MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE SCHOOL OF LAW WINS THE DUBERSTEIN NATIONAL BANKRUPTCY MEMORIAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION

Jackson, MS - Mississippi College School of Law second-year students, Tray Hairston and Ashley Nader won the 16th Annual Judge Conrad B. Duberstein Moot Court Competition, the nation 's only moot court competition devoted entirely to bankruptcy law. Jonathan Bissette assisted in writing the team's brief. "It is truly an honor to win this Competition, and something I will cherish for years to come," said Nader, who also won a Best Oralist Award. "I am truly grateful to our coaches for their outstanding guidance, and to all of the (MCSOL) faculty and local attorneys and judges who helped us prepare." "This will definitely be one of the highlights of my law school career," Hairston added. "I can't thank everyone enough for preparing us to succeed, because we couldn't have done this without their help." Law students, Kelly Hollingsworth and Amy Strickland were national semifinalists, and placed third overall in the competition. Clifford Ammons assisted in writing their brief. MCSOL teams actually competed against each other in the competition's semifinals. Dean Jim Rosenblatt knows the caliber of students in the Moot Court Board program at MCSOL. "We are very proud of our teams and pleased with their success in this national competition. Our team members worked hard and devoted many precious hours preparing for the competition. Their coaches--Bill Leech and Danny Ruhl along with Professor Gordon Christy--invested in our teams and guided them in their advocacy," said a joyful Dean Rosenblatt. Additionally, Nader and Hollingsworth received Best Oralist Awards at the competition, and Strickland, Hollingsworth and Ammons received a Best Brief Award. MCSOL was the only law school with two teams in the final four of the Duberstein competition, and the only school to win two Best Oralist Awards, and also a Best Brief Award. Bill Leech, a shareholder at Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush, has coached MCSOL's Duberstein teams for the past eleven years, while Danny Ruhl, also of Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush, has coached the teams the past two years. MCSOL Professor Gordon Christy served as an advisor to the law school's 2008 Duberstein Competition teams.

MCSOL HAS ITS DAY IN COURT

Ashley Nadar Prevails in the Annual Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush Moot Court Competition. Read more

ATTORNEY BILL LEECH OF COPELAND, COOK, TAYLOR and BUSH WILL SPEAK

Bill Leech will be presenting at the 14th Annual Mid-South Conference on Bankruptcy Law February 8th in Tunica. He will be speaking on "Enforceability of Contratcual Arbitration Provisions in Banruptcy Cases."

MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS WINS UNPRECEDENTED AWARD FROM IRS

If you can't fight city hall, what chance do you have fighting the IRS when you feel the agency has made a wrong decision? And what if that wrong decision is requiring you to pay more than $250 million in excise taxes for your family-owned business? Things might seem pretty bleak, but there is a happy ending to this story. The Sta-Home Health Agency, which now operates in 42 counties in Mississippi, went through years of audit and litigation after the IRS greatly overvalued the agency when it moved from non-profit to for-profit status in 1996. But in 2006, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the owners of Sta-Home Health Agency and overturned the decision of the IRS and the Tax Court. Read more

COPELAND, COOK, TAYLOR & BUSH SPONSOR SCHOOL CHRISTMAS PARTY

Last year our office began sponsoring a Christmas party for a class room at the Camden Elementary School in North Madison County. Each class room party is sponsored by a different business. When you see the joy on the faces of these children you see the spirit of Christmas. This year we partied with Linda Hales 5 to 6 year-old kindergarten class. Thanks to Amy, Sayle and the Christmas Elf, Charlotte, for their participation. I know they enjoyed it more than the children did. Next year we will again be looking for volunteers who like to dress up and party. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

COPELAND, COOK, TAYLOR & BUSH SELECTED AS 2008 "GO-TO LAW FIRM" FOR TOP 500 COMPANIES

Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush was recently selected as a 2008 “Go- To Law Firm” by a Fortune 500 company in the area of litigation. Surveys were sent to Fortune 500 General Counsel to list their Go-To Law Firms. Firms may be recognized in seven practice areas: Litigation, Corporate Transactions/Mergers & Acquisitions, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment, Canada, International, and Securities.   About the Guide The publishers of ALM’s Corporate Counsel® magazine, the nation’s leading magazine for general counsel and in-house attorneys at corporations across the country, will publish the 5th annual reference guide to in-house law departments at the nation’s top 500 companies (based on revenue).  The guide will be released in December 2008 and include detailed profiles and contact information for general counsel at these corporations, as well as listings of their current outside “Go-To Law Firms®” in various practice areas, including litigation, securities, corporate transactions, labor & employment and intellectual property.   The guide will be distributed to more than 20,000 top general counsel across the country, and will be available on the Web at www.corpcounsel.com/guide.    About Go-To Law Firm Selection “Go-To Law Firms®” were identified through research conducted by ALM.  Researchers asked general counsel at the top 500 companies which outside law firms they turn to for assistance. ALM's research department also investigated and gathered data on the top 500 company's “Go-To Law Firms” from various public records resources including court dockets and securities filings, as well as leading legal and business publications, including The American Lawyer®. About Corporate Counsel Magazine ALM’s Corporate Counsel® is the nation’s leading magazine for general counsel and in-house attorneys at corporations across the country.  The award-winning Corporate Counsel is published monthly by ALM, an Incisive Media company, and is available on the Web at www.corpcounsel.com.

TWO COPELAND, COOK, TAYLOR & BUSH ATTORNEYS
CO-AUTHOR ARTICLE IN JOURNAL

JAMES D. BOONE and W. SHAN THOMPSON, Attorneys-at-Law with Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush, have co-authored an article in The MDLA Quarterly, the publication of the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association. The article entitled “Federal Court Predicts Mississippi Supreme Court Would Adopt a ‘Continuous Trigger’ Theory in Context of Damage Caused by Faulty Construction Work,” offers an exposé about a trend-setting case (Essex Insurance Company v. Massey Land & Timber, LLC). James D. Boone, a graduate of Mississippi College School of Law, focuses his practice on the areas of insurance coverage, contract and claims handling issues and bad faith litigation. Shan Thompson has over 15 years of experience handling insurance coverage, contract and claims handling issues, personal injury and premises liability defense, and regularly advises some of the nation’s largest companies on insurance related matters.

MUSGROVE INVITED TO SERVE ON THE MISSISSIPPI LEGAL SERVICES FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

RONNIE MUSGROVE has been invited to serve on the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Legal Services Foundation. The Mississippi Legal Services Foundation has served more than 548,000 Mississippians qualifying for Legal Services’ assistance, from a variety of underserved populations including the elderly, the disabled, special needs children, survivors of abused homes, and the poor and economically challenged. The Mississippi Legal Services Foundation’s primary goal is to increase the financial health for the two legal services programs, the Mississippi Center for Legal Services and North Mississippi Rural Legal Services. It is an honor for Governor Musgrove, Of Counsel to Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush, to have been invited to be part of such an important, esteemed and socially beneficial organization.

MUSGROVE INVITED TO SIT ON FIRST FOCUS ADVISORY BOARD