The Wall Street Journal has described Arsenault as having “national notoriety,” BusinessWeek described him as “a Dean of the Louisiana Tort Bar,” and The New York Times described him as one of the “big players” in the legal community and observed that Arsenault has “repeatedly played a leading role in mass cases.” USA Today featured him as a member of the “Legal Elite” and the New Orleans Times Picayune has referred to him as “an authority on class actions.” U.S. News & World Report has included Arsenault in the U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” Rankings.
Honorable Kenneth W. Starr, former Solicitor General, Pepperdine Law School Dean and United States Federal Court of Appeals Judge, observed that “Richard Arsenault has a stunning ability to brilliantly multi-task.” He has been described by Baylor Law School Professor James Wren as being at the pinnacle of the national plaintiff’s bar, “integral to the process of conceptualizing a national board certification in complex litigation,” and “…an absolute superstar of multibillion dollar plaintiff litigation management. He understands how to direct mega-cases from inception to verdict to collection.”
Arsenault has been an invited lecturer at various law schools including Baylor, Duke, Emory, University of Texas, Tulane, George Washington and LSU where he served on the Trial Advocacy faculty. LSU Professor Frank L. Maraist remarked that “Richard is one of the outstanding litigators in this part of the world and is a leading faculty member at continuing legal education programs in the state, both for LSU and the state bar. He also has been a valuable member of the LSU Trial Advocacy Program.” Arsenault, who according to the Wall Street Journal, “hosts must-attend legal seminars on the hot cases of the moment,” has been featured on numerous occasions by The New York Times, L.A. Times, NPR, Associated Press, CBS, BBC, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Miami Herald and other national press outlets.
Arsenault has been involved in over 25 Multidistrict Litigation proceedings, often serving in leadership capacities. He served as Lead Counsel in the Actos MDL where a jury rendered a $9 billion verdict. He subsequently served on the negotiating team that secured a $2.4 billion settlement, which is the largest single mass tort settlement for a drug that is still on the market. He was also appointed to the Pinnacle MDL Executive Committee and was a trial team member where three Bellwether trials resulted in $502 million, $1 billion and $247 million verdicts.
Professor Arthur Miller has described Arsenault as one of the “leaders in the area of complex litigation.” Similarly, Professor Edward Sherman, former dean of Tulane Law School, with whom Arsenault has participated in panel presentations and for whom he has served as a guest lecturer at Tulane Law School, described Arsenault as one of the “experts” in class actions.
For over 25 years, Arsenault has had Martindale Hubbell’s highest rating. Through a multi-phase selection process, the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys has chosen Richard to receive the organization’s Top 10 Attorney Award for the State of Louisiana. He likewise is recognized by many other peer-reviewed publications including the “Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers,” “Best of United States,” “SuperLawyers” and the “Best Lawyers in America.”
Arsenault has been recognized as one of America’s 50 Most Influential Trial Lawyers by Trial Lawyer magazine, nominated for the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award by the Public Justice Foundation, and recognized by the National Law Journal as one of America’s Elite Trial Lawyers. He will also become one of the first practitioners in the nation to become Board Certified in Complex Litigation. Additionally, the Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice appointed Arsenault to serve on the Rules of Professional Conduct Class Action, Bench Book, and State MDL Exploratory Committees.
Arsenault has over 300 articles and presentations to his credit and has authored many Law Review articles including one published in Federal Courts Law Review. Among other writings, he co-authored the chapter on Multidistrict Litigation in an ABA treatise. He was also asked by Judge Heyburn, former JPML Chair, to participate in the Panel’s “Multidistrict Litigation Study Project.”
Arsenault has personally participated in over $15 billion in complex litigation verdicts and settlements. In addition to a busy litigation practice, he has also been retained to provide expert testimony and has served as a mediator in mass tort litigation.
