Sue is a magna-cum-laude graduate of Tulane University and a cum- laude graduate of Loyola University College of Law in New Orleans, where she served as Articles–Comments Editor of the Law Review and was a member of the National Moot Court team. After law school, Sue had the privilege of clerking for the Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, Pascal F. Calogero, Jr.

Sue has represented major insurers, corporate clients, and local entrepreneurs. She has managed complex litigation and handled matters from inception through trial and appeal. She has defended oil-and-gas legacy claims, litigated real estate title disputes, employment claims, toxic contamination claims, products liability claims, and has defended personal injury claims and professional liability claims on behalf of architects, engineers, and others.

Sue is a proud native and lifelong resident of New Orleans. Prior to pursuing a career in law, Sue worked for the City of New Orleans, where she gained broad experience in the workings of City government, serving in the departments of Fire, Safety and Permits, Civil Service, and the French Market Corporation. As an attorney, she has worked on transactional matters for the City of New Orleans and has served as Special Counsel to the New Orleans City Council. As a citizen, she has demonstrated her commitment to the City and region by her leadership in neighborhood and civic organizations, including the Bancroft Park Civic Association, the Citizens Advisory Committee to Project Home Again, and the Forum for Equality.

Sue believes in giving back. At her former firm, she led a task force to develop a pro bono policy and practice, leading to that firm’s recognition by both the New Orleans and Louisiana State Bar Associations for its contributions to pro bono services. In the most unique case of her career, Sue worked pro bono to reunite a family with its rare “runaway” African sulcata tortoise.

Sue obtained the dismissal of a claim for exemplary damages for unpaid royalties for failure to state a claim for relief. The ruling was upheld by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. See Louisiana Oil & Gas Interests, L.L.C. v. Shell Trading U.S. Co., 949 F.3d 915 (5th Cir. 2020).

Sue obtained a favorable ruling from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal upholding the New Orleans City Council’s power to hear and decide appeals from the Vieux Carré Commission, reversing the trial court’s preliminary injunction against issuance of an applicant’s building permit. Vieux Carre Comm’n Found. v. City of New Orleans, 2017-0527 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1/31/18), 2018 WL 651668.

Sue defended a class action brought by homeowners in the Bayou Corne area of Assumption Parish following the occurrence of a 35-acre sinkhole on the client’s property, leading to swift settlement. See LeBlanc v. Texas Brine Co., LLC, No. 12-2059, 2018 WL 1901647 (E.D. La. Apr. 20, 2018).

Sue developed argument for treating hearing loss as a work-related injury subject to workers’ compensation, and she wrote a motion for summary judgment that provided the template for eventual arguments made before and upheld by the Louisiana Supreme Court in a related matter. See Arrant v. Graphic Packaging Int’l, Inc., 2013-2878 (La. 5/5/15); 169 So.3d 296.

Sue obtained dismissal on summary judgment of a plaintiff’s claim of national origin discrimination. The decision was affirmed by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. See Nazarov v. Louisiana State Univ., No. 08-3978, 2010 WL 1930074 (E.D. La. May 10, 2010), aff’d sub nom. Nazarov v. Bd. of Supervisors of Louisiana State Univ. & Agr. & Mech. Coll., 425 Fed.Appx. 405 (5th Cir. 2011).

Sue defended engineering liability claims from trial through appeal, authoring dispositive motions, post-trial motions, and an appellate brief that ultimately led to the recovery of contractual indemnity for her client. See Chevron USA, Inc. v. Aker Mar., Inc., 604 F.3d 888 (5th Cir. 2010).

Sue developed the argument for a successful declinatory exception of improper venue for NORM-related matters filed in Orleans Parish, which was an impetus to the settlement of cases.

Sue obtained a new trial after an adverse jury verdict on a plaintiff’s employment-related defamation claim, leading to a favorable negotiated settlement.

Sue drafted a public–private partnership document between the City of New Orleans, French Market Corporation, and Audubon Commission for the development of Washington Artillery Park, a signature riverfront pedestrian walkway and park in New Orleans’s French Quarter.

Sue developed Master Service Agreements, licensing agreements, and rights-of way for a major utility conglomerate for use in its subsidiaries from Vermont to Kauai, Hawaii.
Sue managed title research and inventory of over 8,000 real property assets as part of a major corporate asset sale.

Susan R. Laporte, Business Related Issues for Public Entities in Louisiana, Property and Development Issues (May 2001) (lecture).

Susan R. Laporte, Pay When Paid: Reasonable Time Term or Conditional Obligation?, 34 Loy. L. Rev. 431 (1988).