jr.).
• Form and Function: Clear, Effective Jury Instructions, For the Defense, July 2004, at 67.
• A Writ in Time, 51 La. B.J. 338 (Feb.-Mar. 2004).
• Humility, Certworthy, Winter 2003, at 7.
• What Does "Shall" Mean?: Words of Authority, For the Defense, February 2002, at 46.
• An Essay on Style, For the Defense, May 2001, at 53.
• Phrases to Avoid: Unlearning Bad Habits, For the Defense, March 2000, at 47.
• Simple, Concise, Direct: Pleading in Plain English, For the Defense, November 1999, at 54.
• Preparing to Write an Appellate Brief, Certworthy, Spring 1998, at 3; reprinted in The Young Lawyer Connection, Summer 1999, at 6.

• The Importance of Earnest Oral Argument, Certworthy, Summer 1999, at 12.

CLE teaching

• 21 Oct. 2008: Louisiana State Bar Association, Bridging the Gap, “Appellate Practice and Procedure.”
  • Written materials
  • Presentation (PDF)
• 10 Oct. 2008: Louisiana State Bar Association, Louisiana Justice Community Conference, “Supervisory Writs.”
• 28 Mar. 2008: Louisiana State Bar Association, What’s the Deal With Appeals?: Views From the Inside, "Comparison of Approaches Between the Intermediate Appellate Courts and the Louisiana Supreme Court (with Justice Bernette Johnson, Justice Harry T. Lemmon (Retired), H. Alston Johnson III, and Isaac H. Ryan).
• 25 Oct. 2007: Louisiana State Bar Association, Bridging the Gap, "Appellate Practice & Procedure" (with Justice Harry Lemmon).
• 3 Nov. 2006: Louisiana State Bar Association, Louisiana Justice Community Conference, "Preserving Your Right to Appeal" (with Mark Surprenant).
• 26 Oct. 2006: Louisiana State Bar Association, Bridging the Gap, "Appellate Practice & Procedure."
• 27 Jan. 2006: Louisiana State Bar Association, Bridging the Gap, "Appellate Practice & Procedure" (with Justice Harry Lemmon).
• 23 June 2005: The Public Law Center, International Legislative Drafting Institute, "Drafting Judicial Rules"
• 20 Oct. 2004: Louisiana State Bar Association, Bridging the Gap, "State Civil Court Rules & Motions" (with Don Massey)
• 24 Jun. 2004: The Public Law Center, International Legislative Drafting Institute, "Drafting Judicial Rules"
• 23 Oct. 2003: Louisiana State Bar Association, Bridging the Gap, "State Civil Court Rules & Motions" (with Don Massey)
• 15 Jan. 2003: Academy of New Orleans Trial Lawyers, "Rules for Louisiana District Courts"
• 9 Nov. 2002: Loyola CLE, Loyola Law School, New Orleans, "New Rules for Louisiana District Courts: One Set of Rules — No Joke"
• 17 Oct. 2002: Louisiana State Bar Association, Bridging the Gap, "State Civil Court Rules & Motions" (with Don Massey).
• 20 Dec. 2000: New Orleans Bar Association, Procrastinators’ Program, "Plain Language for Lawyers"
• 24 Aug. 2000: New Orleans Bar Association, Young Litigator’s Forum, "Top 10 Ways to Use Plain Language in Legal Writing"