Gary Bezet is a founding member of Kean Miller and a senior partner in the Baton Rouge office. He is also the firm's managing partner and a member of the Management Committee. He practices in the litigation and toxic tort defense group. Gary was recognized as one of Louisiana's four leading trial lawyers in Litigation Management magazine. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America. Gary has spoken at numerous conferences, including DRI, on the subject of toxic tort defense. Gary represents industrial and energy industry clients in cases involving toxic tort, chemical exposure, hearing loss, pipeline expropriation, products liability, and class action defense. Gary is one of the leading asbestos & benzene defense lawyers in the nation. Gary is a widely respected litigation strategist having handled thousands of asbestos defense cases for some of the nation's most prominent energy and petrochemical companies.

Gary has more than 25 years of legal experience and has successfully handled hundreds of class action and individual claims involving alleged exposure to asbestos products and other hazardous materials.

He has particular experience representing clients at trial in cases involving chemical exposure, cancer and fear of cancer.

Representative Experience

• Representation of a multi-national chemical company in a class action lawsuit involving over 4,000 plaintiffs and alleged damages of $500 million.
• National trial team for a major product manufacture.
• Lead trail counsel to a major northeast municipality in defense of benzene landfill litigation.
• Lead trial counsel for major oil company in class actions involving refinery operations.
• Successfully represented a major international energy company in defending claims for cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.
• Lead counsel to more than 10 petrochemical premises owners in hundreds of joint defense cases.
• Representation of a pesticide manufacturer in a class action lawsuit involving the alleged contamination of aquaculture facilities.

Education

Gary earned his B.A. from Louisiana State University in 1976 and his J.D. from the LSU Law Center in 1979.

Admissions

• Admitted to bar, 1979, Louisiana.

Memberships

• Baton Rouge, Louisiana State and American (Litigation Section) Bar Associations
• Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel.

Past and Present Community Service

• Board of Trustees, LSU Law Center
• Charter Member, Board of Directors, Past President, Sunrise Rotary Club of Baton Rouge.
• Graduate, Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class of 1995.
• President, Battered Women's Shelter.
• President, Treasurer, Baton Rouge Cancer Services.
• Chair, Community Fund for the Arts Campaign.

Lecturer

• The Art of Examination, Tulane Law School Trial by Masters, 1992.
• Cross Examination of Epidemiologist in Benzene Cases, DRI Toxic Torts Seminar, New Orleans, 2005.
• Defending the Executive Officer in Benzene Cases, Harris Martin Benzene Litigation Conference, New Orleans, 2005.
• Strategies in Jury Selection, DRI Toxic Torts Seminar, San Diego, 2003.
• Asbestos Litigation, Andrews Continuing Legal Education program, 2002.
• Daubert in Louisiana, American Chemistry Council, Houston, Texas, 2001.