When Luling personal injury attorney, Loyd J. Bourgeois first walked into his office after Hurricane Ida, he stood at his desk and looked up. He had an unobstructed view of the sky. His office and almost everything in it was destroyed.
Bourgeois’ home was also heavily damaged in the storm. “It was a difficult year, to say the least. For us personally and for our entire community,” said Bourgeois.
Through hard work, determination, and some pre-planning, Bourgeois was able to get his law practice up and running again quickly. Bourgeois had recently invested in new cloud-based firm management software which could be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. Although everyone on the current team had damage to their homes, they were able to log in remotely to all of their files and start checking on their clients from their temporary locations.
The firm moved to a new location on Wade Street within a month of the storm and since then, with the added space, has grown its legal team with additional attorney and staff hires over the past year. Although the new office offered the space the team needed, Bourgeois didn’t feel it was well situated to his team or clients’ needs.
“Our goal is for everyone who enters our law firm to feel welcome and know they are in the right place.” But, Bourgeois said the office look and layout didn’t convey that feeling. With all of the local contractors and skilled construction workers busy with the important work of getting people back into their homes, he took matters into his own hands. Along with his sons and father, he started knocking down walls himself after work one Friday and continued construction on nights and weekends whenever he could work around his kids’ busy activity schedules.
“I grew up in Bayou Gauche, and I have raised my kids here in Luling. This is my hometown. I told my clients who were worried in the days after the storm: I was here long before Ida and I would be here for them long after the storm as well.”
Although they were going through the struggles of rebuilding themselves, Bourgeois felt compelled to help his community. The legal team and their families could be found at events around the parish such as volunteering at food drives and distribution points, cooking for first responders, creating a t-shirt fundraiser for teachers who had lost classroom supplies in the storm, and providing legal advice at recovery fairs and on Facebook.
“Before opening my own firm, I worked in insurance defense. So, I have a unique perspective of the other side. And, since my wife and I were going through the same issues, I knew exactly the battles they were facing,” said Bourgeois.
The Bourgeois family was able to move back into their home in August and one week later the new conference room was completed for use on the first anniversary of Ida’s landfall.
Bourgeois said along with the determination and resilience he has seen in the community, there is also pride in the hard-working residents of the area. Whether it’s battling the insurance company after an underpaid insurance claim or a low offer after a catastrophic injury after an accident, many in the area are conflicted about what to do. They have never needed to hire an attorney and don’t want a slick, city lawyer like they have seen on TV. “They always speak with such worry and apprehension saying they are not the type to sue.”
“The insurance companies are playing a math game. Enough claimants will get tired, frustrated, and beaten down enough to give up and accept the too-low insurance offer to make it “worth” paying litigation costs for the few who fight back. It can be such a relief when an attorney steps in and removes the burden weighing you down. You finally have someone looking after your interests,” said Bourgeois.
Bourgeois is a nationally recognized auto accident attorney serving St. Charles Parish and the bayou region. He has been named to The Best Lawyers in America© list in the field of Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs for five consecutive years. He is the author of Quick Guide to Louisiana Accident and Injury Claims which is available on Amazon, but Bourgeois offers to residents of the community for free on his website. He can be found at his new office on Wade Street in Luling or online at ljblegal.com.
“I am proud to be your hometown injury lawyer. I am appreciative of our amazing team for all we’ve been able to accomplish and am excited to continue to grow our business and expand the services and support that we can provide our community.”
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