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.
Judge Marvin Isgur
US Bankruptcy Court Southern District of Texas
Marvin Isgur has been a United States Bankruptcy Judge since February 1, 2004. He was appointed to a second term as a Bankruptcy Judge, which began on February 1, 2018. Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr. appointed Judge Isgur to the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management. He is the sole bankruptcy judge appointed to the Committee by the Chief Justice. Judge Isgur was recently reappointed to a second term on the Judicial Conference Committee.
Judge Isgur currently presides over more than 4,000 bankruptcy cases. He has been instrumental in reforming consumer bankruptcy practices and rules both in the Southern District of Texas and nationally.
Judge Isgur is one of two judges who is assigned complex bankruptcy cases in the Southern District of Texas. In that capacity, he has presided over multiple bankruptcy cases with liabilities exceeding one billion dollars. In 2018, he was assigned the largest bankruptcy case filed in the United States.
In 1974, Judge Isgur received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston. In 1978 he received his MBA, with honors, from Stanford University. After earning his MBA, Judge Isgur served as an executive with a large real estate development company in Houston. In 1987, Judge Isgur returned to the University of Houston to attend law school. Judge Isgur was awarded his law degree, with high honors, in 1990 and began representing debtors and trustees in chapter 11 and 7 bankruptcy cases until his appointment as a Bankruptcy Judge. Judge Isgur is also one of a handful of attorneys in the nation with experience representing various parties in chapter 9 bankruptcy cases.
Judge Isgur has written over 500 memorandum opinions. He was one of the first judges to issue opinions interpreting the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act.
Judge Isgur was a founding member and served on the board of directors for the Houston Urban Debate League, a non-profit organization that works in partnership with local schools to bring policy debate to high school students. He is one of the principal organizers of the annual University of Texas Consumer Bankruptcy Conference and is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education programs.
When his volunteer and court activities permit, Judge Isgur spends his weekends sailing on Galveston Bay.
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.
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.
Hon. Selene D. Maddox
United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi
Honorable Selene Dunn Maddox received her B.B.A. from the University of Mississippi December, 1983, and her J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law May, 1987. Selene was sworn in October 22, 2018, as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, having been appointed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of South Dakota, with intercircuit assignment presiding in the Fifth Circuit as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi, with her chambers located in Aberdeen, MS. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Selene was a solo practitioner in Tupelo, Mississippi, in the general practice of law with an emphasis in consumer debtor and small business debtor bankruptcy law. In addition to her law practice, Selene served as a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Panel Trustee (appointed in 2004) in the Northern District of Mississippi until her appointment to the bench. Selene served as Vice-President of the Lee County Bar Association for the 1998-1999 year and as President of the Lee County Bar Association for the 1999-2000 year. Selene is an active member of many professional legal associations. Selene was appointed by the Mississippi Supreme Court to serve as a Commissioner to the Mississippi Commission On Continuing Legal Education on June 30, 1999, and completed her seventh consecutive term on July 31, 2018, having served as Vice-Chairman 2007-2008; 2010-2011; 2014-2015, and as Chairman 2008-2009; 2015-2016. Selene was a member of the Mississippi Bar President-Elect Nominating Committee for 2011 and for 2014-2015. She served on the Ethics Committee of the Mississippi Bar from 2005-2008. Selene currently serves on the Women In Profession Committee of the Mississippi Bar. Selene served two one year terms as President of the Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference for the years 2005 and 2006. Selene also served on the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference from 2003-2007. Selene assisted in drafting new Local Rules for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi and has served on the Advisory Committee on Local Rules for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi from 2010-2015. Selene has been an active presenter of the Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) Program in High Schools in Northeast Mississippi. Selene was inducted in 2007 as a Mississippi Bar Foundation Fellow and subsequently served as Trustee on the Mississippi Bar Foundation Board of Trustees 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 and currently is serving for 2022-2023. Selene was appointed to the Lawyer Advisory Committee by Honorable Jason D. Woodard, Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi for a term which began June, 2016, and continued until her appointment to the bankruptcy bench. Selene has participated as a speaker in numerous seminars on bankruptcy sponsored by University of Mississippi Continuing Legal Education, the Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference, American Bankruptcy Institute, National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and the Federal Judicial Conference as well as participation as a speaker for programs for local bar associations, Mississippi Home Extension Service, Lee County Extension Service and other public service organizations. Selene was an adjunct professor at the University of Mississippi, Tupelo, MS campus teaching classes in the undergraduate program on Wills and Estates, Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Law during 1996, 1997 and 1998.
Mr. Joseph R. R. Moore
Attorney
E. Orum Young Law, LLC
http://www.eorumyoung.com
Law School: Loyola University New Orleans College of Law 2011
Practicing in Consumer Bankruptcy and Litigation since 2012 with E. Orum Young Law
Partner E. Orum Young Law
Mr. Dwayne M Murray
Chapter 7 Trustee
Murray & Murray
http://www.murraylaw.net
Dwayne M. Murray is a Past President and CEO of the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees and the Managing Member in the Baton Rouge Law Firm of Murray & Murray, LLC. He holds the bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the Juris Doctorate from the Southern University Law Center. He has served as a Chapter 7 Panel Trustee since 1993 for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Louisiana. He has been appointed Chapter 11 Trustee, Liquidating Trustee and as Special Master in state court. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, United States District Courts for the Middle, Eastern and Western Districts of Louisiana. Murray is affiliated with the Turnaround Management Association, American Bankruptcy Institute, National Bar Association, Louisiana State Bar Association, and the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees.
