Robert E. Kleinpeter
Managing Partner

Mr. Robert E. Bob Kleinpeter is a founder and the managing partner of Kleinpeter & Schwartzberg, L.L.C., a firm that serves Louisiana families statewide in trial litigation and appellate practice.   Inspired by his uncle, a legendary Baton Rouge attorney, Bob grew up wanting to be a courtroom attorney from the time he was a boy.

During high school he prepared himself for a career in law by excelling in academics, holding offices in a variety of service organizations such as Key Club, and setting swimming records in Amateur Athletic Union and Junior Olympic competition.  After turning down swimming scholarship offers from several colleges, he coached AAU and club swim teams during his undergraduate years.Mr. Kleinpeter entered Louisiana State University's Honor's College and graduated three years later.  He received his law degree from Louisiana State University's Law School in 1976 and passed the bar examination for the State of Louisiana at age twenty-three and immediately began the practice of law. 

Within a few years he was litigating cases in city, state, and federal courts, sometimes appearing in front of as many as five judges in a single day, handling criminal, family, succession, commercial, personal injury, and other litigation. His legal practice is now focused on the prosecution of negligence and products liability cases involving injury and wrongful death, frequently in the area of toxic torts and catastrophic harm.  He has been admitted as counsel pro hac vice in California, Oregon, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi and litigated suits to verdict in many states.  The Louisiana Association for Justice (formerly Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association) chose Mr. Kleinpeter as its president for 2005-2006.  As president, Mr. Kleinpeter helped guide the association through the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  He assisted the legal community in its response to problems created by the hurricanes, providing testimony in favor of legislation which protected the public's rights, especially in the areas of insurance law and civil procedure. 

Mr. Kleinpeter's cases have set legal precedent or clarified the law in many areas, including insurance, damages for harms recoverable, punitive damages, groundwater contamination, toxic torts, intentional acts, allocation of fault, maritime law, administrative law, the standard for granting a motion for a new trial, trial procedure, appellate procedure, prescription, and succession law.  He regularly gives presentations to schools and organizations including, Paul M. Hebert Law School, Tulane University Law School, the Baton Rouge Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, the Louisiana Association for Justice, TrialSmith, the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Mississippi Federal Bar Association, the Practicing Law Institute, the National Business Institute, and others.  His presentations include subject areas in ethics, professionalism, law practice management, emerging and current perspectives in medical causation, Daubert motions, summary judgment motion practice, trial procedure, appellate procedure, and jury selection.

Mr. Kleinpeter has written a variety of articles for a broad range of legal publications including the Bureau of National Affairs, Toxic Law Reporter,  Matthew Bender & Co.'s Environmental Practice Guide (Louisiana chapter), the Baton Rouge Bar Association's Around the Bar, the Louisiana Association for Justice's The Advocate, and others.  Topics have included substantive law, procedural law, insurance exclusions, Daubert motions, summary judgment, medical causation, federal preemption, occupational diseases, pharmaceutical cases, medical monitoring, environmental damages, personal injury damages, and other areas of the law.

Mr. Kleinpeter was  president of the Louisiana Association for Justice (LAJ),  served on its Council of Directors and  Board of Governors,  was chairman of its Toxic Torts Section, and serves on the LAJ Executive Committee  because the association is  committed to preserving the civil justice system, protecting open access to courts, protecting individual rights, promoting individual and corporate responsibility, and preserving the highest of ethical and educational standards for the profession.  Mr. Kleinpeter is on the Board of Governors, a member of Leader's Forum, a Sustaining Member of the American Association for Justice (AAJ), and a Fellow in AAJ's National College of Advocacy because the association promotes a fair and effective justice system and supports the work of attorneys in their efforts to ensure that any person who is injured by the misconduct or negligence of others can obtain justice in America's courtrooms, even when taking on the most powerful interests. 

He is a member of the Roscoe Pound Institute because the institute strengthens the practice of trial law through its programs, publications and research grants, which help judges, academics and others understand a balanced view of the U.S. civil justice system.  He is a member of Public Justice (formerly Trial Lawyers for Public Justice) because Public Justice fights for justice through precedent-setting and socially significant individual and class action litigation designed to enhance consumer and victims' rights, environmental protection and safety, civil rights and civil liberties, workers' rights, America's civil justice system, and the protection of the poor and powerless.

Bob has been honored by his colleagues with an AV Peer Review Rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.  The AV Rating is the highest one can achieve for legal qualifications and ability, and for standards of professional conduct, reliability, and diligence.  He has been selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers 2007" and Super Lawyers 2008 in the area of products liability law.  He is frequently interviewed by national and local print and electronic media as a source for current legal issues, for example,  The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Lawyer's Weekly, The National Law Journal, Times Picayune, the Advocate, and other sources.

Areas of Practice:

Appellate Practice
Environmental Litigation
Maritime/Offshore Personal Injury
Motor Vehicle
Negligence
Personal Injury or Wrongful Death
Product Liability
Toxic Torts
Trial Practice

Litigation Percentage:

100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions:

Louisiana, 1976
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana, 1982
U.S. District Court Middle District of Louisiana, 1978
U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1984

Education:

Louisiana State University Law Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1976 J.D.
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1973
Major: Political Science
Minor: Psychology and Philosophy

Published Works:

The Advocate Daubert "Observations" Are Just That, The Advocate, Louisiana Association for Justice

Defendant Discovery of Non-Parties, Louisiana Association for Justice

Billiot Overruled, Louisiana Association for Justice

Doerr Closes Abuse of the Total Pollution Exclusion, Louisiana Association for Justice

