When catastrophic incidents occur, chemical releases, transportation disasters, environmental contamination, or complex toxic tort claims, companies and national law firms call Elena to lead the defense.
Elena is a nationally recognized trial lawyer with more than 26 years of litigation experience, over 380 civil trials completed, and more than 500 appearances in federal and state courts across the United States. She is known for stepping into high-exposure matters involving complex science, significant regulatory scrutiny, and substantial financial risk.
Her practice focuses on bet-the-company litigation and catastrophic loss defense, including transportation accidents, rail litigation, oil and gas disputes, chemical spills, toxic tort and cancer claims, environmental contamination, multidistrict litigation (MDL), class actions, maritime and admiralty disputes, aviation matters, and complex commercial litigation. Elena is often brought in when a case is expected to be fought through trial.
Elena regularly partners with national law firms serving as lead trial counsel in complex litigation venued throughout Louisiana and Texas, particularly in matters involving transportation accidents, environmental exposure claims, toxic tort litigation, and industrial incidents. She frequently coordinates multi-state defense teams, technical experts, and corporate stakeholders while guiding cases from the initial incident response through trial and appellate review.
What distinguishes Elena’s practice is her ability to operate both in the courtroom and at the scene of an incident. She is one of the few attorneys certified as a Level A Hazardous Materials Responder through the Security and Response Training Center, allowing her to work alongside emergency response teams during major industrial and environmental events. This operational experience provides a rare advantage when defending companies facing regulatory investigations and complex scientific litigation.
Her litigation practice also includes environmental law, commercial contracts, maritime and admiralty disputes, aviation matters, workers’ compensation litigation, premises liability, international business disputes, and customs litigation. Elena also manages teams of attorneys across multiple jurisdictions and oversees litigation strategy for matters spanning several states.
In addition to her legal practice, Elena has significant international business experience, having owned and operated companies abroad and worked extensively with cross-border commercial operations and international contracts.
Originally from Chile, Elena lived throughout Central America and Europe before becoming a U.S. citizen as a teenager. Her international background informs her work with global companies and her immigration practice. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Representative clients include Union Pacific Railroad Company, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway, Kansas City Southern Railway, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), ExxonMobil, Enterprise Products Partners, Berkley Insurance, Navigators Insurance, AIG, Renzenberger Transportation, Ranger Aviation, Gulf Fleet, Oceanetics, InCat Crowther Engineering, WMD Squared Engineering, Truston Technologies, and multiple Louisiana parish school boards.
Elena’s reputation has been built in courtrooms—where complex facts, scientific evidence, and high financial exposure ultimately meet a jury.
She is licensed to practice law in Louisiana and Texas.
