April L. Watson

Attorney Brief

Ms. Watson is Of Counsel and has been with the firm since 2019. Her practice primarily consists of complex commercial litigation, including tax, trust, estate and succession litigation. She has also handled cases involving professional liability defense for engineers, insurance agents, and attorneys as well as experience in products liability defense.  She represents clients in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout Louisiana and in multi-district litigation.  She has been a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association since 2004.

Education

Ms. Watson earned her undergraduate degree in business, marketing and public relations from California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.  She earned her Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola School of Law where she was the recipient of the Dean’s Scholarship. During law school she earned certificates in international law, civil law and common law, and studied law in Vienna, Austria, Budapest, Hungary, and San Jose, Costa Rica.

Narrative

Ms. Watson began her career handling business litigation in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina from which she gained both state and federal trial experience.  She also represented pharmaceutical and automotive manufacturers in products liability defense cases.  She now handles complex litigation for families and businesses, and has over a decade of litigation experience involving minor settlements, trusts, estates, and successions.  She has also been outside tax litigation counsel for the Department of Revenue for the State of Louisiana since 2004 and has served on the boards of multiple non-profits, including CASA New Orleans and the Association for Women Attorneys. She currently serves on the 2019-2020 Loyola University Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Awards

• Inside Northside Magazine’s Women In Business, 2020
• New Orleans City Business Women of the Year, class of 2018 (for her efforts in the business community and public service)
• St. Charles Avenue Magazine, profiled in 2018
• New Orleans City Business Leadership in Law Class, 2017
• Children’s Advocacy Center Tree of Life Recipient, 2017 (for her advocacy work on behalf of children)
• President’s Volunteer Service Award, 2014

Bar, Courts & Professional Affiliations