Benjamin W. Kadden

Bankruptcy; Admiralty; Chapter 11 Business Reorganization; Bankruptcy Litigation; Bankruptcy Appeals; Commercial & Transactional; Commercial Litigation; Litigation; Marine Finance & Vessel Documentation; Commercial Finance; Maritime Insolvency & Bankruptcy

Benjamin (Ben) Kadden is the Managing Partner of Lugenbuhl, Wheaton, Peck, Rankin & Hubbard and co-leader of the firm’s Restructuring and Insolvency Section. Ben focuses on several practice areas including bankruptcy, restructuring, and creditors’ rights; corporate and commercial law; mergers and acquisitions; litigation; and asset-based finance.

Ben has served as lead counsel for various Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, including acting as lead counsel in the Chapter 11 case of JAB Energy Solutions II, LLC, Burkhalter Rigging, Inc., Whistler Energy II, LLC, Midway Oilfield Constructors, Inc., Harvest Oil & Gas, LLC, A&B Valve and Piping Systems, L.L.C., Graham Gulf, Inc., and Virgin Oil Company, Inc., and as special counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Trico Marine bankruptcy. He has also served as Debtor’s counsel in a number of Chapter 11 proceedings, including Gulf Fleet Holdings, Inc., East Cameron Partners, L.P., and Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co.

Admitted to practice in Louisiana and Texas, Ben has served as special or local counsel in several large Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in the Southern District of Texas, including serving as special counsel for the Debtors in the Seadrill Partners, LLC case and serving as local counsel for an Indenture Trustee in the FTS International, Inc. and Neiman Marcus Group LTD LLC cases. Ben also acted as local counsel for the debtor-in-possession lender and stalking horse purchaser in the Bouchard Transportation Co. bankruptcy. Each of these matters provide much-needed perspective with respect to the interests, concerns, and goals of secured lenders and related parties.

Ben has also represented numerous liquidating and litigating trusts arising out of confirmed plans of reorganization, including the post-conformation trusts created Burkhalter Rigging, Inc., Whistler Energy II, LLC, Graham Gulf, Inc., Harvest Oil & Gas, LLC, Torch Offshore, Inc., Gulf Fleet Holdings, Inc., and Virgin Oil Company, Inc. He has also participated in a number of merger and acquisition transactions pertaining to numerous businesses based in the Gulf Coast region, with a focus upon representation of non-public buyers and sellers in equity and asset sales. Because of his experience in complex Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, Ben has knowledge regarding the purchase or sale of assets by distressed companies, including navigating the process while a buyer or seller is in bankruptcy.

Ben is admitted to practice and regularly does so in the following jurisdictions: Louisiana, Texas, U.S. Fifth Circuit, and all U.S. District Courts in Louisiana and Texas.

Judge Jerry A. Brown Louisiana Bankruptcy American Inn of Court; Louisiana Disciplinary Board; Louisiana State Bar Association - Past Bankruptcy Section Chair; Texas Bar Association; Turnaround Management Association

“Shouldering the Burden of Going it Alone in a Sales Process” – Co-panelist, Benjamin Kadden, LSU Law 31st Annual Bankruptcy Law, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, October 23, 2025; “Putting the Judge in a Box: Challenging Debtor-in-Possession Financing and

Cash Collateral Issues, and a Little Violence” – Co-panelist, Benjamin Kadden, LSU Law 30th Annual Bankruptcy Law Conference, October 10, 2024; “Involuntary Bankruptcy: A Powerful Tool in the Creditor’s Arsenal, but Proceed with Caution”- Co-presenter, Benjamin Kadden, LSU Law 29th Annual Bankruptcy Law Conference, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, November 2, 2023; “A Business Files for Bankruptcy: The First 60 Days”- Co-presenter, Benjamin Kadden, EDLA Third Federal Bench and Bar Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, October 27, 2023; “Putting the Success in Succession Planning- Ensuring a Lasting Legacy for Your Firm- Co-panelist, Benjamin Kadden, TAG International Conference, Rome, Italy, October 18, 2023; “The Rumble in the Bankruptcy Jungle: Avoiding an Ethical TKO in Bankruptcy Court” – Co-presenter, Benjamin Kadden, 28th Annual Bankruptcy Law Conference, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, November 9, 2022; “It’s Not Easy Being Green: Ethical Pitfalls for Bankruptcy Novices” – Presented by Hon. Meredith S. Grabill, U.S. Bankruptcy Court; Eastern District of LA., Benjamin W. Kadden and Ashley L. Belleau of Lugenbuhl, Bankruptcy Law Webinar Part II, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 20, 2022

