L. Kyle Williams

Gary Jones is a shareholder in the Jackson office of the firm and has served as Chair of the Workers’ Compensation practice group since 2007. He has been involved in the Workers’ Compensation practice for over 30 years and has served as a mediator in such cases for over a decade. When asked about the practice of law, Gary says, “Wise counsel is what you get with Daniel Coker attorneys. Our job is to tell you what you need to hear, not necessarily what you want to hear. Dogma...

Caroline M. Upchurch is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. Caroline M., who practices law in Jackson, Mississippi, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Caroline M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Adam counsels and defends employers, including manufacturers, health care facilities, food processing plants, energy utilities, and trucking companies. He helps his clients work through challenging management issues and provides options that allow them to accomplish their goals while minimizing exposure. He also defends them against charges filed with the EEOC and Department of Labor, regularly conducts internal investigations, drafts employment agreements, enforces restrictive covenants, and...

C. Phillip Buffington, Jr. advises financial institutions throughout the United States on federal and state banking laws and regulations. For more than 30 years, he has served as a trusted advisor to community, regional and national financial institutions, helping them to assess and analyze regulatory and litigation risks. Phil advises on a full range of issues, including corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, expansion and divestitures, de novo formations and charter conversions, ba...

Whit Rayner is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group and co-leader of the intellectual property team. He focuses on copyright and trademark registration and protection, software licensing, and intellectual property litigation and prosecution. Whit provides counsel and advice to notable large domestic and international clients, including outdoor lifestyle brands, technology companies, and financial institutions. He also represents clients in commercial litigation and contract disputes. Wh...

Chad Hutchinson is an experienced trial attorney who has defended clients in the products, pharmaceutical and medical device industries the majority of his career. He has successfully tried multiple cases to verdict in first chair trial roles in multi-district litigations and state courts around the country. Chad has previously been selected as a winner of the Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Award by The Burton Foundation for his published work. He is listed in BL Rankings, The Best Lawyer...

Lynn Thompson has practiced extensively in construction law and litigation, government contracts and procurement (federal state, and local) law, grants law, commercial litigation and transactions, and business consulting for over 26 years. Lynn is deeply skilled in these areas of practice—as counsel for plaintiffs and defendants—and has successfully represented prime contractors, subcontractors, private and public owners, and suppliers in scores of lawsuits, arbitrations, bid prot...

M. Binford (Ben) Williams, Jr., has over thirty years of experience in large, complex commercial transactions. Ben's practice is fast-paced and, on a regular basis, includes nuanced structures, innovative financing alternatives with his lender and borrower clients alike, and acquisitions and mergers of businesses . His work includes significant representation of lenders in commercial loans (C&I, real estate, bonds, interest rate swaps), developers in the development, construction, and ope...

Bridgforth Rutledge practices in the area of business, commercial real estate, and finance. He practices primarily in the areas of business, finance and real estate, including entity formation, leasing, lending, mergers, asset conveyances, real property conveyances, franchising, intellectual property work and various other commercial transactions. He is the practice coordinator of the business practice group in the Jackson, Mississippi office.

Kristina Johnson is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group. She provides sophisticated counsel in complex and what are often cross-jurisdictional bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, workouts, receiverships, commercial litigation, and collection matters. Described as "an expert bankruptcy litigator" in Chambers USA 2020, Kristina has represented secured and unsecured creditors, buyers of assets in bankruptcy sales, contract parties, trustees, and unsecured creditors' committees and deb...