Less than ten years ago, John Houghtaling took a job moving boxes in the file room of the Gauthier firm to pay for room and board during law school at Loyola. Now at just 37, he has become one of the most successful attorneys in the region.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Houghtaling has been retained by a variety of victims, from some of Louisiana's largest corporations, owning Class A high rises, to individuals with damage to their homes. To date, the Firm has collected over $100 million in property damage and business interruption claims.
Clients in the Houston area have engaged Mr. Houghtaling for assistance following Hurricane Ike in 2008. Mr. Houghtaling was personally engaged to represent the second largest property owner in Texas with more than $2 billion in holdings and 11 high rises in Houston, as well as 10 churches and 60 properties in Galveston.
Mr. Houghtaling has had astonishing litigation success, collecting over $100 million for individual clients since 2003: $12 million dollars for a local Louisiana business due to contamination of its land in 2003, and $6.25 million dollars for a local New Orleans business in a breach of contract action in 2005. Additional recoveries include $7 million dollars in one of the largest personal injury settlements in Louisiana, $5.25 million dollars in a multi-death fatality in Bordelon v. Kansas City Railroad in 2004, $4.7 million for a drunk driver fatality in Deshotel v. Classic Cable in 2004.
In March of 2005, in an article entitled "Legendary Law Firm Ruled by New Lawyer", CityBusiness Magazine featured Mr. Houghtaling on their front cover when he overtook the leadership of the Gauthier firm following Wendell Gauthier's passing. In 2007, for the third year in a row, Mr. Houghtaling was ranked as one of the "Top 50 Lawyers in New Orleans" by CityBusiness Magazine. He is the only lawyer to have been so recognized each year the honor has been given. Under his stewardship as managing partner, Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams was also honored by the magazine as one of New Orleans’ “Best Places to Work.”
Community involvement is important to Mr. Houghtaling. In 2008, he personally raised $20,000 for the Make a Wish Foundation and donated $50,000 to Morgan Freeman’s PLAN!T NOW, a non-profit organization founded by actor Morgan Freeman which provides assistance to communities at risk from the effects of storm and hurricane-related disasters.
He received his law degree from Loyola University where he was a member of the law review. He holds a B.A. from Emory University.
Other Activities, Honors
Board member, New Orleans World Trade Center
Board member, Cancer Crusaders
Founder, French Quarter Classic
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 New Orleans CityBusiness Leadership in Law Honoree