Locals help Katrina-surviving paralegal & lawyer feel at home

Good news about Katrina’s displaced for a change:

"Sofia Lavidalie was not yet three years old when her parents, Jean and Dianna had to tell her that they could not go home to Louisiana because their house was wet.

"The explanation was oversimplified but accurate in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In the days immediately following the catastrophe, the young family of three sought refuge in a Florida hotel with only the clothes on their backs. ‘We didn’t know what was going to happen,’ Jean Lavidalie said. ‘Even if we had a house I would not have a job.’

"Jean, a licensed lawyer in Louisiana, could not go back to work for a law firm that was underwater in downtown New Orleans, but it was only by mistake that his wife hit the section titled ‘jobs; while they were searching for housing online, he said.

"By accident the couple saw an advertisement from the law firm of Fincher, Denmark and Williams LLC searching for a displaced paralegal. The firm’s business manager, Lee Fincher said she was surprised when Dianna Lavidalie, a paralegal out of work for three years, expressed a serious interest in the position only two hours after the ad was placed. ‘I would not have known that she was out of work for three days, let alone three years,’ Fincher said.

"The family had just enough gas money to make the next leg of their journey, Fincher said. The destination was Jonesboro, where Dianna interviewed with the local firm and was hired on the spot. After inquiring about the young woman’s husband who was sitting in the car with their child, the firm interviewed and hired him as a law clerk."

One Reply to “Locals help Katrina-surviving paralegal & lawyer feel at home”

  1. Wow, you have done a really, really beautiful job of telling our story. I will cherish your article forever.

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