W. Edward Hatten Jr.

W. Edward Hatten, Jr. (Ed) is a shareholder in the firm and past member of the Management Committee. Ed received his undergraduate education at the University of Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Engineering Technology in l987, and now serves as an Executive Committee Member of the Industry Advisory Council for the Construction Engineering Technology Program at the University of Mississippi. Since 2007, he has been the Chairman of the Educational Accreditation Committee for that organization.

Ed attended the University of Mississippi School of Law in Oxford, Mississippi, where he served as a Member of the Moot Court Board (1989-1990) and obtained his Juris Doctor degree in 1990. He has since been admitted to practice before the Mississippi Supreme Court; all state trial and appellate courts in the State of Mississippi; the United States District Courts for both the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Prior to joining the firm in 1995, his legal career included service as Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Mississippi from 1991 to 1993, and thereafter he began his career in litigation while in private practice in Jackson, Mississippi.

Professional memberships that Ed has held include The Mississippi Bar; The Harrison County Bar Association; the Russell-Blass-Walker Chapter of the American Inns of Court; the Defense Research Institute (DRI); and the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association (MDLA). Most recently, Ed has been admitted as a Member of the Council on Litigation Management (CLM) and the Professional Liability Defense Federation (PLDF). He has also served on the Board of Directors of the International Alumni Association of the University of Mississippi (2000-2003), and has over the years been actively involved in the University of Mississippi Eagle Club.

Ed and his wife, Karen Daley Hatten, have three children. They are all members of and actively involved in Trinity United Methodist Church in Gulfport, Mississippi, where Ed has served as a member of the Church Council, the Family Life Committee, the Lay Leaders Committee, and the Youth Ministries Advisory Council. Ed and his family are also involved in and actively support a number of Gulfport youth sports programs.

Litigation Percentage

• 95% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Representative Cases

• DS Waters of America, Inc. v. Zohar Waterworks, LLC, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14511 (U.S.D.C., So. Miss. 2011 2011)
• Landcoast Insulation, Inc. v. Patent Construction Systems, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63594 (U.S.D.C., So. Miss. 2010 2010)
• Everman's Elec. Co. v. Evan Johnson & Sons Constr., Inc., 955 So.2d 979 (Miss. COA 2007)
• Fradella v. Seaberry, 952 So.2d 165 (Miss. 2007)
• Beck v. Sapet, 937 So.2d 945 (Miss. 2006)
• Lynch v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, 909 So. 2d 1289 (Miss. COA 2005)
• Laird v. Era Bayshore Realty, 841 So. 2d 178 (Miss. COA 2003)

Classes/Seminars

• Construction Defect Litigation, MS Associated Builders & Contractors, 2003
• Hot Topics in Construction Related Cases, MS Associated Builders & Contractors, 2004

Honors and Awards

• National Registry of Who's Who, Life Member
• "AV" rating by Martindale-Hubbell, reserved for those attorneys recognized by their peers and judges as having "preeminent" legal ability and "very high" ethics.

Past Employment Positions

• Mississippi Attorney General's Office, Special Assistant Attorney General, 1991 - 1993
• Waycaster & Warren, Associate - Litigation, 1993 - 1995

Fraternities/Sororities

• Kappa Sigma