News & Knowledge

Congratulations to FormanWatkins Partners Charles Abbott and Tim Gray who were recently recognized by New Orleans CityBusiness as 2023 Leadership in Law honorees. For 19 years, the publication has recognized area professionals in the field of law for their career and community accomplishments. To see the full list of honorees, click here.  Charles joined the firm in 2017 as a partner and has served as lead counsel or co-counsel on cases in very diverse practice areas. He routinely serves as lead counsel/co-counsel on significant, high-dollar commercial, contractual, business interruption, tort, admiralty/maritime, products liability, construction, and toxic tort cases pending in both federal and state courts throughout Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. He is Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent® Peer Rated, a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and has been selected to The Best Lawyers in America® in Commercial Litigation and Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions (Defendants), a Louisiana SuperLawyer since 2014, and as a Top Lawyer for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions by New Orleans Magazine. He is a CityBusiness “Leadership in Law” Hall of Fame Honoree. Tim has served as national trial counsel to several defendants in toxic tort litigation and has tried cases in several states in that capacity. He also represents parties in commercial disputes in Louisiana and Mississippi ranging from straightforward breach of contract actions to more complex matters involving multiple parties. Tim’s commercial practice has included representation of a real estate investment trust in acquisitions, dispositions and financings, as well as representation of local Louisiana individuals and companies […]

The Forman Watkins & Krutz New Orleans office has been awarded a Top Workplaces honor for 2023 by The Times-Picayune and The New Orleans Advocate. Top Workplaces are determined solely by employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered through Energage LLC. The anonymous survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization including alignment, execution, and connection. Only 80 out of nearly 1,000 companies in the Greater New Orleans area earned this distinction. The firm has previously received the honor in 2020 and 2022.

W.G. Watkins, a Founding Partner of Forman Watkins & Krutz, LLP, has been named a BTI 2023 Client Service All-Star. This list recognizes a select group of just 293 attorneys in the United States who demonstrate an unwavering commitment to providing exceptional client service. The BTI Consulting Group curates the list solely from unsolicited nominations submitted by large corporations and Fortune 1000 organizations. Now in its 22nd year, the BTI Client Service All-Stars LIST is the only ranking and attorney recognition relying solely on clients in an organic fashion. Read W.G.’s BTI Client Service All-Star profile

The Jackson office of Forman Watkins & Krutz LLP recently hosted eight students from Tougaloo College and Jackson State University for its third annual Diversity Pipeline Pre-Law Program. Kennadie Boykin, Naya Singleton and Alexandria Williams from Jackson State University and Daija Gist, Jontrell Mack, Avery Robinson, Carmen Washington and Montae’l Williams from Tougaloo College participated in this year’s program. They were provided an overview of “firm life,” including an overview of civil defense litigation and the firm’s practice areas, along with discussions regarding the firm’s Pro Bono, Recruiting, and Diversity & Inclusion committees. The firm’s junior associates shared best practices for law school. Students also heard from diverse in-house counsel who work with civil defense firms, including Tiffanee Wade-Henderson, Associate General Counsel – Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer and Litigation at International Paper; Romika Wells, Director of Organization Development and Training at Wayne-Sanderson Farms, Inc.; Bobby Owens, , General Counsel at OCI Americas; and Reginald Paige, Associate General Counsel at Sylvamo North America. There was also a professional development presentation led by executive coach, Candie Simmons, President of CLSimmons Consulting, LLC “The mission of the Forman Watkins & Krutz Diversity Pipeline Program is to expose diverse students to the legal environment so  they can see a path to life as a civil defense litigator,” says Malissa Wilson,  partner and director of the firm’s Diversity Pipeline Program. “If we want to see more diversity, equity and inclusion in our legal profession, and specifically at civil defense firms, programs like these are critical […]

Spencer Ritchie was elected by the Mississippi Law Journal Board of Directors as a new member of the Board. The Mississippi Law Journal publishes four to six volumes of legal scholarship each year and is operated by students at the University of Mississippi School of Law. First published in 1922, the Mississippi Law Journal is one of the oldest student-edited law reviews in the American South. The Board of Directors, which oversees the Journal’s operations, is made up of five Journal alumni, three student editors from the Journal, and one faculty advisor.

