Mr. Johnston J Burkhardt
Sternberg, Naccari & White, LLC
Johnston Burkhardt joined Sternberg, Naccari & White in 2021. His diverse practice focuses on general litigation, family law litigation and mediation, and successions and estate planning. Johnston is a Child Custody and Visitation Mediator, and he is listed on the LSBA Alternative Dispute Resolution Section's Mediator Registry.

Johnston graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science in General Business, and then obtained his Juris Doctor and Graduate Diploma in Comparative Law from the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, where he served as Senior Articles Editor for the Journal of Energy Law and Resources, Volume VII.

While in law school at LSU, Johnston served as legal extern for the Hon. Erin Wilder-Doomes, a Magistrate Judge at the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. He also clerked during his 2L summer for the Honorable Fredericka H. Wicker at the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal. While studying for the bar and preparing to practice law, Johnston was the campaign manager for a prominent Judge running for an open seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court.

In addition to his litigation and estate planning practice, Johnston leads SNW's Divorce and Family Law Mediation Practice, where he serves as a family law mediator to help parties resolve issues involving divorce, child custody, support, and community property without protracted litigation.

Johnston also has significant experience in judicial interdiction proceedings. He regularly handles interdictions on behalf of a local hospital system involving individuals who require court-appointed representatives to assist with their personal and financial affairs. He also provides pro bono representation in interdiction matters for individuals and families in need through the Louisiana Pro Bono Project, combining his experience in this specialized area of Louisiana law with a commitment to expanding access to legal services.

Professor Elizabeth R. Carter
LSU Law Center
Professor Elizabeth R. Carter is the Saúl Litvinoff Distinguished Endowed Professor of Law and the Judge Anthony J. Graphia & Jo Ann Graphia Endowed Professor of Law at Louisiana State University Law Center. She is also the Director of the school's Graduate Certificate in Estate Planning and Taxation.

Professor Carter is an Academic Fellow in the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel (ACTEC) where she has held a number of leadership positions. Professor Carter regularly teaches and writes in the areas of estate planning and administration, taxation and Louisiana Civil Law. In addition to her teaching responsibilities at the Law Center, Professor Carter has taught courses for the Tax LL.M. programs at the University of Alabama and Boston University.

Professor Carter earned a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Spanish from the University of Memphis, magna cum laude. She earned her J.D. from Tulane University Law School, magna cum laude. She was elected Order of the Coif and awarded a Civil Law Certificate. While at Tulane, Professor Carter served as an articles editor of the Tulane Law Review, Volume 81, worked as a research assistant to Professor A.N. Yiannopoulos, and was a founding member of the Tulane Civil Law Society. Professor Carter was awarded the 2006 Dean Rufus C. Harris Award for the Best Writing on a Civil Law Subject by the Tulane Law Review. Upon graduation, Professor Carter was awarded the 2007 Louisiana Bar Association Civil Law Award for attaining the highest grade in civil law studies. Professor Carter earned her LL.M. in Tax from the University of Alabama in 2010.

Before joining the LSU faculty, Professor Carter worked at the New Orleans law firm of Lugenbuhl, Wheaton, Peck, Rankin & Hubbard where she practiced in the areas of estate planning and administration, business law, secured transactions, bankruptcy, and marine finance.

Ms. Leslie E. Halle
Shareholder
Gold, Weems, Bruser, Sues & Rundell
Leslie Halle is a shareholder at Gold, Weems, Bruser, Sues and Rundell, located in Alexandria. She received her bachelor’s degree in Accounting from LSU and graduated from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 2010. After graduation she clerked for the Honorable Mary L. Doggett, 9th Judicial District Court. Upon completion of her clerkship, she joined Gold, Weems, Bruser, Sues & Rundell. Leslie’s practice focuses on estate planning, succession and trusts. She is a Board Certified Estate Planning & Administration Specialist and currently serves as the Secretary of the Estate Planning Advisory Committee of the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization.

Ms. Riley F. Huntington
Koch St. Martin, LLC
Riley F. Huntington is an associate attorney of the law firm of Koch St. Martin. Riley received her bachelor’s degree in business management at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2017. Riley graduated with her J.D. and Diploma in Comparative Law from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center. During law school Riley was elected to The Order of the Barristers. Additionally, she served on the Board of Advocates and participated in several Dispute Resolution Competitions. Since graduating, Riley has remained active with LSU’s Advocacy Programs by coaching the ABA Negotiation Competition the past two years. Riley’s practice focuses on estate planning, successions, wills, powers of attorney, living wills, trusts, and tax resolution.

Ms. Beverly Isabel Perkins
Erlingson Banks
A native of New Jersey, Beverly earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Louisiana State University in 2017, and her Juris Doctorate and Graduate Diploma in Comparative Law from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 2020. While in law school, Beverly was a Senior Editor for the Journal of Energy Law and Resources, the president of the Tax Law Society, a member of the Tax Moot Court Team, and a research assistant focusing on trusts, estates, and taxation.

Beverly’s practice area focuses on estate planning and estate administration including drafting trusts, wills, power of attorneys, and health care directives; the management and transfer of assets; handling successions; and trust administration. Since being admitted to the practice of law, she has been dedicated to providing excellent estate planning and succession services to her clients.

Beverly is admitted to practice in the State of Louisiana and is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association and the Baton Rouge Bar Association.

Ms. Katherine Wells Gressett
Sternberg, Naccari & White, LLC
Katherine Wells Gressett is an attorney with Sternberg, Naccari & White, LLC, joining the firm in 2022 and practicing in the firm’s New Orleans office.



Katherine brings her considerable talents to the firm’s estate planning and business litigation groups, after working most recently in environmental litigation, and representing states in natural resource damages litigation. She also practiced with a large regional firm based in New Orleans.



In her legal career, Katherine has extensive experience in both federal and state court. She has advocated for both plaintiffs and defendants in environmental, toxic tort, and legacy litigation, as well as commercial, construction and insurance litigation. She has experience in all stages of litigation, from pre-suit investigations and negotiation, to discovery, dispositive motions, oral argument, trial, and federal and state appeals.



Katherine received her Juris Doctor and Diploma in Civil law cum laude from Louisiana State University’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center, where she was a member of the LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources, was selected for the Moot Court Board and travelled nationally with LSU’s Jessup International Moot Court team. During law school, Katherine also completed an externship with U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Vance at the Eastern District of Louisiana as well as a summer clerkship with Judge Phyllis Keaty in the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal.



Katherine earned her bachelor’s degree in French Literature at Vanderbilt University. While at Vanderbilt, Katherine completed coursework at the Sorbonne in Paris and Aix-en-Provence.



Before attending law school, Katherine worked in Washington D.C. on a USAID-funded international health policy project advocating for maternal health services in Francophone West Africa.



Katherine is originally from Jackson, Mississippi but has adopted the francophone city of New Orleans as her home. She remains fluent in French. She lives in Mid-City with her husband, Tim, where they enjoy all kinds of outdoor adventures, traveling, and appreciating all the food, music, and culture that the region has to offer.