Charles Cowan Selected to the FDCC

Wise Carter is proud to share that Charles Cowan has been selected to become a member of the prestigious organization of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC). Charles was nominated by defense attorneys at two other Mississippi law firms for inclusion into the organization. The FDCC’s Board of Directors conducts a thorough six month long vetting process and seeks the opinions of other attorneys who have litigated with or against nominees. The FDCC is nationally recognized as a strong foundation of leadership and service to the legal profession and the related industries served by our members. FDCC affords the privilege of membership to those who have differentiated themselves professionally and personally and whose exemplary reputations have been earned. One of the FDCC’s primary goals is for members to keep business referrals within the group. For members whose clients need representations in other states, FDCC members aim to refer their clients to other FDCC members. 

Since 1936, The Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC) has continued the reputation of being composed of recognized leaders in the legal community who have achieved professional distinction. Members of the FDCC are dedicated to promoting the knowledge, fellowship, and professionalism of fellow members as they pursue the course of a balanced justice system and represent those in need of a defense in civil lawsuits.

Wise Carter Attorneys Named in The Best Lawyers in America® for 2024

Wise Carter Attorneys Named in The Best Lawyers in America® for 2021

Wise Carter is pleased to announce the attorneys selected for The Best Lawyers in America® (2024 Edition).  Wise Carter celebrates the success of 26 attorneys who have been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America®. Congratulations to our attorneys listed below for their accomplishments. 

A special congratulations for the recognition given to George Ritter and Michael Wallace for being awarded as “Lawyer of the Year” for 2024. As well as, Charles Cowan and Mallory Street for being recognized as “Ones to Watch” for 2024.

  • Jackson, MS
    • John P. Sneed
      • Appellate Practice
      • Commercial Litigation
      • Corporate Law
      • Litigation – First Amendment
      • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants
    • Michael B. Wallace
      • Appellate Practice
      • Bet-the-Company Litigation
      • Commercial Litigation
      • Government Relations Practice
    • Betty Toon Collins
      • Commercial Transactions / UCC Law
      • Corporate Compliance Law
      • Corporate Governance Law
      • Corporate Law
      • Health Care Law
    • Elizabeth G. Hooper
      • Commercial Transactions / UCC Law
      • Health Care Law
    • D. Collier Graham, Jr.
      • Corporate Law
      • Health Care Law
      • Litigation – Health Care
    • W. McDonald Nichols
      • Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law
      • Litigation – Trusts and Estates
      • Real Estate Law
      • Trusts and Estates
    • Barbara Childs Wallace
      • Employment Law – Management
      • Litigation – Labor and Employment
    • Douglas E. Levanway
      • Energy Law
      • Energy Regulatory Law
      • Litigation – Labor and Employment
      • Litigation – Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy)
    • R. Mark Hodges
      • Health Care Law
      • Litigation – Health Care
      • Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
    • Eugene R. Naylor
      • Health Care Law
      • Insurance Law
      • Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
      • Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
    • George H. Ritter
      • Health Care Law
      • Litigation – Health Care
      • Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
      • Railroad Law
    • Charles E. Ross
      • Insurance Law
      • Railroad Law
    • Mark P. Caraway
      • Litigation – Health Care
      • Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
      • Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
    • Gaye Nell Currie
      • Litigation – Health Care
      • Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
    • Jennifer Scott
      • Litigation – Labor and Employment
      • Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
    • Kimberly N. Howland
      • Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
    • Virginia S. Gautier
      • Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
    • Andrew D. Sweat
      • Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
  • Hattiesburg, MS
    • Joe D. Stevens
      • Banking and Finance Law
  • Gulfport, MS
    • Henry F. Laird, Jr.
      • Commercial Litigation
      • Litigation – First Amendment
    • James C. Simpson, Jr.
      • Commercial Litigation
      • Corporate Law
      • Government Contracts
      • Government Relations Practice
    • Lynda C. Carter
      • Litigation – Health Care
      • Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
      • Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
    • David C. Goff
      • Litigation – Labor and Employment
      • Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
    • Frederick T. Hoff, Jr.
      • Litigation and Controversy – Tax
      • Real Estate Law
      • Tax Law

Lawyer of the Year”: Awards

  • Jackson, MS
    • George H. Ritter – Health Care Law
    • Michael B. Wallace – Appellate Practice

Ones to Watch”: Awards

  • Jackson, MS
    • Charles E. Cowan – Appellate Practice
    • Mallory M. Street – Insurance Law

Foster Named Vice-Chair of Newsletters for the ABA TIPS Committee

Katelyn Foster has been named the Vice Chair of Newsletters for the American Bar Association TIPS Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability Committee.

The Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability Committee is a group of the nation’s top lawyers who regularly practice in the fields of workers’ compensation and employer’s liability law. Their mission is to facilitate the sharing of workers’ compensation knowledge and information across the United States through the highest-quality educational programs, publications, and communications amongst our members. Katelyn will be part of a very diverse group of individuals from a wide range of practice settings.

Wise Carter is proud of her recognition from the ABA TIPS Committees and look forward to watching her grow with them.

Wise Carter Attorneys Ranks in Chambers USA 2023

Wise Carter is proud to share that some of our attorneys were ranked in the Chambers and Partners 2023 USA Edition. Chambers and Partners take extensive measures to research attorneys through reputation and client feedback. We are pleased to be recognized again in the Chambers and Partners Guide.

