To lawyer Michelle Oubre Gallagher, injured clients deserve nothing less from her and the law firm than a maximum effort to achieve the just compensation they deserve.

“We’re accustomed to working every angle of the case and not leaving anything to chance so that the client gets more money in the long run,” she says. “That’s always been our philosophy.”

Gallagher devotes her entire practice to representing injured people, primarily in maritime and automobile cases, and over the course of her 12 years at Braud & Gallagher she has achieved numerous large verdicts and settlements.

Following the philosophy she shares with partner C. Arlen Braud, Gallagher focuses her practice on large, sophisticated cases that provide the prospect of large monetary results at the same time they offer the kinds of legal challenges that serious lawyers relish.

In addition, Gallagher points out, the large-case focus provides a degree of personal satisfaction from deeper relationships with clients.

“We pride ourselves on having a relationship with the client,” she says. “If you’re dealing in a high-volume practice, you don’t necessarily have the client’s interest at heart; you’re just trying to close the case out. That may not be good for the client.”

Gallagher devotes a significant portion of her practice to maritime cases, which require a specialized legal skill set because they are governed by the federal Jones Act and its unique employer-liability provisions. That is, while an injured worker on land is typically limited to workers compensation, an injured maritime worker may sue an employer.

The challenge in bringing actions against a maritime employer, Gallagher points out, is in proving liability.

According to Gallagher, defendant employers typically are quick to “take control” of an accident scene by having supervisors fill out accident reports and getting statements from people on the vessel or rig. “So by the time the injured party seeks legal attention, all these things are already documented in favor of the defendant and you have a bigger fight on your hands to uncover evidence and get testimony that favors the plaintiff. Maritime cases require a bigger battle on the evidence and you sometimes have to undo what the defendant’s already tried to sway.”

“It’s definitely interesting,” she says. “But attorneys who aren’t accustomed to practicing in that area find it tough because they’re not familiar with the practices of some of these maritime employers.”

The way to overcome the defendants’ inherent advantage, Gallagher says, is through sheer hard work.

“It takes years of experience in developing good trial skills and discovery skills,” she says. “You need to be thorough in your depositions and cross-examinations of witnesses to get to the truth of what happened.”

Gallagher’s legal skills have earned her various professional recognitions, including memberships in Inn on the Teche Inn of Court, the St. Tammany Inn of Court and a position on the board of directors of the Brain Injury Association of Louisiana, due to her work representing brain-injured clients. She is also on the board of directors of the JL Foundation, which raises money to help defray costs faced by families of leukemia victims.