Stephen D. Wheelis

Hon. Stephen D. Wheelis is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Louisiana in Alexandria and Monroe, appointed on April 25, 2019. Prior to his appointment, he was a shareholder with Wheelis & Rozanski, APLC in Alexandria, La., for more than 20 years and initially practiced as a partner with Provosty, Sadler & deLaunay for 14 years prior to forming Wheelis & Rozanski. His primary practice areas included the representation of creditors and trustees in all bankruptcy chapters, banking, business and commercial law, and litigation and appeals. Prior to the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention andConsumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), Judge Wheelis represented debtors in chapter 11 reorganizations and chapter 7 matters. He actively practiced bankruptcy law throughout all districts of Louisiana and in many other states pro hac vice, having appeared in bankruptcy courts on behalf of clients in more than 25,000 cases since 1985. During his 33 years in private practice, he appeared before 15 Louisiana bankruptcy judges. He previously served as an adjunct professor for paralegal studies at NorthwesternState University and Louisiana College, and he taught courses for the American Institute of Banking.Judge Wheelis is a board-certified business bankruptcy specialist, certified by the Louisiana SupremeCourt and the American Board of Certification (ABC) on Jan. 1, 1997. He served from 2011-19 onABC’s board of directors and on its Standards and Faculty Committees. Judge Wheelis received his B.A.in legal studies from Northeast Louisiana University (now University of Louisiana Monroe) in 1981 and his J.D. in 1985 from Tulane University School of Law.