Jakeman, David

BILL SMITH is a Partner who has enjoyed an extensive and diverse civil litigation practice of 36 years. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeal for the Second, Fifth, Eighth and Eleventh Circuits and all state and federal Courts in Mississippi. He practiced for 23 years with the Brunini Law Firm in Jackson, where he chaired one of the firm's two litigation sections and its environmental group. In 1998, he left Brunini to become General Counsel of Mississippi Chemical Corp. (NYSE-GRO). He left Mississippi Chemical in 2003 to re-enter private practice.

Throughout his career, Bill has represented the pipeline industry on both the state and national levels. He has handled basic matters like eminent domain and property rights and a multitude of other areas including environmental contamination issues and contract disputes with both natural gas producers and end users. Among his representative clients in this area are Kinder Morgan, Energy Transfer, Colonial Pipeline, Plantation Pipeline, Texas Eastern Gas Transmission, Tennessee Gas Pipeline, Texas Gas, Gulf South Pipeline and Southern Natural.

Bill served as National Counsel in EPA consent order negotiations for Transcontinental Gas Transmission's PCB problems. He served as Mississippi counsel for the remainder of the interstate Pipeline industry on their PCB contamination problems. In addition Bill defended Tennessee Gas Transmission and Texas Eastern Corporation in numerous civil cases growing out of the PCB issues. Bill in the last three years alone has been lead Counsel in Mississippi on three new major pipeline projects, Midcontinent Express Pipeline, Parkway Pipeline, and Fayetteville Express Pipeline

Bill has handled numerous litigation matters for such companies as Atmos Energy Corporation, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, AT&T, Pennzoil, Amerada Hess, Mississippi Chemical Corporation, Vicksburg Chemical, Southern Natural Gas Corporation, Texas Eastern, Tenneco, Koch Energy, Gulf South Pipeline and Texas Gas Transmission, LLC.

In addition to courtroom work, Bill has tried numerous cases before administrative tribunals. Bill has represented AT&T, Entex (now known as Center Point Entergy) and Mississippi Power Company in numerous contested matters before the Mississippi Public Service Commission. He has also successfully handled contested CON proceedings before the State Board of Health for both St. Dominic Hospital and Women's Hospital (now River Oaks).