Episode 44: Louisiana Law, Current Events & the Bayou with Gene Gouaux

Good morning, everybody. This is David Vicknair and welcome to the Overruled podcast, brought to you by the Scott Vicknair Law Firm. We have a very exciting, show today with a very, I’m just going to disclaim it at the beginning. A lifelong friend of mine from high school and a fellow lawyer in the legal community, Mr. Gene Gouaux, are you the third?

I am the third. There were two Gene Gouaux before you. That’s where.

Okay. And Gene, for those of you who may or may not know, is, Gene is not only a lawyer, but he’s also a professor at Nichols State University, Professor Go. He is the Harold J. Calli endowed professor of Economic Development at Nichols State University.

What is an endowment?

So an endowment is, we have, so the Calli family, very prominent people in the community, they came forward and they invested money, essentially in the foundation for the benefit of the faculty. So the endowment, they put a certain amount of money in, and then the interest every year, we get to use. So it supplements salaries, we can use it for programming, licensing. So for example, I just went through an executive education program at Harvard Law School, with their program on negotiation. That was supported by this endowed professorship. So it does things like that for us, that we can go out, kind of expand our skills and of course take those things back into the classroom.

All right, one thing too, I want to let everybody know about, our friendship and our educa we went to high school together. We were educated in both world history and French. We both fluent in French, we’re both fluent French speakers. What were some of your fondest memories of learning world history?

Look, I was explaining to my wife the other day. She’s like, so wait, David Vicknair, was the I said, when I think of David Vicknair, I don’t think of history about world history. I think of a story from French class. Vicknair and I were in the same French class and, where we learned a lot of French, a lot of French, from a prestigious woman who had never been to France. But, that’s how we became fluent in French. But there was one day and it was hot. It was like April, May of that year. And we used to try and make each other laugh in these classes. I don’t even know if you remember this, but we got into class one day. You got there early and we’re like talking and for whatever reason, Madame was standing at the front of the room and she’s like, she started smelling it, something. Something smelled like it was burning. And I think you yelled out, something must be on fire. But what you had done was you put the heaters on in the middle of May. And, you’d convinced Madame that maybe there was some sort of fire going on. And I believe you did get detention.

You can cut that or leave that in. I think we probably, enhanced the French education through, you know, enabling a Dom, Madame to give us appropriate dictation lines. You know, C’est la vie, biblio tec, I’ve ex.

Exactly. Get out of the classroom. Vitte, vitte.

Yes. Exactly.

So one thing I really wanted to get your opinion on that I think the people would want to know is, where do you stand on Grand Isle remaining in Jefferson Parish? Should it be in Jefferson Parish? Why or why not?

I think that, the fact that Grand Isle is currently in Jefferson Parish is, I don’t want to say disgusting, but I will say completely inappropriate. I will tell you that much. First of all, not contiguous with Jefferson Parish. That’s absurd. Contiguous with our beloved Lafourche Parish.

For those of you who don’t know, contiguous means not connected.

Yes. And thank you for that. Black’s Law Dictionary definition.

And so no, of course, it should be it should be a part of Lafourche. It’s connected to Lafourche. We’re thankful to have Port Fourchon down there, which is of course a big boon to the parish. But the fact that they had this little strip of land that would not be a part of Lafourche. It doesn’t make much sense to me. I don’t know the history of it though. You’re, you’re a Louisiana history guy, right? You’re educated about the best in Louisiana.

Well, I was taught by Pizzo. So, oh, so never mind. You didn’t have the coach art experience.

Move back to the Jefferson Parish discussion, which is where does the line stop? Is it the road between Grand Isle and Port Fourchon? Like, where did the where did your understanding of where the divide?

I would based on nothing and no research, I would say it is that road. But that is not based on anything. Because I heard somebody mention that day, they thought it went as far inland as Roem’s Lounge, which I found to be preposterous. I can’t fathom that Roem’s Lounge would be the dividing line for many reasons.

Right. Right.

Okay. One thing I think people may not know about Gene, is that you were the magi, are you the Magistrate Judge of Lafourche Parish?

I am the Magistrate Judge of Lafourche Parish, have been for a couple of years.

Is that elected or appointed?

That is appointed by the mayor. Proved by the council. So I, so the mayor appointed me a couple of years ago, I was approved by the council, and so once a month, I sit in judgment of the people of Lafourche Parish.

