Iliaura “Ili” Hands is a partner in the New Orleans office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Insurance Coverage, Insurance Bad Faith Litigation, and Transportation Law Practices.

Ms. Hands has litigation experience in a wide variety of complex legal matters including general liability, tort and property damage claims representing both plaintiffs and defendants in connection with claims involving maritime, trucking and rail transportation cargo claims, personal injury defense, general premise liability, auto accident claims, first and third party insurance claims, construction law, products liability, breach of contract, bad faith litigation, government contracts, and flood insurance defense representing a wide number of “Write Your Own” insurance carriers under the National Flood Insurance Program. She has advanced knowledge of civil trial procedure in state and federal courts and government administrative boards.  

Ms. Hands has over 15 years of law firm management as well as coordinating case handlings directly with clients, risk managers and claims adjustors, project managers, and other claim-handling employees to use as guidelines in their handling of claims prior to litigation. She has experience in evaluation of insurance coverage under a wide variety of policies, adjustment and negotiation of tort, general liability, property damage claims, and analysis of a variety of contract clauses in a wide array of contracts, including international franchise agreements, distribution contracts, master service agreements, joint ventures, non-disclosure agreements, memorandums of understanding, warehouse and storage agreements, charter parties, letters of intent, and others.

Ms. Hands graduated from the Universidad del Zulia School of Law in Venezuela in 1992 where she obtained her first law degree. In 1993 she obtained a Masters in Comparative law from the University of Miami, a Masters in Admiralty and Maritime law from Tulane University in 1994, and after four years of practice in Louisiana she returned as a part-time student to law school and obtained a Juris Doctor degree in common law from Loyola University in 2000. She is licensed to practice law in all state and federal courts in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, including the Courts of Appeal for the 5th and 11th Circuits, is fluent in Spanish and English, and serves as a mentor with Volunteers of America in the New Orleans area. 

Foreign Language Capabilities

Publications

Professional Presentations

• Panelist, The 46^th Transportation Law Institute, Los Angeles, November 8-9, 2013.
• Panelist, First International Law Forum, Panama, February 24-25, 2000.

Admissions

• State Bar Admissions
  • Florida
  • Louisiana
  • Texas
• United States District Courts
  • United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
  • United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
• United States Courts of Appeals
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Associations

• MLA-Maritime Law Association
• SEALI-Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute
• Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association
• Transportation Lawyers Association
• Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA)

Education

Loyola University, New Orleans, LA

Juris Doctor, 2001

Tulane Law School, New Orleans, LA

Master of Laws in Admiralty, 1994

University Of Miami School Of Law, Coral Gables, FL

Master of Laws in Comparative Law, 1993

Universidad Del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela

Juris Doctor (equivalent), 1992