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The attorneys at Merkel & Cocke are committed to providing the highest quality legal services to our clients. Click on an attorney name below to learn more about their background and experience: Charles M. Merkel, Jr. Charles M. Merkel, Jr. - Managing Partnercmerkel@merkel-cocke.com
In October 1970, Mr. Merkel returned to his native Mississippi, accepting a position with the firm of Sullivan, Dunbar & Smith. In 1973, he was involved in the formation of the firm of Holcomb, Dunbar, Connell & Merkel where he was involved primarily in litigation until the spring of 1982 when Mr. Merkel and Mr. Cocke formed Merkel & Cocke for the purpose of handling complex plaintiff's litigation with emphasis in medical malpractice, product liability, toxic torts, drug reactions, brain damage cases, and in general, all catastrophic personal injury cases. Mr. Merkel has received multiple jury awards ranging from 1 million to 20 million dollars and many more million dollar settlements. He is active in trial lawyer activities and is a frequent lecturer on trial technique and advocacy, appearing at seminars sponsored by the Mississippi State Bar, Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association, American Board of Trial Advocates, and others. For more than 30 years, Mr. Merkel has personally delivered hundreds of jury presentations in the representation of personal injury victims whose cases involved complex medical and technical injury mechanisms and causation problems. Current Employment Positions: Areas Of Practice:
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Education: Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, District of Columbia, 1969 University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, 1964 Representative Cases: Thornton v. Insurance Co. of North America, 287 So.2d 262 (Miss. 1973) Canipe v. National Loss Control Service Corp., 736 F.2d 1055 (C.A.5 (Miss.) 1984) Fruehauf Corp. v. Trustees of First United Methodist Church, 387 So.2d 106 (Miss. 1980) Representative Clients:
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Birth Information: Honors and Awards : John Hartwell Cocke - Partnerjcocke@merkel-cocke.comAfter graduating from the University of Virginia Law School in 1975, Mr. Cocke moved to Clarksdale, MS to begin practicing in a general litigation firm. In 1982, Mr. Cocke and Mr. Merkel left that firm and established Merkel & Cocke, P.A., and since that time the emphasis of Mr. Cocke's practice has progressed more and more toward medical malpractice. At the present time his practice is exclusively devoted to handling medical negligence cases for the plaintiff, either as a result of direct contact by the client or as, more commonly occurs, on referral from other attorneys who are not familiar with the handling of medical negligence cases. Mr. Cocke handles all types of medical negligence cases, but a uniform requirement is that serious injury or death have occurred as a result of the medical mistake. Mr. Cocke has handled many "brain damaged baby cases," as well as deaths as a result of the failure to treat in the emergency room setting and the premature discharge of patients after surgery, as well as failure to promptly diagnose cancer. Mr. Cocke has developed a particular interest in the use of modern technology in medical negligence cases and has spoken at seminars on this subject. The Internet has developed into a very useful tool in conducting medical research and communicating with other attorneys handling similar cases via the Internet is also a major help in the handling of medical cases. Current Employment Positions: Areas Of Practice:
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Education: University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1969 Representative Cases: Professional Associations and Memberships:
Birth Information: Honors and Awards : Cynthia I. Mitchell - Partnercmitchell@merkel-cocke.com
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Litigation Percentage: 90% of Practice Devoted to Litigation Bar Admissions:
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Education: Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 1978 Professional Associations and Memberships:
Fraternities/Sororities: Phi Beta Kappa Birth Information: August 27, 1957, Ackerman, Mississippi William B. Raiford III - Partnerwraiford@merkel-cocke.com
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Education: Birth Information: Edward (Ted) P. Connell, Jr. - Partnertconnell@merkel-cocke.com
Ted Connell's practice includes litigation, real estate, gaming law, wills, trusts, estates, and workers' compensation. He is admitted to practice before all state courts in Mississippi and Tennessee, the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the U. S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas and the Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee. Mr. Connell received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mississippi in 1994, graduating Cum Laude. This was followed by receipt of his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1997. While attending the University of Mississippi School of Law, Mr. Connell authored “Mississippi Casinos and the Detention of a Patron: What are the Parameters of a Casino’s Powers in Detaining a Patron and the Subsequent Liability Which Can Follow?” which was published in the National Gaming Law Review. He was also a member Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Eta Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Phi Delta Phi. Current Employment Positions: Areas Of Practice:
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Charles M. Merkel, III - Partnercmerkel3@merkel-cocke.comBorn Clarksdale, Mississippi, April 5, 1973, admitted to bar, 1998, Mississippi; also admitted to practice before U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit; U.S. District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi. Preparatory education, University of Mississippi (B.A., summa cum laude, 1995; J.D., cum laude 1998). Fraternity: Taylor Medal Award Winner: English; Phi Kappa Phi; Chancellor’s Scholar; Phi Eta Sigma; Moot Court Board Member; Moot Court: “Best Written Brief Award,” 1996; Law Clerk to Hon. Henry T. Wingate, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Mississippi, 1998-99. Member: Coahoma County Bar Association; Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association (Currently on Board of Governors representing the 11th Judicial District); The Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Practice areas: Negligence, Medical Malpractice, Products Liability. Christopher E. Kittell - Partnerckittell@merkel-cocke.comChristopher E. Kittell practices primarily in the area of civil litigation, including the areas of consumer protection, Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) litigation, personal injury (both plaintiff and defense), and wrongful death. He is licensed to practice law in all courts in the State of Mississippi, including the Mississippi Supreme Court, all Mississippi Circuit and Chancery Courts, and the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi. He is also licensed to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Chris has received nationwide notoriety for his practice regarding the FCRA. Chris was involved in a $4.47 million verdict against Trans Union, at the time the largest verdict against a credit bureau. Chris is involved in FCRA cases across the nation and is often associated by lawyers around the country less familiar with the inner workings of the credit reporting industry. Currently, Chris is representing consumers from Mississippi to Montana to New York. Chris also obtained a $2,273,000.00 verdict for a plaintiff in a slip and fall case in the Circuit Court of DeSoto County, Mississippi in August, 2006, which is believed to be the largest personal injury verdict to date in DeSoto County, Mississippi. Chris has also enjoyed lecturing to both current and future lawyers, including speaking at local Continuing Legal Education seminars in Mississippi, lecturing for consumer law classes at the University of Mississippi School of Law, and lecturing each year at the National Association of Consumer Advocates FCRA Conferences since the Conference’s inception in 2001 and has served on the Conference’s steering committee since 2004. Areas Of Practice:
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