And what are some of, the favorite your favorite things or what is the scope of your power? How powerful are you?

Sure. So, so essentially I am the judge of the town, and the town has a list of ordinances that they have passed. And so there is Lafourche Parish has its own police force. So they issue summons, for violations of those ordinances, and those are heard before me. So it’d be like you’re in regular district court, right? We have arraignments, people plead guilty, I sentence them to pay fines. Obviously, if they believe they are not guilty, we have a trial, and the town must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you have violated the ordinance.

Some of the most interesting ordinance discussions, maybe relate to zoning, those could be interesting. A lot of animals roaming at large, at times. So we have to say, you know, have to look at that, did they violate the ordinance? Can you even have this animal? So yeah, those are some things, that we see.

How often, do you hold court?

Once a month.

And where is it?

It is in the council chambers. In the town of Lafourche.

You know, before I was the magistrate, I actually got a call from someone who needed defending in town court. She was from out of state. She was from out of state. She was in Grand Isle doing some work and she stopped at the local Rouses and, you know, the people of Lafourche Parish are not really familiar with this concept of reusable bags. And so she had a reusable bag, she didn’t want to use the plastic. So she was taking a lot of crab meat and a lot of shrimp. She was buying from the Rouses and putting it in this reusable bag. And so before she was going to check out, they approached her and told her to please stop that she was trying to steal this. And she said, oh no, no, no. I’m, I’m coming to check out. Like I have money. She also drove like a Range Rover. Like she was not trying to steal the crab meat. Anyway, so the town charged her.

Yes, they charged her with theft.

Theft of crab meat.

Yes. Big offense.

Big offense in my part of the world. Crab meat’s not cheap. It’s not. It is not. Especially if you try to go to that place in Desaumans, they probably, their crab meat there too.

Oh wait, even though it’s not technically down the Bayou’s a topic we’ll get to later.

Okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. A little breadcrumb for you. A little breadcrumb. I do like Punches in Lafourche. Punches, we love the Punches, they’re long-time clients of ours. Can’t beat the Punches. Can’t beat the Punches. We love the frozen selection, fantastic. Fantastic. Absolutely. We’d put it up against any frozen section in the country, tell you that much.

All right, moving on. We’ve covered you being a magistrate in Lafourche Parish. But the key issue, which I’ve gotten into many debates over the years. And I really want you to weigh in on.

Yeah, absolutely. I have my own opinion, but I’m not gonna influence yours.

Where do you believe down the Bayou? And I say DTB, down the Bayou.

Yes, of course. Some may call it DTB.

Where does it start in your opinion and why?

I feel I am the best person to answer this question. I’m glad you brought me on to answer it.

I think you’re pretty good to answer this question. Like, yeah.

So I grew up in Lafourche, which for your listeners, they know it is the middle part of the parish. So I grew up kind of dead center in the middle.

Which Parish are we talking about?

We’re talking about Lafourche.

Yeah. The fourth. I just want to make sure in the context of discussing, where down the Bayou starts, we’re limiting this discussion to Lafourche Parish, right?

I just, right now we’re talking Lafourche. We’ll get to Terrebonne.

Okay. All right. So here we are. I’m from Lafourche, middle part of the parish. Now, of course, Thibodeaux people, y’all think everything’s down the Bayou. You have no concept. Where y’all?

Yes. Oh yeah, y’all. That’s right.

So we in New Orleans people think Thibodeaux is down the Bayou.

Yeah. And they have really no idea.

Oh my God. What’s going on there. They’re so wrong.

Yeah, sorry. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on. People from Lafourche, I would say are definitely not down the Bayou. I would say down the Bayou doesn’t start till you get to Le Rose. And once you get to Le Rose, you are down the Bayou. If I told someone from down the Bayou, that hey, look, I grew up in Lafourche and I’m from down the Bayou. They would be deeply, deeply offended.

Aggast.

A gast, of course. They would be a gast that statement. To describe it.

Yeah. I tend to think that Raceland is like the gates to down the Bayou.

Oh, wow. Raceland? Okay. It’s not down Some people think Raceland’s down the Bayou.

Yeah, I know. You call it, you pronounce it Raceland?

No, I say Raceland.

Okay. Just not using it. Just want to be clear.

Yeah, Raceland. There’s Raceland. Okay. Because some people think Raceland’s down the Bayou, which I find to be,

No, that’s absurd. That’s absurd. I mean, spur 90, spur whatever 70, we call it. You go through the stinky, the stinky, sugarcane.

