Mr. Bradley L. Drell
Director
Gold, Weems, Bruser, Sues & Rundell, APLC
http://www.goldweems.com
BRADLEY L. DRELL is a director and shareholder of the law firm of Gold, Weems, Bruser, Sues & Rundell, A PLC, in Alexandria, LA, and serves as chair of the firm's Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights section. His practice focuses on representing Debtors in Possession and other parties in interest in Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 cases, commercial litigation, construction law, and in handling non-routine legal matters in state and federal courts. In addition to his Louisiana federal and state bar admissions, he is also admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts of the Southern, Eastern, and Northern Districts of Texas, and the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, the United States Court of Federal Claims, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second, Fourth, Fifth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Federal Circuits, and the Supreme Court of the United States. For ten years he was an adjunct lecturer of business law at Louisiana College, Pineville, LA, and has previously been a speaker on bankruptcy, ethics, and professionalism for continuing legal education presentations. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of the South, Sewanee, TN, and graduated from LSU Law Center in 1996. He clerked for the Honorable Henley A. Hunter, Judge, United States Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Louisiana, from 1996 to 1997. He is past President of the Crossroads American Inn of Court and the Alexandria Bar Association. He is board certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification and the Louisiana State Bar Association, and is past chair of the Bankruptcy Law Advisory Commission of the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. He is listed in Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers, and has received national awards for his work in Chapter 11 from the Turnaround Management Association, the Global M&A Network, and M&A Advisor. Brad is a Certified Bourbon Steward of the Stave & Thief Society of Kentucky and writes about whiskey at whiskeyjar.blog.

Mr. Jerry Edwards
United States Attorney's Office Western District of LA
Jerry Edwards is an Assistant United States Attorney in the Western District of Louisiana. He currently serves as Chief of the Civil Division and has held this position since September 2020. In his role as Civil Chief he oversees all civil actions involving the United States brought in federal or state courts within the territorial limits of the Western District of Louisiana. These actions include torts, employment litigation, federal program litigation, judicial review of agency decisions, bankruptcy and collection proceedings, and lawsuits filed by the United States to recover money lost due to fraud or to impose civil penalties for violations of the nation's health, safety and economic welfare laws

Judge Meredith S. Grabill
United States Bankruptcy Judge
US Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Louisiana
The Honorable Meredith S. Grabill currently serves in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Prior to taking the bench in September 2019, she practiced primarily in the areas of bankruptcy, commercial, and oil-and-gas litigation in New York and Louisiana. In her practice, she served on bankruptcy teams representing publicly traded, closely held, and individual chapter 11 debtors; official unsecured creditors’ committees; and corporate creditors. Outside of bankruptcy court, she has represented large and multinational corporations in antitrust proceedings, labor and contract disputes, and insurance and reinsurance disputes.
Judge Grabill served as a judicial clerk to The Honorable Edith Brown Clement in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, The Honorable Martin L.C. Feldman in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and The Honorable Martin Glenn in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. She earned her J.D. from Tulane Law School, where she served as Editor in Chief of the Tulane Law Review, and received a B.A. from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.

Ms. Monica Griffith-Braud
United States Attorney's Office
Monica Braud
Assistant U.S. Attorney
Middle District of Louisiana

Monica is the Financial Litigation Coordinator for the United States Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Louisiana. The Financial Litigation Program is primarily responsible for collection of all Civil and Criminal money judgments awarded in the Middle District of Louisiana. Monica graduated magna cum laude from Southern University Law Center in May 2010, after receiving her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she was the staff attorney for the Chapter 13 Trustee, Annette C. Crawford. Monica was an associate of the law firm of Derren S. Johnson & Associates from 2010-2018, where she handled consumer bankruptcies and collections for a local credit union.

Mr. Karl M. Helo
Attorney/Partner
Simon Fitzgerald, LLC
http://www.simonfitzgerald.com
Karl M. Helo is a partner of Simon, Fitzgerald LLC and is currently in charge of the Lafayette branch of the firm. Mr. Helo graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Pre-Law in 2008 and received his Juris Doctor and Diploma in Civil Law degree from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University Law School in 2011. Mr. Helo's practice is almost exclusively in the area of Consumer Bankruptcy. Mr. Helo was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2011 and is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Judge John S. Hodge
United States Bankruptcy Judge
U.S. Bankruptcy Court
http://www.lawb.uscourts.gov
John S. Hodge serves as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Louisiana. Prior to his appointment in 2018, he served as a Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee and was a member of a Shreveport law firm where his practice focused on bankruptcy, commercial litigation and commercial real estate. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Louisiana State University, and a J. D. from Louisiana State University Law Center.

