Conlee S. Whiteley

Conlee is the managing member of Kanner & Whiteley and has been with the firm since 1994. She practices primarily on behalf of plaintiffs in the areas of pharmaceutical, consumer fraud, antitrust, and insurance litigation. She has been appointed as Co-Lead Counsel in In re Valsartan NDMA Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2875, and serves on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in In re: Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2924, and has been appointed as class counsel in many of the firm’s class actions with an active role in the litigation, certification, trial and settlement of cases against financial institutions, insurance companies, and drug and other product manufacturers, including: Barba v. Shire (Consolidated Multistate class settlement on behalf of Adderall XR purchasers); In re Intuniv Antitrust Litigation (Antitrust Multistate class action on behalf of Intuniv purchasers); Medical Mutual of Ohio v. Purdue Pharma, MDL No. 2804. (Economic Damages Opioid action on behalf of TPP; and other Opioid damages litigation on behalf of several public entities in NJ, PA and LA). She has also served in leadership roles in In re: Budeprion XL Marketing and Products Litigation MDL No. 2107; Shaffer v. Continental Casualty Co., et al.; Waxler v. Trinity Marine Co., et al.; Bonilla v. Trebol Motors and Volvo Car Corporation, et al. and RenDan Farms v. Monsanto, Co., et al.

Conlee has represented the State of Louisiana as co-lead counsel in various pharmaceutical cases, including: State of Louisiana v. GlaxoSmithKline, LLC, et al. (involving fraudulent marketing of Avandia and resulting in the largest single defendant pharmaceutical settlement in Louisiana history); State of Louisiana v. GlaxoSmithKline, LLC, et al. (GSK Multi-Drug); State of Louisiana v. Abbott Laboratories, et al. (Depakote); State of Louisiana v. Endo Pharmaceuticals (Lidoderm); and State of Louisiana v. Shire Pharmaceuticals, et al. (Adderall XR).

She also provides commercial litigation representation for both plaintiffs and defendants. Such clients include Nucor, IMTT, IMTT-Geismar, Columbus Properties, Crescent Crown Distributing, Co., Republic National Distributing Co., Goldring Gulf Distributing Co. of Mobile, First Bank & Trust, U.S. Filter Corp., and Waste Management, Inc.

Conlee is a member of the State Bar of Louisiana, is licensed to practice law in the Louisiana State Courts, the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Third, Fifth and Ninth Circuits. She has also been admitted to practice pro hac vice in various federal and state courts throughout the country.

Conlee served on the Louisiana Association for Justice Board of Governors (2020-2021). She was also the President and former Treasurer (2009-2013) and continues to serve on the Board of Directors of Alexander Milne Developmental Services (2008-2024), a non-profit founded in 1843 devoted to the support, care and increasing independence for intellectually disabled persons in a community environment.

Conlee has served on the Board of Directors of Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans which promotes the preservation, restoration, and revitalization of New Orleans’ historic architecture and neighborhoods (2015-2021) and she served on the Trinity Episcopal School, Board of Trustees (2013-2019), served as its Vice-Chair (2017-2018), served on the Trinity Diversity and Inclusion Task Force (2015-2016), and has been a member of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center Dean’s Council since 2002.

Recent Activities & Honors

• 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America (2017 – 2024)
• “AV” Martindale-Hubble rating (2003 – 2024)
• 2024 Martindale-Hubbell® & ALM, Top Rated Litigator (2022 – 2024)
• 2023 Martindale-Hubbell® & ALM, Elite Lawyer of the South (2021, 2023)
• 2019 Finalist, Elite Trial Lawyers, National Law Journal (Pharmaceutical Litigation)
• 2016 Top Rated Litigator, The American Lawyer
• Leadership In Law Award, CityBusiness 2016
• New Orleans CityBusiness Women of the Year, 2014