Sugarcane.

Okay. That takes you right to Raceland. And that is you got to work harder to get down the Bayou.

Absolutely. That’s absolutely not down the Bayou.

Okay. But I always wondered if you thought that Lafourche is where it started or not.

I don’t. And now, now it’s been cleared up. So thank you for that.

Yeah, that’s no problem.

What is one of your favorite Louisiana cities? And you can’t choose Lafourche, obviously.

Yeah, I’m not gonna choose Lafourche. I do think Thibodeaux is the best Louisiana city, but I will not even pick, I will not even pick that.

Let’s unpack that a little bit. Why do you believe Thibodeaux is the best Louisiana city?

I think Thibodeaux’s got it all. Okay. Thibodeaux’s a university town. So you have that university field there. The kind of people that work at universities, the university life, you have that student life. I think that’s fantastic. Thibodeaux has, the small town feel, obviously. But it’s got everything you need. Super Walmart. It’s got three McDonald’s. Lowes. Three McDonald’s. I mean, come on. Previously multiple Wendy’s, RIP to the one, you know, by my house. And then,

My parents would agree with you.

Yeah, I think they would. I think they definitely would. And so it’s actually interesting. So when Rachel and I, my wife, we, you know, we’re talking about getting married and where we’re gonna live. She’s from New Orleans. She grew up in Lakeview, she went to Mount Carmel. All these things. It was a big discussion. Like, where are we going to be where we’re going to settle? And,

And yeah, for me, it really always was, was Thibodeaux, you know? And I think we’re lucky. We had a great childhood, right? We really did. We had great friends that had all of those things. It’s got industry, it’s got the university. And so, I think it’s the, I think it’s the.

It’s only an hour from New Orleans.

It’s only an hour from New Orleans. That’s right. Out from Baton Rouge. So you can go to both.

Very nice. Both of the big cities in Louisiana.

The big cities. As people call, refer to New Orleans, the city.

The city. That’s right.

The city. Rachel still can’t get over that. She’s like, the, can they not just say New Orleans?

I said, babe, that’s just what it is. The city.

The city. That is what they say. Every time I talk to if I’m talking to a lawyer from Thibodeaux, especially I’m thinking of one now, I says, what’s going on in the city?

In the city. The city. Absolutely. There’s a lot of other cities.

Yeah, no. One. There’s only one.

What is one of your favorite things about teaching, Gene? Because how long have you been a professor and Nichols?

Seventeen years, 12 years.

Oh, wow. Yeah. So I’ve been teaching 12 years, I’ve talked about 8,000 students.

That’s insane.

It’s insane. Yeah. I love it. Yeah. I mean, like I joke with people that know me, a room full of people that have to listen to me talk. It’s my dream. I’m like, I can’t believe I get paid to do this.

By the Calli family.

Yeah, but it’s a supplement. They supplement.

Which we appreciate. All right. Shout out Calli family.

They, so I love the energy of being in the classroom. It, you know, it’s my classes are big, so it’s like 90, 95 people. We’re packed in there. It’s a whole bunch of different personalities, a lot of people with a lot of different thoughts. It’s me with my own different thoughts.

Is the topic? Is you’re teaching business law? Is that what you’re teaching?

Yes. So I teach an introductory business law class. So I structure the class in a way to say, look, this is probably the only law class you’re ever gonna take. What kind of law are you really gonna need to know in your life? Right. So I try and make it interesting, you know, kind of what is the latest, what are the things I think really are going to actually help you. So I think it’s fine. I think that, you know, they think there is some value, in the things that I’m talking about and teaching to them, hopefully.

Well, I generally think, I always joke with my mom about this. I think you’re like one of the funniest people I’ve ever met in my entire life. And so I wonder sometimes, what do these students like, do they all know about you before they walk in? Or they just, they just hit some of them like a Mack truck because I’ve never seen you teach. And I’m actually quite offended that you’ve never invited me to come and do a session.

We can rectify that. We can rectify that. We’ve talked offline. I’ve shared my concerns and I’ve protected them.

Yes, yes. I think your dad’s on my side. I haven’t talked to him about it, but I might.

But, are they like hit by a Mack truck at your personality and how you make the class fun?

Yeah, I think that I have a reputation at this point. I mean, I’ve been doing it a long time. Right, your professor.com. Is that still a thing?

