2011 US News Best Law Firms
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  • One Jackson Place
    188 E. Capitol Street
    Suite 400
    Jackson, MS 39201
P: 601.592.9911
F: 601.592.1411
Secretary:
P: 601.592.9922

W. Wayne Drinkwater

Partner
Wayne has extensive experience as lead counsel in major business and commercial litigation and appellate cases. He has served as lead counsel in some of Mississippi’s most significant litigation. He has also handled more than 60 appeals, arguing more than 30 in state and federal courts across the United States.

A former law clerk at the United States Supreme Court, Wayne is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. He is included in Best Lawyers in America in four litigation fields. For the past 7 years, he has been named Mississippi’s top commercial litigator in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.

Experience

Wayne represents clients throughout the South and United States. The range of his practice includes business and commercial cases, mass torts, and appellate practice. Wayne also maintains a pro bono practice, representing plaintiffs in litigation challenging state and local government policies. As pro bono counsel, Wayne has successfully represented classes of abused and neglected children and bookstore owners, penitentiary inmates, the Mississippi Ethics Commission, and the first man admitted to Mississippi University for Women.

Distinctions

  • The Best Lawyers in America, Appellate Law, Bet-The Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Mass Tort Litigation
  • Best Lawyers in America, Lawyer of the Year, Jackson-MS Bet-the-Company Litigation, 2012 
  • Chambers USA, Appellate, 2012 
  • Chambers USA, Litigation, General Commercial, 2010-2012 
  • Chambers USA, Litigation, Construction, 2010-2011
  • Mid-South Super Lawyers, Business Litigation, 2009

Memberships and Affiliations

  • American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
  • American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, Fellow
  • American Board of Trial Advocates, Advocate
  • Product Liability Advisory Council, Sustaining Member
  • American Bar Foundation, Fellow
  • American Law Institute, Fellow
  • Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Board of Trustees
  • Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, Vice Chancellor
  • Mississippi Bar Foundation, Trustee
  • Supreme Court Historical Society, State Chair