Honoring 20 Years Since Hurricane Katrina
Twenty years ago today, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and communities across the Gulf South, displaced families, destroyed homes and reshaped our region. For Phelps, recovery has underscored our collaborative spirit and connected us through challenges, patience and service.
In the two decades since, New Orleans has rebuilt stronger, and the Gulf South has emerged as a center of opportunity. Phelps continues to grow alongside that resurgence with new offices and expanded practices, bolstering our regional connections.
Each milestone anniversary has marked a new chapter in progress for both Phelps and the Gulf South. Now, the focus on public and private investment continues. Marshall Redmon, Phelps Managing Partner since 2019, reflects on these opportunities, and the importance of honoring the past and innovating the future.
“As we stand and remember the storm, 20 years later, so many thoughts flow through our heads,” Marshall said. “For me, it's the enduring spirit and persistence of our people. America loves a good comeback story, and it has one in New Orleans and the coast. We must keep writing the region's future.”
Helping to write that future is New Orleans Office Managing Partner Kim Boyle. Looking back on the last 20 years, she notes how recovery efforts did more than rebuild homes and businesses, they sparked lasting civic reform. Public, private and grassroots leadership worked in concert to lay the foundation for a stronger, more protected region, inspiring structural change and a renewed commitment to community resilience.
“Katrina taught us that resilience is not just about surviving a storm, it’s about building a region where people can thrive long after the waters recede,” Kim said. “We’ve created stronger systems, more transparent institutions and a renewed commitment to equity. These strides have given us a new foundation for the future of our region, one that rests on collaboration, accountability and a shared vision for lasting progress.”
In the wake of Katrina’s destruction, Partner Jim Wyly, a Bay St. Louis native, described the storm’s impact and challenges to Ted Koppel on ABC’s Nightline broadcast. His perspective from that time captured the support and resilience that carried our region from chaos to recovery.
In the years since his interview, what stands out to Jim now is the remarkable resilience and strength of both regions. Government support, local determination, and the willingness of neighbors to help one another gradually restored communities, businesses and infrastructure. Today, Jim sees not only recovery but growth: housing markets are thriving, new cultural connections are flourishing and the bonds across the Gulf Coast are stronger than ever.
“What strikes me most is the strength of the community,” Jim remarked. “After Katrina, neighbors helped neighbors, and over time the coast and New Orleans grew back together. Today, our ties, economic, cultural, and personal are stronger than ever. Our recovery has shown that when one side gets stronger, both do. It’s not two separate stories—it’s one shared story of resilience.”
Phelps remains deeply committed to New Orleans and the Gulf South. With 17 offices and more than 425 attorneys, we continue to invest in our people, our services and our clients.