Right, it is. Yeah, yeah. You can check me out. Check me out after this. Ray, my professor. Check me out. I should have pulled some before this.

Oh, you should have. That was a missed opportunity. That would have been good.

But yeah, I mean, I think some people know what they’re getting into. I think others absolutely do not. And so that’s also very, very fun because I know you’ve never been in my class. It’s this. It’s me up there with a straight face, delivering complete nonsense and a little bit of law, right? This is the whole time and telling ridiculous stories. And yeah, I do think that they find it entertaining.

I mean, look, my average student is gonna be like 19, 20 years old, right? I know I’ve got to entertain you a little bit. I’ve got to give you something to make you think about.

Fifteen percent of the time they’re hung over.

Absolutely. Or not present. Right. Miles saying up a little bit. Twenty bucks.

Absolutely, right? So I know I’ve got to, I gotta do a little something until I get you engaged and make you understand that, yes, I think some of the content is important. And I think, hey, you’re going to cross this at some point in time. So it’ll be good to know. But also the thing I think, you know, we pride ourselves on in the College of Business on, and also in the law is, not only content-wise, but how to think, right? Because laws change, they evolve, there’s all these things. But just that critical thinking that we learned in law school, to start really introducing that to them as well, right? So an actual skill set that you can take from this class, from our business programs and then of course take into the workforce.

Awesome. Well, I think part of it is just getting them to like actually be engaged. I think sometimes like some of my college classes, not naming any professors. It’s like, look, you’re hung over a lot. In class. You, you miss a lot of class. Like, it’s college, everybody’s having a good time. But like, part of it is sometimes some of the topics can be dry. And so it’s like, just getting the class to like actually understand it in real life terms and it not be like a memorization exercise of stuff in a book because like, as you know, you get into practice, like it’s a real life situation. And you have to solve the problem.

Absolutely. You need a solution. And like I tell my students all the time, no one’s hiring you to Google things. They can Google. They don’t need you to Google. Like you’ve got to be able to solve problems, right? You have to be able to use knowledge that you know, but you have to be able to apply it to the real world. And look, there’s all this talk these days about AI and tech and all these different things. And I’m all about it, right? We have to teach our students how to use it. I think it’s an important tool. But at the end of the day, it is about your own skill set and being able to use those tools and everything else to solve problems. And, you know, look, you’re proud alumni of Nicholls State University, right?

I’m a Colonel.

A Colonel, of course. And so it is those kinds of things that we hope track with our students over the long term.

For sure. Well, how many, was anybody besides your dad, your dad’s a lawyer. For those that listen who don’t know, your dad and your mom are both lawyers. We’re gonna put details about the Go Law Firm in the show notes.

Okay. Sure. Put it out there. Yeah. But both your parents are lawyers. Were any of your other, any of your other elders were lawyers? What was your path on deciding to become an attorney?

Sure. I, that’s a good question. It was laid and knowing, I was just like, always knew, you’re going to end up at Southern Law School because that was the go thing. That was the thing. That was the thing. So, yeah. So, yeah. So my dad’s dad, was a lawyer, like you said, he was Gene Go. The first.

The first.

He would say, actually, no, he would say he was Gene Gouaux.

Ah. Period. There was no first, there was no second, he was just Gene Gouaux.

And so, yeah, he was a lawyer. My dad, lawyer as well. Me, lawyer as well. All practicing in the same building in Lafourche for 75 years. All Gene Gouaux, all boys, all there. Now, watch this. My mom’s dad, named Eugene. He was a lawyer. Her brother, Eugene, lawyer. She’s a lawyer. Her other brother was a lawyer. My dad’s other brother is a lawyer. His brother-in-law is a lawyer. My aunt is a lawyer.

Vicknair, I couldn’t escape it. I couldn’t escape it.

So I go to college, I’m like, I’m not being a lawyer. I’m gonna be an accountant. That sounds like a thrilling existence, right? And so I thought I was gonna do that. I have a master’s in accounting. I thought I was gonna do that. That’s Southern Miss.

Yes. I did. I went to Southern Miss and went to LSU from my master’s in accounting and I thought I was gonna be a CPA and go that route. And I did an internship at a, at a great company in their tax department. I thought I was gonna do like tax planning, tax consulting. And I was like, Oh, this is terrible. I cannot be in this cubicle. I need people. I cannot do it. So last minute, I applied to go to law school. I went to Southern University, where my parents actually met and fell in love. And actually where my grandfather, my mom’s dad, went. So third generation there.

