Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards

12/08/2025

12/05/2025

OUR HOME: 556 JEFFERSON STREET

Jefferson Towers—located at 556 Jefferson Street (on the NW corner of Jefferson Street and Vermilion Street) in downtown Lafayette—is where we go to work every day. It’s one of the most instantly recognizable buildings in the Hub City. However, it wasn’t always that way.

The Cottage Hotel operated at this location in the late 1890’s through the turn of the century. In 1911, the property was sold to the federal government to accommodate plans to build a new post office here after outgrowing the old one located at 423 Jefferson Street (Central Pizza operates out of that still standing building today). The post office operated here from 1915 until 1960 during which time Lafayette’s population grew from 7,000 residents to 40,000. In 1960, the post office moved to the new federal courthouse located on the corner of Jefferson/Main Street which had been completed in 1958 (today, it is the Lofts at the Municipal apartments). The vacant post office building here was demolished in 1960 to make way for a new trend happening all across America: parking towers. The 13-story Quik Park parking tower was built here in 1960. It featured two automated car elevators. Drivers would leave their vehicles on the first floor for parking attendants to park them on the floors above. There was only one problem: the Quik Park wasn’t quick at all. Locals recall often having to wait for 45 minutes or more to retrieve their cars during peak hours. Making matters worse, one of the car elevators was always broken. Drivers quickly decided that parking elsewhere at street level was a better use of their time. To no one’s surprise, the parking tower closed after a year. It sat abandoned for next two decades (1961-1981). In 1981, the tower was sold at sheriff’s sale to a partnership formed by architect Pierce Meleton and his partners along with attorneys Bob Wright, James Domengeaux, Jim Roy and their partners in the law firm of Domengeaux & Wright. The group originally intended on converting the tower into a luxury hotel but quickly settled on converting it into an office building. The riskiest part of the build was knocking out every other steel reinforced concrete floor of the old 13-story tower. What was once a 13-story parking tower was ultimately transformed into an 8-story office building (the development group added an 8th floor on the roof of the tower if you are counting). Removing every other floor was necessary because each of the original 13 floors were too close to each other to safely accommodate electrical, HVAC, and functional office space. Weill Construction Company was the general contractor and did a great job. Interestingly, it is one of the few buildings in Lafayette with a basement and was one of the first in town to feature an auxiliary diesel powered generator. The project that began in1981 was completed in 1983 and Jefferson Towers was born. Our law firm moved in on September 12,1983 and has operated here continuously since that time. In 1984, artist Robert Dafford was hired to paint a mural on the north side of the building. His iconic 114-foot tall mural depicting several antique cars is aptly named “Ex Garage,” a hat tip to the rich and curious history of the building we call home.

11/11/2025

We'd like to wish a very happy Veteran's Day to all of the veterans out there including our very own Special Counsel, Elwood C. Stevens, Jr. Elwood attained the rank of Specialist 4 while serving in the U.S. Army's JAG Corps (1970-1973) including a 1972 tour of duty in the Vietnam War. Thank you for your service to our country, Elwood!

11/07/2025

We had a great time last night at Warehouse 535 for the installation of the Lafayette Bar Association's 2025-2026 officers. Our friend and colleague, Trey Hightower, was sworn in as LBA President. DWRE partner, Andrew Quackenbos, was sworn in as LBA President-Elect. DWRE attorney, Brittany Lacombe, was sworn in as Vice-President of the Family Law Section. DWRE attorney, Ross Roubion, was sworn in as President-Elect of the Young Lawyers Section. Congratulations to all of the 2025-2026 LBA officers!

07/10/2024

Congratulations to DWRE attorney Brittany Lacombe for her selection as a Pro Bono Hero by the Lafayette Bar Association!

Today, we feature attorney Brittany Lacombe with Domengeaux, Wright, Roy, & Edwards, LLC, who often takes pro bono cases through the Lafayette Bar Foundation!

Brittany has been practicing law for 2 years. When asked about volunteer services she says, "To me, volunteering means working hand-in-hand with my community to ensure that everyone has a chance for fair representation.” We thank YOU for all that you do!

Are you interested in volunteering? Contact our Pro Bono Director [email protected] to ask questions or get started today!

11/24/2023

Happy Thanksgiving from our crew to yours!

05/18/2023

We are excited to spotlight one of our newest attorneys here at Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards, Brittany D. LaCombe:

Brittany represents clients in family law and personal injury matters. As an active foster parent, she brings an unrivaled passion for the law, family, and child welfare to the firm. Brittany was born and raised in Acadia Parish where she still lives with her husband and two daughters. She attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where she double majored in Anthropology and Political Science. She graduated from Southern University Law Center at the top of her class where she was a member the Law Review and recipient of the Dean’s Scholar Award. Brittany was admitted to the Louisiana Bar in May of 2022 and has led the firm’s family law division since March 2023. Brittany is licensed to practice law in all Louisiana state courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Western District of Louisiana, the Eastern District of Louisiana, and the Middle District of Louisiana.

03/03/2022

https://youtu.be/JtyUrVPafys Kate Labue and John Roy were guests on KLFY's Meet Your Neighbor last week discussing their work with the Boys & Girls Club

Since 1947 the Youth of the Year (YOY) program has been Boys & Girls Clubs premier recognition program, celebrating Club members’ extraordinary achievements....

02/23/2022

Congratulations to this month's Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Month for the Jackie Club, Brittany Sanders! We were honored to sponsor Brittany and wish her the best as she moves on to compete in the regional Youth of Year program.