Lewis O. Unglesby was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1949. He received his Bachelor of  Arts degree from the University of Mississippi in 1971 and his Juris Doctor from Louisiana State  University in 1974. He was admitted to practice in all Louisiana state courts, the U.S. District  Courts for the Middle, Eastern, and Western Districts of Louisiana, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court  of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1974. He is also admitted pro hac vice in numerous  states.

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Unglesby has secured acquittals in more than 50 felony jury trials in state and federal courts and  has obtained over 30 multi-million-dollar jury verdicts and more than 45 jury awards exceeding  one million dollars. He was the first lawyer in Louisiana to successfully use battered woman syndrome as a defense in a murder case. He has won multi-million-dollar verdicts in cases  involving exposure to non-fatal toxic chemicals, proven products liability defects in 3-wheelers  and 4-wheelers, and obtained jury verdicts that resulted in restraint systems becoming a safety  requirement for sit-down and stand-up forklifts. Unglesby has successfully argued before the  Louisiana Supreme Court more than 20 times. 

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Unglesby is a Fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers and is certified as a civil and  criminal trial advocacy specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, currently making him  one of only two attorneys in Louisiana to hold both certifications. He has been recognized in  “Best Lawyers in America” since 1986 and listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of  Preeminent Lawyers since 1996.

 

Unglesby is a member of the Baton Rouge Criminal Defense  Lawyers Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the American  Association for Justice, and he serves on the Executive Committee of the Louisiana Association  for Justice. 

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His experience and record of success led to his appointment as Special Counsel to the Louisiana  State Senate from 1993 to 1996 and Special Counsel to Governor Mike Foster from 1996 to  1997. In 2019, Unglesby received the Chief Justice Pascal F. Calogero, Jr. Lifetime Achievement  Award from the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys.

 

He has presented  numerous seminars for the Louisiana Association for Justice, the Louisiana Criminal Defense  Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice, and the National Business Institute.  His cases have been featured twice on ABC’s “20/20,” and he has appeared on “Good Morning  America” and CNN. 

 

His cases have been the subject of books published in the United States and Japan. Unglesby’s  diverse legal career and extensive record of success have established him as a prominent figure 

in the legal profession. Known as the “Lawyer’s Lawyer” in Louisiana, he receives referrals  from attorneys throughout the state to serve as lead or co-counsel. 

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At 76 years old, Unglesby continues to try cases full-time. In 2025, he successfully argued the  landmark case that established a new framework for reviewing general damages and upheld the  largest general-damages award in Louisiana history (Barber Bros. Contracting Co., LLC v.  Capitol City Produce Co., LLC), and defended the largest awards to date for the loss of a parent  (Stauder v. Shell Oil Co.).