So yeah, imagine the firm named Go Go Go. I mean, the opportunity.

When I came out of law school and practiced with my parents. So when I first came out, it was me and my mom and my dad.

What every 20 something wants to do is work with their mother, right?

Of course. And so I, I, I campaigned this. I said, Guys, we have an opportunity. Guys, I mean, Go Go. The, what, what, it’s our name. It’s, it’s literally perfect. Tony’s stood against it. And we went with Go Law Firm. And that’s an opportunity. We’re still kicking ourselves about 15 years later.

Another unrealized opportunity was, what some people may not know is, we had a very loose plan to potentially practice together when I decided to become a lawyer.

Absolutely. We did. And you turned your back on me.

I remember it well. I wouldn’t say that I turned my back on you. And the original plan was for the firm to be Go Vicknair.

Go Vicknair. Absolutely. And our television commercial plan was, was Go Vicknair, Go Vicknair, Go, and we were gonna be on the Bayou.

Absolutely.

I mean, the, the

With you dancing. As I yelled, Go Vicknair, Go Vicknair, Go.

The creatives were endless.

They were. They were. That was before we hit the phenomenon of Martha Vicknair, which has now become a thing of its own.

Absolutely. It is. It is. And so who knows. I don’t know how you, how you’re affording her still.

You must be doing very well financially. She’s expensive.

She’s expensive. I believe it. Very expensive. I believe it.

Okay. So moving on. Tell me a little bit, since we’re still on the topic of the practice of law. What are some of the challenges that y’all have? Because your family’s been service in that region forever. And with legal service, like you mentioned. What are some of the challenges inherent in like a rural practice as opposed to like a, more like a practice in New Orleans or Baton Rouge, or bigger city type practice?

It’s a very different thing. Because when you, when you’re in a town of a couple thousand people and you’ve been there forever, people have problems, and they need help with their problems. So while in bigger places, it is easier to specialize and say, look, we do this kind of work, this is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna drive this, and that’s what it’s gonna be. I think when you’re part of these communities, like, there is this obligation to the community and say, look, we’re here to help the community. It doesn’t mean you take every case that comes in, but this idea of getting highly specialized in those places, it’s just, it’s just not as practical, right?

I mean, my dad’s had clients for 45 years. Someone comes in, they need something, he’s gonna do everything he can to help that family out, you know? So that’s a little different. And then, I mean, you know, rural South Louisiana is experiencing its own things with the hurricanes and insurance prices, inflation, things are tough for people a lot of times. And so to provide legal work, where we want to be fair to ourselves, but also like really be there for people. I mean, we can’t charge these big city prices, you know?

And in the metropolis of Lafourche.

So that is, you know, so that is a difficult balance to find where we’re trying to be fair to ourselves, but also very fair to our clients. And give them the service that, you know, that they need.

Yeah, I think I’ve kind of observed it a little bit, with Dr. Gary Bird’s Hall, who is like, he has to almost be like a specialist of all kinds down there because they don’t have the same number of like different orthopedic surgeons or, you know, heart doctors or specialists who are down there full time. So he’s gotta know a little bit of a lot of different things. So it is almost more, I think, more challenging for y’all as a practitioner, being in a community where you have to be able to like hand, help them with a succession, help them with a divorce, and paid possibly help them with a personal injury case. Like runs the gamut. They need you to do everything for them over a 10, 20 year period, right?

Absolutely. Because yeah, I mean, like folks down there, I mean, unless you’re like a sophisticated business person, you don’t have a lawyer that you’re in contact with multiple times a year and dealing with these different things. No, you hire a lawyer because something came up. And then years go by, and then they come back and see you for the next thing. And that’s just, that’s the kind of relationship that you have with most folks. You know, hopefully you don’t have to see them that much, because in that, you know, it’s usually they’re coming to see you for, you know, something’s occurred. Someone passed away in the family or, oh God, someone got in an accident or things like that. So, so yeah, that’s a, that’s a challenge.

It’s interesting, you also said, because I’ve been thinking about it a bit. Is there been like a lot of from your perspective, a lot of migration up to Thibodeaux and northern parts of the state because of the insurance crisis happening down the Bayou?

Oh, absolutely. Like I don’t think people in New Orleans even realize it. Like because of how expensive insurance is down there from Ida and some of that other stuff. How many people have like moved out of there?

