Ms. Brooke W. Altazan
Attorney
Stewart Robbins Brown & Altazan, LLC
http://stewartrobbins.com
Brooke W. Altazan earned her B.A. degree at Samford University in 2005. She received her Juris Doctor from Mississippi College School of Law in 2009, where she served as an executive board member of the Moot Court Board and extern to United States Bankruptcy Judge Neil P. Olack of the Southern District of Mississippi. Ms. Altazan is licensed to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and all U.S. District Courts and state courts in Louisiana Mississippi, and Texas. She is also a member of the Federal Bar Association, Louisiana State Bar Association, Baton Rouge Bar Association, the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, American Bankruptcy Institute, and former president of the Baton Rouge Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Ms. Altazan is an equity member of Stewart Robbins Brown & Altazan, LLC, where her practice encompasses general litigation and bankruptcy matters, including the representation of corporate and individual debtors, creditors, trustees, and committees.

Ms. Erin K Arnold
Senior Associate
Kelly Hart & Pitre
Erin K. Arnold is a senior associate in Kelly Hart & Pitre's Bankruptcy & Business Reorganization section. She focuses her practice on bankruptcy and business reorganization, including the representation of both individual and business clients in various debtor/creditor matters. In addition to her practice at Kelly Hart, Ms. Arnold is a the co-director of the Pretrial Civil Litigation Intersession Program at Tulane Law School.

Prior to joining Kelly Hart, Ms. Arnold served for almost 15 years as the career law clerk to the Honorable Jerry A. Brown, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Ms. Hilary B Bonial
Managing Director
Bonial and Associates, PC
http://www.Bonialpc.com
Hilary B. Bonial is managing director of Bonial and Associates in Dallas, TX. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, from Loyola University in New Orleans in 1993, and her law degree from Louisiana State University Law Center in 1996.

Ms. Greta M Brouphy
Heller, Draper & Horn, LLC
Greta M. Brouphy works primarily in the bankruptcy practice group of the firm and is an appointed chapter 11 subchapter v trustee by the United States, Region 5 Districts of Louisiana and Mississippi and a Panel 7 Trustee. Specifically, Ms. Brouphy specializes in negotiating unsecured creditors, secured creditors and debtors through chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Ms. Brouphy has experience in representing a broad range of debtors including large, complex companies and small companies in bankruptcy. Her experience includes representation of debtors, liquidating trustees, bondholders, unsecured creditors’ committees and plan agents in commercial bankruptcy and workout business cases in chapter 11 and chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, as well as representing secured lenders in chapter 13 and chapter 7 proceedings. Ms. Brouphy also represents individual debtors in chapter 11 proceedings. Clients have included vessels builders, oil and gas companies, grocery stores, apartment complexes, property developers, hotels, and distributors. In addition to representing clients in corporate bankruptcy proceedings, Ms. Brouphy also assisted in the representation of an unsecured creditors committee in a chapter 9 (distressed municipality) bankruptcy proceeding through approval of a debt adjustment plan, and representation of the chapter 9 plan’s trustee.

Mr. Frederick L. Bunol
The Derbes Law Firm, LLC
Frederick L. Bunol is a member of The Derbes Law Firm, LLC in Metairie, Louisiana.
He graduated with a B.S. in Finance from LSU in 2000 and obtained his J.D. from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert School of Law in 2004
He began his legal career at the Derbes Law Firm in 2004. During these years of practice, he has had the opportunity to handle both extensive transactions and diverse litigation, especially commercial litigation. With the breadth of his litigation experience, he is comfortable whether litigating in Louisiana, Federal, or Bankruptcy Court.
In his bankruptcy practice, Mr. Bunol represents businesses and individuals that are Debtors in Chapter 11 and Chapter 7. In addition, he frequently represents Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustees, creditors, landlords, tenants, and other parties-in-interest in Bankruptcy Court. Mr. Bunol has assisted many types of businesses in bankruptcy, including, oilfield service companies, marine (tugboat companies and offshore supply boat companies), hospitality (restaurants and their equipment distributors), and apartment complexes.

Judge Michael A Crawford
Judge
United States Bankruptcy Court MDLA
Michael A. Crawford was sworn in as Chief Bankruptcy Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Louisiana on October 3, 2022. Judge Crawford was previously a member of Taylor Porter law firm in Baton Rouge for over 22 years serving as the chair of its banking, real estate and bankruptcy practice group for several years. He has lectured extensively on bankruptcy-related topics and completed the St. John’s University/American Bankruptcy Institute bankruptcy mediation course in 2014. Judge Crawford received his undergraduate degree in business/finance in 1984 from Louisiana State University. Later, while working full time in the family business in Ruston, he earned his MBA from Louisiana Tech University in 1988. He attended the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU and earned his Juris Doctorate in 1993. Following graduation, he served a one year judicial clerkship with the Honorable Gerald H. Schiff (Ret.), United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Judge Crawford grew up in Winnfield, Louisiana. He currently resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He and his wife have two children.

