PRACTICE AREAS
– Employment Law
– Civil Rights Litigation
– Commercial Litigation
– Business Litigation

BIOGRAPHY
Chelsea Brener Cusimano joined Sternberg, Naccari & White in 2023, expanding her litigation practice and client base after a decade of work with her family firm and public officials.

Chelsea is the daughter of the late Lisa Brener, a warrior-mother-lawyer-mentor in one, who began her trailblazing civil rights and employment practice in New Orleans in the 1980s. Chelsea is a fourth-generation New Orleans lawyer.

While in law school at Loyola, Chelsea clerked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office. Her law enforcement background also includes a two-year stint as in-house counsel for the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s office from 2016-2018.

In 2018, she picked up the torch of her mother’s spirited (and peerless) employment law practice, rejoining the firm of Brener & Kraus as a Partner. In her two stints at Brener & Kraus, Chelsea enjoyed a significant employment practice, including business compliance, employment discrimination and compliance, civil rights, government-related contracting work, and general litigation (on both sides of the “v”).

Chelsea has successfully litigated Collective Actions under the FederalFair Labor Standards Act, including managing a Collective Action with over 90 Plaintiffs from 2018-2020.

Chelsea is a member of both the Louisiana and Georgia bars, and holds an LL.M. from George Washington University in National Security and International Affairs. She graduated from the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2012. 

Chelsea’s government experience includes legislative drafting and representation before governmental bodies.  Notably, in 2020 Chelsea assisted a bipartisan group of legislators to pass the “Ka’Mauri Harrison Act,” which revised student discipline in the age of virtual instruction. Chelsea also represented Ka’Mauri in his lawsuit against the Jefferson Parish School Board when he was suspended because after his brother moved a bb-gun in the background of his room while in the virtual classroom.

Chelsea joined Sternberg, Naccari & White, LLC to build her practice and utilize the most efficient and effective methods to find justice and achieve results for her clients: people and businesses. 

Chelsea’s community activities include heavy involvement with Hogs for the Cause for more than a decade, raising money for cancer charities such as Gray Matters and the Kelsey Bradley Favrot Memorial Foundation.

In 2017, Chelsea was named a “Leader in Law” by New Orleans City Business, which recognized her work as Counsel to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff and community service work. In 2019, she was nominated as “millennial of the year” by Biz New Orleans in the law category. In 2022, Chelsea was named a Super Lawyer “Rising Star” for her practice of Civil Litigation.

Chelsea has spent significant time on pro bono cases for the underserved communities of South Louisiana–a trait she shares with many lawyers at SNW. She has been recognized by the Pro Bono Project for her dedication to pro bono efforts. In her time away from the practice of law, Chelsea enjoys event planning, exploring the culture of New Orleans, travel, and spending time with her friends, family, and labradors.