Four attorneys in the firm’s New Orleans office have been named to the 2023 list of Louisiana Rising Stars, published by Thomson Reuters. The honor recognizes the outstanding work of the state’s top attorneys under the age of 40 or who have practiced law for no more than 10 years. Only 2.5 percent of eligible Louisiana lawyers are selected to the list each year based on nominations from other lawyers, independent research and a review by separate advisory boards.? 

Each of the firm’s Rising Stars are honored in the practice area of Class Actions/Mass Torts. 

Firm Partner Amanda Klevorn is involved in nearly every major case handled by Burns Charest, running the gamut from mass torts (Talc, Gilead TDF, and Camp LeJeune) to the groundbreaking Opioids litigation brought on behalf of hospitals nationwide, to data privacy class actions (TikTok), to antitrust class actions (EpiPen). She is regularly appointed to leadership positions in complex litigation across the country. This marks the sixth consecutive year she has been named to the Rising Stars list. Ms. Klevorn graduated from Tulane University Law School in 2013 and earned her undergraduate degree from St. Louis University in 2008.? 

Rick Yelton is an Associate who represents a wide range of clients in the firm’s highly regarded class actions and mass torts practice, including litigation against large tech and oil companies. Named to the Rising Stars list for the fourth consecutive year, Mr. Yelton received his law degree from the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2016, serving as the editor in chief of the Loyola Law Review, and also earned his undergraduate degree from Loyola University.? ?? 

Patrick Murphree is an Associate at the firm and has served as a key participant in the ongoing Gilead TDF mass tort litigation and Opioids litigation on behalf of hospitals. He earned his law degree from the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, a Ph.D. from Indiana University and his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University. He is named to the Rising Stars list for the second consecutive year. 

Leila Abu-Orf  is a Staff Attorney at the firm who joined Burns Charest in 2020 after clerking at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. She is actively involved in several of the firm’s current class action and mass tort cases, and earned her law degree from Loyola University’s New Orleans College of Law in 2019, and her undergraduate degree from Tulane University in 2016. She is named to the Rising Stars list for the second consecutive year.