Mr. Todd S Johns
Chapter 13 Trustee, Northern District of Mississippi; Chapter 12 Trustee, Louisiana
Todd S. Johns Chapter 13 Trustee
Todd Johns is currently a Chapter 13 Trustee for the Nothern District of Mississippi and the Chapter 12 Trustee in Louisiana. He was previously the Chapter 13 Trustee for the Shreveport Division of the Western District of Louisiana from 2016 to 2023. Prior to this appointment, Todd was the staff attorney and office manager for the Chapter 13 and Chapter 12 offices of Harold J. Barkley, Jr. from October 2005 to August 2016. He was the staff attorney for Harold J. Barkley, Jr and Locke D. Barkley from June 1999 to October 2005. Prior to his bankruptcy practice, Todd began his practice as an assistant state attorney for the 3rd Judicial District of Florida, and worked as an insurance defense attorney in Jackson, Mississippi. He is licensed to practice in all Courts in Mississippi and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is also an inactive member of the Florida Bar.

Todd is a native of Live Oak, Florida, and attended Jacksonville University (FL) and the Mississippi College School of Law. He is a member of the Booth-Politz Inn of Court, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the Western District of Louisiana Rules Committee. He has previously been a speaker at the Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference, the LSU Bankruptcy Conference, the Region 5 Standing Trustee Training and the NACTT annual seminar.

Mr. Benjamin W. Kadden
Lugenbuhl, Wheaton, Peck, Rankin & Hubbard
Benjamin (Ben) Kadden is the Managing Partner and leader of the Restructuring and Insolvency Section at Lugenbuhl. His areas of focus include bankruptcy, restructuring, creditors’ rights, corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, litigation, and asset-based finance. Ben has acted as lead counsel for various Official Committees of Unsecured Creditors, as well as special counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Trico Marine bankruptcy. He has also served as Debtor’s counsel in a number of Chapter 11 proceedings, including Gulf Fleet Holdings, Inc., East Cameron Partners, L.P., and Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co.
Admitted to practice in Louisiana and Texas, Ben has also served as special or local counsel in several large Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in the Southern District of Texas. He has represented numerous liquidating and litigating trusts arising out of confirmed plans of reorganization and has participated in a number of merger and acquisition transactions. Because of his experience in complex Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, Ben has knowledge regarding the purchase or sale of assets by distressed companies, including navigating the process while a buyer or seller is in bankruptcy.
Ben is admitted to practice and regularly does so in the following jurisdictions: Louisiana, Texas, U.S. Fifth Circuit, and all U.S. District Courts in Louisiana and Texas. His is ranked by Chambers USA ranking, is recognized by Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers, a New Orleans Top Lawyer recipient, and an AV Preeminent Rated Attorney by Martindale-Hubbell.

Mr. Timothy P. Kirkpatrick
Kirkpatrick & Associates, LLC
Timothy P. Kirkpatrick is the managing member of a law firm Kirkpatrick & Associates, LLC. He received a BSM in 1987 from Tulane University, A B Freeman School of Business and his Juris Doctorate from Tulane University in 1990. His practice focuses on representing consumer debtors in chapter 13‘s and 7’s in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Judge John W. Kolwe
Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge
US Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana
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 until April 25, 2019. On October 5, 2018, he was appointed to the Lafayette and Lake Charles Divisions to fill the vacancy left by Judge Summerhays. He served as Chief Judge for the Western District of Louisiana from April 2018 to April 2023. He received his B.S. in Accounting from Centenary College of Louisiana in 1985. Following graduation from Centenary, Judge Kolwe worked as a CPA. Judge Kolwe received his J.D. in 1991from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center. He practiced law in Lafayette, Louisiana from 1991 until joining the bench. John is presently the Fifth Circuit Governor of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. He is also a member of the Dean’s Council for the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center. John and his wife, Miriam, reside in Lafayette, Louisiana, where they raised their two children.