Ms. Robin Ronquillo De Leo
De Leo Law Firm
Robin Ronquillo De Leo is a managing member of The De Leo Law Firm, LLC located in Mandeville, Louisiana. Ms. De Leo received her B.A. from Michigan State University in 1987 and received her J.D. cum laude from Tulane University School of Law in 1990. Ms. De Leo has been practicing bankruptcy since 1990 when she started as an associate at the law firm of Friend, Wilson and Draper in New Orleans. Tired of the commute, in 1998, Ms. De Leo started her own law firm on the northshore.
Ms. De Leo also had the pleasure of briefly practicing law with her father, Allan Ronquillo, who passed away in 2020. Her practice focuses on representing both debtors and creditors in Chapter 7, Chapter 11, Chapter 11 Subchapter V and Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings. Ms. De Leo became certified as a specialist in consumer bankruptcy law in 2005 by the American Board of Certification, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. Ms. De Leo served on the Bankruptcy Law Advisory Committee for the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization and received the Pro Bono Publico and the Pro Bono Century Award from the Louisiana Bar Association, as well as the Distinguished Service Award from Southeast Legal Services. Ms. De Leo has conducted a seminar on consumer bankruptcy law sponsored by the National Business Institute and has been a featured speaker on bankruptcy issues at seminars hosted by the Conference on Consumer Finance, the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, the Credit Card Organization, the 22nd Judicial District Court Bar Association, and Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. Ms. De Leo has also conducted numerous in-house seminars on the management of bankruptcy caseloads and has drafted in-house procedures to be used in streamlining the handling of consumer bankruptcy cases. Ms. De Leo also served on the bankruptcy local rules committee for consumer cases for the bankruptcy court in the Eastern District of Louisiana. She is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, the Louisiana Bar Association, the New Orleans Bar Association, and the 22nd Judicial District Court Bar Association. Ms. De Leo resides in Mandeville with her husband John as “empty nesters.” The De Leo’s have a daughter residing in Atlanta and a daughter residing in Dubai.

Mr. Albert J. Derbes, IV IV
The Derbes Law Firm, LLC
Albert J. Derbes, IV is a founding member and co-managing member of the ten attorney Derbes Law Firm, LLC. He has practiced law for more than 30 years, with a heavy emphasis in commercial bankruptcy - - representing creditors, trustees, debtors and committees. Some of his more well-known cases include Schwegmann Giant Super Market (as Trustee’s counsel), Ormond Country Club (as Debtor’s counsel), and New Orleans Paddlewheel [i.e., the Creole Queen] (as Creditor Committee’s counsel). His other areas of practice include commercial litigation, commercial transactions, successions, succession & trust litigation, and entity law (esp. concerning the division of and liquidation of closely held businesses). Mr. Derbes is a frequent speaker on bankruptcy and other business-related topics. Mr. Derbes’ extensive litigation experience includes litigating in multiple Louisiana District Courts, Federal District Courts, Tax Court, as well as Bankruptcy Courts in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. He recently became certified as a Louisiana Mediator. He obtained his B.A. from Rice University and his J.D. from Tulane School of Law.

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.

Judge Jerry Edwards
Judge
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
Chief Judge Meredith Grabill started her tenure as the Chief Judge for the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana in 2019. Before taking the bench, she practiced law primarily in the areas of bankruptcy, commercial, and oil-and-gas litigation in Louisiana and New York. Judge Grabill worked on teams representing, as examples, a commercial real estate finance firm in bankruptcy, an insurance company in a demutualization and acquisition process, and creditors’ committees in E&P companies’ bankruptcy proceedings, as well as multinational high-tech corporations in antitrust proceedings worldwide and a professional players’ association in labor and contract disputes. She has represented insurance and reinsurance companies in contract disputes, and both individuals and corporations in fraudulent transfer and other commercial and oil-and-gas disputes. She had the privilege of serving as the clerk to the Special Master appointed by the United States Supreme Court to preside over an interstate water-rights dispute. To build upon the skills and experience she gained in her bankruptcy practice, Judge Grabill served as a judicial clerk to Judge Martin Glenn, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, from 2011-2012.
Before entering the private practice of law, she served as a judicial clerk to Judge Edith Brown Clement, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, from 2007-2008; and Judge Martin L.C. Feldman, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, from 2006-2007.
Judge Grabill earned her J.D. from Tulane University School of Law in 2006, where she served as Editor In Chief of the Tulane Law Review from 2005-2006. The faculty honored her with the John Minor Wisdom Award for Academic Excellence and Legal Scholarship that is awarded annually to an outstanding student of the graduating class. In 1997, she received her B.A. in Political Science and History from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.
Before law school, Judge Grabill worked with adjudicated and at-risk youth, providing direct cognitive-behavioral treatment to youth experiencing mental health symptoms, chemical dependency, and developmental delays. She later served as an executive-level administrator for a juvenile justice agency in Washington States, working with clinicians to develop and implement cognitive-behavioral treatment programs for youth residing in institutions and in the community.
In addition to her duties in the courtroom, Judge Grabill teaches an annual course at Tulane Law School on chapter 11 bankruptcy and restructuring.

Mr. Ernest Eugene Hastings
Chapter 13 Trustee
E. Eugene Hastings, Chapter 13 Trustee
E. Eugene Hastings has been serving as the Chapter 13 Trustee for the Monroe Division of the Western District of Louisiana since 2004. In February of 2015 he was also appointed as the case Trustee for all of the Chapter 12 cases pending in the State of Louisiana. Prior to serving as a Chapter 13 Trustee he was a Chapter 7 Trustee for approximately eight years and during this same time period he was appointed Trustee in several Chapter 11 cases. In addition to his duties as a Trustee, Gene Hastings has operated Bayou DeSiard Title Company, LLC since 1997. He received his undergraduate degree from Louisiana Tech University and is a 1984 graduate of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU. He is married to Margaret Adkins Hastings and they have two sons.