Lauren E. Checki

I moved to New Orleans on August 1, 2005, full of hope and excitement and adventure—I had come here to set the world on fire.

28 days later, I watched as Hurricane Katrina destroyed our world.

I felt helpless.

I felt defeated.

I felt alone.

I felt grief.

And, I felt guilty—because so many others had it worse than I did, and I didn’t feel like I had any right to that grief.

I stayed. And I started Tulane Law as soon as they reopened their doors. I took classes 6 days a week for 20 weeks straight. And on the 7th day each week, I did not rest. I gutted homes in the 9th Ward and the Bywater and Gentilly. Every Sunday, I would head out, wearing my crowbar and claw hammer like badges of pride, volunteering wherever I was needed.

A lot of people talk about the resilience of New Orleanians, but I didn’t understand it until I lived it.

It would have been so easy for me to just turn around and go back to where I came from—to give up on this city, on these people, but the magic of New Orleans had already taken hold and connection to the community was instant and permanent. New Orleans was suddenly MY city and MY people—and I’ve never been one to shy away from a difficult challenge.

I fell in love with these people: people who were sleeping in their cars, people who lost everything but a single photo, people who were just grateful to be alive and together. And I held those people’s hands as their insurance companies denied their claims or paid them with an amount so insignificant that they might as well have not been paid at all. And these people never wavered—”We will rebuild.”

It was on these Sundays that the direction of my legal career was changed forever.

No one teaches you Property Casualty law in law school. There is no professor explaining that insurance companies break their promises. But I had seen it first hand time and time again.

And I knew it wasn’t right.

My story and the stories shared with me have created an enduring framework upon which my practice is built. I’ve spent the last 17 years fighting for the people of Louisiana and with every story I hear, with every injustice my clients share, my love and respect for my clients only grows. I am honored and humbled by every client I represent.

My clients are my family. I care about everything in their lives—not just the facts that may help their case. My clients haven’t just lost a building, they’ve lost their business. They haven’t just lost a house, they’ve lost their home—their means of security and support.

My journey through the wreckage of Katrina forged an unbreakable bond with this city and its people. It taught me the true meaning of resilience, the power of community, and the importance of fighting for what’s right. Every client who walks through my door carries their own story of loss and recovery. I fight alongside them, not just as a lawyer, but as someone who understands the depth of their struggle. Because in New Orleans, we don’t just rebuild buildings, we rebuild lives.