Oh, absolutely. Oh, no, you, you see it. You see it in the southern parts of Lafourche. You see it in Terrebonne.

Terrebonne took such a lick after Ida.

Right. And still not close to coming back and I don’t think it ever will. I mean, when you lose that much of a population for a while, they go, they don’t come back. I mean, we’re already seeing, so, I mean, there are national trends outside of hurricanes, right? People have less kiddos, like we knew that there would be some population loss in this part of the state anyway. And then hurricanes have only exacerbated it. And what we’re really seeing the pinch is Nicholls, right? The enrollment there. Our service area is this seven parish area, right? We’re here, we’re a regional university to help this part of the state. Right. And look, Nicholls State University, it’s transforming lives, right? When you look at the education level, a lot of people in that area, Nicholls is the only way they’re gonna get a college degree. And so we’re seeing this service area, right, the population decline, enrollment decline and all the issues that come along with that.

So, yeah, it’s an insurance crisis, it’s a population crisis based upon that, there’s a lot of issues that are tied into it.

Well, I just realized being on campus, a couple months ago, two, three months ago, about the enrollment decline. And what I, what I think a lot of people don’t understand, Gene, is that Nicholls really, provides an education to a lot of the, new talent that’s coming out to support, largely, not all, but a big section of the oil and oil services sector of the state.

Absolutely.

Which is one of the driving forces of the economy in Louisiana.

Absolutely. Besides maybe like what tourism in New Orleans, like what else do we, like, right?

Yeah. And so it was kind of interesting and scary at the same time to hear because Nicholls enrollment had been going up historically, that it was going down. And so I was actually curious if, is that the sole reason in your opinion that enrollment’s going down? Like, is it a lot of that?

We hit, so it was a couple things that happened at the same time. First of all, there were going to be less high school graduates, no matter what. We knew based on national trends and birth rate, like we knew that this time period, we were gonna have less people graduating from high school. Then we had COVID. Then we had Ida. All back to back to back. Everything kind of happening at the same time. So those, that makes for some tough conditions to recruit students in and everything else.

Interesting. Now that we’re on Terrebonne Parish, is Terrebonne Parish, we cannot end.

No. I mean, we have some closing topics, but yeah.

People from Schriever, or Cocodrie if you will, and that’s pretty far down there. Do like Du Bois? Is that considered down the Bayou? Yes or no and why?

That is absolutely not down the Bayou.

What is it?

It, it is, it is really, it is barely society, some people would say.

Look, there is a Bayou in Lafourche Parish. That is up the Bayou or down the Bayou. Terrebonne. You got a bunch of Bayous. This great. Good for you, Terrebonne Parish. It’s not about up the Bayou, down the Bayou, you have too many Bayous.

And the jury verdict. The summary judgments that are granted throughout the state, and there’s usually something here or there that I’m like, had to send it to all the lawyers to be like, hey, this changed or like, look at this verdict, like, look how they handled this. Like, it’s very complex and very challenging and so, it is always changing and that’s like the thing I think one of my favorite things about it, like the same that you just mentioned.

Okay, so I’m going to go ahead and flip this on the head and I’m going to let you now ask me three questions before this has never been done on the podcast.

Oh my god. This is a. Look, my eyes just like, can’t believe this is happening. You almost fell out of his chair.

Oh my god. This is a big deal. This is a very big deal.

Bigger than your endowment.

Yeah, believe it. I believe it. Massive deal.

So now, the floor is yours, Gene. You get to ask the me as the host three questions.

Yes. I love it. The deposition has been reversed. Excellent. I’m very excited about this. Number one, I want to understand. So you’ve been practicing for, what, 14, 15 years, however long it’s been.

13 years.

You look. You look like 14 or 15. Anyway.

Thank you. Thank you. It’s kind to be able to say that.

How did you land on, hey, look, I want to be on the plaintiff’s side in personal injury?

The easiest answer to that is a very hard outcome. It’s very hard to win. You know, we fight for the win here. I heard. It’s very hard to win for the client when you’re in a large, heavily litigated, I like litigation. Heavily litigated hourly case. That’s not being paid by an insurance carrier.

Yeah. Right. Because even when they win, like they still have this massive legal bill. That did they really win?

