Education

• JD, 1999, Loyola University of Louisiana
• BA, 1996, Tulane University

Biography

Lucia Blacksher Ranier has dedicated her legal career to the practice of civil rights.  As a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section, she represented the government in pattern and practice cases alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act in employment, public accommodations, and services provided by state and local governments. As general counsel for the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC), she oversaw litigation filed on behalf of persons alleging housing discrimination in sales, rental, public housing, and exclusionary zoning practices.  After Hurricane Katrina, she represented GNOFHAC and an individual landlord in litigation challenging St. Bernard Parish’s enactment of a “blood relative ordinance,” which restricted the rental of single-family residences in St. Bernard Parish to those related by blood to the owner of the property.  She also assisted with GNOFHAC’s investigation of and challenge to the Road Home Program’s racially discriminatory calculation of homeowner grants post-Katrina. She joined the Tulane Civil Litigation Clinic in 2009 and was named director in 2016. She has taught third-year law students regarding pre-trial and trial practice while representing clients in housing, employment, and disability discrimination matters, as well as Section 1983 litigation.  She has also supervised litigation on behalf of several incarcerated persons making constitutional claims against correctional facilities and other governmental entities in Louisiana.