News & Knowledge

Forman Watkins & Krutz New Orleans partner, Charles Abbott, has been selected as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (LCA). The Litigation Counsel of America is a trial lawyer honorary society composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. Fellowship in the LCA is highly selective and by invitation only. Fellows are selected based upon excellence and accomplishment in litigation, both at the trial and appellate levels, and superior ethical reputation. Abbott, licensed in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, has a very diverse litigation practice. He routinely is retained in significant, high-dollar commercial, contractual, tort, admiralty/maritime, products liability, construction, and toxic tort cases pending in both federal and state courts. In addition, Charles serves as national coordinating counsel on behalf of a Fortune 100 client and its subsidiaries in connection with its toxic tort litigation. Abbott is also a frequent guest lecturer at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University teaching toxic tort classes consisting of second- and third-year law students, an assistant bar examiner for the Committee on Bar Admissions of the Supreme Court of Louisiana, and a member of the board of directors for the Brain Injury Association of Louisiana.

FormanWatkins partner Caroline Upchurch was selected as a 2022 Top 40 Under 40 honoree by the Mississippi Business Journal. The award recognizes 40 up-and-coming business leaders under the age of 40 in Mississippi. The full list of winners can be viewed here.  Caroline graduated magna cum laude from The University of Mississippi School of Law in 2008. She began practicing with FormanWatkins in 2008 and is a partner in the firm’s general litigation group. She has primarily handled defense litigation, including products liability, premises liability, contract disputes, as well as some asbestos defense. Caroline is chair of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee while also serving as a member of the Recruiting and Associate Development & Mentorship Committees. She has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® and named a Mid-South Rising Star by Super Lawyers® every year since 2014. The Mississippi Business Journal previously recognized her as one of their Leaders in Law.

Savannah Tirey has joined Forman Watkins & Krutz as the firm’s director of marketing and recruiting. Tirey previously held marketing and public relations positions within the tourism, economic development and workforce development sectors. In her new role, Tirey will shape the vision and strategy to generate new business opportunities, influence public perceptions, maintain a positive brand and recruit top talent to the firm. “Savannah will be a great addition to the team,” said Robby Gathings, FormanWatkins chief operating officer. “Her professional background and skill set will not only complement the firm, but contribute to its growth.” She comes to the firm from the Ridgeland Tourism Commission, where she was director of marketing and public relations. Prior to that position, she served as a public relations specialist at the Mississippi Development Authority. Tirey received a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Mississippi in 2011.

The Diversity Pipeline Program is a three-and-a-half-day program for Tougaloo College pre-law students interest­ed in pursuing a career as a civil litigator. The FormanWatkins Jackson office hosted Amber Magee, Kevana Funches, Precious Thompson, Pierrerasha Goodwin and Octavious Henderson for the 2022 Diversity Pipeline Program. In addition to attending seminars providing overviews of “firm life,” civil litigation and the firm’s practice areas, the students partook in discussions regarding the firm’s Pro Bono, Recruiting, and Diversity & Inclusion committees. The students also attended speaker sessions led by diverse in-house counsel who are major firm clients and were given a legal research assignment with an opportunity to prepare a written memorandum of their findings. Firm attorneys led a professional development and resume workshop for the students. The firm also assigned attorney mentors during the program to facilitate discussions and to help with the research assignment. The program concluded with the Tougaloo students attending in-person criminal hearings before U.S. Magistrate Judge LaKeysha Greer-Isaac of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. At the conclusion of the hearings, Judge Greer-Isaac spoke with the students and held a question-and-answer session. This year’s group of students were smart, enjoyable and demonstrated a true eagerness to learn more about the legal profession. Amber, Kevana, Precious, Pierrerasha and Octavious are part of the Reuben V. Anderson Pre-Law Program at Tougaloo College under the direction of Julian Miller, an attorney in the FormanWatkins Jackson office. With highest academic honors, these students recently graduated from Tougaloo College […]

FormanWatkins is excited to announce that Jean Folsom, Ruth Huskey, and McCann LeFeve have been promoted to Partner!

FormanWatkins is proud to share that  Sampada (Sam) Kapoor was selected to receive the Mississippi Bar Foundation’s 2022 Law-Related Public Education Award, in recognition of her dedication to enhancing the public’s understanding of the law and the legal system!

FormanWatkins released its 2021 Pro Bono & Civic Engagement Report this week. The Firm’s pro bono efforts are led by our Pro Bono Committee, whose members include: Alison McMinn, Courtney Hunt, Erin Latuso, Julian Miller, Margaret McLaughlin, Mimi Arthur, Mitch McGuffey, Nicole Diesa, and Vernon McFarland. Thank you to all team members involved with these cases, it truly makes a difference!

The Firm is excited to announce that Jordan Nixon and Trey Watkins, respectively, received the 2021 FormanWatkins Pro Bono Star and Civic Star awards!

Last year, FormanWatkins’ Pro Bono Committee unveiled the Pro Bono Star, a badge that will be awarded annually to attorneys in the Firm who dedicate 25+ hours to pro bono work in a calendar year. We are proud to announce that 16 attorneys will be receiving the Pro Bono Star badge for their service in 2021!

This past semester, FormanWatkins has been proud to host a series of Mississippi College School of Law classes in our Jackson office.  Adjunct Professor and retired FormanWatkins attorney Craig Brasfield has been teaching a semester-long class focused best practices for taking depositions. The class included weekly mock depositions of key witnesses in a variety of real-world scenarios, including a Covid wrongful death case, a divorce case, and a toxic-tort case. In addition to hosting the students in a real-world law firm environment, team members of the Firm played the roles of the witnesses in the mock scenarios, and our attorneys shared practical advice based upon their own deposition-taking experience. We enjoyed hosting the students and playing a part in skill development for their future practice.