Marta-Ann Schnabel

She began her career with the firm of Hammett, Leake and Hammett, where she became a partner in 1986, and was shortly thereafter a prime mover in that firm’s transformation to Leake & Andersson, LLP. Ms. Schnabel served as Leake & Andersson’s managing partner for over a decade, until she and Kevin O’Bryon founded OB&S at the turn of the century.

In over 30 years of practice, she has primarily represented clients in matters involving business and commercial litigation, construction disputes, insurance coverage issues, casualty defense, premises liability defense, and professional malpractice defense. Ms. Schnabel’s clients rely on her ability to find practical and affordable solutions to complex problems. Her peers have acknowledged her skills with the highest possible rating, ranking her as a Martindale A/V recommended lawyer. She has been honored as a Super Lawyer (annually from 2007-2021).

She is a 1978 graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, with a B.A. Honours in History. Upon moving to New Orleans, she attended Loyola University College of Law, where she graduated cum laude in 1981, having served as a member of Law Review and of the National Moot Court Team.

Ms. Schnabel served as Editor of the Louisiana Bar Journal from 2001-2003 and received the Louisiana State Bar Association’s President’s Award on three separate occasions–in 1998, 2004, and 2010. When she was sworn into office on June 9, 2006, she became the first woman to serve as President of that organization.

Ms. Schnabel chaired the Louisiana Access to Justice Commission from its inception until January of 2019, and she remains an actively involved with the Commission. She has been appointed to the Louisiana Supreme Court Language Access Stakeholder Committee. In April 2019, she retired as the Chair of the Louisiana Supreme Court Judicial Campaign Oversight Committee, having completed three successive terms. She served on the Disciplinary Committee of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana from 2015-2018. She was President of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel in 2014-15.

Nationally, she has served in the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association, as well as on a number of its committees, including ABA President Thomas Wells’ Planning Committee for the first ABA Diversity Summit in 2009. She is a member of the DRI Center for Public Policy and is the Chair of the DRI Law Practice Management Committee. In 2023, she was awards the DRI’s Annual Professional Achievement and Service Award. She was invited to join the International Association of Defense Counsel.

Ms. Schnabel is often called upon to speak and write on a variety of topics, including legal ethics and professional malpractice. She is a frequent contributor to the Louisiana Bar Journal and other publications, particularly with regard to matters impacting the profession.

Marta has been contributing to the Louisiana Bar Journal for over a decade. You can find a selection of these credits here.