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. 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. Miriam Wogan Henry
Attorney
Jones Walker LLP
Miriam Wogan Henry is a partner in the Tax Practice Group and a member of the firm’s board of directors. She focuses on estate planning, including family wealth transfer plans, charitable planning, and business succession planning, along with advising clients regarding fiduciary litigation and transfer tax controversy matters.
Miriam advises on trust and estate planning matters such as drafting wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and marital property agreements. Advising clients in connection with gift and estate tax returns is part of Miriam’s practice, which includes representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service in connection with gift, estate, and generation-skipping tax audits. She works closely with members of the firm's Litigation Practice Group in connection with fiduciary litigation and transfer tax controversies.
Miriam is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and currently serves as the Louisiana State Chair for ACTEC. She has been certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization as a Board-Certified Estate Planning and Administration Specialist. Prior to joining the firm, she served as a law clerk to Judge Frank J. Polozola of the US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana from 1997 to 1998.
Mr. John A. Hotard
Jones Walker LLP
Hobie Hotard counsels high net worth individuals, families, and closely held businesses on estate and trust planning, business succession planning, tax compliance, and the potential impact of new and emerging tax legislation. Hobie works with clients to prepare wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and marital property agreements. He also works with clients in succession matters and advises them on preparation of federal gift and estate tax returns. Hobie understands the highly sensitive nature of business succession planning and helps clients identify their unique goals, negotiate parties’ complex needs and interests, and navigate changes in control — all with the goal of preserving wealth and helping ensure business longevity. He also works with family offices and foundations to establish and administer charitable giving plans.
Mr. David G. Koch
Member
Koch St. Martin, LLC
David G. Koch is a Board Certified Estate Planning and Administration Specialist and a Board Certified Taxation Specialist with a practice focusing in wills and estate planning, probate, federal taxation, business transactions, and IRS resolution. He has “AV” Preeminent rating with Martindale and a Louisiana Super Lawyer in tax law. He has an LL.M. in Taxation from Boston University, where he graduated first in his class. He received his law degree and undergraduate degree in accounting from L.S.U., and is also Certified Public Accountant (inactive). He was member of the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class of 2000 and was named as one of Baton Rouge’s “Top Forty under Forty” in 2004. He has served on both the Tax Law Advisory Commission and the Estate Planning Commission for the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. He has been a featured speaker on estate planning, Louisiana probate law, trusts, and federal taxation issues for professional organizations throughout Louisiana.
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.
Mr. John B. Landry Jr.
Partner
McNew, King, Landry & Hammett, L.L.P.
John B. Landry, JR., is a partner with the McNew, King & Landry, L.L.P. law firm, located in Monroe, Louisiana. He received a B.S. degree in business administration, majoring in accounting, from Louisiana State University, his J.D. degree, with honors, from Emory University School of Law, and his LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida School of Law. Mr. Landry practices in estate planning, successions, federal and state taxation, corporate
law, business law, business transactions, real estate, and tax exempt organizations. Mr. Landry is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and a member of the Louisiana Bar Association - Corporation and Business Law, Taxation, and Trusts, Estates, Probate and Immovable Property Sections; The Mississippi Bar - Business Law, Estates and Trusts, and Taxation Sections, and the American Bar Association - Business Law, Real Property, Trust and Estate Law, and Taxation Sections. Mr. Landry was elected to the Emory Chapter of The Order of the Coif, was Managing Editor of the Emory University Bankruptcy Developments Journal, and served as Graduate Editor of the Florida Tax Review.
