DEBORAH D. KUCHLER is a shareholder with the law firm of Abbott, Simses & Kuchler. Ms. Kuchler graduated cum laude from the University of New Orleans with a B.A. degree in education in 1980. Her primary focus was upon the secondary school instruction of English and Biology. She attended Loyola Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana at night while working full time as a natural gas contract administrator and gas supply representative for an interstate natural gas pipeline company. She was a member of Loyola Law Review and graduated in 1985 in the top 10% of the combined day and night school class. She was privileged to serve from mid-1985 to 1987 as law clerk for the Honorable Patrick J. Carr in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. 

Ms. Kuchler is admitted to practice in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. She is a member of the Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas State Bar Associations, the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC), Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ), and the Defense Research Institute (DRI). She is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt and puts the efficiency precepts of Six Sigma into practice in the administration of the Firm as well as the handling of client matters. She enjoys the science issues presented by her docket and typically handles the expert and Daubert issues associated with the Firm’s interesting caseload.

Ms. Kuchler has managed dockets of complex civil litigation in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, Alabama and Florida involving toxic tort and environmental litigation, class actions, product liability, personal injury and commercial litigation. 

Awards:

• 2008 – Elected as a Vice President of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel.

• 2008 – The John Alan Appleman Award presented by the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel for Outstanding Substantive Law Section Chair of the Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Section.

• 2008 – DuPont Legal Leaders’ Circle Award.  The DuPont Legal Leaders' Circle Award is presented at the DuPont Primary Law Firm/Primary Service Provider Annual Meeting to recognize leadership in embracing and promoting the ideals of the DuPont Legal Model. Criteria for selection include:

• • Excellence in the delivery of legal services and results for DuPont;
  • Selfless dedication to serving the needs of the DuPont Company;
  • Ongoing support of the DuPont Legal Model;
  • Valuing diverse legal teams and promoting the growth and development of individual members;
  • Collaboration with other members of the DuPont PLF and Service Provider Network; and
  • Active commitment to growing DuPont’s business.

• • 2007 – Themis Award presented by the DuPont Women Lawyers Network.  The Themis Award is presented annually to recognize a woman in the Network who embodies the mission of the DWLN, which is to positively impact the business of DuPont by promoting legal excellence through the success, development and professional advancement of the women lawyers representing DuPont.

Publications:

• Co-author with Leslie O’Toole, “How Technological Advances in the Courtroom are Changing the Way We Litigate,”  FDCC Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 2, Winter, 2008. 

• Co-author with Paul J. Schumacher, “Preventing and Managing Chemical Catastrophes:  A Practical Guide for In-House and Outside Counsel,” FDCC Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 3, Spring, 2008. 

• “Overcoming Small and Mid-Size Firm Diversity Challenges,” Tort Source, A Publication of the ABA’s Tort & Insurance Practice Section, Vol. 9, No. 3, Spring, 2007.

• Co-author with Don G. Rushing, James Shomper and Chris Barbee, “Building the Virtual Law Firm Through Collaborative Work Teams,” ACCA Docket, Vol. 19, No. 9, October 2001. 

Featured In:

• “LCJ:  How Strong Advocacy Makes Good Things Happen,” The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel Magazine, November 2008.    

• “Cajun Country’s Toughest Litigators,” Litigation Management Magazine, Fall, 2003.