Jackson, Mississippi - Watkins & Eager PLLC is pleased to announce that 55 lawyers from the firm’s two offices located in Jackson, Mississippi, and Birmingham, Alabama, have been recognized in 70 practice areas in The Best Lawyers in America©2026.
Among these recognized lawyers, 14 have been named “Lawyer of the Year,” a recognition awarded to individual lawyers with the highest overall peer-feedback for a specific practice area and geographic region. Only one lawyer is recognized as the “Lawyer of the Year” for each specialty and location.
Lawyers of the Year
Clifford B. Ammons, Jr. – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
J. Scott Gilbert – Qui Tam Law
C. Joyce Hall – Commercial Finance Law
Robert B. Ireland III – Litigation – Land Use and Zoning
Walter T. Johnson – Arbitration
Walter T. Johnson – Mediation
Clark C. Luke – Elder Law
Molly Jeffcoat Moody – Banking and Finance Law
Mildred M. Morris – Litigation – Health Care
W. Abram Orlansky – Litigation – Environmental
William F. Ray - Litigation - Securities
Stephanie M. Rippee – Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
M. Binford Williams, Jr. – Corporate Governance Law
Roger W. Williams – Real Estate Law
Jackson, Mississippi
Clifford B. Ammons: Administrative / Regulatory Law; Litigation – Health Care; Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants; Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Clifford B. Ammons, Jr.: Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
David L. Ayers: Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
Joseph G. Baladi: Litigation – Construction; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants; Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
Lewis W. Bell: Commercial Litigation; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
Walter J. Brand: Employment Law - Management; Labor Law - Management; Litigation – Labor and Employment
H. Rusty Comley: Aviation Law; Commercial Litigation; Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants; Litigation – Construction; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants; Privacy and Data Security Law; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
James J. Crongeyer, Jr.: Commercial Litigation; Construction Law; Litigation – Construction; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
Brad C. Davis: Public Finance Law
George R. Fair: Administrative / Regulatory Law; Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships); Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law; Financial Services Regulation Law; Litigation – Banking and Finance; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Municipal Law; Utilities Law
Spencer J. Flatgard: Administrative / Regulatory Law; Government Relations Practice
Betty Ruth Fox: Environmental Law; Natural Resources Law
Adam H. Gates: Employment Law – Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment
J. Scott Gilbert: Criminal Defense: General Practice; Litigation – Health Care; Qui Tam Law
Paul L. Gunn: Commercial Finance Law; Land Use and Zoning Law; Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law; Real Estate Law
Michael O. Gwin: Appellate Practice; Commercial Litigation; Insurance Law; Litigation -Environmental; Litigation - Insurance; Litigation – Real Estate; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants; Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants
C. Joyce Hall: Commercial Finance Law; Health Care Law; Public Finance Law
Corey D. Hinshaw: Commercial Litigation; Family Law; Litigation - Insurance; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
Jamie G. Houston III: Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law; Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law; Elder Law; Litigation – Trusts and Estates; Litigation and Controversy – Tax; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Nonprofit / Charities Law; Tax Law; Trusts and Estates
Robert B. Ireland III: Commercial Litigation; Land Use and Zoning Law; Litigation – Construction; Litigation - Labor and Employment; Litigation – Land Use and Zoning; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
Caroline K. Ivanov: Commercial Litigation; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
Mark D. Jicka: Criminal Defense: General Practice; Litigation – Health Care; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants; Qui Tam Law
Walter T. Johnson: Appellate Practice; Arbitration; Insurance Law; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants; Mediation; Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
Clark C. Luke: Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law; Corporate Law; Elder Law; Tax Law; Trusts and Estates
Molly Jeffcoat Moody: Banking and Finance Law; Commercial Finance Law; Commercial Transactions / UCC Law; Project Finance Law; Real Estate Law
Mildred M. Morris: Litigation – Health Care; Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
W. Abram Orlansky: Environmental Law; Litigation - Environmental
Jason L. Poulson: Commercial Finance Law; Economic Development Law; Real Estate Law; Securitization and Structured Finance Law
Peyton Prospere: Public Finance Law
William F. Ray: Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Banking and Finance; Litigation – ERISA; Litigation – Securities; Litigation – Trusts and Estates
Stephanie M. Rippee: Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Trusts and Estates; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Privacy and Data Security Law; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
Jennifer A. Rogers: Employment Law – Management; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
Timothy L. Sensing: Commercial Litigation; Health Care Law; Litigation - Health Care; Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants
Brian C. Smith: Commercial Litigation; Private Funds / Hedge Funds Law
Kathy K. Smith: Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Environmental; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
Jim F. Spencer, Jr.: Banking and Finance Law; Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Commercial Litigation; Commercial Transactions / UCC Law; Litigation – Bankruptcy; Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law
Susan L. Steffey: Family Law; Family Law Mediation; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
Paul H. Stephenson III: Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Energy Law; Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants; Litigation – Banking and Finance; Natural Resources Law; Oil and Gas Law
Keith W. Turner: Environmental Law; Litigation – Environmental
James M. Tyrone: Commercial Litigation; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Qui Tam Law
Michael W. Ulmer: Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants; Mediation; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
Jimmy B. Wilkins: Insurance Law; Litigation – Insurance; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
M. Binford Williams Jr.: Banking and Finance Law; Commercial Finance Law; Commercial Transactions / UCC Law; Corporate Compliance Law; Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law; Derivatives and Futures Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Project Finance Law; Real Estate Law
Roger W. Williams: Commercial Finance Law; Commercial Transactions / UCC Law; Land Use and Zoning Law; Real Estate Law
J. Collins Wohner Jr.: Appellate Practice
H. Lanier Brown II: Commercial Litigation; Employment Law – Management; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants; Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants
James A. Harris, III: Commercial Litigation; Corporate Law; Insurance Law; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
J. Patrick Strubel: Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Health Care; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
Aaron B. Thomas: Real Estate Law
Ones to Watch
Jackson, MS
R. Benson Ford: Banking and Finance Law; Land Use and Zoning Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Katie B. Lyons: Health Care Law; Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants
Sidney Lampton Morris: Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Briana A. O'Neil: Criminal Defense: General Practice; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
Emily Barr Tate: Labor and Employment Law - Management
Birmingham, AL
Emily Walters: Commercial Litigation; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
About Best Lawyers
The Best Lawyers in America© is the pre-eminent national listing of outstanding attorneys. Recognition by Best Lawyers© is based entirely on peer-review. The methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical region and legal practice area.