Hon. Harlin D. “Cooter” Hale
United States Bankruptcy Judge
Dallas, Texas

Born in Natchez, Mississippi, Judge Harlin “Cooter” Hale earned a B.S. in 1979 from Louisiana State University and a J.D. in 1982 from Paul M. Hebert School of Law, LSU, where he was elected to membership in Order of the Coif.  In 1982-83, he served as law clerk to the Honorable James L. Dennis, Associate Justice, Louisiana Supreme Court, now a judge on the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.  From 1983-2002, Judge Hale was in private practice of law in Dallas, Texas.  On November 1, 2002, he was appointed a United States Bankruptcy Judge in the Northern District of Texas and was reappointed in November 2016.

Judge Hale has held numerous memberships and positions over his career: Visiting Professor, SMU Dedman School of Law (Creditors’ Rights); American Bankruptcy Institute; American Law Institute; Commercial Law League; Dallas Bar Association; Dallas Bankruptcy Bar Association; Louisiana State Bar Association; Texas Bar Association; American Bar Association; Executive Committee, Bankruptcy Section of the State Bar of Texas (2011-12 Chair); National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (2011-12 Fifth Circuit Governor Designate); Master, John C. Ford American Inn of Court (2007-08 Sergeant of the Inn Award); Federal Bar Association (Bankruptcy Section Chair 2006-07).