AREAS OF PRACTICE
- Banking
- Tax, Trusts, Estate Planning and Probate
- General Business and Commercial Litigation
- Real Estate
- Oil and Gas
- Litigation
- State and Local Taxation
Derek was born in Evanston, Wyoming, and he graduated from Evanston High School in 2005. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and a certificate in Criminology and Corrections from the University of Utah in 2010 (Go Utes!). After working in the clinical research field for several years, Derek and his family moved South to Baton Rouge where he earned his Juris Doctor in 2018 from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University. While at LSU, Derek was a Class Representative and the Executive Secretary of the Student Bar Association (SBA), and was also a LexisNexis Student Representative. He earned CALI Awards (an award granted to the student with the highest grade in the respective class) in both Antitrust and Accounting for Lawyers.
Derek is a proud graduate of Leadership SWLA Class of 2020. He was a finalist for the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel’s coveted Frank A. Maraist Award in 2022, and was also recognized as a 2022 Top 40 Young Lawyers Award recipient by the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division.
Derek is married to Andrea Busto Hoffman and together they have three children. In his spare time, Derek enjoys spending time with his friends and family, golf, skiing, and cheering for the LSU Tigers, New Orleans Saints, Utah Utes, and Atlanta Braves.
BAR Admissions:
- Louisiana (2018)
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana (2018)
Professional Associations:
- Louisiana State Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division
- Southwest Louisiana Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section
- Board (2019)
- President-Elect (2020)
- President (2021)
- Immediate Past president (2022)
- SWLA Title Examiners Roundtable
- Co-Chair (2020-2021)
- Literacy Council of Southwest Louisiana
- Board (2019-Present)
- Treasurer (2020)
- Secretary (2021)
- President-Elect (2022)
- President (2023)
- Immediate Past President (2024)
- Pioneer Club Board of Directors (August 2024- )
