Designated Legal Counsel (“DLC”)
Smart TD, TCU/IAM
Second Female Lawyer ever appointed DLC by Smart TD
Experienced Railroad & Personal Injury Attorney
Let me guide the way after your railroad accident. You don’t have to go through
this alone, and you don’t have to continue to worry about your future.
Give me a call and let’s map out your next steps: 504-766-2200.
Bar Admissions
Louisiana, 2008- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana, 2008
- U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana, 2008
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Louisiana, 2008
- U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 2008
- United States District Court, Western District of Texas, 2025
Education
Loyola University College of Law, New Orleans, Louisiana- J.D.2008, Doctor of Jurisprudence
- Civil and Common Law Certification
- Law Clinic/Civil and Criminal Litigation
- Bachelor of Arts, 2001, with Honors
Professional Organizations
- Designated Legal Counsel, Smart TD
- Designated Legal Counsel, Transportation Communications Union/IAM (“TCU”)
- 2014-present Member of Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys
- Board Member, 2023 - present
Published Books Authored
“Right on Track, Railroaders’ Most Common Questions Answered by YOUR Railroad Injury Attorneys” - 2022
"Don’t Get Railroaded® A Railroad Worker’s Guidebook to Protecting Yourself After Your Injury" - 2021
"Coping with a Railroad Injury A Guidebook For Spouses "- 2021
“Secrets to Handling Car Crash Claims Successfully: What the Insurance Companies Don’t Want YOU to Know about Auto Accidents!” – 2019
“A Guide to Handling Your Property Damage Claim: What the Insurance Companies Don’t Want YOU to Know about Property Damage Claims” - 2019.
Publications
"Fact development through ex parte communications with employees of a defendant railroad company: Model Rule of Professional Conduct 4.2, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, and Federal Employers’ Liability Act § 60", Co-authored and published, which was presented at the American Association of Justice Seminar in Philadelphia, PA - July 15, 2008.Seminars Presented
“Conducting Jury Focus Groups,” February 2012 - Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Skills Curriculum Instructor Since earning her law degree in 2008, Carisa has represented injured railroad workers and their families throughout the country. Carisa has extensive litigation and trial experience in both state and federal courts. Before she became a railroad attorney, Carisa worked at a law firm exclusively protecting the rights of railroad workers. In her 17-year legal career, she has only represented injured individuals and railroaders working at a firm designated by the UTU, BLE, and SMART TD unions. She has experience fighting in front of the Department of Labor and Administrative Law Judges for the rights of railroad workers who face retaliation from the railroad after reporting legitimate personal injuries. Carisa has appeared pro hac vice in state and federal courts in Alabama, Mississippi, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, South Carolina, and Florida. Carisa German-Oden tried the first successful case, Nagra v. National R.R. Passenger Corp., Case No. 2012-FRS-74 (10/29/2013), under the new whistleblower FRSA law to return an injured railroad engineer to service after the railroad carrier denied her a return to work physical. This is the first case in the country where this law was used as a sword, preventing the railroad from unilaterally and illegally picking and choosing which employees would be allowed to return to work. Carisa German-Oden is a native of Colorado, where most of her family still lives, although she has lived in the New Orleans area for the last 20 years. Carisa and her husband Michael have three children, Abigail, Felix, and Sebastian. 
Carisa G. Oden with husband, Michael Oden, and three children, Abigail, Felix, and Sebastian
Carisa G. Oden with husband, Michael Oden, and three children, Abigail, Felix, and Sebastian