HUGH “SKIP” LAMBERT

Hugh “Skip” Lambert specializes in maritime, products liability, toxic tort, environmental, class action, whistleblower and multi-district litigation. Mr. Lambert is a mechanical engineer by education, having received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1969. Mr. Lambert was a production process engineer and general foreman at General Motors’ Willow Run Facility in Ypsilanti, Michigan from 1963 to 1970. In 1970 he moved to New Orleans to attend Loyola Law School, where he studied maritime law and was Lead Article Editor of the Loyola Law Review. He received his J.D. in 1973. After serving as a law clerk for United States District Judge Blake West in the Eastern District of New Orleans from 1973 to 1975, Hugh became the protégé of the renowned maritime lawyer, Frederick J. Gisevius, Jr.

In 1977, he founded The Lambert Firm (now Lambert Zainey Smith & Soso) and quickly grew the firm to one of the most successful maritime injury law firms in New Orleans. For over 40 years, Mr. Lambert has built a reputation of skill, candor and resiliency as a representative of individuals in the maritime and oil & gas world. Lambert Zainey Smith & Soso is one of the most prestigious and well respected firms in the Gulf Coast, and has expanded under his leadership to become a leader in mass torts, class actions, multi-district litigation, qui tam cases, and environmental contamination lawsuits.

Mr. Lambert has tried hundreds of cases, many of which garnered national and international notoriety.

Most recently, he was successful in obtaining a $125,000,000 settlement against Bechtel and URS in a False Claims Act qui tam action regarding the Hanford nuclear site in Washington state. The claim filed under federal whistleblower laws, on behalf of 3 former employees, alleged that the defendants “made false statements and claims to the Department of Energy (DOE) by charging DOE for deficient nuclear quality materials, services, and testing that was provided at the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) at DOE’s Hanford Site near Richland, Washington.” The $125 million settlement also resolved claims that Bechtel National Inc. and Bechtel Corp. improperly used federal contract funds to pay for a lobbying campaign of Congress and other federal officials for continued funding at the WTP. Mr. Lambert worked in close coordination with the Department of Justice for several years to obtain the $125,000,000 settlement for the benefit of the United States.

The ARCO and Southern Natural Gas pipeline cryogenic platform explosion happened on March 19, 1989, in the Gulf of Mexico. Hugh Lambert acted as co-lead counsel for liability and causation which involved engineering complexities of three phase (gas, liquid, and condensate) petro chemical transmission lines from platforms in the Gulf of Mexico to shore. Mr. Lambert’s integral contributions resulted in the assignment of liability to various responsible parties. In addition to obtaining the multi-million dollar resolution, this complex litigation was resolved in just over a year’s time.