Susan Christie Ciaravella

I began litigating criminal cases in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court during my second year of law school. My career has spanned over two decades and includes extensive trial experience as a criminal defense attorney (both private practice and public defense) in the District Courts of Orleans and Jefferson Parishes as well as Federal practice in the Eastern District of Louisiana and as a prosecutor in Orleans Parish. I spent eleven years of my legal practice in North Carolina practicing civil and criminal law; direct criminal appeals and trial practice as private and public defense counsel in both State and Federal courts.

My vast experience as a criminal defense attorney representing individuals facing the death penalty to charges of simple drug possession. I now spend a large portion of my legal practice on criminal appeals across the entire State of Louisiana.

In my appellate practice, I am highly detailed oriented, conducting a lengthy and thorough review of the trial court record. I exhaust all possible theories through extensive legal research to determine the client's best option to effectively argue for relief on appeal or post-conviction relief.

In my litigation practice, I seek to build a strong attorney-client relationship and to determine if investigative action should be taken shortly after arrest. Once/if formal charges are filed, an extensive case review and legal analysis should be conducted to determine what strategy is best given the client's criminal history (from a risk assessment perspective), the strength of law enforcement's investigation, and other necessary factors. Together the attorney and client determine which strategy is best to provide the possible defense and mitigate risks.

I am in good standing and licensed to practice law in the States of Louisiana and North Carolina.