“Bankruptcy Issues in the Oil & Gas Industry” – Co-panelist, Benjamin W. Kadden, Professional Landmen’s Association of New Orleans Executive Night & Seminar, New Orleans, Louisiana, February 23, 2022

“Equitable Mootness & Other Post-Confirmation Issues (Including Litigation Trusts And Burdens Of Proof On Fraudulent Transfer Adversaries, Etc.) ” – Co-panelist, Benjamin W. Kadden, Fifth Circuit Bankruptcy Bench-Bar Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, February 2-4, 2022

“Hot Topics and Future of Chapter 11 in Louisiana” – Co-presented by the Hon. John W. Kolwe, Michael Crawford of Taylor Porter Brooks & Phillips, Laura Ashley of Jones Walker, and Benjamin W. Kadden and James Thurman of Lugenbuhl at Louisiana State University Law Center’s 27th Annual Bankruptcy Law Conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on December 1, 2021; “Oil & Gas Distress: Price and Quantity Considerations beyond COVID-19” – Co-presenter, Benjamin W. Kadden, Turnaround Management Association (TMA) Virtual Town Hall Series: Leading Through Crisis, New Orleans, Louisiana, May 20, 2020

“Insight for the Implications of the Oil & Gas Industry as a Result of the COVID-19 Epidemic” – Co-presenter, Benjamin W. Kadden, Louisiana Financial Executive Group (Louisiana FEG) Virtual Weekly Town Hall Series, New Orleans, Louisiana, May 19, 2020 ; “Effects of Insolvency on Maritime Transactions and Rights” – Presented by Benjamin Kadden and Delos Flint, Jr., 2019 Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute Seminar (SEALI), New Orleans, Louisiana, June 27, 2019; “What One Court Giveth, Another Court Taketh Away: Recent Decisions Relating To The Breadth Of Protections Afforded To Claimants Under The Louisiana Oil Well Lien Act” – Presented by Benjamin Kadden, 66th Annual Mineral Law Institute, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, March 15, 2019; “Are You Distressed? Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Counseling For Non-Bankruptcy Attorneys” – Presented by Benjamin Kadden and Meredith Grabill, 2018 Procrastinators’ Programs, New Orleans, Louisiana, December 19, 2018; “Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Service Excellence Through Effective Recruiting and Retention” – Presented by Benjamin Kadden and co-panelists at TAG Alliances Spring International Conference in Barcelona, Spain, on May 3, 2018

“Professionalism – A Judge’s View; Lawyer Commentary (The Judge’s View Counts)’ – Co-presented by the Hon. John W. Kolwe and Benjamin W. Kadden at Louisiana State University Law Center’s 23rd Annual Bankruptcy Law Seminar, on November 2, 2017 - "Navigating Bankrupt Seas - For the Benefit of Maritime Operators," Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute, with Delos Flint, Jr., 2019; - "What One Court Giveth; Another Court Taketh Away: Understanding LOWLA and the Impact of Recent Decisions on the Breadth of the Protections Afforded to Claimants by the Louisiana Legislature," Mineral Law Institute Papers, with Meredith S. Grabill, 2019; - “Local Bankruptcy Rules: Louisiana (E.D. La.),” Practical Law Practice Bankruptcy & Restructuring, with Meredith S. Grabill, 2018

Tulane University School of Law

J.D.

2002 - 2005

Louisiana State University

B.A.

1999 - 2002