For Kim Landry, the law has never been simply a profession. It has been a lifetime of hard work, service, and a belief that our justice system works best when the people entrusted with it bring experience, fairness, common sense, and compassion to the job. Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Kim grew up in a family with deep Louisiana roots. Her paternal great-grandparents immigrated from Sicily and settled in New Roads, where they operated a grocery store. Her grandfather, Sam D’Amico, became a highly respected criminal defense attorney who practiced law for almost 70 years and had a profound influence on Kim and the lawyer she would eventually become. Kim learned the value of hard work long before she entered a courtroom. She began babysitting at age 10 and took her first regular job at Luther’s BBQ at 14. After attending public school and Sacred Heart, Kim followed in her mother's footsteps and attended St. Joseph’s Academy. She worked at McDonald’s on Sherwood Forest Boulevard to help pay her tuition and continued working her way through high school, college, and eventually law school. At Louisiana State University, Kim majored in History and minored in Religious Studies, completing her undergraduate degree in just over three years. LSU is also where she met her husband, David. The two married in 1991 and began building their life together. After LSU, Kim's first career placed her on the front lines of Louisiana's criminal justice system as a probation and parole officer with the Department of Corrections. Working in mainly low-income areas throughout East Baton Rouge Parish, Kim supervised probationers and parolees who had to earn their way back — no shortcuts, no excuses. She held them to the terms of their probation. But she didn't stop at enforcement. She pushed probationers and parolees to find work, walked them through applications, and ensure work attendance — because a second chance has to be earned. That experience helped shape a philosophy Kim has carried throughout her career: every part of the justice system has a responsibility to work together to enforce the law, protect the public, and give people the tools to build better lives. In 1993, Kim entered Southern University Law Center, choosing Southern in part because she valued the diversity of its student body and the experience it offered. She continued working while attending law school, returning to bartending and later working as a law clerk for the Department of Corrections and Department of Labor. Despite balancing law school with multiple jobs, Kim excelled academically. She graduated magna cum laude, sixth in her class, served on Law Review and the Trial Advocacy Team, and was selected to serve on the Southern Law Center Honor Code Committee. Some of her most meaningful legal education, however, came alongside her grandfather. While still a law student, Kim had an opportunity to work with her grandfather. Together, they wrote Kim's first appellate brief—and won, successfully overturning a conviction. It was an early courtroom victory and the beginning of what would become significant appellate experience during Kim's legal career. Following law school, Kim began practicing in insurance defense. In 2001, she moved her practice to Gonzales and built a broad-based legal career rather than limiting herself to a single specialty. Over the years, Kim has handled family law, criminal matters, juvenile and child in need of care matters, civil litigation, successions, boundary disputes, and substantial appellate work. Her experience has also included serving as a Federal Public Defender in Louisiana Middle District Court and as an Assistant District Attorney in the 23rd Judicial District Court, where she prosecuted sex crimes. That breadth of experience has allowed Kim to see the justice system from nearly every side. She has experienced the judicial system through enforcement in the supervision of the probations and paroles of convicted criminals and prosecuting serious crimes, advocacy in representing individuals in need, defending cases and spending decades navigating complex legal issues in trial and appellate courts. Through it all, Kim has remained grounded in a simple principle: the law applies to everyone, fairly - with no exceptions, and every person who enters the courtroom should be treated with respect. Her commitment to service extends well beyond her legal practice. Kim is an active member of the 23rd Judicial District Court Bar Association and the Greater Ascension Rotary Club, where she was recognized as the 2025–2026 Rotarian of the Year. She has served on the board of Volunteer Ascension for twelve years and personally supports Wounded War Heroes by cooking for and hosting veterans through the organization. For Kim, those activities aren't just boxes to check or lines on a résumé. They reflect the values she has lived by: work hard, treat people fairly, take care of your neighbors, and never underestimate the power of a single act of kindness. Kim Landry has spent her career on every side of the justice system — and she has seen firsthand both its power and its responsibility. That lifetime of experience, and her commitment to fairness, integrity, accountability, common sense, and respect, is what Kim brings to the bench.