Our Attorneys

David W. Jones, Esq., CPA

David W. Jones began practicing law in 1991 with his primary focus in the areas of real estate law, tax law and estate administration. Mr. Jones has extensive experience in a wide variety of corporate, commercial, public utility and real estate issues. This experience includes, among other things:

  • Representing clients in connection with transactional matters related to the formation, governance and termination of corporations, LLCs and partnerships
  • Assisting clients engaged in commercial transactions, including drafting and interpreting contractual arrangements and representing clients in commercial litigation

His practice remains devoted to residential and commercial real estate transactions, tax and estate matters.

Jeramie J. Fortenberry, Esq., LL.M.

Jeramie practices in the areas of estate planning and probate, with a secondary emphasis on tax, real estate, and small business structuring.  His estate planning practice includes the preparation of wills, trusts, health care plans, and family limited partnerships. He has also counseled small businesses on business and tax aspects of business structure and drafts business succession plans and buy-sell agreements.  Jeramie also represents nonprofit organizations of all sizes, assisting them with obtaining and maintaining exemption, charitable registration, avoiding inurement, joint ventures, and entity structuring

Jeramie has served in various capacities with the Real Property, Trust & Estate Section of the American Bar Association, including a term as liaison between the Real Property, Trust and Estate Section and the Real Property, Trust and Estate Committee for the Young Lawyer’s Division.  He was appointed by the Mississippi Secretary of State to serve on the Trust Laws Study Group of the 2009 Business Reform Study Group (more here) and selected by the Mississippi Business Journal as one of Mississippi’s Top 50 Attorneys for Leadership in Law “Class of 2010”  (read the MBJ write-up here).

Education

  • New York University School of Law, New York, New York, LL.M. in taxation (2005).
  • Tulane University School of Law, New Orleans, Louisiana, Juris Doctor, magna cum laude (2004).
  • University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, B.A., with honors (2001).

Awards and Recognition

  • Selected by the Mississippi Business Journal as one of Mississippi’s Top 50 Attorneys for Leadership in Law “Class of 2010.”
  • Appointed by Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann to serve on the Trust Laws Study Group of the 2009 Business Reform Study Group.

Professional Activities

  • Vice Chairman of the Real Property, Trust and Estate Committee for the Young Lawyer’s Division, American Bar Association
  • Liaison between the Real Property, Trust and Estate Committee for the Young Lawyer’s Division of the American Bar Association and the Trust and Estate Division of the Real Property, Trust and Estate Section of the American Bar Association
  • Charitable Organizations Committee of the Charitable Planning and Exempt Organizations Group of the Real Property, Trust and Estate Section of the American Bar Association
  • Asset Protection Committee of the Real Property, Trust and Estate Section of the American Bar Association
  • Florida Bar Association, Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section
  • Alabama Bar Association
  • Mobile Bar Association (Alabama)
  • Mississippi Bar Association, Business Law Section, Tax Section and Estates and Trusts Section
  • American Bar Association, Tax Section and Real Property, Trust and Estate Section
  • Financial Planners Association
  • Christian Legal Society

Publications

  • Often-Missed Asset Protection Aspects of Estate Planning, Mississippi Business Journal (October 6-12, 2008)
  • The Importance of Business Succession Planning in the Overall Financial Plan, Mississippi Business Journal (October 1-7, 2007)
  • Deeds of Trusts and Mortgages, Mississippi Real Property Practice Manual (publication pending)
  • Like Kind Exchange Basics, YLD 101 Practice Series, 2007

Speaking Engagements

  • 2010 Estate Planning Update, University of Mississippi Continuing Education, 2010 Mississippi Law Update.
  • A Practical Look at Estate Planning (“Top 10 Estate Planning Mistakes Opportunities”), University of Mississippi Continuing Education, 2008 Mississippi Law Update.
  • Adjunct Instructor, Real Estate Law, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (Spring 2008).