Ms. Degan is a commercial litigator and commercial litigation mediator. She has extensive experience representing clients in lawsuits concerning oil and gas, shareholder disputes and other securities litigation, and various business torts, including unfair trade practices, franchise issues, and interference with business relationships. She has also represented clients in telecommunications litigation and adversarial proceedings before regulatory bodies, such as the Louisiana Public Service Commission and the Louisiana Tax Commission. Formerly a partner of Jones, Walker, et al., and Phelps Dunbar, L.L.P., Ms. Degan has practiced law for approximately 20 years. She is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana.

PRACTICE AREAS

• Commercial Litigation
  
• Oil and Gas Litigation
  
• Business Torts and Securities - Related Litigation
  
• Litigation before Administrative Tribunals
  
• Alternative Dispute Resolution

EDUCATION

• Loyola University (J.D., 1983, Magna Cum Laude); Articles Editor, Loyola Law Review
  
• University of New Orleans, (B.A., 1979, Cum Laude); with honors in English
  

MEMBERSHIPS

• The Best Lawyers in America, Business Litigation, 2002
  
• Adjunct Professor of Law, Loyola University Law School
  (Courts in a Federal System)
  
• American Bar Association
  
  • Co-chair, Section of Litigation Annual Conference, Houston, Texas, April 9-12, 2003. Responsible for 37 CLE programs presented by approximately 30 ABA Section of Litigation Committees.
    
  • Former Division Director, responsible for overseeing the work of numerous ABA Section of Litigation Committees.
    
  • Former co-chair, Business Torts Committee. The Business Torts Committee is the Section of Litigation's second largest committee, with approximately 2,000 members nationwide.
    
  • Former Associate Editor of the ABA Section of Litigation's bi-monthly national publication, Litigation News, distributed to approximately 60,000 members.
    
• Federal Bar Association
  
• Louisiana State Bar Association
  
• New Orleans Bar Association
  
• Loyola Law Alumni Association (former president)
  
• World Trade Center
  
• New Orleans Chamber of Commerce
  

OTHER INFORMATION

• Member, WWNO FM Advisory Board
  
• Member, University of New Orleans Alumni Board of Directors.
  

RECENT PUBLICATIONS/PAPERS

• Louisiana Courtroom Evidence (1995), a comprehensive Louisiana evidence desk book published by Betterworths and Michie Publishing companies, now a division of Mead Data Central. This book is used as a resource by judges and litigators to interpret and apply Louisiana's Code of Evidence.
  
• Co-author: "A Practical Guide to Commercial Damages in Louisiana," 44 Loyola Law Review 257 - Summer 1998.
  
• "The Golden Needle in the Electronic Haystack: Electronic Messaging and Modern Litigation," ABA Annual Meeting - 1997. This work was subsequently published in ABA Section of Litigation Committee on Pretrial Practice & Discovery newsletter - Winter 1998, and The Practical Litigator (Vol. 18, No. 4, July 1998), published by the North Carolina Bar Association.
  
• "Magistrates are Serving as Trial Judges in Greater Number of Cases," originally published in Litigation News -1996. This work was selected for inclusion in course materials by the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc.'s Federal Court Judicial Forum 1996
  
• "Federal Jurisdiction and Procedure," 35 Loyola Law Review 307 - 1982.
  

PRESENTATIONS

• Panelist: "Ethics in Settlement Negotiations," Mercer University Law School - March 2002.
  
• Moderator: "Hot Topics from Hot Lawyers and a Hot Judge," Loyola University Law School Continuing Legal Education - December 2001.
  
• Panelist: "Trial by Hurry: Summary Jury Trials," ABA Section of Litigation Meeting - April 1999.
  
• Program Chair: "Commercial Litigation: A Step-By-Step Guide to Advancing and Defending Damage Claims for the Start-Up Business," sponsored by Louisiana State Bar Association - November 1998.
  
• Moderator: "Discovery in the Electronic Age: How to Obtain (Or Resist) Discovery of Electronic 'Documents'" and "Beyond Liability: Designing and Presenting a Damages Case," ABA Annual Meeting - 1997.
  
• "Expert Discovery-Daubert Issues," Civil Pretrial Procedure Seminar, Tulane Law School Continuing Legal Education - December 1995.
  

BAR ADMISSIONS

• Louisiana
  
• United States Supreme Court