About Brian Katz

Brian D. Katz is a partner at Herman, Katz, Gisleson & Cain. He attended the University of Alabama, graduating with a B.A. in 1991, where he served as President of the College of Communication and of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, and was a member of the Blue Key Honor Society and Order of Omega. He earned his J.D. from Tulane University School of Law in January 1996. While at Tulane, he clerked for the Orleans Parish Juvenile Indigent Defender's Office and at HKGC.

Upon graduation he joined his father, Morton H. Katz, in the family practice. He has handled a broad range of civil matters including personal injury, construction, business litigation, highway and premises liability, products liability, and attorney fee disputes on the plaintiff side, as well as commercial litigation, legal malpractice, products liability, and civil RICO matters on the defense side. He has spoken at and moderated CLE programs through the Louisiana State Bar Association and the Louisiana Association for Justice. He served as President of the Louisiana Association for Justice from 2024 to 2025 and currently chairs its Legislative Committee.

He is a member of the Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice and has served on the Board of the New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association since 2023. He was named Best Lawyers, Lawyer of the Year in 2020 and 2025, and has been listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers since 2013. Recognized in the Chambers USA Guide Band 1 for Litigation: Mainly Plaintiffs in 2025, and in the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers Guide from 2020 to 2024 and in 2026.

Proven verdicts and settlements

$230 millionSettlement

Representing more clergy abuse survivors in the Archdiocese of New Orleans bankruptcy than any other firm, Herman, Katz, Gisleson and Cain helped push a five-year Chapter 11 proceeding to a $230 million settlement confirmed in December 2025, with additional recovery against Travelers Insurance still pending.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Louisiana · 2025Premises LiabilityRead the full story →
View all 6 proven verdicts →

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.

Practice areas

Education

Tulane University School of Law
J.D., 1996
University of Alabama
Undergraduate, 1991

Bar admissions & credentials

State Bar of Louisiana

Other attorneys at Herman Herman & Katz

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Proven verdicts and settlements from other New Orleans firms

Bruno & Bruno
Bruno & Bruno
$850 million (punitive, upheld on appeal); prior settlement reached 2001 · Gentilly Tank-Car Fire: $850 Million Punitive Verdict for 8,000 New Orleans Residents
Lambert Zainey
Lambert Zainey
Up to $1 billion (remediation fund) · Knauf Chinese Drywall MDL: Up to $1 Billion Settlement for 4,500 Contaminated Homes
Kiefer & Kiefer Personal Injury Lawyers
Kiefer & Kiefer Personal Injury Lawyers
$3 million · Kiefer & Kiefer Wins $3 Million Settlement for Nearly 1,000 Tenants of Hazardous New Orleans East Complex
Landry & Swarr, L.L.C.
Landry & Swarr, L.L.C.
$129 million (verdict; post-trial path unresolved) · The School's After-School Run Club Routed Six-Year-Olds Through the Carpool Lane While Parents' Cars Were Moving.