Distinctions
· AV-rated, Martindale-Hubbell
· The Best Lawyers in America®, Product Liability Litigation
· Mid-South Super Lawyers®, Class Action/Mass Torts
· Lawdragon 3000
· Outstanding Young Lawyer of Mississippi, Mississippi Bar, 2003-04
· Graduate, American Bar Association, Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section, Leadership Academy, 2007
· Fellow, American Bar Foundation
· Mississippi Top 40 Under 40, Mississippi Business Journal, 2004
· Fellow, Young Lawyers Division, Mississippi Bar, 2009
· Graduate, Leadership Jackson, 2001
· Distinguished Leadership Award, Community Leadership Association, 2005
· Charles Clark American Inns of Court, 1998-2000
· Fellow, Young Lawyers Division, American Bar Association, 2004
· Graduate, International Association of Defense Counsel, Trial Academy.
Associations
· American Bar Association
- Mississippi Membership Co-Chair, 2008-11
- Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section
-- Chair, Membership Standing Committee, 2008-10
- Vice Chair, Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Committee, 2007-11
- Vice Chair, Commercial Transportation Committee, 2011-11
- TIPS NOW Fellow, 2004
· Defense Research Institute
· Trucking Industry Defense Association
· Transportation Lawyers Association
· Mississippi Bar
- Litigation Section
-- Executive Committee, 2010-11
- Past Chair, Public Information Committee; Bar Admission Ceremony Committee; Local Affiliates Committee
- Director, Young Lawyers Division, 2000
- MS District Representative, ABA/YLD, 2002
· Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association
· Capital Area Bar Association
- Director, 1999
- Chair, Programs Committee, 2010-11
· Jackson Young Lawyers
- President, 1999 Treasurer, 1997
Legal Experience
· A substantial portion of practice is comprised of defending and trying cases involving trucking companies. Represents a variety of different trucking companies involved in over the road accidents.
· Defends a variety of product liability disputes for a myriad of manufacturers and distributors. Handles general insurance defense matters, including personal injury, slip and fall and car accident matters.
· Coordinates firm's toxic tort product liability practice. Defends numerous defendants named in toxic tort suits filed in a number of states, including asbestos, silica and chemical exposure suits.
· Litigates insurance coverage disputes, including insurance declaratory judgment matters and defense of bad faith claims.
· Wilkins v. Wiley Sanders, et. al, Bolivar County Circuit Court, 2010.
· Pine Belt Regional Waste Management Authority v. Jones County Property Owners, Jones County Chancery Court, 1995; Sims v. Sims, Rankin County Chancery Court, 1998; National School Services, Inc. v. Crossroad Consulting, Inc., et al., Hinds County Chancery Court, 1999; Taggert, et al. v. Ryder Truck Rental, Inc., Smith County Circuit Court, 2000; T. James Anderson, Jr. v. State of MS, et al., Southern District of Mississippi, 2004; Wansley v. Speed Corp., 900 So.2d 1167 (Miss. 2005); and 3M Co. v. Glass, 917 So.2d 90 (Miss. 2005); King v. Correction Corporation of America, et. al, Northern District of Mississippi, 2008; and Jones v. Hillcraft Furniture, Inc., et. al., Hinds County Circuit Court, 2008; Wilkins v. Wiley Sanders, et. al, Bolivar County Circuit Court, 2010; Mynick,et. al. v. Enviro, Inc., Jones County Circuit Court, 2011.
Papers, Presentations & Publications
· "Discovery Abuse and a Proposed Reform: Mandatory Disclosure," Mississippi Law Journal, Vol. 62-3, 1993.
· "The Lobby Reform Act of 1994," Mississippi Municipalities, Vol. 43, No. 11, 1994.
· "Basic Principles of Bankruptcy and State Reclamation," Mississippi College Law Review, Vol. 18-2, 1998.
· "Law in the Fifth Circuit Since Daubert," 998 Supplement for Products Liability Advisory Committee Experts/Evidence Action Group's Deskbook, 1998.
· "It's Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday: Multiple Defendants! Joinder/Venue Severance," 2005 Mississippi Bar Association Summer School for Lawyers (CLE Paper and Presentation).
· "It's Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday: Multiple Defendants Joinder/Venue Severance," 2006 Harris Martin Mississippi Silica Conference (CLE Paper and Presentation).
· "E-Discovery: It's Coming, Are You Ready?" Transportation and Trucking Industry Seminar, Denver, Colorado, 2006 (Industry Paper and Lecture).
· "What's In the Black Box? A Show and Tell With Car and Truck EDRs," Commercial Transportation Litigation Committee Newsletter, Vol. No. 2009, Summer Issue.
· Editor, Mississippi News Reporters' Legal Handbook, Published by the MS Bar Association, 2009.