L. J. Hymel (Retired)

L. J. Graduated from the public school system in 1962, and entered Louisiana State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1966 and a Juris Doctorate in 1969 from the LSU Law School.

For the next nine years, L. J. worked for the Louisiana Attorney General's Office, having been named Special Counsel to the Louisiana State Mineral Board. When the Criminal Division of the Attorney General's Office was created in 1971, he was assigned there as an Assistant Attorney General where his duties included the prosecution of criminal cases across the State of Louisiana.

In 1978, L. J. left the Attorney General's Office and private practice to accept an appointment as an Assistant District Attorney in the 19th Judicial District in Baton Rouge. He was assigned to the Career Criminal Unit, a two-man unit responsible for prosecuting career criminal offenders.

In the fall of 1979, L. J. successfully campaigned for a seat on the Baton Rouge City Court. In 1983, L. J. was elected to the 19th Judicial District Court where he served on the Criminal and Civil bench until his retirement in 1992. After leaving the bench, L. J. was named Director of the Criminal Division of the Louisiana Attorney General's Office in 1992.

In 1993, President Clinton nominated L. J. for the position of United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana. For approximately seven years, he oversaw the prosecution of federal crimes in the nine-parish Middle District centered in Baton Rouge. Major case prosecutions occurred in the areas of public corruption, white-collar crime, health care fraud, tax crimes, firearms violations, environmental violations, and drug prosecutions. Under his supervision, Project Exile, a program responsible for prosecuting federal firearms violations throughout the District was established.

After leaving the United States Attorney's Office, L. J. entered private practice and is now a partner in the Hymel Davis & Petersen law firm where his areas of practice include general criminal defense, white collar criminal defense, personal injury litigation, corporate and business litigation, federal and state grand jury proceedings, and state and federal appeals. L. J. has been appointed by federal and state judges to serve as special master in class action litigation wherein he was responsible for allocating millions of dollars to class claimants. L. J. continues to serve in the judicial system as a pro tempore/ad hoc trial judge pursuant to appointment by the Louisiana Supreme Court. These appointments are made when a duly elected judge has a conflict of interest or cannot serve on a particular case or date for reasons that warrant recusal.