University Law School, has a message for his 2006 graduates.

"We want to impress on students the public service obligations that are naturally attendant to the privileges one enjoys as being the member of a profession.

"The message we give them is that Lawrence Ponoroff, dean of Tulane it's our hope and expectation of them that they will become leaders not just in their profession, but in their communities as well."

While Ponoroff hopes his students will carry the torch in fulfilling legal and community achievements, he can rest assured they have many well-established role models to learn from in the New Orleans legal arena.

And Ponoroff is one of them.

New Orleans CityBusiness recognized 50 of New Orleans' leaders in law based on professional and community achievements. CityBusiness received more than 100 nominations in its second year of producing this special publication.

The 2006 Leadership in Law list features five second-time winners, including Kim Boyle, Russ Herman, John Houghtaling, Steven Lane and Wayne Lee.

The 2006 class is a special group because the Leadership in Law judges at CityBusiness took into serious consideration the efforts of lawyers post-Hurricane Katrina and what they are doing to step up and help New Orleans rebuild.

Robert Worley Jr., partner in the labor and employment section at Jones Walker, is the president of the Habitat for Humanity New Orleans chapter. Worley said the organization has increased its goal from 15 houses a year to 250 and a four-year goal of 1,000 to help combat the housing problem in the city.

George Frilot III, senior partner at Frilot Partridge, led the efforts to donate $10,000 to the Habitat for Humanity, and his firm was also honored by the Jefferson Parish school system with a "Good Citizen Award" for its contributions of school supplies to students who lost everything.

Thomas Beron, a shareholder at Liskow and Lewis and Colonel in the Louisiana National Guard, witnessed the hurricane firsthand, working in the Ninth Ward when the Industrial Canal levee broke. He was one of the first people rescuing victims and put his law career on hiatus for four months.

Fred Preis, a member at McGlinchey Stafford, is chairman of the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce and works with businesses reopening and reestablishing themselves in the New Orleans area while trying to find housing for employees who want to come back and work in the city.

John Houghtaling, managing partner at Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams, will put on the seventh annual French Quarter Classic car show in November with proceeds going to Katrina victims. Houghtaling also expects to have secured more than $30 million in lawsuits paid to Katrina victims.

Corinne Morrison, the first female managing partner at Chaffe McCall, volunteers at a legal help desk at the Jewish Community Center.

Nan Alessandra, partner at Phelps Dunbar, helped revive the Delta Festival Ballet this week at Loyola.

Miles Clements, founding partner of Frilot Partridge, is organizing a benefit for high school volleyball players whose fill season was interrupted by Hurricane Katrina.

Lane has helped represent and given pro bono legal advice to members of the New Orleans fire and police departments.

The list of post-Katrina efforts among all 50 of these lawyers continues into this publication.

They are impressive efforts because while they have given back to the community, they are busy reestablishing their legal practices and rebuilding their homes. Several lawyers lost their homes and offices and had to be displaced for as long as seven months after Katrina.

Other lawyers have stepped to the political forefront on recovery boards or lobbying for legislative changes to make lives better for the people they represent.

Many times, lawyers are judged by wins and losses in the courtroom. These attorneys also fit that bill, arguing cases in front of the United States circuit courts, Supreme Court and more than 30 combined state courts other than Louisiana.

CityBusiness thanks each of them for their professional and civic efforts and the differences they make in New Orleans.

Congratulations to the 50 recipients of CityBusiness' Leadership in Law.

John W Houghtaling II

As managing partner at Gauthier, Houghtaling, and Williams, John W. Houghtaling 11 has come a long way from his start at the firm when he moved boxes for $8 an hour.

Primarily, Houghtaling's work involves litigation for businesses and individuals. In the past, his firm focused primarily on class action lawsuits.

He became managing partner a year and a half ago after the death of Wendell Gauthier, the firm's founder. After Hurricane Katrina, Houghtaling is "focusing on individuals in crisis by representing individuals and businesses affected by Katrina."

Since the storm, Houghtaling has already collected more than $18 million for victims of Katrina. A lot of the post Katrina work has involved challenging flood exclusions on several national casualty insurance policies. Houghtaling believes in a quick, aggressive approach to these claims.

"I am generally called upon to rep an individual when something has gone catastrophically wrong. ... It's important to move quickly and get quick results for our clients."

By the end of 2006, he expects to have secured more than $30 million for Katrina victims.

Houghtaling only gets paid if his clients win.

"One hundred percent of our cases are financed by us. If we lose, our clients owe us nothing," Houghtaling said. "We have to bet that a case is not only a good one and a right one but a successful one."

While Houghtaling has been "very, very busy" lately, the storm initially took a toll on his business. For about six months, Katrina knocked out the court system, a period which Houghtaling describes as "very scary."

Houghtaling represents clients as diverse as Heritage Plaza, the Freeport-McMoran Building, Metairie Country Club Gardens as well as several individual homeowners in Lakeview and Metairie.

Some of Houghtaling's successes include obtaining a $7- million settlement for victims of an industrial explosion in New Orleans (names cannot be disclosed due to a confidentiality agreement). He also obtained a $4.5-million settlement for the relatives of a family of four killed by a drunk driver.

In the last four years, Houghtaling has collected approximately $50 million for his clients.

On the civic front, Houghtaling founded the French Quarter Classic, a rare car show in its seventh year that will take place in November 2006. This year, all proceeds from the convention will exclusively benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. Houghtaling also serves on the board of the Cancer Crusaders, a nonprofit organization.