Frances M. Phares

Frances M. Phares is of counsel to Wisner Baum, where she focuses her practice on personal injury and wrongful death litigation stemming from major transportation disasters, pharmaceutical product liability cases and toxic exposure across the nation.

Ms. Phares earned her law degree from Tulane University Law School and holds an undergraduate degree in Zoology from Louisiana State University. While in law school she clerked for the Orleans Parish District Attorney and tutored Tulane undergraduates in English.

After law school, Fran worked as an Assistant District Attorney prosecuting cases for victims of felony crimes such as armed robbery, theft, rape, child abuse, and murder. During that time, she obtained the first-ever conviction in Louisiana of pharmacists for illegally selling prescription drugs to addicts. Thereafter, she gained much valuable research and writing experience and hands-on exposure to civil litigation as a Law Clerk for the 22nd Judicial District Court in St. Tammany and Washington Parishes, Louisiana. She also served for many years as a Magistrate Hearing Officer for child support issues in divorce lawsuits.

Before joining Baum Hedlund (now Wisner Baum), Fran was instrumental in the settlement of over four hundred claims by hemophiliacs for AIDS infection from contaminated blood products. At Wisner Baum she has worked to eliminate laws protecting tobacco companies from lawsuits by successfully urging the California Supreme Court to reject the notion that smokers are presumed to know that smoking is addictive and that smoking causes health hazards. This has cleared the way for long-time smokers to file claims for injuries which may have occurred decades after a smoker first became addicted to cigarettes. She has also successfully represented the families of antidepressant suicide victims in their cases against drug manufacturers.

Frances M. Phares Attorney of Counsel

media interview request

Locally & Nationally Recognized

Fran has participated in numerous writing and trial-skills seminars. She is a certified suicide-prevention counselor and hospice volunteer and has created a workshop for people who are adjusting to grief, loss and aging issues.

She has traveled to India where she studied global ethics and sociology and partnered with Tibetan refugees in a cultural exchange program. She created a dental program in Dharamsala known as Tibetan Smiles to provide low-cost dental care to the Tibetan community. In an effort to be more attuned to her clients’ needs and provide more empathetic and comprehensive service, obtained a dual master’s degree in pastoral studies and counseling from Loyola University New Orleans.

In her spare time, Fran enjoys visiting art museums, reading historical novels, golfing, playing the piano, fishing, and walking her Welsh Corgi, Windsor. She facilitates a spirituality group for women in her community, volunteers at the local retirement home and serves as a lay pastoral assistant.

How the Tibetan People Made Me a Better Attorney

In 2011, Fran traveled to India, where she studied global ethics and sociology and partnered with Tibetan refugees in a cultural exchange program. We asked her to share her experiences there which have made her more receptive and aware of her clients’ needs. Read more from Frances M. Phares's personal series here.

Education

Tulane Law School (J.D., 1981)
Loyola University New Orleans (Master of Pastoral Studies, 2012)
Loyola University New Orleans (M.S. Counseling, 2016)
National Institute for Trial Advocacy, 2006
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, 2006
Louisiana State University (B.S., 1975)

Court Admissions

Louisiana, 1981
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, 1996
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana, 1998
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2003
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, 2005
U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan, 2007
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, 2007
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 2007
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 2009
U.S. Supreme Court, 2010
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado, 2011
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, 2012
U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana, 2013
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, 2014

Awards and Honors

AV^® Preeminent 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rating through Martindale Hubbell^®
Client Champion Silver Award - Martindale Hubbell, 2019-2022
California Powerhouse, Law360 Regional Powerhouse Series, 2021
Listed, The Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers™
Listed, The Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers™

Member

Louisiana State Bar
Louisiana State Bar Association
22nd Judicial District Court Bar Association
Louisiana Counseling Association
American Group Psychotherapy Association
American Counseling Association
Chi Sigma Iota – Counseling Academic & Professional Honor Society International

Government Service

Magistrate Ad Hoc: Support Enforcement Division, 22nd Judicial District Court, Louisiana 1990-2003
Law Clerk, 22nd Judicial District Court, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, 1983-1990
Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans Parish, Louisiana, 1981-1983

Pro Bono and Civic Activities

Certified St. Joseph Hospice volunteer
Certified LOSS volunteer (counseling to families of suicide victims)
Mentors a female student at Jawaharlal Nehru University, who is studying international relations and hopes to come to the United States
Volunteers every week at Christwood local retirement home, working with older adults in skilled, assisted, and independent living
Volunteer work at local Women’s Center where she co-facilitated a care giver’s support group and a grief group
Participates at Women’s Creativity Retreat every fall
Alzheimer’s conference attendee – to better understand elderly clients suffering from dementia
Traveled to Turkey and met with women involved in promoting Turkish women’s craft and art businesses in the United States
Participant in Enneagram workshop on personality theory – to better understand clients’ perspectives
Attended a “Train the Trainer Workshop” to promote multiculturalism and diversity in the legal field

Published Cases

Tucker v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 701 F.Supp.2d 1040 (S.D.Ind.2010) (denying defendant’s learned intermediary defense and further allowing plaintiffs’ experts to testify regarding the causal association between antidepressants and increased suicidal behavior)
Forst v. Smithkline Beecham Corp., 639 F.Supp.2d 948 (E.D.Wis.,2009) (holding that plaintiffs’ claims are not preempted by federal law)
Forst v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 602 F.Supp.2d 960 (E.D.Wis. 2009) (holding that Wisconsin has not adopted the learned intermediary doctrine and allowing all of plaintiffs’ claims, including, negligence, fraud and punitive damages to proceed to the jury)
Cunningham v. SmithKline Beecham, 255 F.R.D. 474 (N.D.Ind. 2009) (ordering defendant to produce documents and awarding sanctions)
Knipe v. SmithKline Beecham, 583 F.Supp.2d 602 (E.D.Pa. 2008) (holding that a drug manufacturer owes a duty to warn regarding risks associated with off-label uses and allowing plaintiffs’ claims for compensatory and punitive damages to proceed to the jury)
Knipe v. SmithKline Beecham, 583 F.Supp.2d 553 (E.D.Pa 2008) (holding that plaintiffs’ claims are not preempted by federal law)
Tucker v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 596 F.Supp.2d 1225 (S.D.Ind. 2008) (granting plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration and holding that plaintiff’s claims are not preempted by federal law)
Grisham v. Philip Morris USA 482 F. 3d 1131 (9th Cir., 2007)
Grisham v. Philip Morris USA 40 Cal.4th 623, 151 P.3d 1151, 54 Cal.Rptr.3d 735 (2007)
Tucker v. GlaxoSmithKline 2006 WL 753128 (S.D. Ind., 2006)
Grisham v. Philip Morris USA 403 F.3d 631 (9th Cir., 2005)
Smith v. Cutter Biological 770 So.2d 392 (La. App. 4th Cir., 2000)
Doe v. Parauka 714 So. 2d 701 (La., 1998)
State v. Marquer 446 So. 2d 1258 (La. App. 4th Cir., 1984)
State v. Paquette 423 So. 2d 797 (La. App. 4th Cir., 1982)