www.loubar.org 14 Louisville Bar Briefs JUDGE RICHARD A. REVELL FAMILY LAW AWARD Amy DeRenzo Hulbert, DeRenzo Law Office ROBERT AND FRANK E. HADDAD, JR. YOUNG LAWYER AWARD Andrew C. Chandler, Legal Aid Society Congratulations to our 2025 Award Winners Congratulations to our 2025 Award Winners The member who nominated Amy for this honor wrote, “For nearly two decades, Amy Derenzo Hulbert has dedicated her career to serving families in Jefferson County. Beginning as a public defender, Amy was appointed by Judge Sherlock and Judge Webb to represent parents in family court. She now maintains a private practice focused on family law, and is regarded throughout the community as one of the best fam- ily law practitioners in the region. But Amy’s dedication to the law and families doesn’t stop in the courtroom—throughout her career, she has been heavily involved in the community, serving as an LBA Board member and section chair of multiple sections, chairperson of the KJA’s Domestic Relations Section, and secretary of the Board for Women in Networking. She has volunteered for JCPS, the Legal Society, the YMCA, the Franciscan Society, St. Margaret Mary parish, and the Kentucky Derby Festival.” Amy has also served as both the Chair and Vice-Chair of our Family Law Section, and she recently served a term as a member of the LBA Board of Directors. Andrew is a staff attorney in the Housing Unit for the Legal Aid Society. Described as a zealous client advocate, he has won many bench and jury trials for clients facing eviction and paved the way for tenants of subsidized housing to freely organize without landlord retaliation. During his prior work with Legal Aid’s Government Benefits Unit, his efforts in support of homeless SNAP recipients resulted in access to more than $2 million in food stamp benefits for Legal Aid clients. One nomination extoled Andrew’s professional ethos, stating, “Andrew has always approached his work (and still does) with a sincere compassion for our low income neighbors. He was always professional in his treatment of our clients, our coworkers, state workers, opposing counsel and the judiciary.” A second nomination stated that “there is no individual more deserving of this award… He is the most talented young lawyer I’ve met. His bold advocacy on SNAP and tenant’s rights has helped people in Louisville and across all of Kentucky avoid hunger and have access to safe, habitable housing.” JUSTICE MARTIN E. JOHNSTONE SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD Michael J. O’Connell Jefferson County Attorney’s Office JUDGE BENJAMIN F. SHOBE CIVILITY AND PROFESSIONALISM AWARD Hon. Ann Bailey Smith Jefferson Circuit Court, Div. 13 DANIEL M. ALVAREZ CHAMPION FOR JUSTICE AWARD R. Kenyon Meyer and Philip Longmeyer Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP Meyer Longmeyer A member of the bar for 50 years – 30 of those working in public service – Mike served as a judge in both District and Circuit Court prior to being appointed County Attorney in 2008. He was of- ficially elected to that role in 2010, and was then reelected for four more terms, making him the longest-serving County Attorney in Jefferson County history. Some of Mike’s accomplishments include bringing Louisville into the national opioid litigation, making it one of the first major cities to do so and resulting in millions of dollars being returned to our city and state; improving the prosecution of domestic vio- lence cases through dedication of additional resources, like the expansion of the 24-hour Domestic Violence Intake Center; and arguing on behalf of the city for the removal of the Confederate monument near the University of Louisville almost a decade ago. Mike also built a thriving private practice and dedicates sig- nificant volunteer efforts to a number of worthy organizations in our community, from the LBA’s Board of Directors to the KBA’s Board of Governors, the board of Restorative Justice Louisville, the Advisory Board for the Little Sisters of the Poor at St. Joseph’s Home for the Aged and the Louisville Metro Human Relations Commission. Kenyon and Philip were nominated for their exceptional ef- forts in representing an indigent defen- dant who had spent five years in custody on a federal murder charge – a charge for a murder he consistently argued he did not commit. Facing a life sentence for their client – and knowing that less than 1% of federal criminal defendants who go to trial are acquitted – Kenyon and Philip worked nights and weekends, reviewing volumes of evidence that included 25 hours of re- cordings and more than 140,000 pages of documents. Their relentless attention to detail and refusal to give up resulted in the discovery of a critical piece of exonerating evidence, just days before trial. The nomination for Kenyon and Philip read, “This case was not just a legal challenge; it was a human one. In a time when public trust in institutions is fragile, this case is a reminder of what’s possible when skilled attorneys commit themselves fully to justice. It’s a story of perseverance, integrity and the power of a team that refused to let the odds define the outcome.” Judge Smith currently serves as the Chief Judge of Jefferson Circuit Court and previously served as Chief Judge of Jefferson District Court. In its nomina- tion for Chief Judge Smith, the Inn of Court wrote, “Her leadership of both courts has been marked by reverence for the rule of law and the protection of the rights of all parties involved in legal proceedings. She has gained an outstanding reputation for her preparation and knowledge of substantive and procedural law, her judicial demeanor and temperament, her court management and work ethic, her judicial integrity, and her high personal and professional standards, especially the conduct of court affairs with dignity, decorum, fairness and compassion.” Chief Judge Smith has been named “Trial Judge of the Year” by the Kentucky Justice Association, and she has received the “Fair Administration of Justice Award” from the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. She has also received the prestigious Gideon Award and was selected as the Outstanding Alumna of the Brandeis School of Law. She has also served as Chair of Citizens for Better Judges, Master of the Brandeis American Inn of Court and a member of the Kentucky Supreme Court Civil Rules Committee. These volunteer attorneys have helped more than 50 clients who could not otherwise afford an attorney with the complex process of filing pro se divorce paperwork. They gather each month on Friday mornings and start about the task of meeting with clients who are often in extremely difficult personal circumstances. Their nomination cited a particularly gratifying case: “In December 2024, the clinic began working with an elderly client who had been separated from her spouse for decades and was seeking help with a long-awaited divorce. After several visits, she reached a breaking point, realizing that completing the legal process would reveal her current whereabouts and her very modest assets to the man she had left so long ago. She broke down in tears, feeling the courts had failed her by requiring this disclosure. But her volunteer attorney encouraged her to keep the faith and complete the final steps she needed to be free of the marriage. She later emailed this message: ‘I was granted my divorce yesterday!!!! I couldn’t have done it without you guys. I really appreciate EVERYTHING that you did for me, please pass that along to the lawyers that helped me.’ JUDGE OF THE YEAR AWARD Hon. Alan C. Stout (Ret.), U.S. Bankruptcy Court PAUL G. TOBIN PRO BONO SERVICE AWARD LBA Pro Se Divorce Clinic Volunteers Miller Howell Polley Scott Schecter Prior to joining the bench, Judge Stout practiced bank- ruptcy law for three decades and served as a Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee for 25 years. He took office in 2011 and just retired on October 25, 2025. The person who nominated Judge Stout wrote, “Judge Stout has played a vital role in revitalizing the LBA’s Bankruptcy Law Section. With his encouragement and support, the section has come back stronger than ever, hosting two successful day-long conferences, several CLE programs and networking events that have brought bankruptcy practitioners together. His guidance has helped create a community of collaboration and professional growth that will continue long after his retirement. Judge Stout’s service goes beyond his work on the bench. He has always taken time to promote education and strengthen the reputation of the legal profes- sion. His consistent example of integrity, scholarship and professionalism has had a lasting impact on everyone who has had the privilege of working with him.” W. Bronson Howell, Howell & Kidd; Jonathan D. Miller, Jonathan D. Miller, P.S.C. Neva-Marie Polley Scott, Polley Scott Consulting LLC; Martha Schecter
