Current Employment Position(s)

Attorney

Lawyer Overview

Graydon currently conducts a general civil practice, while focusing on the areas of probate and successions, property, personal injury, and estate planning.  He is also a mediator through MAPS, Inc., and serves as Attorney-Chairman for medical review panels.

Graydon practiced law with the Kitchens Law Firm for fourteen years prior to being elected City Judge for the City Court of Minden in 1976.  Two years later, he was elected District Judge and served for eighteen years in that capacity.  He was chief judge from 1988 through 1995, and he received the award from the Louisiana Bar Foundation as Jurist of the Year in 1995.  He served on the Louisiana Judiciary Commission from 1988-1992 and 1994-1996, and he served as Chairman from 1991-1992.  After his retirement as District Judge in 1996, he rejoined the Kitchens Law Firm.

Graydon received both a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958 and a Juris Doctor in 1964 from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.  While at LSU, he was a member of the Louisiana Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.  Graydon also served as a Lieutenant in the United States Army infantry from 1958 to 1960.

Areas of Practice

• Family Law
• Estate Planning
• Real Estate Law
• Personal Injury -- Defense
• Personal Injury -- Plaintiff
• Probate & Estate Administration

West Practice Categories

Family Law, Estate Planning, Real Estate Law, Personal Injury -- Defense, Personal Injury -- Plaintiff, Probate & Estate Administration

Bar Admissions

• Louisiana, 1964
• U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana, 1969
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Louisiana District Judges' Association (Member, Executive Committee)
• Louisiana Bar Association, 1964 - Present (Member)
• Louisiana Supreme Court, 1994 - 1995 (Chairman, Task Force on Cameras in the Courtroom)
• Louisiana Supreme Court (Member, Committee on Complex Litigation)
• Louisiana Supreme Court (Chairman, Committee to Review Requests for New Judgeships)
• Louisiana Supreme Court (Member, Committee on Campaign Contributions)
• Louisiana Supreme Court (Member, Committee on the Courts/Community Relations)
• Louisiana Bar Foundation Conclave, 1994 (Participant)
• Minden Jaycees, 1966 - 1967 (President)
• Louisiana Jaycees, 1968 (State Treasurer)
• Minden Chamber of Commerce, 1972 (President)
• Minden Industrial Development Corporation, 1970 - 1971 (President)
• Minden Lions Club (Vice President)
• Minden Lions Club (Director)
• First Baptist Church, Minden, Louisiana, 1948 - Present (Member, Deacon and Sunday School Teacher)
• First Baptist Church, Minden, Louisiana (Chairman of Deacons, 1978-1979, 1991-1992)
• Baptist Message, 1981 - 1987 (Member, Board of Trustees)
• Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1982 - 1992 (Member, Board of Trustees)
• Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1987 - 1989 (Vice President, Board of Trustees)
• Little League, 1975 - 1976 (Baseball Coach)

Honors and Awards

• Minden's Outstanding Young Man Award, 1971
• Man of the Year Award for Minden, 1983
• Omicron Delta Kappa
• 1995 Jurist of the Year Award by Louisiana Bar Foundation

Past Employment Positions

• State of Louisiana, 26th Judicial District, Webster and Bossier Parishes, Judge, 1978 - 1996
• State of Louisiana, 26th Judicial District, Webster and Bossier Parishes, Chief Judge, 1988 - 1995
• Louisiana Judiciary Commission, Chairman, 1991 - 1992
• Louisiana Judiciary Commission, Member, 1988 - 1992
• Minden City, Judge, 1976 - 1978
• Kitchens, Benton & Kitchens, Attorney/Partner, 1965 - 1978
• Assistant District Attorney, 1971
• Ben C. Dawkins, Jr., Federal District Judge, Law Clerk, 1964 - 1965
• Judge John T. Hood, Jr., 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, Law Clerk, 1964
• United States Army, Lieutenant, 1958 - 1960
• Louisiana Judiciary Commission, Vice President, 1994 - Present
• Louisiana State University Law School, President, Baptist Student Union

Education

• Louisiana State University Law Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1964
  J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence
  Honors: Order of the Coif; Member University Disciplinary Committee
  Honors: Omicron Delta Kappa; "L" Club for Baseball
  
  Law Review: Associate Editor 1962-1963, Louisiana Law Review, 1960 - 1964
• Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1958
  B.A., Bachelor of Arts
  Honors: Deans List; Scabbard and Blade; Distinguished Military Graduate
  Major: French

Fraternities/Sororities

• Phi Delta Phi
• Omicron Delta Kappa

Address

420 Broadway
Minden, LA 71105

Phones

(318) 377-5331

Faxes

(318) 377-5361

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.kitchenslaw.com