Know When Daubert Applies, Louisiana Association for Justice

Summary Judgment and Expert Testimony, Louisiana Association for Justice

Medical Causation and Reliability, Louisiana Association for Justice

Medical Causation in the Fifth Circuit, Louisiana Association for Justice

FIFRA Doesn't Mandate Preemption, Louisiana Association for Justice

Occupational Diseases: No Remedy, No Indemnity, Louisiana Association for Justice

Learned Intermediary, Louisiana Association for Justice

Medical Monitoring in Louisiana, Louisiana Association for Justice

Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, Louisiana Association for Justice

Substantial Factor, Louisiana Association for Justice

Summary Judgment and Expert Testimony, Louisiana Association for Justice

Stigma Damage to Property, Louisiana Association for Justice

Back to the Future, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2005

The Bottom Line, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2006

Corporations Rising, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2006

Defending Judges, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2006

A Short History of Expert Testimony in Federal Courts, Louisiana Association for Justice Daubert Book Chapters, 2008

Daubert as Applied in Louisiana State Courts, Louisiana Association for Justice Daubert Book Chapters, 2008

Protecting Expert Opinions, Louisiana Association for Justice Daubert Book Chapters, 2008

LDaubert and Motion Practice, Louisiana Association for Justice Daubert Book Chapters, 2008

"Around The Bar", Environmental Privileges, Foxes in the Henhouse, Baton Rouge Bar, 2003

Environmental Practice Guide, Chapter 60, Matthew Bender & Co., Louisiana

Exemplary Damages in Louisiana, Toxic Law Reporter, Bureau of National

Representative Cases:

McGehee v. Benton, 2007 WL 2685582, 2006-2335 (La.App. 1 Cir 2007) Gaunt v. Louisiana Citizens Property Ins.Corp., 512 F.Supp.2d 493, WL (E.D.La. 2007)

Coulon v. Witco Corp., 848 So.2d 135, 2003 WL 21230555, 03-208 Wingfield v. State of Louisiana, et al., 835 So.2d 785 (La.App. 1 Cir. 2002) Poisso v. Formosa Plastics Group, 994 F.Supp. 743, 1998 WL69399 (M.D., La. 1998)

Brown v. Hudosn, 700 So.2d 932, 1997 WL 600728,96 2087 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1997) Couvillion v. Shelter Mutual Ins. Co., 672 So.2d 277, 1996 WL 155285, 951186 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1996)

Manuel v. Shell Oil Co., 664 So.2d 470, WL 609394, 94-590 (La.App.5 Cir. 1995) LeBlanc, Jr. v. Cajun Painting Inc.et al., 654 So.2d 800, 94 CA 1609 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1995)

Egros v. Pempton, 606 So.2d 780, 92-C-0306 (1992)

Doe v. Smith, 573 So.2d 238, 1990 WL 211384 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1990)

Babin v. Burnside Terminal, Greater Baton Rouge Port Commission, et al., 577 So.2d 90 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1990)

Robinson v. Pearah, 525 So.2d 107, 1998 WL 16003 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1988)

Checki v. Webb, 785 F.2d 534 (C.A.5 (La.) 1986)

Department of Corrections, Hunt Correctional Center v. Morgan, 469 So.2d (La.App. 1 Cir. 1985)

Lambert v. Mutual Life Inc. Co. of New York, 431 So.2d 23 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1983)

Graham v. Stauffer Chemical Co., 585 F.Supp. 548 (E.D. La. 1984)

Moazzami v. Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University, et al., 424 So.2d

1112 8 Ed. Law Rep. 906 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1982)

Classes/Seminars Taught:

Introduction to Toxic Tort, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2001

Recent Trends in Toxic Torts, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2003

Non-Case Factors Affecting Medical Causation, Louisiana Association for, 2003

Medical Causation, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2004

Prejudice Affecting Medical Causation, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2004

Medical Causation in Louisiana: Law and Prejudice, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2004

Proving Your Case to Judgment, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2001 - 2004

A Guide to Louisiana's New Rules of Professional Conduct, 2004

Legal Ethics for Plaintiff Attorneys, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2004

Litigating Against the State From the Plaintiff's Perspective, Baton Rouge Bar Association, 2004

Managing Your Office to Stay Out of Trouble, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2005 - 2006

Recent Changes to the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct and the Rules for Lawyer Disciplinary Enforcement, TrialSmith Webinar, 2006

Current Perspectives in Medical Causation, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2006 - 2008

Jury Selection: A Primer on Voir Dire, Baton Rouge Bar Association, 2007

Jury Selection In Civil Cases, Baton Rouge Bar Association, 2007

Ethics, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2007

Litigation Funding, TrialSmith Webinar, 2007

Honors and Awards:

Super Lawyers, 2007
Super Lawyers, 2008
Fellow, American Association for Justice's National College of Advocacy

Professional Associations and Memberships:

Baton Rouge Bar Association
Louisiana State Bar Association
Louisiana Association for Justice (LAJ), 2005 - 2006 President
Louisiana Association for Justice (LAJ), 2004 - 2008 Executive Committee
Louisiana Association for Justice (LAJ), 1988 - 2007 Board of Governors
Louisiana Association for Justice (LAJ), 2002 - 2004 Council of Directors
Louisiana Association for Justice (LAJ), Toxic Tort Section, 2001 - 2002 Chair
American Association for Justice (AAJ), 2005 - 2008 Board of Governors
American Association for Justice (AAJ), 2005 - 2008 Leader's Forum
American Association for Justice (AAJ), 2003 - 2008 Sustaining Member
Roscoe Pound Institute Public Justice

Birth Information:

March 16, 1953, Houston, Texas, United States of America

Admitted to Practice:

Louisiana State Bar
U.S. Court of Appeals- Fifth Circuit
U.S. District Court- Eastern District of Louisiana
U.S. District Court- Middle District of Louisiana

Direct E-mail: rek@ksbrlaw.com