Magistrate Judge Hanna was appointed to the Lafayette Division of the Western District of Louisiana in December of 2009. After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, Hanna obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana. He obtained his law degree from Louisiana State University in 1987 and, upon being admitted to the bar, practiced mostly maritime law in Lafayette. In 1992, he attended the Vermont Law School in order to practice environmental law. In 1994, he was a founding partner in the firm of Rabalais, Hanna & Hays where he remained until he was appointed to the bench. He was a member of the bar of the states of Louisiana and Texas and was admitted to practice before the U.S. Fourth and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals as well as the United States Supreme Court. Judge Hanna is a fellow in the Louisiana Bar Foundation. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Federal Magistrate Judges’ Association as the representative for the Fifth Circuit Magistrate Judges, as well as the Chair of the FMJA Security Committee and a member of the FMJA Legislative Committee.