After growing up in Laramie, Wyoming and graduating from the University of California at Santa Cruz, Lou obtained his J.D. degree in 1993 from Georgetown University Law Center with an emphasis in public interest law. after 11 years as a Legal Services attorney, first in Virginia and then Montana, Lou began contracting with the Montana Aging Services Legal Services Developer in 2005 specializing in elder law. He presently lives and has his private practice in Missoula.