Houghtaling and Williams Honored for Leadership in Law

New Orleans CityBusiness named attorneys John Houghtaling and James Williams to its 2008 "Leadership in Law" listing. It was the fourth consecutive year that Houghtaling has received the honor, reserved for the city's top attorneys.

Houghtaling is co-lead counsel for three of the biggest lawsuits stemming from Hurricane Katrina. The Louisiana Attorney General's Office engaged Houghtaling to represent the State of Louisiana in cases against insurers for reimbursement for the state's Road Home program, for anti-trust violations and interpretation of a flood exclusion common in homeowners policies.

Houghtaling is counsel of record for more than 1500 homeowners, property owners and business owners in individual claims related to Katrina. John Houghtaling has recovered over $55 million in settlements for individual Katrina Victims since the storm.

James Williams successfully argued for the Louisiana Attorney General before the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal on behalf of all Louisiana policy holders in Sher v. Lafayette Insurance Co., the case that will once and for all decide whether flood damage from a levee break is a covered loss in homeowner policies. The appeals court ruled in Mr. Williams and plaintiff's favor finding coverage. This decision affects hundreds of thousands of policy holders in Louisiana.

Williams' legal acumen caught the eye of influential people in Washington, D.C. In 2006, the Congressional Black Caucus presented Williams with a leadership award during their annual meeting for his excellence in the field of law. In 2007, the United States Congressional Black Caucus asked Mr. Williams to return to the annual meeting and give a presentation to the members and attendees of the conference about the keys to his success.