Christine Lipsey

Christine Lipsey, a member of the law firm McGlinchey Stafford PLLC, is the recipient of the 2016 Louisiana Bar Foundation's (LBF) Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. Ms. Lipsey will receive a plaque and $1,000 was donated in her name to the Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO). The award was established through an endowment to the LBF in memory of Mr. Boisfontaine, who served as president of the LSBA and of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. Donations from Sessions, Fishman, Nathan & Israel, L.L.P., the Boisfontaine family and friends established the fund. Lipsey is widely recognized throughout the state and region as a leader in commercial litigation. Based in Baton Rouge, she has more than 30 years of experience in litigation representing both small and large businesses, insurance companies, state agencies, lenders, and corporate and limited liability company constituents. Ms. Lipsey helps clients solve their most complex and challenging litigation problems in a variety of subject areas, particularly focusing on breach of contract, unfair competition, RICO, antitrust, corporate fiduciary, and class and mass action matters.

Eugene J. Sues

Eugene J. Sues is a civil litigation defense attorney with more than 40 years of trial experience in the areas of medical malpractice defense, products liability, general tort, and governmental liability. Since 1984, he has specialized in defense of physicians and hospitals in medical malpractice cases. In 1974, he joined the Alexandria Firm of Gold, Weems, Bruser, Sues and Rundell where he currently practices. During his tenure with the Gold Firm, he has successfully litigated as lead counsel jury and bench trials in the above areas of practice which involved serious personal injuries and wrongful death. He has also argued successfully many cases before the Louisiana appellate courts and Louisiana Supreme court. He leads the medical malpractice defense section of the Gold Firm and heads a staff of five other defense attorneys in the Gold Firm specializing in medical malpractice defense. Throughout his career, he has taken a special interest in training young lawyers in the Gold Law Firm in ethics and the art of advocacy in the courtroom.

Gene previously served as a law clerk on the Second Circuit court of Appeal in 1970. From 1970 to 1974 he was a captain in the United States Army Judge Advocate General Corps and served as a criminal prosecutor and Head of Military Affairs.

Gene was elected as a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2009. He has been listed in “The Best Lawyers in America” from 2012 to the present date. He has also been named in several yearly editions of Louisiana Super Lawyers in the area of medical malpractice defense. He is a master of the bench Crossroads-American Inn of Court of Alexandria-Pineville and a fellow in the Louisiana Bar Foundation. He has been named as an associate in the American Board of Trial Advocates, and he was elected in 1990 as a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel., Gene has served on the Interprofessional Committee of the Louisiana State Bar Association and has been engaged in other bar association work at the local level.

He is married to Sandra Cole Sues. They have three children and five grandchildren.

Charles F. Gay, Jr.

Charlie Gay, Jr., a partner with Adams and Reese, is a litigation attorney with more than 35 years of experience in general litigation, toxic tort, product liability and medical malpractice. He joined Adams and Reese in 1983 and is a Partner, currently serving as a member of the firm's Pharmaceuticals and Products Liability team of the Litigation Practice Group. He also works extensively with the Healthcare Litigation Group.

In the last several years, Charlie has tried more than 15 major toxic tort, products liability and medical malpractice cases involving serious personal injury (e.g., quadriplegia, brain damage) to successful defense verdicts before juries in Louisiana. He is experienced in partnering with clients to achieve cost-effective, quality solutions to problems through the efficient use of resources, employment of technology, early case assessment and case management.

Charlie is a member of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers, The International Society of Barristers, and many other bar groups, including the Louisiana State Bar Association and Louisiana Bar Foundation.

Charlie has served as lead counsel on hundreds of trials beginning with his practice at Martzell and Montero as a personal injury lawyer from 1976-1983 when he moved his practice to Adams and Reese, where he has continued to handle major trials for many clients.

Charlie has been the lead medical malpractice trial counsel for the Ochsner Medical Institutions for over 30 years and trial counsel for many publicly and privately held companies during his career.

Charlie is a former chair of the IADC Pharmaceutical, Medical Device Committee, as well as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and International Society of Barristers. He has served as Chair of the Louisiana State Bar Legal Malpractice insurance committee. He has also served on the Medical Legal Interprofessional Committee as co-Chair. Charlie has been a frequent lecturer in the areas of trial practice and personal injury litigation.

Charlie is married to Mary Christine "Chrissy" Lapeyre, and they have four sons and two grandchildren.

Mary Olive Pierson

Mary Olive Pierson is a sole practitioner in Baton Rouge. Her practice focuses on lender liability, multi-party litigation, commercial contract disputes and white collar crime. Prior to opening her own firm, she practiced with Brown, McKernan, Monsour & Screen and its successor firms. Pierson earned both her B.S. and her J.D. from Louisiana State University. She clerked for the Honorable Pike Hall of the Second Circuit Court of Appeal. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the Louisiana State Bar Association, and the Baton Rouge Bar Association. She also has an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbel. Pierson is a past representative of the Louisiana Statewide Indigent Defender Board and a past council member of the East Baton Rouge Parish Council. She previously served as the commissioner of the East Baton Rouge Parish Airport Commission and as chief administrative officer of the Office of the Baton Rouge Mayor President. Pierson has supported the following community and charitable organizations: Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center, Baton Rouge General Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Louisiana Bar Foundation, LSU Catholic Student Center, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, O'Brien House, Our Lady of the Isle Catholic Church, Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation, St. Joseph's Academy, Special Olympics Massachusetts, and University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Ophthalmology Foundation.