David F. Bienvenu - Lawyer in New Orleans, LA

David Bienvenu has extensive litigation experience in state and federal courts throughout Louisiana, representing clients in general casualty, insurance and commercial litigation. He enjoys an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale Hubbell, a testament to the fact that his peers rank him at the highest level of professional excellence. He has also been named a Louisiana Super Lawyer in Civil Litigation Defense and is recognized in Best Lawyers in Commercial, Casualty, and Insurance Litigation. He is a member of the Louisiana Law Institute and the Defense Research Institute. In addition to maintaining an active litigation practice, Mr. Bienvenu serves as a Mediator. He completed formal mediation training at the Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution of Pepperdine University School of Law.

An active bar leader throughout his career, Mr. Bienvenu has served as president of the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Louisiana Bar Foundation and The Historical Society of the Louisiana Supreme Court. He has dedicated his efforts addressing the legal needs of the poor, establishing the LSBA's Access to Justice Program, serving as Chair of the New Orleans Pro Bono Project, and on the boards of New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation, Legal Aid Bureau and Louisiana Civil Justice Center. In 2011, the LSBA presented him with the David A. Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifetime commitment, outstanding service and dedication to Louisianas indigent.

Mr. Bienvenu currently serves as a Delegate at Large in the American Bar Association House of Delegates and as a member of the Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service. He recently completed a three-year term on the Board of Governors, where he served on the Finance, Public Service and Diversity, Investments, and Governance Committees, and as Liaison to the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants, the Section of Litigation and the Forum on Construction Law. Prior to that, he served on various committees of the ABA and as a member of its House of Delegates, serving nine years as Louisiana State Delegate, a member of the Conference of State Delegates and the Nominating Committee. Mr. Bienvenu is former Chair of the ABA Special Committee on Disaster Response and Preparedness, a former member of the ABA Center for Racial and Ethnic Diversity, and is an active member of the Section of Litigation and the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section. A former member of the ABA Standing Committee on Delivery of Legal Services, Mr. Bienvenu served for many years as a Peer Consultant for the ABA Center for Pro Bono. He currently serves as a member of the Legal Services Corporation Disaster Task Force.

Mr. Bienvenu received his B.A. in History from Louisiana State University in 1975 and his J.D. from Loyola University College of Law in 1980, where he was a member of the Moot Court Board and received the Milton Sheen Award in recognition of his leadership and service to the law and community. Upon graduation, he served as law clerk to United States District Judge Patrick E. Carr in the Eastern District of Louisiana. He is a recipient of the Gillis Long Public Service Award and is a past Chair and Emeritus member of the College of Law Visiting Committee.