BEST OF JACKSON // Legal
D
Best of Jackson: Legal uring times as tough as these, no one needs the hassle that can come with searching for an approprite legal counsel for whatever needs we may have. Fortunately, the Best of Jackson Legal pop-up ballot simplifies the hunt by providing a list of some of the best attorneys and law firms the Jackson metro has to offer. Check out this year’s winners and finalists below.
Best Personal Injury Attorney; Best Local Law Firm: Richard Schwartz, Richard Schwartz & Associates
Best Tax Attorney: Ashley Wicks (Butler Snow, 1020 Highland Colony Parkway, Suite, 1400, Ridgeland; 601948-5711; butlersnow.com)
(162 E. Amite St., 601-869-0696, 1call.ms)
Best Local Law Firm Finalists: Chhabra & Gibbs (120 N. Congress St., Suite 200, 601-948-8005, cglawms.com) / Coxwell & Associates (500 N. State St., 601-948-1600, coxwelllaw.com) / Gilmer & Green Legal Group (748 N. President St., 769-2088122, gglegalgroup.com) / Kyle Wynn & Associates (7720 Old Canton Road, Suite B, Madison; 601-978-1700; kyle-wynn.com) / Sellers & Associates (395 Edgewood Terrace Drive, 601-352-0102)
“When you help a small business owner solve a problem, you’re helping people save jobs … That’s important to me,” Ashley Wicks says. An attorney with Butler Snow, Wicks’ practice focuses on public finance, general corporate transactions and taxes. Although her practice centers around the development of businesses and the resolution of complex tax problems, for Wicks, helping individuals is “the center of everything.” “A lot of the things that I do I do because I want to help people,” Wicks says, “I want to help situations improve; I want to help people’s circumstances improve.” A native Jacksonian, Wicks received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Jackson State University before earning her juris doctorate from Tulane University. She obtained a master of laws in taxation from the University of Alabama, further enabling her to serve her home city. Using what she calls “creativity in a legal sense,” Wicks evaluates a client’s problems by thinking about them in short and long terms. While the problems she helps resolve may be similar, each situation and each client are different. Wicks aims to meet every client’s needs with a detailed vision and a passion for service. —Kyle Hamrick
courtesy Ashley Wicks
Best Personal Injury Attorney Finalists: Aafram Sellers (Sellers & Associates, 395 Edgewood Terrace Drive, 601-352-0102) / Darryl Gibbs (Chhabra & Gibbs, 120 N. Congress St., Suite 200, 601-948-8005, cglawms.com) / Merrida Coxwell (Coxwell & Associates, 500 N. State St., 601-948-1600, coxwelllaw.com) / Rafael R. Green (Gilmer & Green Legal Group, 748 N. President St., 769-208-8122, gglegalgroup.com) / Rocky Wilkins (Morgan & Morgan, 4450 Old Canton Road, Suite 200, 601-949-3388, forthepeople.com)
courtesy Richard Schwartz & Associates
A lifelong Jackson resident whose firm has been a staple of the metro business scene since 1990, Richard Schwartz is known to many Mississippians by his popular “One Call, That’s All!” slogan. “You always want to be known as someone who’s there to help someone, so that’s why we do the advertising,” Schwartz says of his firm’s commercial campaign. Schwartz feels that clients have ready access to the help his offices offer, as there are satellite locations in Tupelo and Hattiesburg. “Every person needs to have a local office so that they can walk into the office and do what’s necessary,” Schwartz says. “It’s very difficult, for instance, to have someone from Tupelo come to Jackson. They can’t do that easily.” In addition to managing the largest injury law firm in the state, Schwartz extended his reach outside the walls of his firms, as he served as the assistant city prosecutor for the cities of Jackson and Ridgeland. “I must have tried thousands of cases during my time in those positions,” Schwartz recalls. During his tenure, Schwartz helped create rehabilitation programs for those convicted of crimes like shoplifting and drunk driving. He says that his time in those courtrooms taught him that “everybody needs somebody,” an approach that he attempts to apply daily in his law practice. —Taylor McKay Hathorn
Finalists: Alexis Farmer (Farmer Law, 601-706-9346, afarmerlaw.com) / James McGee (McGee Tax Law, 125 S. Congress St., Suite 1240, 601-9656155, mcgeetaxlaw.com) / Philip Anthony (Dallas Anthony & Jeffords, 213 Katherine Drive, Flowood, 601-936-3911, dajtaxlaw.com) / Harris “Trip” H. Barnes III (Barnes Law Firm, 5 River Bend Place, Flowood, 601-9816336, barnes-lawfirm.com)
Best Local Lawyer: Tianna Raby
(Entergy Mississippi, multiple locations)
September 2 - 15, 2020 • jfp.ms
a juris doctorate from Vanderbilt University, and she has spent time living abroad. Outside of her work at Entergy, Raby volunteers with the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyer Program, the Magnolia Bar Law Camp and the Jackson Junior League. —Taylor McKay Hathorn Finalists: R. Kelly Kyle (Kyle Wynn & Associates, 7720 Old Canton Road, Suite B, Madison; 601-978-1700; kyle-wynn.com) / Philip Anthony (Dallas Anthony & Jeffords, 213 Katherine Drive, Flowood, 601-936-3911, dajtaxlaw.com) / Richard Schwartz (Richard Schwartz & Associates, 162 E. Amite St., 601-869-0696, 1call.ms) / Rocky Wilkins (Morgan & Morgan, 4450 Old Canton Road, Suite 200, 601-949-3388, forthepeople.com) / Rogen Chhabra (Chhabra & Gibbs, 120 N. Congress St., Suite 200, 601948-8005, cglawms.com)
courtesy Entergy
Tianna Raby has served in various capacities since coming to Entergy in 2014, working her way up to managing counsel in litigation in 2017 before ascending to her current role as managing counsel in legal regulatory. Raby brought an array of legal experience from her time at a Jackson-based civil-litigation defense firm, where she worked on cases focused on personal injury, professional and product liability, and toxic tort. During her time at Forman, Perry, Watkins, Krutz and Tardy, Raby served as co-chair of the company’s diversity committee, leading to her 2014 recognition as “Top 40 Under 40” by the Mississippi Business Journal. Before being admitted to the bar in both Mississippi and Louisiana, Raby earned a bachelor’s degree from Howard University and 20
