Hector Lareau is engaged in the general practice of law, specializing in education law and civil litigation. Lareau’s expertise in both fields includes successful counseling, trial work, and deal making. He is regularly involved in trial and appellate litigation in the state and federal courts and administrative tribunals, and has substantial experience with alternative dispute resolution, both on behalf of clients and as a neutral party.
Lareau’s litigation experience began with several jury trials and dozens of bench trials that he prosecuted while practicing under a student license in the summer of 1992. His work in two prosecutors' offices (Story County, Iowa, and Whiteside County, Illinois) provided early opportunities to develop his trial practice skills. That experience was bolstered during a research assistantship with Prof. James Adams and clerking positions at three private firms. Before launching his own practice in 2005, Lareau was a shareholder at two prominent Quad City law firms, Pappas & Schnell, P.C. (Nov. 1999 - Jan. 2005) and Snyder & Schwarz, P.C. (June 1993 - Nov. 1999).
While working as a television broadcast journalist before entering the legal profession, Lareau won awards from the Associated Press, United Press International, the National Press Photographers’ Association, and other organizations. He also has a long list of credits as a freelance sports broadcaster and in public television and private programming.