Our Practice Areas
Cosmich Simmons & Brown puts a wide array of experience and backgrounds at your disposal. Our attorneys have the knowledge and experience to represent our clients in the following areas of practice:
Cannabis
The Law And Business Of Cannabis
Providing comprehensive advice and legal solutions to existing and startup cannabis companies, including regulatory compliance, corporate structuring and strategic advice in the rapidly emerging medical and adult-use cannabis marketplace.
As states legalize cannabis for medical and adult use, companies seeking to capitalize on this multibillion-dollar emerging market need accurate, comprehensive advice to navigate the legal and regulatory landscape. Cosmich Simmons & Brown has the expertise to provide timely and cost-effective strategies for investors, medical practitioners, cultivators, processors, dispensaries, testing facilities, transport entities, disposal entities and the myriad ancillary businesses providing logistical support in the cannabis space.
Investors: With proper due diligence and legal advice, investors can reap very attractive returns on investment in the cannabis industry. Investors need to know the legal, regulatory and business framework within which cannabis companies operate in order to make sound investment decisions. Our depth of knowledge and experience in the cannabis industry allows us to help investors vet potential investments to help ensure an investment is sound.
Cultivators and processors: The cannabis industry operates within a complex, ever-changing federal, state and local regulatory framework. We help clients navigate the regulatory landscape including licensing, zoning, corporate structuring, labor and compliance.
Dispensaries: Our depth of business and legal expertise can provide the strategic blueprint for cannabis dispensaries to overcome start-up challenges, including those involving licensing, zoning, security, personnel, compliance and supply agreements.
Research and testing facilities: An integral part of many state programs is the regulated testing of cannabis prior to sale to consumers. Our team can assist research and testing facilities with licensing, zoning, safety standards and other areas necessary for compliance related to tracking, personnel and equipment.
Transport and disposal facilities: Any business involved in the commercial disposal or transport of cannabis must be licensed and registered to conduct such activities and strictly adhere to the governing regulatory framework. Our knowledge of these requirements provides clients with elite advice and assistance on compliance, licensing and personnel matters.
Ancillary cannabis businesses: Any cannabis business requires significant support from many ancillary business sectors, including packaging, security, marketing, real estate and others. We assist these support companies with all facets of the business, including deal structuring and regulatory compliance.
Medical practitioners: Any practitioner participating in a medical cannabis program may be mandated to register with the appropriate state agency to issue written certifications. We advise practitioners on the requisite steps needed for registration, education and statutory compliance so that they can provide legal access to cannabis treatment for qualifying patients.
Mass And Toxic Tort
Guiding You Every Step Of The Way
At Cosmich Simmons & Brown, our attorneys defend personal injury claims involving asbestos, silica and other chemicals on behalf of manufacturers, distributors, retailers, premises owners and contractors. We also handle occupational and environmental exposure claims, including causation analysis, evaluation of epidemiological and other statistical data, development of intricate damages models and the admission and exclusion of scientific evidence. Our firm can assist with the identification, training and supervision of local counsel and the development of case-specific trial strategies and presentations as well.
We specialize in analyzing and synthesizing the complex legal, technical, medical and scientific information involved in the successful defense of toxic exposure claims. Our attorneys have extensive experience locating, developing and working with expert witnesses in disciplines including toxicology, engineering, chemistry, epidemiology, pulmonology, immunology, industrial hygiene, general medicine and other technical and scientific fields.
By working closely with expert witnesses, client representatives and fact witnesses, we can identify and develop powerful defense strategies in the many technical liability, medical and damage issues arising in occupational and environmental exposure claims.
Tort And Insurance Litigation
Representation You Can Trust
Cosmich Simmons & Brown handles tort and catastrophic loss cases with equal parts understanding, compassion and focused attention to detail. Our attorneys represent manufacturers; distributors; retailers; financial institutions; property owners and managers; communication, construction and transportation companies, and more. Their experience in tort matters includes premises and product liability, general negligence, trespass and nuisance, trucking and transportation, real estate and easement disputes, employment disputes and wrongful death, as well as a wide variety of other claims.
In addition, Cosmich Simmons & Brown represents insurance companies and their clients in first- and third-party claims involving commercial general liability, automobile, property and casualty and environmental insurance as well as coverage issues and bad-faith claims.
Commercial Litigation
Protecting Your Assets
In commercial and corporate litigation matters, the attorneys at Cosmich Simmons & Brown represent publicly- and privately-held companies, including banks and financial services companies, communication and transportation companies, real estate companies and developers, as well as manufacturers, distributors and retailers.
Our wide range of experience includes breach of contract, real estate disputes, fraud, lender liability and other corporate and commercial matters and enables us to synthesize complex financial and legal issues into strategies that truly protect our clients’ interests.
