Amelia / Amy Lafont is proud Cajun lady from Southeast Louisiana by way of Bayou LaFourche and Bayou St. John. She received her first two years of college education in Sociology and Economics at Loyola University New Orleans, where she was designated as an Ignation Scholar and an Emerging Leader. Next she apprenticed in construction project management and earned several professional certificates in construction, small business management, and alternative dispute resolution.
Prior to law school, Amelia was a successful Brownfield / Construction Project Manager. As a young professional, she managed a multimillion-dollar property portfolio on the Mississippi Riverfront in Downtown New Orleans. She handled and supported complex acquisitions, business operations, financing processes, litigation support, permits, contractor oversight, logistics, and more for industrial, commercial, and residential real estate investments and related businesses. A few years after Hurricane Katrina, with the changing economy, she moved to the legal field as a paralegal and law office administrator.
Amelia then moved to Arkansas and completed two different concurrent degree programs. She first completed the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Early Admittance Law Program with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy / Legal and Moral Studies, and a Juris Doctor at UALR William H. Bowen School of Law. She also earned a Concurrent Master's Degree in Public Service from the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service with a focus on education policy. She was admitted to practice in the State Courts of Arkansas in 2015, and the United States District Courts in Arkansas in 2016. Amelia is a scholar of the U. S. Constitution, American and International Education Law, Philosophy of Education Law, Acadian and Huguenot Genealogy, the French Wars of Religion, and the American Revolution in the Midwest.
Amelia primarily serves clients in Northwest Arkansas. She is honored to continue the legacy of the late Mr. John W. Walker in her education-focused civil rights work throughout the State of Arkansas and beyond. She represents individuals and families in a range of legal matters, including education, contracts, probate, domestic relations, and juvenile justice cases. She is a highly accomplished advocate for students and educators in administrative and legal proceedings.
As second-career attorney, Amelia uses her extensive knowledge of legal, administrative, business, financial, and real estate practices to thoroughly investigate situations and reach realistic conclusions. As an independent thinker and facilitator, she challenges assumptions, develops clarity, and negotiates for consensus. She is practical, direct, discreet, decisive, and effective. She is good-hearted, no-nonsense, strategically creative, and fiercely protective of her clients' interests. Her work product reflects her high standards for excellence. In approaching legal issues, she remains grounded in the facts, laws, evidence, and securing just outcomes. She is often successful by pursuing reasonable and fair solutions. When appropriate, she uses a conflict resolution approach to re-set relationships and establish better dynamics amongst parties and systems. She always works to set her clients up for lasting success going forward.
