SERVICES

Because of our many years of practice in this area, our firm is uniquely positioned to handle all types of business and commercial litigation both for plaintiffs and defendants. Our experience in this area of the law means that we have frequently encountered and successfully litigated most of the legal and business issues that may arise in business and commercial cases. We have the skill and tools necessary to bring such matters to a favorable conclusion for our client.

We are aggressive advocates for people who have been injured in car wrecks, on job sites and by defective products. We have handled many cases for family members of people killed as a result of someone else’s negligence. Our litigation attorneys and staff have the experience and determination to handle substantial claims from the beginning all the way through trial and, if necessary, through appeal. When representing our injured clients or family members who have lost loved ones, we doggedly pursue the maximum compensation available for their losses.

Litigation in the bankruptcy courts is a significant part of our practice. We routinely litigate complex and difficult legal issues created by bankruptcy filings. We have tried numerous adversary proceedings and contested matters under the federal Bankruptcy Code, which often involves an interplay with state law issues. We have also successfully handled appeals to District and Circuit-level appellate courts from bankruptcy court rulings.

Lawsuits against lenders are an ever-present form of litigation in Mississippi. We have aggressively defended our lender clients against a barrage of such claims in the state and federal courts. We have obtained exceptional results in these cases including, in certain instances, recovering attorney fees from the plaintiff for the benefit of our defendant client. In the current economic climate, we anticipate more lender liability litigation.

We are experienced insurance-defense counsel. We are also adept at making certain your insurance carrier fulfills its contractual duty to defend you when the need arises. In certain instances, Mississippi law provides an insured the right to choose his own attorney, at the expense of his insurance carrier, to defend his interest when he has been sued. We have represented many clients when their insurance carrier “reserves its rights” to deny coverage or to withdraw its defense or when the amount of insurance coverage is inadequate to cover the claims asserted against them.

Occasionally, our clients’ interests are best resolved outside the courtroom. Arbitration is a means of submitting a dispute to an impartial third-party who decides the case in a typically less contentious setting. Mediation, by contrast, is simply a means of settling claims through the use of a disinterested third party who tries to bring the parties to common ground on a resolution. In either setting, we strive to obtain the result that best suits our clients.

Lenders, title insurers, buyers, sellers and broker/agents all have a vested interest in a successful real estate transaction. We consider it a privilege to be a part of this special event, and we make it a point to handle the transaction in a professional and pleasant manner for all concerned. We are staffed and equipped to handle multiple closings and refinancings each day. We are approved title agents for First American Title Insurance Company and Mississippi Valley Title Insurance Company, and we are approved closing attorneys for virtually all banks and mortgage lenders in Mississippi.

Our real estate attorneys and staff handle foreclosures of interests in real property in every county in Mississippi. Title problems frequently surface when a mortgage default occurs, and our real estate expertise enables us to solve title difficulties and proceed to foreclosure. Foreclosure by the summary power of sale procedure is most often applied, but in the event judicial foreclosure is required, our attorneys have the experience and knowledge to handle these actions quickly and effectively.

We are approved title agents for First American Title Insurance Company and Mississippi Valley Title Insurance Company fully authorized to write title insurance policies in keeping with the insurer’s standards. We also provide title binders, searches, abstracts, reports and commitments.

We represent virtually every type of creditor in bankruptcy court including lenders, material and service providers, business owners and others. The federal Bankruptcy Code is rivaled only by the tax code in its sheer complexity. We regularly appear before the United States Bankruptcy Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi representing our clients’ best interests. In Chapter 13 individual reorganizations, we work to raise plan payments, challenge debtor’s representations of value, and oppose inadequate or unacceptable arrangements for payment of our clients’ claims. In Chapter 7 liquidations, we move quickly to protect our clients’ collateral and to maximize the opportunities to obtain an enhanced priority position. In the typically more complex Chapter 11 reorganizations, we use our experience and resources to guard our clients’ rights and ensure that they realize the best recovery possible.

We represent national, regional and local lenders and business owners in recovering collateral from their borrowers in default. We handle replevin and related possessory actions almost every day in courts across the state. The legal issues arising in possessory actions often require that we resolve bankruptcy, insurance, tort and real estate questions impacting these actions.