Renee F. Smith is Of Counsel with Degan, Blanchard & Nash. Ms. Smith has significant experience in the areas of insurance defense, toxic torts, complex commercial litigation, multidistrict litigation, municipal law, labor employment, and appellate practice. She is an aggressive litigator who has been highly successful in defending national insurance companies and local government agencies in all aspects of litigation, including class actions. Her litigation experience is broad based including trials, appeals and writs in high profile cases before state and federal courts.
Ms. Smith attended Loyola University in New Orleans where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications in 1990. Ms. Smith graduated from Loyola School of Law in 1994 and received a joint J.D./M.A. in Communications through Loyola University’s Graduate School of Communications. Her Master’s thesis was entitled "Trout A La Green Plague Redux: Defamation Law in Louisiana since Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co."
Ms. Smith has been recognized as a top local lawyer by New Orleans Magazine. Based upon her professional and civic contributions to the community, she received New Orleans City Business Newspaper's Leadership in Law Award in 2008. Since 2005, Ms. Smith has been Assistant Examiner for Louisiana Supreme Court Committee on Bar Admissions and grades the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure section of the Louisiana Bar exam. She enjoys an "AV" Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating.
Ms. Smith has taught Persuasive Appellate Writing, a skill curriculum class at Loyola School of Law, and is a frequent lecturer at CLEs and has spoken on the topics of: Ethics of Film and Music, Open Meetings, Federal and State Law Regarding School Board Employee and Student Records, and E-Discovery and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Ms. Smith has also taught Legal Writing, Legal Research, Litigation: Commencement of an Action, and Insurance Law at the Baton Rouge College of Paralegal Studies in Metairie, Slidell, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Ms. Smith is admitted to practice in Louisiana, Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, the U.S. District Court Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana, and the U.S. District Court for the Southern Districts of Texas. Ms. Smith is a member of the Louisiana Bar Association, the Texas Bar Association, as well as the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, and the New Orleans Association of Defense Counsel.
Ms. Smith is also actively involved in the Algiers Economic Development Foundation, the League of Women Voters of New Orleans, the Raphael Academy, the World Affairs Council of New Orleans, and the Gulf Coast French-American Chamber of Commerce.