Edwin G. Preis, Jr.

Attorney

Lafayette, LA

Edwin Preis is the Managing Partner and founder of Preis PLC, a regional defense law firm with offices in Lafayette, New Orleans, and Houston. Mr. Preis is licensed to practice in Louisiana and Texas. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America, Louisiana Super Lawyers, and holds a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating. Mr. Preis has approximately 50 years of legal experience, and maintains an active litigation practice focused primarily on high profile and complex major casualties of different types. His clients include both major domestic and international insurers and underwriters.

Practice Areas
- Admiralty, Maritime and Energy ~ Wrongful Death, Personal Injury and Property Damage
  - Jones Act
  - Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA)
  - Vessel Collisions / Allisions
  - Offshore Construction
- Civil Rights
- Construction Contracts, Defects and Litigation
- Contractual Indemnity and Insurance
- Environmental and Pollution
- Property and Bad Faith Insurance Coverage and Litigation
  - Fire Claims and Litigation
  - Flood Claims and Litigation
  - Hurricane Claims and Litigation
- Insurance Coverage, Litigation and Recovery
- Professional Liability
  - Law Enforcement Professional Liability
- Mass Torts and Class Actions
- Premises Liability
- Products Liability
- Redhibition
- Transportation
  - Automobile Liability and Coverage
  - Railroad Liability and Coverage
  - Trucking Liability and Coverage
  - Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist Liability and Coverage
- Toxic Tort
Education
- Louisiana State University, J.D. (1972)
- University of Southwestern Louisiana, B.A. with distinction (1969)
Bar Admissions
- Louisiana
- Texas
Court Admissions
- United States Supreme Court
- Louisiana Supreme Court
- All Louisiana State Courts
- Supreme Court of Texas
- All Texas State Courts
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana
- United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Experience
- Organized, supervised, and oversaw defense of Transocean during the joint USCG/BOEMRE Joint Investigation hearings resulting from the Deepwater Horizon environmental disaster, which resulted in twelve fatalities and billions of dollars of alleged property damage.
- Lead counsel for inland drilling contractor regarding the capsize of an inland drilling barge which resulted in eleven fatalities and multiple injuries.
- Lead counsel for domestic excess property insurer of major metropolitan school board involving Hurricane Katrina related damages to approximately one hundred and fifty buildings.
- Counsel for excess underwriters of oil company whose tank overflowed, spilling over one million gallons of oil into St. Bernard Parish, which was caused by Hurricane Katrina flooding.
- Lead counsel for excess underwriters of oil company regarding a land drilling rig accident, which resulted in seven fatalities and multiple injuries.
- Lead counsel for excess insurer of a tractor trailer company for major accident occuring on the elevated portion of I-10 between Baton Rouge and Lafayette, which resulted in five fatalities and numerous injuries.
- Lead counsel for excess insurer of a major oilfield subcontractor in an accident which resulted in an employee's loss of both legs.
- Lead counsel for excess underwriters of oil company regarding explosion which resulted in severe burns to four workers.
- Counsel for excess underwriters of vegetation management company in connection with the most destructive wildfire in Texas history which resulted in two fatalities and destruction of 1,691 homes and 34,000 acres.
- Counsel for excess underwriters of brine mining company in connection with sinkhole of approximately 35 acres which resulted in alleged millions of dollars of property damage.
- Counsel for excess underwriter of Oil company involved in Canadian train derailment, which resulted in fifty deaths and alleged billions of dollars of property damage.
- Lead counsel for excess underwriters of trucking company in Arkansas accident which resulted in a fatality and permanent brain damage claims.
- Lead counsel for underwriters of oil company regarding a barge explosion which occurred during welding operations and resulted in five fatalities.
Publications and Presentations
- Co-Author ~ "Louisiana Oilfield Indemnity Act of 1981," 29 Louisiana Bar Journal 1979 (1981)
- Speaker ~ Houston Mariners Club Twenty-First Annual Marine Insurance Seminar (1986)
- Faculty Member ~ Louisiana State University Trial Advocacy Training Program (1992, 1993)
- Faculty Member ~ Louisiana State University Law Center Apprenticeship Week (2014, 2015, 2017, 2021)
Professional and Community Affiliations
- Federal Bar Association
- Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
- Louisiana State Bar Association
- State Bar of Texas
- Lafayette Parish Bar Association
- Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
- Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel
- Defense Research Institute
- The Maritime Law Association of the United States
- Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute
- Blue Key
- Omnicron Delta Kappa
- Phi Delta Phi
- Law Clerk to the Hon. Nauman S. Scott, U.S. District Judge ~ Western District of Louisiana (1972-1974)
Recognitions
- Lawyer of the Year - Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (2022, 2024)
- Best Lawyers in America - Admiralty & Maritime Law and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (2005 - 2024)
- Martindale - Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating (2023)
- Named 2007 - 2023 Louisiana Super Lawyer, and 2018, 2019 and 2020 Top 50 Louisiana Super Lawyer
- Louisiana State University Law Center Board of Trustees (2004 - present)
- Appointed by the Supreme Court of Louisiana to the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (2010 - 2015); Board Chair (2014); Board Vice - Chair/Adjudicative Committee Chair (2013); Hearing Committee Chairman (2003 - 2009)
- Recipient - LSU Law Center Distinguished Achievement Award, in recognition of distinguished achievement, high standards of professional ethics and integrity, and service (2015)
- Named 2016 - 2023 Top Lawyer by Acadiana Profile
- Appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to the Louisiana Judicial Campaign Oversight Committee and the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board Advisory Committee
- Lafayette Bar Association Hall of Fame Class of 2020