John W. Kolwe was appointed United States Bankruptcy Judge by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, effective August 12, 2015. He was sworn in by Bankruptcy Judge Robert R. Summerhays, and served in the Alexandria and Monroe Divisions of the Western District of Louisiana. Effective April 2, 2018, he became Chief Judge for the Western District of Louisiana. On October 5, 2018, he was appointed to the Lafayette and Lake Charles Divisions to fill the vacancy left by Judge Summerhays. Judge Kolwe received his B.S. in Accounting from Centenary College of Louisiana in 1985. Following graduation from Centenary, Judge Kolwe worked as a CPA with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. Judge Kolwe received his J.D. in 1991from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center. He practiced law in Lafayette, Louisiana from 1991until joining the bench. Most recently, he was a partner in the litigation section of regional law firm, Jones Walker LLP.