NEW ORLEANS – Adams and Reese announced Mary K. Peyton has joined the firm as Special Counsel in the Litigation Practice Group in its New Orleans office. Practicing law for more than 18 years, Peyton primarily handles matters related to the defense of health care providers in medical malpractice litigation, including pre-panel, post-panel, fair hearings and appeals. She has also represented clients in complex commercial litigation, general casualty litigation, insurance defense litigation and federal and state workers’ compensation litigation matters.
Peyton previously clerked for the Office of Administrative Law Judge C. Richard Avery, United States Department of Labor, before joining a local law firm where her practice concentrated on representing health care providers in professional liability cases, including allied personnel. Along with her trial and appellate work, Peyton has handled hospital credentialing matters, fair hearings, National Practitioner Data Bank reporting, pre-litigation panel proceedings and complaints before medical boards.
Peyton has been active for many years within the Defense Research Institute, the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, the Louisiana State Bar Association and the New Orleans Bar Association. She is also a member of the Jefferson Parish Bar Association.
In recent years, she has worked on the diversity initiatives of various bar organizations. In 2013, Peyton chaired the DRI Diversity for Success Seminar held annually in Chicago, and served as program Vice Chair of its Expo in 2012. Within the LSBA, she completed the Association’s training program for Community Diversity Attorneys. Following the program, she volunteered to expand diversity in the law profession by giving seminars to law firms and businesses on recruiting and maintaining a diverse workforce through inclusion and sponsoring. Peyton also previously served on NOBA’s Women’s Committee and assisted in organizing CLEs focused on women attorneys.
Peyton received her J.D. from Tulane University Law School. She received her B.A. in History along with a minor in French from Louisiana State University.
Adams and Reese is a multidisciplinary law firm with nearly 280 attorneys and advisors strategically located in 16 offices across 15 markets throughout the southern United States and Washington, D.C. The American Lawyer includes Adams and Reese on its distinguished list of the nation's top law firms – The Am Law 200. The National Law Journal also includes the firm among the top 200 on the NLJ 500 list of the nation's largest law firms.