Mr. Stewart F. Peck
Lugenbuhl, Wheaton, Peck, Rankin & Hubbard
Stewart focuses on bankruptcy, restructuring, and creditors’ rights; admiralty and maritime; marine finance and vessel documentation; asset-based finance; litigation, corporate and commercial law; and oil and gas. Stewart is listed as one of the Top 50 Lawyers in the State of Louisiana by Super Lawyers and is ranked in Chambers and Partners.
Stewart has been practicing law in New Orleans for more than 40 years. He is a 1974 graduate of Kenyon College, magna cum laude, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated top in his class in 1977 from Tulane Law School where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and was a member of the Tulane Law Review.
Stewart has been lead trial and appellate counsel in over 80 reported cases in the federal and state courts. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers in New Orleans, Louisiana Super Lawyers, and Chambers USA. He has participated in oral argument before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit 19 times, as well as before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the Louisiana Supreme Court, and the Louisiana Courts of Appeal. He is either presently acting or has previously acted as debtor’s lead counsel or creditors’ counsel in a number of Chapter 11 bankruptcies involving companies operating in and outside of the Gulf Coast region. These cases include a number of relatively large reorganizations, including Torch Offshore, Inc., Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Inc., Gulf Fleet Holdings, Inc., Trico Marine Services, Inc., Force Energy, Inc., and Borders Group, Inc. Stewart has also handled significant marine finance transactions, as well as substantial mergers and acquisitions. He acts as general counsel to a number of regional businesses in providing counsel and his legal expertise.
Mr. Louis M. Phillips
Partner
Kelly Hart & Pitre
https://kellyhart.com/
Louis M. Phillips is a partner at Kelly Hart & Pitre and leader of the firm's Bankruptcy & Business Reorg. practice. Mr. Phillips provides legal representation and consultation for debtors, creditors, and trustees over a broad practice area, including transaction and business structuring and restructuring, bankruptcy reorganization, and bankruptcy and commercial litigation. He also handles civil cases in state and federal courts and has handled matters before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Phillips represents debtors, debtors-in-possession, and creditors in Chapter 11 cases, borrowers and lenders in loan restructuring and workouts, and entities of all types in all practice areas of bankruptcy cases and proceedings.
Mr. Phillips serves as the permanent chair of the Annual Bankruptcy Law Seminar sponsored by the Louisiana State University Center for Continuing Professional Development, a program he developed in 1995. He has taught educational programs on bankruptcy law for state judges, and has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at LSU Law School since 1988. Phillips was formerly a contributing editor to the Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice 2nd and is the author of numerous articles for law reviews and other periodicals. Mr. Phillips is a frequent speaker and writer for legal education seminars across the country, including the Advanced Bankruptcy Course of the State Bar of Texas, Western District of Texas Bankruptcy Bench Bar; LSU Annual Bankruptcy Law Seminar, LSU Family Law and Recent Developments in Law Jurisprudence Seminars, and seminars sponsored by such esteemed groups as Stetson University College of Law, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, Texas Tech School of Law, Norton Institutes on Bankruptcy Law, American Bankruptcy Institute, National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Symposium Law Education Institute, 5th Circuit Bench-Bar Bankruptcy Conference, Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference, Bankruptcy Law Institute, MidSouth Commercial Law Institute, the Annual Oil & Gas Law Conference, and the American Bar Association as well as numerous federal district bar associations and those of and in the states of Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin. Among his many other speaking engagements are lectures to the National Association of Attorneys General, Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, and VISA International.
From 1988 - 2002, Mr. Phillips served as the Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Middle District of Louisiana. During his tenure, he authored numerous opinions of first impression of Louisiana state law and bankruptcy law, and was the author of a number of opinions that ultimately were adopted by the Fifth Circuit and other courts as the law of those courts (i.e., Matter of Mercer, 246 F.3d 391 (5th Cir.2001) involving credit card fraud cases under section 523(a)(2) and Matter of Orso, 283 F.3d 686 (5th Cir. 2002) (wherein the Court reversed the panel and prior jurisprudence concerning the Louisiana law exemption over structured settlement annuities).
Mr. Phillips presided over the first conversion to a totally electronic filing and docketing system within the Federal Courts of the United States.
Mr. Ryan J Richmond
Sternberg, Naccari & White, LLC
http://www.rjrichmondlaw.com
Ryan J. Richmond is a partner at the law firm of Sternberg, Naccari & White, LLC where he is the managing member of the firm’s Baton Rouge office. Since 2020, he has served as a Subchapter V trustee throughout Louisiana. Ryan earned his JD from LSU in 2006 and later an MBA in 2017. He clerked for the Hon. Douglas D. Dodd from 2006-07. Ryan's practice focuses on small business clients, both in and out of bankruptcy.
