Kurt D Engelhardt

Judge Kurt Engelhardt currently serves as the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He was nominated to the bench by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2001. During his tenure on the bench, Judge Engelhardt has served on the Judicial Conference Committee of Federal-State Jurisdiction, first appointed to that Committee by Chief Justice William Rehnquist in 2004, and re-appointed for a second term by Chief Justice John Roberts in 2007. He also served as President of the New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association from 2011 to 2012. Before his appointment to the district court, Judge Engelhardt practiced commercial litigation in private practice—first at the law firm of Little & Metzger and later at Hailey, McNamara, Hall, Larmann & Papale LLP. While in private practice, he was appointed by the governor to serve on the Louisiana Judiciary Commission, which adjudicates statewide ethics complaints against judges. In 1998, the members of the Commission elected him to serve as its Chairman. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Engelhardt served as a law clerk to Judge Charles Grisbaum, Jr., on the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal. He earned his B.A. and J.D. from Louisiana State University.