As many of you know, I first came to New Orleans 17 years ago shortly after I had stopped drinking. That’s a great story in and of itself but suffcie to say I fell in love. This was the first city I came to know where my landmarks weren’t bars and over the years Gayle and I came to rent a small place in the Quarter and made many great friends.
After Katrina, I was the liason of the ABA’s Law Practice Managment Section to various relief efforts sponsored by the ABA, Gayle and I helped organize several free technology conferences for attorneys in Louisiana and Mississippi and I increased my visits to provide more personal assistance. I stayed with Rhonda Findlay, a friend who owns two businesses in town, at her house in the Bywater which had been flooded in one of the levee breaks and saw first hand the day to day struggles endured by the people of New Orleans.
In the fall of 2007, our son Seamus went off to college and I decided to move here full time. I live a block from the fairgrounds in mid city and my landlord and neighbor is Eric Barefield of the Lousiana Bar Association. I split my time between my national consulting business and regular seminars and CLE’s in Louisiana and Mississippi. The majority of meaningful progress being made here is at the grass roots level and I’m proud to be a small part of that process.
