Frances M. Phares - Los Angeles, CA
Attorney at Wisner Baum LLP
Aviation Accidents Lawyers in Los Angeles, CA
11111 Santa Monica Blvd. Suite 1750 Los Angeles, CA 90025
- Free Consultation
Los Angeles Aviation Accidents Lawyer
Updated: 03/02/2026
Areas of Practice
- Aviation Accidents
- Bus Accidents
- Catastrophic Injury
- Complex and Multi-District Litigation
- Consumer Fraud Litigation
- Monsanto Roundup Cancer
- Personal Injury Law
- Pharmaceutical Drug
- Product Liability Law
- Train Accidents
- Truck Accidents
- Wrongful Death Law
Attorney Information
Overview
Frances M. Phares is of counsel to Wisner Baum (formerly Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman), where she focuses her practice on personal injury and wrongful death litigation stemming from major transportation disasters, pharmaceutical product liability cases and toxic exposure across the nation.
Ms. Phares earned her law degree from Tulane University Law School and holds an undergraduate degree in Zoology from Louisiana State University. While in law school she clerked for the Orleans Parish District Attorney and tutored Tulane undergraduates in English.
After law school Fran worked as an Assistant District Attorney prosecuting cases for victims of felony crimes such as armed robbery, theft, rape, child abuse, and murder. During that time, she obtained the first-ever conviction in Louisiana of pharmacists for illegally selling prescription drugs to addicts. Thereafter, she gained much valuable research and writing experience and hands-on exposure to civil litigation as a Law Clerk for the 22nd Judicial District Court in St. Tammany and Washington Parishes, Louisiana. She also served for many years as a Magistrate Hearing Officer for child support issues in divorce lawsuits.
Before joining Baum Hedlund, Fran was instrumental in the settlement of over four hundred claims by hemophiliacs for AIDS infection from contaminated blood products. At Baum Hedlund she has worked to eliminate laws protecting tobacco companies from lawsuits by successfully urging the California Supreme Court to reject the notion that smokers are presumed to know that smoking is addictive and that smoking causes health hazards. This has cleared the way for long-time smokers to file claims for injuries which may have occurred decades after a smoker first became addicted to cigarettes. She has also successfully represented the families of antidepressant suicide victims in their cases against drug manufacturers.
Fran has participated in numerous writing and trial-skills seminars. She is a certified suicide-prevention counselor and hospice volunteer and has created a workshop for people who are adjusting to grief, loss and aging issues.
She has traveled to India where she studied global ethics and sociology and partnered with Tibetan refugees in a cultural exchange program. She created a dental program in Dharamsala known as Tibetan Smiles to provide low-cost dental care to the Tibetan community. In an effort to be more attuned to her clients' needs and provide more empathetic and comprehensive service, obtained a dual master's degree in pastoral studies and counseling from Loyola University New Orleans.
In her spare time, Fran enjoys visiting art museums, reading historical novels, golfing, playing the piano, fishing, and walking her Welsh Corgi, Windsor. She facilitates a spirituality group for women in her community, volunteers at the local retirement home and serves as a lay pastoral assistant.
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Baum Hedlund has taken on the Zantac cancer litigation after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it is investigating Zantac cancer risks after testing of certain Zantac (ranitidine hydrochloride) tablets found the commonly-used heartburn medication contains a cancer-causing chemical up to 3,000 times greater than the FDA's daily intake limit. The carcinogenic chemical present in Zantac is known as N-nitrosodimethylamine ("NDMA"). Though the FDA has yet to issue an official Zantac recall, CVS and Walgreens have pulled Zantac and Zantac OTC generics from their shelves and Apotex has voluntarily recalled its ranitidine products from Rite-Aid and Walgreens.
Awards and Honors
Honors
- Listed, Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers
- National Institute for Trial Advocacy, 2006
- AV® 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rated through LexisNexis Martindale Hubbell®
- Listed, The Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers?
- Who's Who in America
- Who's Who in American Law
- Martindale Hubbell Client Champion Silver 2019, 2020
Education
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Legal Education
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Tulane Law School,
New Orleans,
Louisiana, 1981
J.D.
