David Kaufman and Richard Cirilli represented Lamar County, Mississippi; the Lamar County Board of Supervisors and its president, Joe Bounds; and the Tax Collector for Lamar County in an action filed in the Chancery Court of Forrest County, Mississippi, by the Pat Harrison Waterway District.  The issue involved in the lawsuit was the amount that Lamar County was required to pay the Pat Harrison Waterway District, pursuant to Section 51-15-118 of the Mississippi Code, following the County’s withdrawal from the District on September 6, 2011.  An independent auditor retained by the parties pursuant to the statute determined that Lamar County owed $337,088.  The auditor rejected the District’s position that Lamar County was responsible for the District’s alleged perpetual operating costs under its federal government contracts which the District claimed totaled approximately $18,000,000.  The Chancery Court Judge agreed with the independent auditor and ruled in favor of Lamar County, and the District subsequently appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court.  On March 19, 2015, the Mississippi Supreme Court issued its opinion and affirmed the Chancery Court’s decision.   The Supreme Court determined that the alleged perpetual operating costs of the District were not “contractual obligations” that were “outstanding” on the date of Lamar County’s withdrawal, and therefore, Lamar County was not obligated for these costs pursuant to Section 51-15-118.

Jim Halford was a featured speaker at the Mississippi Trial & Appellate Judges Fall Conference held in Jackson, MS. on October 22-24, 2014.  Halford spoke to the judges on the subject of “Ingress and Egress in Eminent Domain Proceedings: Miss. Const. Section 110”.

Attorneys from Brunini were recently selected as Mid-South Super Lawyers 2014 and eight attorneys were named Mid-South Rising Stars 2014.

Super Lawyers is a listing of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

Mid-South Super Lawyers

 Matt Allen-Business Litigation

Lawrence E. Allison, Jr.-Business Litigation

Leonard A. Blackwell, II-Environmental

Stephen J. Carmody- Employment & Labor

Lynne K. Green-Estate Planning and Probate

William Trey Jones, III- Business Litigation

R. David Kaufman– Business Litigation

Samuel C. Kelly- Construction Litigation

M. Patrick McDowell- Business Litigation

John E. Milner– Environmental

Christopher A. Shapley- Business Litigation

Watts C. Ueltschey- Energy & Resources

Leonard D. Van Slyke, Jr.- Tax

John E. Wade- Personal Injury Medical Malpractice: Defense

Eugene R. Wasson- Energy & Resources

Walter S. Weems –Business/Corporate

Ron A. Yarbrough- Construction Litigation

*Attorneys listed in Super Lawyers’ Top 50 in Mississippi.

Mid-South Super Lawyers – Rising Stars

Norman E. Bailey, Jr.- Business Litigation

Christopher R. Fontan- Employment & Labor

Joseph A. Sclafani- Appellate

Lane W. Staines- Health Care

Jess New has joined Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes, PLLC as an associate in the firm’s regulatory department.

Jess is a graduate of the Mississippi College School of Law and brings over 8 years of law experience to the firm.  He has concentrated his practice on work with the Oil and Gas Industry as well as other Corporate and Commercial Matters including Real Estate.  Jess was named one of Mississippi’s Fifty Leading Attorneys by the Mississippi Business Journal in 2011 and is a 2013 graduate of Leadership Madison County.

Chris Fontan, Sam Kelly and Reed Nunnelee presented to the Mississippi Road Builders association on Monday, July 21, 2014.  Kelly discussed a new Construction Lien Law, while Fontan and Reed discussed Employer Shared Responsibility of the Affordable Care Act.

View the presentation Affordable Care Act: Employer Shared Responsibility HERE.

Jackson- Lynne K. Green of the Jackson office has been featured as a recent guest speaker to different organizations recently.  On July 10, she presented during a Trust Issues Seminar for the Mississippi Bankers Association.

On July 16th and 17th Lynne presented “Mississippi Uniform Trust Code Summary” during seminars for First American Title Insurance Company.  These presentations were held on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and in Flowood, Mississippi.

