Local attorney Nicolas “Nico” La Hood proclaims he is a blessed man who is at peace with God.  He has a loving wife, family and a passion for seeking justice for all in our community.  The journey that got him to this point in life has not been without challenges but the experiences have made him the man he is today.  La Hood is a devoted family man, legal counselor, respected businessman and compassionate leader with a heart for service.  Nico has seen the justice system from all perspectives and has a unique understanding of the system and a vision for our city is to have an effective and efficient judicial system. 

Growing up in San Antonio La Hood had a close knit family that taught him the value of hard work, faith, and unconditional love.   His mother, Norma, grew up in San Antonio, attended St. Leo’s Catholic Church and graduated Harlandale High School.     His father, Michael La Hood, Sr., whose parents immigrated to the states from Lebanon, has been a well respected  local attorney for 42 years and currently serving as a judge.  His parents raised their three sons: Mike Jr., Nico and Marc.  His mother stayed home to raise the boys.   They spent time visiting their grandmother on the southside.   Nico recalls, on Sunday’s as they drove to church, his grandma made sure they blessed everything they passed along the way.  It was a good childhood, filled with love.

After graduating from Central Catholic High School, Nico was ready to take on the world.  He always knew God was with him but Nico was not walking in his faith.  He wanted to be the “cool guy” and that behavior led to an arrest on drug charges.  He makes no excuses for his actions.  At that time, the hardest thing was facing his father.  Sitting silently with his father, the gravity of his actions weighed on his heart.  He realized how he had failed those who loved him.  He was blessed with great parents and a wonderful faith-based childhood.  Yet, he had lost focus and he felt he disrespected his family.  Nico said too many lessons were learned from that experience but what resonated was “my actions have consequences not only to me but to those who love me”.  La Hood’s father, supported him but told him “it takes years to build a good reputation but one second to mess it up”.  Nico took that advice and made it his mission to start rebuilding himself as the man God wanted him to be. 

La Hood went through the justice system.  He appeared before a fair judge and took full responsibility for his actions.  He received deferred adjudication.  Later, after fulfilling the court’s requirements, including community service, the case was dismissed from his record.    The system worked for him and through that redemptive process he was given the opportunity to be accountable and he developed a desire to give back to society and compassion for those facing similar circumstances. 

Nico received a finance degree from St. Mary’s University, and then a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from St. Mary’s Law School.  He became a defense attorney, and serves as a Special Prosecutor for Bexar and Wilson counties.  Nico was also appointed by all nine Bexar County District County Judges to serve as a Magistrate Judge.   

Two years after his personal experience with justice system, Nico found himself questioning God and working through all aspects of the legal system when his family experienced the impact of a random violent crime first hand.  In 1997, Nico’s older brother, Michael La Hood, Jr., was brutally murdered in the driveway of his parent’s northside home.  That tragic night,  Mike, a college student, was out with some friends and a female friend was following him home in her car.  A group of guys were carjacking people and targeting women.  By chance, they began to follow his brother’s friend who was following Mike home.  When they arrived at his parent’s home, the individuals attempted to carjack and rob them. During the botched robbery, Mike was shot in the face and died at the scene.  Nico describes the shock and horror, he heard his mother’s heartbreaking sob and he saw his father cry for the first time.  He knew life would never be the same and he would never be the same.  La Hood said “I was never mad at God during that time but I think God would have understood if I was.”  Nico did not understand God’s plan and felt his faith was being challenged.  He began to pray and dealt with one day at a time.  He looked at it like climbing a mountain and only focused on where his hands and feet were that day, the space before him, and pulled himself up a bit.  It was too overwhelming to focus on the distance to the peak of that mountain.  He tried not to get discouraged and he prayed every day.  Nico became a fighter and took the battle on personally.  Through prayer,  martial arts and the pursuit of becoming a successful person in life, he set out to fight the evil that entered their lives.   However, he did not seek counsel at that time, suppressed things and found himself dealing with it years later.  The grieving process is real and it comes with the full range of emotions.  When you are a victim, the pain can paralyze you and you have to find a reason to get up every morning.  “My pop is my hero, because, if we wanted to; my younger brother, and I, and my mom, we could have stayed home in our misery and we would have still had a roof over our heads and food on the table.  But, no one was going to do that for him, he still had to provide for his two boys and his wife.  I told myself, there was no way, he was not going to fight the battle alone.” said La Hood.  Nico was registered for classes at St. Mary’s and was in class four days after Mike’s funeral.  He focused on working hard at school, his job and martial arts training.  Their lives were forever changed but they clung together as a family and moved forward.  Reflecting on that period, he acknowledges that was not the best way to handle such a tragedy and he encourages others to seek counsel early and immediately start the healing process.  “Try to find comfort in something every day, no matter how large or how small and pray.”  Those unfortunately going through such a process need to know that others care about them.  Sometimes there are just no words, so comfort may be found sitting with a friend, lending an ear to just listen and committing to hold the broken hearted up daily in prayer.  However, he is quick to point out, “there is no one size fits all”, everyone processes grief differently but he credits his faith and trust in God.

As the La Hood family was grieving, the justice system went into action as the perpetrators were caught, prosecuted and brought to justice.  In 2006, Nico and his younger brother, Marc,  represented the family and went to witness the execution of his brother’s killer.  Some may have thought they were seeking blood.  Again, God had a plan and took Nico to place he did not see coming in the form of peace and compassion for others.  While waiting for the impending execution, he knew in his heart that justice was being served but the Lord revealed much more.  There was a thin drywall divider between him and the other family.  Nico could hear the mother crying on the other side of the wall.  He knew that was her child and she did not raise him to do the things he had done. Nico realized that she loved him no matter what and this was a painful tragedy for her and his siblings too.  He prayed for his family, remembered his older brother and their loss but Nico also prayed for God to comfort the other family.  Once again, he was reminded that your actions have consequences not only to you but to those you love.  The healing process continues.  It took years for La Hood to openly discuss these events.  This is something you never get over but with God’s grace you share in the hope of encouraging others.

Today,  people come to Nico for guidance, counsel, comfort and compassion knowing his experiences can help others.    He speaks to underprivileged teens and emphasizes no matter what obstacles they may be facing, through faith and hard work opportunities will present themselves.  The equalizer in life is hard work.   He and his wife of four years,  Davida, are raising their daughter, Maya,  and are expecting another child.  Nico says Maya is a joy and a hope that every day is a new day.  Clearly, the apple of his eye, Nico wants her to have a happy, loving, safe childhood growing up in his hometown.  They attend a non-denominational church.   Nico is in awe of the type of guy Jesus must have been while he was teaching among us.   He credits God, his family, his church, counselors, police officers and mentors who helped him along the way.  He continues to trust that God has a plan.

La Hood’s deep-rooted passion for justice and his journey on paths he would not have chosen make him uniquely qualified to serve.  After much prayer and deliberation he is currently a candidate for District Attorney in Bexar County.   “Just as the Bible is our guide to life the Constitution is our guide for justice”, said  La Hood.  He seeks to put balance in the Bexar County judicial system.    

Nico has lived the justice system at every angle.  He is a fighter for justice everyday as a defense attorney, prosecutor and magistrate judge.  He acknowledges responsibility  for a cross road life experience with the law that gave him a second chance and Nico is also an empowered victim of a violent crime.  More importantly though, he is spiritual man who knows the meaning of unconditional love.