Introduction
An introduction from James Bell.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself and our firm.
I opened this office in 1977 and immediately began handling cases involving citizens charged with crimes. After winning our first five criminal trials, we were recognized by the local trial judge as having the best winning record in the county in criminal cases.
Over the next four years I was appointed by that judge to handle 20% of the most serious felonies and capital cases in the county.
In 1982 I was elected to serve as a County Court Judge. Then in 1983, I began serving as a Special Circuit Court Judge. Over the next six years, I tried about 1,200 cases and handled thousands of hearings of every description.
In 1986, I received a 96.5% approval rating from the Bar Association. That was the highest rating ever received by a County or a Circuit Judge.
In 1989, I retired from the bench and returned to the practice of law. Since that time I've been appointed by the Mississippi Supreme Court and by the Governor of Mississippi to serve as a County Judge, Circuit Judge, or a Chancellor in 22 Mississippi counties, on a temporary basis, to complete unexpired terms or to relieve court backlogs.
As a lawyer I have been fortunate enough to receive recognition in a number of ways. For instance, Martindale Hubbell is an old and well respected firm that lists every lawyer in the country and rates lawyers. I am fortunate enough to receive the highest rating that Martindale Hubbell offers: an AV rating. I'm also listed in Outstanding Lawyers of America, a service that lists what it considers to be the top 100 lawyers in each state. Our firm is also listed in Preeminent Lawyers and in Best, two other publications that list what they consider to be the best lawyers in certain fields.
At present we are handling cases involving businesses suing one another, contract disputes, real estate title litigation, commercial litigation, personal injury cases, and wrongful death cases. We have helped our clients recover millions of dollars. We have handled many of the largest and most significant lawsuits in Mississippi history. Many were very high profile cases and have been featured on such publications and broadcasts as 20-20, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, Burden of Proof, Geraldo and others. We are very selective. We do not take every case. If we take your case, you can be assured that we will do all that we ethically can to protect your interests and make sure that you receive the justice that you deserve.
James Bell