Mr. Lambert is office managing shareholder in the New Orleans and Mandeville offices. He previously led Baker Donelson’s Business Litigation Group, serving as co-chair in 2019 and chair from 2014 to 2018, for one of the Firm’s largest groups that encompasses more than 100 attorneys across 21 offices in ten states and Washington, D.C.
Mr. Lambert’s litigation experience is extensive. For nearly three decades, he has been at the helm of several bet-the-company litigation matters, defending his clients against intentional and non-intentional business torts, contract actions, fiduciary litigation, franchise matters, property and leasehold disputes, and civil RICO actions. Mr. Lambert’s clients operate in a variety of industries, including chemical and petrochemical concerns, aggregates, transportation, manufacturing, telecommunications, health care, hospitality, construction, technology, insurance, and real estate.
Throughout his career, Mr. Lambert has also worked with financial institutions, their officers and directors, and bank-affiliated investment professionals in a wide variety of cases, including fraud actions, breach of fiduciary duty cases, lender liability claims, mortgage fraud matters, bank deposit and collection claims, and consumer class action defense, as well as in arbitrations and regulatory proceedings. He also has been involved in matters concerning public records law, as well as federal and state regulatory proceedings and litigation concerning aspects of the telecommunications industry.
Mr. Lambert’s philosophy is to begin each case with the core trial team that he expects will see the matter through to the end, fostering efficiency, cohesiveness, and the best possible level of communication with the client, as well as with opposing counsel, court personnel, experts, support vendors, and the like. With the client, Mr. Lambert and the team strategize and prepare for every step and every phase with the expectation that the matter will be tried. This approach allows the team to approach settlement and every other case milestone from the strongest and best-informed position possible.
The former chair of Baker Donelson’s eDiscovery and Information Management Group, Mr. Lambert also has extensive experience with eDiscovery management and technologies, data security and privacy matters, and information management and preservation issues.
Honors & Awards
- Listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers as a leading lawyer in Louisiana (since 2010)
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in Commercial Litigation (2013 – 2021); Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants (2018 – 2021)
- Listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers in Business Litigation Law (2013 – 2021); listed as among the top 50 attorneys in New Orleans (2017, 2018); listed as among the top 50 attorneys in Louisiana (2018)
- Recognized as a “Top Lawyer” in Bet-the-Company Litigations by New Orleans Magazine (2017 – 2019)
- Recognized by New Orleans CityBusiness as a Leader in Law (2014)
- Fellow – American Bar Foundation
- AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell in Appellate Practice and in Banking & Finance Law (2013 – Present)
- Member – American Bar Association (Section of Litigation, Trial Evidence)
- Board Member, Book Publishing Committee
- Former Officer, Council of the Section of Litigation (2013 – 2016)
- Former Chair, Trial Evidence Committee
- Former Chair, Pretrial Practice and Discovery Committee
- Former Vice Chair of the Business Torts Committee
- Former Associate Editor – ABA Litigation News
- Member – Louisiana State Bar Association; U.S. Fifth Circuit Court Bar Association; Bar Associations of U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Middle & Western Districts of Louisiana
- Former Faculty Member – National Institute of Trial Advocacy
- Member – Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance
Publications
- “Tried and True: The Legal Career of Trial Attorney Roy Cheatwood,” Trial Spotlight Newsletter (December 2019)
- “U.S. Supreme Court Curbs Class Arbitrations” (May 2019)
- “Certification of Class Actions in Louisiana,” 58 Louisiana Law Review 1085, this seminal article has been cited and relied upon numerous times by the Louisiana Supreme Court and Circuit Courts of Appeal (1998)
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Baker Donelson’s Appellate Group members are experienced litigators and understand firsthand the types of concise, strategic arguments expected by appellate courts. We regularly partner with trial counsel in anticipation of an appeal to produce results in line with the client’s desired business outcome. We also come into cases to handle post-trial motions and appeals when other lawyers have achieved a result that was not what the client wanted.
Nationally and regionally-recognized litigators, our attorneys’ experience with appellate courts and issues is vast, and we leverage that on behalf of our clients when brought on to the case. We work closely with trial counsel to give our clients the benefit of both the trial attorneys’ knowledge and the appellate attorneys’ unique skills and experience. Our attorneys are often retained to handle pre- and post-judgment proceedings and appeals at the request of the client, trial counsel or the client’s insurance carrier. If retained before trial, we also are able to assist trial counsel in preserving issues when an appeal is anticipated.
