Mr. Johnston J Burkhardt
Sternberg, Naccari & White, LLC
Johnston Burkhardt joined Sternberg, Naccari & White in 2021. Johnston works closely with the firm’s associated title company, Quality Title, and works from both the Metairie and New Orleans offices. His practice focuses on real estate transactions, general counsel services, divorce and marital agreements, and general litigation.
A lifelong New Orleanian, Johnston’s interest in the law began when he was selected in high school for the Louisiana State Bar Association student internship program. He 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.
Johnston is associated with the Louisiana, Orleans, and Jefferson Bar Associations and the St. Thomas Moore Catholic Lawyers Association. He is a former “40 under 40” honoree for the Youth Empowerment Program.
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.
Notably, while a law student at LSU, Johnston was SNW’s very first law clerk. He returned to the firm as an attorney after practicing family law in downtown New Orleans. Johnston is an accomplished artist, enjoys playing tennis, traveling, and cooking. 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.
Professor Elizabeth R. Carter
LSU Law Center
Professor Elizabeth R. Carter is the A.N. Yiannopoulos Professor of Law and the Judge Anthony J. Graphia & Jo Ann Graphia Professor of Law at the Louisiana State University Law Center, where she teaches and writes in the areas of trusts & estates, tax, family law, and comparative law. In addition to her teaching responsibilities at the Law Center, Professor Carter teaches the courses in Federal Gift and Estate Tax and in Estate Planning in the University of Alabama’s LL.M. program in taxation. She is also an Academic Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
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. Jena M. Kyle
Allen & Gooch, ALC
Jena is a partner at the Lafayette office of Allen & Gooch. She first earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Louisiana State University in December of 2011, and then graduated from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University with a Juris Doctorate degree and Graduate Diploma in Comparative Law in May of 2015.
Jena works with individuals and families to prepare estate plans, including implementing testaments and powers of attorney, establishing trusts, transferring assets to trusts, and she represents individuals, whether the succession representative, an heir, or legatee, in successions. Additionally, Jena provides business planning and advises on business transactions. She is an Estate Planning and Administration Specialist, certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization, and has been named by Super Lawyers to its Louisiana Rising Star list for 2021 – 2025.
Jena has given presentations on various topics for the Lafayette Paralegal Association, Live Oak Wealth, ALS Association, SLCC, Rotary Club of South Louisiana, Louisiana Association of School Business, Lourdes Foundation, and Family Tree.
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.
Mr. Bradley J. Tate
Sternberg, Naccari & White, LLC
Bradley J. Tate is an attorney at Sternberg, Naccari & White, where he focuses on taxation, estate planning, and business transactions. With nearly two decades of legal experience, Brad has built a reputation guiding clients through a wide range of complex legal and financial matters.
Brad has spent much of his career in public accounting, serving individuals, small start-up companies, large, multi-national corporations and more. He has worked on a myriad of tax issues, including tax controversy, historic tax credits, business planning and structuring, complex partnership issues, non-profit formation and administration, international tax issues, trusts, gifting and estate planning. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting, summa cum laude, from Southeastern Louisiana University; his Juris Doctor from the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center; and a Master of Laws in Taxation (LL.M.) from the University of Alabama. In his spare time, he has taught LSAT classes to aspiring law students.
Brad is deeply engaged in the legal community. In June 2025, he was honored to be sworn in as the LSBA Secretary and Editor-in-Chief of the Louisiana Bar Journal, which he will curate until June 2027. Numerous SNW attorneys have written and contributed to the Journal. Brad has devoted his legal career to serving the bar, including as Chair of the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division (2017–2018) and has remained an active member of the Bar Governance Committee. As Secretary, he serves on the Executive Committee and on the Board of Governors. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Louisiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program, and was sworn in as President in June 2025.
A proud South Louisiana native, Brad lives in New Orleans and enjoys Mardi Gras, exploring new culinary scenes, and traveling with his husband, Dr. Chandler LeBoeuf.
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.
