Robert Conrad, 47, Health-Care Lawyer
Submitted by N.O.V.A. July 2005
Times Picayune	06-9-1998


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Robert J. Conrad Jr., a New Orleans lawyer who specialized in medical and health-care
issues, died Sunday of lung cancer at his home. He was 47.

Mr. Conrad, a partner at Adams & Reese, probably was best known for his successful 1992
defense before the state Supreme Court of the liability-limitation provisions of the
state medical malpractice law.

In a 4-3 decision, the justices upheld Louisiana's $500,000 cap on general damages in
malpractice suits, designed to limit such suits. "Overall the act represents a
reasonable . . . balance between the rights of victims and those of health-care
providers," the opinion said.

Besides representing doctors and health-care institutions, Mr. Conrad was an attorney
for the Louisiana State Medical Society and the Louisiana State Board of Medical
Examiners, which licenses and disciplines a host of specialists, including doctors,
midwives and athletic trainers.

"His loss is going to be indescribable," said Dr. Elmo Bergeron of Lafayette, a member
of the licensing board. "He had the knack of reading our minds as we discussed a matter
and putting into words that were easily comprehensible the way we thought. He was able
to articulate our findings to the utmost, to get the message across."

At Adams & Reese, Mr. Conrad led the firm's appellate practice team and its health-
industry practice group. He was the lawyer other members of the firm turned to when
they were stumped on legal issues, said Lawrence McNamara, a colleague. "Bob was 12
years my junior," he said, "and I sought his counsel all the time."

A lifelong New Orleanian, Mr. Conrad graduated from Jesuit High School. At Georgetown
University, he received a bachelor's degree with honors and a law degree. In law
school, he was editor in chief of the American Criminal Law Review.

In college, Mr. Conrad "was an inspiration to a lot of his friends," said Tom Hoffman,
one of his undergraduate roommates. "He was a little more mature than most. He
challenged people intellectually and morally to think things through and to understand
what they were doing."

During a Memorial Day visit with Mr. Conrad, Hoffman said, "We got to talking about
whether studying the classics in our Jesuit education had been of any use. I quoted the
first line of 'The Aeneid' in Latin, and he fired back with the first two lines of 'The
Odyssey' in Greek."

But there was also a fun side, they said, that Mr. Conrad often displayed at Christmas,
such as dressing up as Santa Claus and distributing individual poems along with
humorous gifts at his firm's annual party.

A regular contributor to regional and national health-care publications and seminars,
Mr. Conrad was a member of the American and Louisiana bar associations.

He was a member of the Southern Yacht Club and promoted sailing among young people.

Survivors include his wife, Lois Victoria Kopala Conrad; two sons, Edward Thomas and
Robert John "BJ" Conrad III; his parents, Robert J. and Joel Knowles Conrad; three
brothers, Gerard C., Kenneth T. and Kevin Michael Conrad; and a sister, Karen Conrad
Eagan.

A Mass will be said Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100
Pontchartrain Blvd. Visitation will be today from 6 to 9 p.m. and Wednesday from 9 to
11 a.m. Burial will be in All Saints Mausoleum in Metairie Cemetery.