Bench & Bar January/February 2026

WHO, WHAT, WHEN & WHERE

Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP , is pleased to welcome Drayden Burton to its Louisville office. Burton joins the firm's litigation & dis pute resolution team, where he will assist with the representation of a broad range of clients in a variety of practice areas, including appellate matters, commercial disputes, constitutional law, employment issues, tort and insurance defense, and real estate. During his last two years of law

school, Burton was a summer intern for Wyatt. He earned his J.D. cum laude from the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg Col lege of Law and his B.B.A., magna cum laude , from the University of Kentucky Lewis Honors College and Gatton School of Business and Economics.

EMWN Law is pleased to welcome Benjamin Skeens to their team. Originally from Elkhorn City, Ky., Skeens practices family law and general litigation. After graduating from Morehead State University in 2022, he went on to earn a law degree at the University of Kentucky. There, he served as production editor for Volume 113 of the Kentucky Law Journal and contributed as a student researcher with the Monuments Work

HAVE AN ITEM FOR WHO, WHAT, WHEN & WHERE? The Bench & Bar welcomes brief announcements about member placements, promotions, relocations and honors. Notices are printed at no cost and must be submitted by email to Shannon Roberts at sroberts@kybar.org. Digital photos must be a minimum of 300 dpi and two (2) inches tall from top of head to shoulders. There is a $15 fee per photograph, plus a processing fee. Photo fees must be paid online

shop. Before joining EMWN Law, Skeens gained valuable experience clerking with Southeastern Kentucky Legal Aid and a regional per sonal injury practice. Nash Marshall, PLLC , welcomes Kody Lynn Morgan to its practice. Morgan is a graduate of the University of Louisville, and the Univer sity of Kentucky College of Law. Her previous experience includes working at the Kentucky Department of Education’s Office of Legal Ser vices and the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy’s Juvenile Post Disposition Branch. Her practice will focus on federal and state crim inal defense, including the representation of students in disciplinary and Title IX proceedings.

at www.kybar.org/About-Us/ Communications-Publications or scan the QR code to find the 4W section to pay online.

elected officers: President-elect – Judge D. Brett Butcher (Johnson, Martin and Lawrence), Vice President – Judge Kimberly Geoghe gan (Warren), Secretary – Judge Shannon L. Meyer (Daviess), Treasurer – Judge Lindsay Hughes Thurston (Fayette).

Franklin County District Court Judge Chris Olds has been elected by his colleagues to serve a two-year term as president of the Kentucky District Judges Association for 2025-2027. He was elected during the District Judges Fall College, held Sept. 21-24 in Bowling Green. He succeeds Jefferson County District Judge Stephanie Pearce Burke as president. Judge Olds has served as Franklin County District

Judge since 2008 and previously spent 11 years in private practice as a trial lawyer. A graduate of Georgetown College and the Univer sity of Kentucky College of Law (now the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law), he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served on the Trial Advocacy Board during his time at UK Law. Judge Olds assumes his new role alongside his fellow

The officers and the counties they serve as district judges are, from left to right, vice president Judge Kimberly Geoghegan (Warren), treasurer Judge Lindsay Hughes Thurston (Fayette), immediate past president Judge Stephanie Pearce Burke (Jefferson), Judge Olds, president-elect Judge D. Brett Butcher (Johnson, Martin and Lawrence) and secretary Judge Shannon L. Meyer (Daviess).

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