METAIRIE, LA – Attorney Donald “Chick” Foret, a 42-year veteran of law who served as WWL-TV’s legal analyst and expert for 19 years, announced that he will seek the Jefferson Parish 24th Judicial District Court Division H open seat in the November elections.
Shortly after graduating from Tulane University Law School, Foret began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in Orleans Parish. He was quickly promoted to prosecute in the Career Criminal Bureau, a select team of prosecutors to deal with New Orleans’ most serious violent criminal offenders. Foret joined the Department of Justice in 1982 as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.
As a federal prosecutor, Foret was appointed to an elite special task force which was created and led by Vice President George H.W. Bush to combat drug trafficking in America.
Foret successfully led a private law practice for 20 years including recovering over $70 million for dozens of businesses who were adversely affected by the BP oil spill tragedy in 2010.
Over the span of his career in law, Foret has amassed more than 200 jury trials practicing before state and federal courts across multiple jurisdictions. He has managed thousands of cases in both civil and criminal courts.
Foret also served as an Assistant Parish Attorney for Jefferson Parish, as City Attorney for the City of Harahan and Pro Bono as the Magistrate for the City of Harahan. Foret also served as an ad hoc judge in New Orleans Municipal Court.
Said Foret, “I have enjoyed a long history of using the law to vigorously protect our community, resolve disputes, and passionately help people present their cases before the court. I am at a point in my life where I have the integrity, patience, experience, energy and resources to use my extensive knowledge of the law to work tirelessly to fairly and decisively settle matters as a judge. Over several decades, I have seen the best and worst of our criminal justice system, and I will use that wide-range and comprehensive set of experiences to make my court a model for fairness, respect for all, and accelerated decision-making. I believe in the rule of law and judicial restraint, and I will employ both.”
Foret earned the distinction of being named a Top Lawyer of Louisiana, published by The Times-Picayune, in recognition for excellence and achievement by the legal community, and was recognized as a Top Lawyer by New Orleans Magazine. He holds the highest peer rating standard from the industry’s leading rating service Martindale Hubbell. This rating signifies that a large number of Foret’s peers rank him at the highest level of professional excellence for legal
knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards.
Foret is a graduate of Jesuit High School, studied business at Louisiana State University and earned his Juris Doctorate from Tulane Law School in 1977. Foret, a Republican, has been married to his wife Laurie for 40 years. They have three children, Brian, Kristin, and Courtney and four grandchildren, Margaux, Francis, Kane, and Josephine. The Division H seat is being vacated by Judge Glenn B. Ansardi.