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Tulane Law School,
New Orleans,
Louisiana, 1981
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Non Legal Education
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Louisiana State University, 1975
B.S. -
Loyola University New Orleans, 2012
Master of Pastoral Studies -
Loyola University New Orleans, 2016
M.S.
Major: Counseling - National Institute for Trial Advocacy, 2006
- Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, 2006
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Louisiana State University, 1975
Current Employment Position(s)
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Of Counsel
Past Positions
- New Orleans Parish, Louisiana, Assistant District Attorney, 1981 - 1983
- 22nd Judicial District Court, St. Tammamy Parish, Louisiana, Law Clerk, 1983 - 1990
- Magistrate Ad Hoc: Support Enforcement Division, 22nd Judicial District Court, Louisiana, 1990-2003
Pro Bono Activities
- Certified St. Joseph Hospice Volunteer
- Certified LOSS Volunteer (counseling to suicide survivors)
- Volunteers every week at Christwood local retirement home
- Volunteer work at local Women’s Center
- Participates at Women’s Creativity Retreat every fall
Representative Cases
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Tucker v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 701 F.Supp.2d 1040 (S.D.Ind.2010)
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Forst v. Smithkline Beecham Corp., 639 F.Supp.2d 948 (E.D.Wis.,2009)
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Forst v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 602 F.Supp.2d 960 (E.D.Wis. 2009)
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Cunningham v. SmithKline Beecham, 255 F.R.D. 474 (N.D.Ind. 2009)
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Knipe v. SmithKline Beecham, 583 F.Supp.2d 602 (E.D.Pa. 2008)
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Knipe v.SmithKline Beecham, 583 F.Supp.2d 553 (E.D.Pa 2008)
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Tucker v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 596 F.Supp.2d 1225 (S.D.Ind. 2008)
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Grisham v. Philip Morris USA 482 F. 3d 1131 (9th Cir., 2007)
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Grisham v. Philip Morris USA 40 Cal.4th 623, 151 P.3d 1151, 54 Cal.Rptr.3d 735 (2007)
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Tucker v. GlaxoSmithKline 2006 WL 753128 (S.D. Ind., 2006)
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Grisham v. Philip Morris USA 403 F.3d 631 (9th Cir., 2005)
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Smith v. Cutter Biological 770 So.2d 392 (La. App. 4th Cir., 2000)
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Doe v. Parauka 714 So. 2d 701 (La., 1998)
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State v. Marquer 446 So. 2d 1258 (La. App. 4th Cir., 1984)
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State v. Paquette 423 So. 2d 797 (La. App. 4th Cir., 1982)
Bar Admissions
- Louisiana, 1981
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana, 1996
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Louisiana, 1998
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana, 2005
- U.S. District Court Western District of Michigan, 2007
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin, 2007
- U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 2007
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 2003
- U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 2009
- U.S. Supreme Court, 2010
- U.S. District Court District of Colorado, 2011
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Indiana, 2012
- U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana, 2013
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio, 2014
Other Affiliations
- Louisiana State Bar
- Louisiana State Bar Association
- Greater Covington Bar Association
- Louisiana Counseling Association
- American Group Psychotherapy Association
- 22nd Judicial District Court Bar Association
- American Counseling Association
Fraternities and Sororities
- Chi Sigma
Reviews
Customer Reviews for Frances M. Phares
Highlights
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4.0 Value
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5.0 Quality of Service
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5.0 Professional Competence
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Verified ClientHired Attorney 2019-2023WISNER BAUM .....I HIGHLY RECOMMEND, ....ROUNDUP CASE... THEY WERE SUPPORTIVE, QUICLY RESPONSIVE, EMPATHETIC. I WORKED WITH CHERYL BIGGS....GREAT SERVICE. BILL KOEGLER
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Verified ClientHired Attorney 2019-2022Frances Phares is an exceptional attorney. She responded to my many questions almost immediately and kept me informed every step of the way until conclusion of my case. I believe she truly cared about me as a client. In addition to having legal expertise, she was very communicative and gave me valuable advise throughout the process. My highest possible recommendation... Thanks for everything, Frances!
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