Yeah, right. And so, a lot of like early in my career, a lot of representation of clients, where it’s like, it would almost like undermine the feeling of fulfillment that you got like a good result for them. Because it was sort of hollow that like, you’re like, hey, I did everything I could for you and I also didn’t overbill you and I was very judicious and what I

Yeah, and I like did a bang-up job for you. And you’re not feeling great.

It sucks. It sucks. It’s kind of like the dichotomy and the difficulty of an hourly practice is like, how do you get the client to a good result while minimizing the financial impact of the legal services, which are valuable. And you’ve invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in your education and time and years that like, so it, I kind of just decided that like, it was much e much more of a daily kind of fulfillment thing to represent somebody on a contingency because, you know, they needed you more. Number one, because they typically don’t have the financial resources to pursue the litigation. And then two, it wasn’t like they had to pay you out of pocket.

Yeah. Okay, cool. No, I like that. I think it’s Good question. You wasted one, so you only have two left.

Yeah, only have two left. Number two. How do you stay up to date on the tech side of running the law firm? So like, what tech do you need, what is it worth investing in, how much time do you spend? Talk to me a little bit about that.

That’s a great question. I go to I travel a lot now. Like I go to conferences. Mostly legal conferences, and I’m in a couple of like business mastermind groups.

Oh, nice.

And we have one organization that coaches us, and they have two conferences a year called Fireproof. They coach us weekly and do our quarterlies and annuals. And then they have these two conferences, another organization called Pilma. That we go to their conference. And then there’s three or four other conferences I started going to and just being in all these groups. You start to discuss like, right now I’m demoing like four pieces of AI technology to integrate into practice, which does medical chronologies, medical summaries, demand, stuff like that.

Amazing.

And so, but it is kind of a, a lesson I think people, not just in law, could. I’ve learned is like, if you go to these conferences, you can learn from other people who’ve already done all this shit and made the mistakes of hiring the wrong vendors and will steer you in the right direction of which ones to use.

Gotcha. Okay, that’s cool. That’s good to know. Finally, third and final question, I saved the most important one for last, but which flavor of Super Witch ice cream is your favorite?

That’s a shout-out again to Super Witch for sponsoring that section earlier.

It’s a difficult question. I just tried. Miles, what was the one we had for fourth, Thanksgiving? Was it the pecan pie?

Oh, yeah, third cake. Oh, yeah. Miles loves the, the pecan pie. The black, was it Black bottom pecan pie?

Black bottom pecan pie is Miles’s favorite. Okay. And it’s a special that Super Witch only releases for Thanksgiving. It was delicious.

Oh, wow. Okay, excellent. But, it was tough for me to top that, the flavor that Briggs brought on the show, which was dirt cake.

Mud cake. It was like chocolate with Snickers or peanut butter and it was just.

I’m all about that. It was heaven. I mean, I think probably if you asked David, go, my namesake. He would feel the same way.

Okay. And I will. And I will ask him when I get home.

No doubt. No doubt. Two. So we want to. Is he one or just one?

Just one. Just turn one.

Okay. So asking him when I get home, I would like to know his favorite recipe.

There’s only one topic that we could possibly end this show on, Gene. And it is the most pressing topic.

Yes. I’m ready.

No topic better than this one. I would like to know your thoughts on, we talked a little bit. We just touched the surface, as you will, of the celebrity of Martha Stewart.

Oh my god. I mean, just, just comment on a little bit of what you see.

Yeah, I mean, Martha, I’ve known Martha, I mean, my god, since my childhood. She’s always been a celebrity.

Yeah. I mean, we know that. But now the world knows that.

Yeah. I can’t imagine what the contract negotiations are like, right, to get her to appear. I can’t imagine financially what you’re obligated to her now. You could tell on screen that things are stressed between y’all. And just you aren’t as close as you used to be because of this now, professional monetary relationship that y’all have. And that does make me a little sad. And my prayer really is that y’all can move past all this, and reunite.

We’re trying. I mean, the difficulty is, she can’t even, you know, one of the complaints and what has driven her price up, candidly. I don’t want to go straight into contract negotiations.

Yeah, I understand. We know some things have to stay confidential.

They have to be confidential. Confidentiality. You know, she can’t go to L. And N. And talk about that without being stuck.

Oh my god. And the sales they are having at L. And N. That she is not able to capitalize on.

