Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (MWL) proudly announces the opening of its new branch office in New Orleans. The office is located at 101 W. Robert E. Lee Blvd., Ste. 402, in New Orleans on Lake Pontchartrain with convenient access to New Orleans and other Louisiana state and federal courts.
The Louisiana office will be overseen by MWL’s newest partner, Jim Busenlener. Jim is a 1993 graduate of Tulane University in New Orleans and is licensed to practice in Louisiana, Texas, and Pennsylvania. For many years, Jim has been one of MWL’s local counsel in Louisiana. Ironically, Jim was originally hired by and was an associate handling litigation with Gary Wickert in Houston, Texas back in 1995 and later moved to Louisiana where, most recently, he was a partner with Lowe, Stein, Hoffman, Allweiss & Hauver. Jim has two decades of experience representing insurers in coverage, professional liability, subrogation, and defense litigation, and also practices in the areas of maritime and commercial litigation. He has extensive experience representing domestic and foreign insurers, including the London Market, in complex, multi-party insurance coverage, indemnity, and casualty defense issues arising out of pipeline ruptures, maritime allisions, well blowouts, and industrial accidents. He also has a great deal of experience litigating large loss property and casualty subrogation cases. He has represented excess insurers and re-insurers in disputes with large corporate insureds and with primary insurers. His full resume and biography can be found HERE or on our website. Jim will be handling MWL’s large Louisiana case load of workers’ compensation, health, Longshore (LHWCA), maritime, auto, and oilfield subrogation as well as insurance defense and coverage litigation in the Bayou State. Louisiana’s unique civil law system and its complex Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Statute present challenges for insurers which MWL is particularly well-qualified to address and handle.
MWL is excited about our increased capacity for handling matters in Louisiana and we welcome your referral of Louisiana and Texas matters, which can be referred to us through our new “Refer A File” feature on our website at www.mwl-law.com. To use this new feature, just click on the “Refer A File” button which can be accessed on the homepage or under the RESOURCES tab on the main menu. Referring a file can be accomplished in three easy steps:
Step One: Select your loss type from the drop down menu and provide your contact information.
Step Two: Provide as much information as possible on the file you are referring. This will assist MWL in evaluating your file in a prompt and efficient manner.
Step Three: This step allows you to attach your file, no matter the size, and submit it to MWL for handling. Just click the Browse button to select the documents from your system that you want to submit. Once you submit your file using this feature, you will receive an e-mail confirmation that will contain the information you entered into the File Referral Form and a list of the attachments, which can be saved to your computer to be memorialized in your activity log as part of your claim file. Submitting documents in this step is optional. If you prefer, you can submit the File Referral Form and then send the file under separate cover in whatever manner you choose. Rest assured that MWL has taken all precautions to ensure that all data that is transferred to MWL through this website feature is secure and encrypted so that it cannot be read or seen by anyone else.
For those who choose not to refer files via the new “Refer A File” feature, we still have our traditional PDF FILE REFERRAL FORMS, which have also been updated and are now more user-friendly. You can access our PDF File Referral Forms via our main Refer A File page or through the RESOURCES tab on the main menu. Once you get to our PDF File Referral Form page, you can click on the File Referral Form relating to the type of file you are referring (e.g., Insurance Defense, Insurance Coverage, Auto Subrogation, Med Pay/PIP Subrogation, etc.), complete the form to the best of your ability by entering text in the fields provided, and then the form can be printed and/or saved to your computer, scanned, or faxed. In whatever manner you choose, forward the completed File Referral Form, along with the file, to the address located at the top of the Form. There is no need to send a cover letter when using our File Referral Forms. If you have questions regarding referring files to MWL, please feel free to contact us or go to our website’s FAQ page – your answer may be there.