Ms. Kimberly J. Lewis
Louisiana Department of Revenue
Kimberly J. Lewis– Secretary of Revenue, Louisiana Department of Revenue

Secretary Lewis is a 1998 graduate of the LSU Law Center. She attended LSU where she received her B.A. in Political Science in 1993 and a M.A. in Public Administration in 1995.

Before becoming Secretary of Revenue, Ms. Lewis was a partner in the Tax & Estates Practice Group at Jones Walker, LLP focusing primarily on state and local tax matters, economic development financing, incentives and government relations.

Before joining Jones Walker, Ms. Lewis served as Special Counsel for the Office of the Governor of the State of Louisiana, where she provided legal counsel to Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and served as Senior Policy Advisor on Revenue, Economic Development and Insurance Policy. She also worked for six years at the Louisiana Department of Revenue, serving as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Legal Affairs and Confidential Assistant to the Secretary. From 1998–2000, she served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Justice Bernette J. Johnson of the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Secretary Lewis currently serves as an ex-officio member of the Resilient Louisiana Commission, which is charged with helping chart the state’s path from COVID-19 to a stronger and healthier economy that is more resistant to future disruptions. She is a board member of the Federation of Tax Administrators Board of Trustees and the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers. She was the 2016-2017 President of the Southeastern Association of Tax Administrators (SEATA), and is a highly sought-after speaker on matters involving income, franchise, sales/use, severance, ad valorem property, and other tax issues. Since 2016, she has been a member of the Sales Tax Streamlining and Modernization Commission, the Task Force on Ad Valorem Tax Structure, and the Transportation Infrastructure Funding Task Force. She co-chaired the Task Force on Structural Changes in Budget and Tax Policy and chaired the Louisiana Retail Food and Beverage E-Commerce Task Force.

Ms. Lewis was listed in The Best Lawyers in America© in 2015 in the area of Tax Law, and in the 2014 edition of Louisiana Super Lawyers in the area of Tax. She has chaired the Section of Taxation for the Louisiana State Bar Association. In 2015, she received the Distinguished Achievement award from LSU Law Center and the Diversity Journal recognized her as one of the “Women Worth Watching.” In 2016, The LSU E.J. Ourso College of Business Public Administration Institute honored Ms. Robinson as the Distinguished MPA Alumnus.

Prior honors and awards: Leadership Greater Baton Rouge Class of 2003, Leadership Louisiana Class of 2003, Baton Rouge Business Report Forty Under 40 Honoree 2006, Louis A. Martinet Legal Society Trailblazer Award 2013, Baton Rouge Business Report Influential Women in Business Honoree 2014, Law360 Minority Powerbrokers Q&A Series 2015, and State Tax Notes Notable Person of 2017.

Mr. Armistead M. Long
Gordon, Arata, Montgomery, Barnett, McCollam, Duplantis and Eagan, LLC
Army joined Gordon Arata in March 2011, bringing the knowledge and experience he earned over the course of his successful entrepreneurial career. His practice focuses on bankruptcy, creditors’ rights and commercial transactional work for corporate, oil, gas and energy clients in Louisiana and Texas.

Army is a skilled and diplomatic contract negotiator, facilitating his clients’ national and international service and supply agreements, leases, licensed manufacturing, distribution and labor agreements. His experience includes successfully leading his clients through corporate mergers, acquisitions and sales. It also includes successful “bet the farm” crisis management.

Army understands process, manufacturing and quality control. He served as chief executive officer of JBLCo Holdings, Inc., a leading North American manufacturer of bulk materials sampling systems and mine safety equipment he co-founded in 1986. He is also the co-inventor of several U.S. patents for control and design of bulk material sampling equipment. Following the sale of JBLCo, Army entered law school in the fall of 2002.

Excelling in and out of the classroom while in law school, Army interned with the Honorable Pamela A. Mathy, Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas and with Region 7 (Western District of Texas – San Antonio) of the Office of the U.S. Trustee. He also clerked with a leading San Antonio intellectual property law firm.

Following law school graduation in May 2005, Army served as law clerk to the Honorable Ronald B. King, Chief Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas before moving to Asheville, North Carolina to work in the business and litigation practice groups of one of the state’s most respected and established law firms.

Now happily residing in the Louisiana sportsman’s paradise, Army and his family enjoy fishing and hunting along with Cajun food and culture.