Thomas E. Walker, Jr. has joined Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes, PLLC as a member in the firm’s commercial department.

Tom’s main areas of emphasis focus on corporate, commercial and regulatory matters.  Tom works on such matters for clients in a variety of industries, but he has a particular depth of experience in working with and representing financial institutions on the full range of issues facing the financial services industry.  He is the former Executive Vice President of Bank of Forest located in Forest, Mississippi.  There, as well as serving as the Bank’s general counsel, he also served as its Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Investments Officer.  Before his experience with Bank of Forest, Tom was engaged in private practice in Jackson, Mississippi, with a focus on the financial services industry.  Brunini represents numerous financial industry clients, and the combination of Tom’s significant industry experience coupled with his prior legal experience will enhance the delivery of legal services to our clients.

Granville Tate, Jr., Managing Partner of the Brunini firm said “We are very excited that Tom has joined the firm, and are confident that he will be a great asset to our commercial and banking clients.”

Tom is a Certified Public Accountant and received a Bachelor of Accountancy in 1999 and a Masters of Accountancy in 2000 from Mississippi State University and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Mississippi in 2004.  Tom is also a 2014 Graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU.

Louis Fuller and Lynne Green were featured speakers at the Taxation Section and the Estates & Trusts Section CLE Seminar on May 16, 2014 in Jackson. This Seminar was held at the Supreme Courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi.  The goal of the seminar was to provide a 6-hour educational session titled “Recent Changes in the Trust, Fiduciary, and Tax Laws of MS”
Louis gave a presentation on Equifax, Inc. v. Mississippi Department of Revenue, while Lynne gave an Update on the newly enacted Mississippi Uniform Trust Code.

William “Trey” Jones, III  was recently nominated and selected as a Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America.  Jones, a Partner at Brunini, was chosen by this trial attorney honorary society that is composed of less than 3,500 members nationwide.

The Litigation Counsel of America’s Membership is limited to 3,500 Fellows which is less than one-half of one percent of the attorneys in America. The Litigation Counsel of America “is aggressively diverse in its Composition.  Established as a trial and appellate lawyer honorary society reflecting the American bar in the twenty-first century, the LCA represents the best in law among its membership” a Litigation Counsel of America announcement said.

Brunini’s Jones has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation and Environmental Litigation.Benchmark Litigation has named him in the areas of Personal Injury, Product Liability, General Commercial, Appellate, and Environmental.  He has also been recognized as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers and was American Lawyer & Corporate Counsel’s Top Rated Lawyer® in 2013 in the area of Appellate Law.

Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes, PLLC (Brunini) announced that George O’Connor, former trial attorney with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and former Vice President for Entergy Corporation, is joining the law firm.  O’Connor will bring his extensive energy and regulatory experience to Brunini’s Washington, D.C. office.

“George knows Washington, energy litigation and federal energy policy,” said Brunini’s Curt Hebert, Jr who is former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman.  “Our country’s energy revolution is powering the American manufacturing renaissance.  George, with his extensive FERC experience, including his leadership role on the drafting and passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, as well as his corporate and private legal practice background, is the right person to assist our clients in taking advantage of that revolution. George has the objective experience to see clients’ needs through many prisms and we are delighted George has chosen to join Brunini.”

O’Connor served as an advisor to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Charles A. Trabandt from 1985-1993 prior to working in FERC’s Office of General Counsel.  George’s experience includes regulatory practice, FERC and Senate staff leadership and he has a proven record of working with Congress and at the FERC.  From March 2008-November 2010, he was hired by Entergy Corporation as Vice President of Federal Governmental Affairs.

Brunini’s Energy Practice is regarded as a premier regulatory practice.  In rating Brunini as a Band 1 Firm, Chambers USA 2012 Client’s Guide notes:  “[The Firm] has a wealth of experience in energy regulation and litigation.  Over the years, the team has undertaken a number of large projects throughout the South, providing a full range of services, including regulation, permitting, financing, real estate and contract advice.”