FormanWatkins attorneys Nick Giallourakis, Mitch McGuffey, and Spencer Ritchie guided their global investment group and sports entertainment company clients to a successful approval of zoning changes required for a major mixed use development project planned in the City of Ridgeland, Mississippi. The Mayor and Board of Alderman approved the ordinance implementing the zoning changes unanimously following a public hearing. The golf entertainment company facility will serve as anchor of the 77-acre mixed use development named Prado Vista at Ridgeland. The development will also include a national grocery store, two high-end hotels, more than 100,000 square feet of office, retail and restaurant space, an entertainment venue, 228 homes for sale, and a river walk. To see media coverage of the development, click below. The Clarion Ledger WAPT – ABC WJTV – CBS WLBT – NBC

The FormanWatkins Pro Bono Initiative was launched in 2017 in an effort to solidify the firm’s commitment to public service and community involvement. Over the past five years, FWK attorneys, staff and summer associates have committed 8,864 hours to pro bono matters across the public interest spectrum including but not limited to: family and immigration law, appellate work, and assistance to veterans. The value of the pro bono hours is more than $2 million. Not only did the firm commit an enormous amount of time and energy to pro bono efforts, but FWK employees also donated more than 10,000 hours of their time to civic organizations in their local communities. The firm remains committed to public service and positively impacting our legal and local communities by helping those with limited means.   In 2022, the firm had 11 attorneys who completed 25+ pro bono hours, and these attorneys will be awarded 2022 Pro Bono Badges on their credentials. Catherine Pettis* Sampada Kapoor Sonya Dickson Mary Clift Abdalla Patrick Fields Thomas Toman, Jr. Jordan Nixon Spencer Ritchie Patrice Pujol Alison McMinn Chandler Agee For 2022, Catherine Pettis in our Jackson office was awarded the Pro Bono All-Star* for logging over 80 pro bono hours as she drafted an appeal to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Jennifer Parks in our Jackson office was awarded the Civic Star for dedicating over 239 civic hours while serving in various capacities in her church and also serving as the state and local President of the […]

The Firm is pleased to announce that Catherine Pettis and Jennifer Parks, respectively, received the 2022 FormanWatkins Pro Bono All-Star and Civic Star awards! Catherine Pettis, an Associate in our Jackson office, was awarded the Pro Bono All-Star for dedicating nearly 100 pro bono hours during 2022. The major of her pro bono work was representing a client from the Public Defender’s Office in a capital murder conviction appeal. Jennifer Parks, a legal assistant in our Jackson office, was awarded the Civic Star for dedicating more than 230 civic hours to local, state and national Legal Associations, Wills for First Responders and within her church’s women’s, youth and media ministries. We are grateful to have so many employees who devote so much time to their communities each year, and we are proud they are a part of the FormanWatkins family.  Read more on our Pro Bono and Civic Engagement initiatives here.

FormanWatkins attorneys Vernon McFarland, Simine Reed, Courtney Hunt, and Jennifer Studebaker obtained summary judgment on behalf of a major retailer in relation to a personal injury case in Mississippi’s 10th Circuit Court District, on February 1, 2023. After sustaining injuries from a rogue police officer’s use of excessive force, Plaintiff sued FormanWatkins’ client alleging negligence, negligent hiring and retention, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy. Plaintiff alleged an employee of the retailer negligently called the police after witnessing the Plaintiff’s suspicious activity in the store. The FormanWatkins’ team filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing its client was not liable because the police officer’s use of force was an intervening, superseding cause of the Plaintiff’s injuries.  The Court noted in its Order that “in his deposition testimony, Plaintiff admitted no retailer employee attempted to stop or detain him and that the police officer was the only person to assault him. Plaintiff has produced no evidence to support his claims.”  The Court granted summary judgment and dismissed the claims against FormanWatkins’ client.

In January, FormanWatkins attorneys McCann LeFeve and Ruth M. Huskey participated in the three-day 2023 DRI Women in the Law Seminar. The Seminar allows small group networking with women in the legal field from across the country as well continuing legal education opportunities that help foster attorneys’ professional development and personal health and wellness.