That’s a tragedy. That’s a real tragedy. You know, I passed Martha’s house twice a day. Just, you know, I live around the corner from, David’s parents. And, you wouldn’t believe the paparazzi that are parked outside of her and Bruce’s house. A lot of people. It’s so many people. They she can’t drive the golf cart to Benton’s house, I’m sure. I mean, she’s always got to be done up. You can’t even get down Rosetown.

Exactly. No. You can’t. And it’s like causing other traffic issues. And anyway, the mayor is involved. It’s a lot. So I do empathize with her at her age that she’s dealing with this.

I appreciate your take on it. I couldn’t also pass up. I know you’re a big fan of Hope’s recipes.

Yes, I am. Of course.

You know, for those who don’t know. In our attorney newsletter. We send a newsletter to a bunch of attorneys, about six or 700 attorneys. We’re lucky enough to have you on that newsletter.

Oh, wow. You’re about to get a surprise from us in the mail too. I can’t tell you what it is.

Oh my god, I can’t wait. I can’t wait. It’s a big one. Doesn’t get much bigger.

But I know you’re a big fan of Hope’s recipes. Is there a favorite recipe from the newsletter that you like?

Obviously, it was definitely be Hope’s great grandmother’s, pecan pumpkin pie. I mean, that was really a recipe. We all remember and she definitely put in the newsletter. And it just really, it’s now become a part of our family tradition. And boy, are we thankful for that.. And how about,

How about Dry January? Am I right? Just for the fifth year in a row. I think some people are still doing dry January.

I am. From what

Oh, it’s you. It’s you. I got to remember who Vix picks. You think I don’t read Vix’s picks?

You think I don’t know you’re trying to escape the humidity? Two months from May to August this year.

That’s right. That’s right. So you have been reading. And Vix’s picks are as good as it gets. I read every word because as a great man once told me, be a goldfish.

Be a goldfish.

In closing, I would like you to be able to share one thing that you want the people, the listeners, to know that’s great about LaFourche Parish.

That’s right about LaFourche Parish?

Yeah. Nicholls State University and the College of Business is what I want to talk about. Look, we’ve hired excellent faculty members from all over the country to teach in the College of Business. If you come to Nicholls, you’re going to get a small student faculty ratio, you’re going to get professors that actually care about you. And one day you could be so successful, you could own your own law firm. Those are the kinds of graduates that we, that we have at Nicholls State.

But seriously, I’d love any of your listeners. They’ve got, you know, students that are in high school that are looking. They don’t want to go to the big schools. They want a smaller school experience. I would love for them to get in touch with me and hear more about Nicholls.

Yeah, Nicholls is a great. And all seriousness. I love Nicholls. I’m a great Nicholls. I know. You’re a Nicholls supporter. And there’s more. A lot of a fair amount of Nicholls grads in New Orleans and Baton Rouge and different sectors and law. And it’s just a great university. So I hope there were more people who start to look at that as an option because you really do have that close regional university, which is much more affordable than. No offense to my alma mater from law school, Loyola or Tulane.

Yeah. Much more affordable, very close and small campus feel.

So in closing, Gene, anything else you’d like to leave our listeners with?

It’s been a fantastic discussion. We’ve really hit on some groundbreaking.

Oh, some big, big topics.

No, man. I’m, I’m really thankful for the invite. I really am. When I see people that we grew up with, like doing well, like you are. It makes me proud. I am. I’m proud of where we’re from and I think that I’m super, super grateful for the childhood that we have and I’m genuinely happy for you.

The feeling is mutual.

All right, thank you all for listening. This has been a fascinating discussion with one of my best friends and lifelong friend. Learned about history and French together. That’s how we became fluent in French. I actually was speaking French earlier.

Oh, I, I mean, I constantly. I could barely speak English. My French is so good.

I know. Somebody told me that the other day.

Yeah. It’s amazing. Madame, she did that for us. She did.

Thank you all for listening. This has been the Overruled podcast brought to you by the Scott Vicknair Law firm. I hope that you check out the Go Law Firm. We will put it in the show notes. It is in LaFourcheport, Louisiana. We’re also going to have a bunch of information and Nicholls in the show notes and all those links. So thank you, Gene, for being here. Professor Go, it’s been a pleasure, my friend.

It’s good talking with you.

Awesome. Thanks for having me. See you all next time.

Scott Vicknair. Injury Attorneys. We fight for the win. Information is for illustrative purposes only. And does not constitute tax, investment or legal advice. Always consult with a qualified investment, legal or tax professional before taking any action.