Russ Herman
About Russ Herman
Russ M. Herman is Of Counsel at Herman, Katz, Gisleson & Cain. He graduated from Tulane University with a B.A. in 1963 and earned his L.L.B. (now J.D.) from Tulane University School of Law in 1966. He was named Outstanding Trial Lawyer by the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association in 1977 and served as LTLA President from 1980 to 1981. He served as President of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now the American Association for Justice) from 1989 to 1990, President of the Civil Justice Foundation from 1987 to 1988, and President of the Roscoe Pound Foundation from 1991 to 1993. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys, a Diplomate of the National College of Advocacy, a Fellow and Director of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers, and a Barrister of the American College of Barristers. He received the Leonard M. Ring Champion of Justice Award, the highest honor bestowed by ATLA, in July 2001. He was named 2007 Lawyer of the Year by Lawyers USA for his role as lead negotiator for plaintiffs in the $4.85 billion Vioxx settlement with Merck. He served as Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel in the Vioxx MDL 1657 and the Chinese Drywall MDL 2047 litigations, and as Court-Appointed Liaison and Lead Counsel in the Propulsid MDL 1355. In 2004 a jury returned a $591 million verdict in Scott v. American Tobacco, et al., in which he served as lead trial counsel. He was inducted into the Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame in 2010. He has been listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers since 2007, in Best Lawyers in America since 1983, and in the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers Guide from 2020 through 2024 and in 2026. He has authored more than 200 articles, papers, and books on civil trial practice.
Notable case results
As chair of the plaintiffs' negotiating committee and Liaison Counsel in the Vioxx multidistrict litigation, Russ Herman directed the negotiations that produced a $4.85 billion settlement with Merck resolving approximately 45,000 to 50,000 personal-injury claims.
A New Orleans jury ordered the major tobacco companies to fund a statewide smoking-cessation program for more than 200,000 Louisiana smokers who became addicted before 1988, awarding $591 million in one of the largest class-action verdicts against the tobacco industry.
Serving as court-appointed Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel, Russ Herman of Herman Herman and Katz spent more than a decade guiding the Chinese-manufactured drywall multidistrict litigation to a $248 million settlement with Taishan Gypsum that covered thousands of homeowners across the Gulf Coast and Southeast.
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.
Vioxx MDL 1657, serving as lead negotiator and Liaison Counsel for plaintiffs
Jury verdict in Scott v. American Tobacco (2004), serving as lead trial counsel
Chinese Drywall MDL 2047, serving as Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel
Propulsid MDL 1355, serving as Court-Appointed Liaison and Lead Counsel
In Landry v. Union Pacific, quadriplegia from railroad crossing accident
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.