The Wise Carter attorneys ranked in the 2023 Chambers Guide were Doug E. Levanway, Michael B. Wallace, and George H. Ritter. The firm also held its ranking in Litigation for General Commercial.

2023 Chambers and Partners USA

Attorney Rankings

  • Doug E. Levanway
    • Energy and Natural Resources
  • Michael B. Wallace
    • Litigation: Appellate
  • George Ritter
    • Litigation: General Commercial

Firm Department Rankings

  • Litigation: General Commercial

Wise Carter is a Mississippi leading law firm with a legacy of providing legal expertise for over a century. Wise Carter has offices located in Jackson, Hattiesburg, and Gulfport, Mississippi. For more information on the firm, please visit www.wisecarter.com.

Wise Carter Attorneys Prevail in an Appeal for Mississippi Hospital

Wise Carter attorneys Charles Cowan and John Sneed prevailed in an appeal before the Mississippi Supreme Court in an en banc decision the Supreme Court handed down on April 13, 2023. 

Charles and John represented Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital along with Sharkey and Issaquena Counties in a lawsuit brought by a commercial lessee against the hospital and the counties over a commercial transaction involving the sale of the leased property. Charles and John successfully obtained dismissal of the claims against their clients in Sharkey County Chancery Court and that decision was affirmed by the Mississippi Court of Appeals on June 7, 2022. The Mississippi Supreme Court subsequently granted the opposing party’s petition for writ of certiorari and rendered an en banc decision that reversed the Court of Appeals’ decision in part but affirmed dismissal of the opposing party’s claims against Wise Carter’s clients. Charles and John are ecstatic to have received a favorable result for these clients who have experienced so much loss since a tornado ravaged their communities the night of March 24, 2023.  

Wise Carter values its healthcare clients and the work it performs for them on appeals in state and federal courts.

Wise Carter Announces Mallory M. Street as Shareholder

Wise Carter is proud to announce Mallory M. Street as the firm’s newest shareholder as of March 1, 2023.

Mallory joined Wise Carter as an associate in 2018. She received her law degree from Mississippi College School of Law, and her undergraduate degree from Mississippi State University. She focuses her litigation practice on general insurance defense, including personal injury, premises liability, and medical malpractice defense. Mallory currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association and as the firm’s Recruiting Chair.

Wise Carter congratulates Mallory on this achievement and her success at Wise Carter.

Wise Carter Sponsors 2023 BLSA Annual Banquet

Gingi Gautier, Elizabeth Hooper, Suzy Turner, Katie Pearson, Mallory Street, and incoming associate, Meagan Guyse, attended the Constance Slaughter-Harvey Chapter of the Black Law Students Association Annual Scholarship and Awards Banquet at the University of Mississippi on April 1, 2023.  Wise Carter Child & Caraway, PA was proud to be a gold sponsor of the event and looks forward to continuing to support the endeavors of this organization at the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Wallace Represents Republicans in the Mississippi Redistricting

Michael B. Wallace of our Jackson office represented the Republican Party with a favorable outcome for his client regarding the Mississippi Congressional Redistricting Plan.

Based on federal and state law, the Legislature is required to redraw Congressional districts every 10 years to match population shifts. For the first time since the 1990s, the federal courts did not draw Mississippi’s Congressional districts. The Mississippi Legislature adopted a new plan of Congressional districts to be used for elections based on the 2020 census in January 2022.

The new redistricting plan in 2022 was challenged by the Democratic Party and others.  The Republican Party and individual state officers defended the plan. 

The argument was held in front of a three-judge federal panel, composed of Circuit Judge Grady Jolly, Judge David Bramlette, and Judge Henry Wingate.  The Court rejected the challenge and dismissed the complaint.  A contrary ruling might well have delayed elections for a significant period of time.  The imposition of new districts might well have changed the result of those elections.  The dismissal of the action permitted the elections to be conducted as the Legislature had directed. 

The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court but then was dismissed on February 21, 2023, leaving the District Court’s judgment in place. 

DOM REVERSES $47M IN HOSPITAL DSH RECOUPMENTS

            Wise Carter attorneys George Ritter, Collier Graham, and Becky Hawkins, with strategic assistance from Mike Wallace, achieved a significant victory for Mississippi hospitals, resulting in the Division of Medicaid (DOM) withdrawing approximately $47 million in recoupments of disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments.  DSH payments, generally, are supplemental Medicaid payments to hospitals that provide a disproportionate share of uninsured care. The initial recoupments imposed by DOM were for fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014 and totaled $23,267,790 against 14 Mississippi hospitals represented by Wise Carter.  Wise Carter challenged the recoupments arguing that DOM’s auditors had applied the incorrect methodology for calculating the hospitals’ DSH cap, known as the hospital specific DSH limit.  Later, DOM announced recoupments for FY 2017 totaling $26,628,618 against 15 hospitals.  Wise Carter challenged these recoupments on the same grounds. On December 29, 2022, after protracted administrative and federal proceedings, DOM announced that it would apply the methodology advocated by the hospitals.  The end result was that virtually all of the $47 million in recoupments were withdrawn.

            For over 50 years, Wise Carter has served Mississippi hospitals through good times and bad.  From contracting and certificates of need to malpractice defense and reimbursement litigation, and all other areas of healthcare law, our healthcare attorneys provide a full array of legal services for hospitals, physicians, clinics, and other care facilities.  Wise Carter is proud to serve as counsel for the Mississippi Hospital Association and its affiliated organizations.  For more information, visit www.wisecarter.com.