Trusted Tools And Techniques
Strategic Business Solutions (“SBS”) is a firm practice group combining a specific suite of legal services with legal process outsource (“LPO”) pricing. While we are in every respect a traditional litigation law firm, we are nevertheless redefining “traditional” by pioneering a first-ever hybrid LPO offering that combines traditional law firm quality and privilege with innovative LPO pricing. Our new law firm LPO offering is referred to as an “L-LPO”
SBS’s Management Team has over 40 years of experience as litigators, corporate counsel and LPO providers. We excel at analyzing routine and complex legal problems and developing customized solutions and workflows that account for Corporate Counsel’s risk tolerance and a business unit’s financial considerations. Utilizing state-of-the-art technology, dedicated teams of attorneys and deep subject matter experience, SBS works with Corporate Counsel to quickly understand risks associated with each individual legal and/or business problem and to develop innovative strategies for an acceptable resolution. We tackle every project with fundamental principles of project management in mind – scope and scope control, budget management, communication and risk tolerance appreciation.
Our multilingual teams are both domestic and offshore and we develop solutions for corporate legal, compliance, records and procurement departments. Below are some of the representative areas in which we provide L-LPO services.
SBS’s early data analysis allows Corporate Counsel to make informed decisions on the best strategy for moving forward in any investigation or legal dispute, prior to accruing costly legal fees. Working in conjunction with corporate or merits counsel, we help identify the key issues in the matter and likely data sources. After coordinating with the corporate IT department to collect the identified data, our attorneys, in coordination with corporate or merits counsel, immerse themselves in and fully understand the issues and allegations making up the underlying matter. SBS will then isolate and review subsets of the total data collected in order to validate theories, create timelines, identify key documents, provide a deeper factual understanding of the underlying allegations or conduct and provide an initial summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the underlying theories of the case.
Employment Litigation
Protecting Your Business
At Cosmich Simmons & Brown, our attorneys handle a wide variety of employment litigation matters, particularly those involving discrimination and/or harassment claims. In addition, we assist with investigations and navigating the often contradictory requirements of the EEOC. We also provide full litigation services following the filing of a claim in state or federal court.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Resolving Conflicts Without Litigation
Our attorneys are also skilled in resolving disputes short of litigation. Using mediation, arbitration and other methods of dispute resolution, we always keep our eyes on the best way to resolve disputes to ensure our clients’ interests are protected. We are also available to mediate disputes between non-client litigants.
Litigation Support Services
We Provide Skilled Support For Litigation
Throughout the litigation or investigation lifecycle, there is a need to analyze or assemble documents for witness interviews, depositions, motions and trial. SBS’s managed review team leverages its knowledge of the case, documents and technology to cost-effectively retrieve, analyze and assemble those documents for merits or trial counsel. A new service offered by SBS is real-time trial and deposition support. An SBS attorney reads the live transcript feed and identifies documents in the database that may serve as impeachment material and emails those documents to the merits or trial counsel conducting the examination. Now merits and trial counsel can literally have the entire document database at their fingertips in real time.
CSB Sports
Certified Agents Protecting The Physical And Financial Well-Being Of Players And Coaches
CS&B Sports represents and manages the interests of players and coaches. M. James Dempsey in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and Jason Elam in New Orleans, Louisiana, are certified sports agents and provide representation spanning the entire duration of a player’s or coach’s career. Our services focus on our clients’ physical and financial protection and development, including contract negotiation, endorsements, sponsorships, professional and entrepreneurial ventures and media opportunities.
In addition, CS&B provides advice and review of compliance programs and can lead and assist with investigations.
E-Discovery
Streamlined Technology-Assisted Review
SBS is a turn-key process for managed review and e-discovery. Our Management Team works with Corporate Counsel to manage all aspects of the discovery process, including data identification, collection, processing, review and production. Recognizing that each litigation or investigation is unique, SBS’s Management Team draws on its experience managing hundreds of projects domestically and abroad to develop a custom process for each matter. That process includes recommending the appropriate technology platform and tools – including Technology Assisted Review – that will allow SBS to put “eyes” on the least number of documents while ensuring that data is being reviewed and produced in a defensible, accurate and efficient manner. In implementing our processes, we give careful consideration to staff projects with attorneys with the right subject matter expertise and educational background. Proper staffing means there is rarely a need for “second-” or “third-level” reviews.
Corporate Investigations And Due Diligence
Corporate Investigations, Due Diligence And Compliance
At Cosmich Simmons & Brown, we understand workplace investigations are an inevitable part of business and often unexpected, demanding and, at times, reputational. Whether you are involved in a commercial dispute, under investigation, need to perform an internal workplace investigation or simply seeking a risk management assessment or due diligence research to protect your business, Cosmich Simmons & Brown attorneys have the corporate knowledge and experience that you critically need. Our team of attorneys, investigators and security alliance experts have years of experience and understand the issues faced by companies in today’s business environment. At Cosmich Simmons & Brown, we put our experience into practice by design. Our firm’s investigations model and workflow provide clients with a tailored investigation including an initial scope, investigations plan, forensic collection, document review, witness interviews, preparation of interim and final oral and written investigative reports, communications management and, where appropriate, guidance to disclosure obligations. Our investigations model and workflow include significant cost savings and enhanced efficiency by leveraging our SBS practice group’s review services. Our SBS practice encompasses all aspects of document review services and performs a separate and distinct compliance review against corporate policies in support of offensive efforts to reduce future costs and risks.
SBS’s Managed Review Team works with corporate and transactional counsel to develop custom workflows that utilize technology to identify key documents in a deal room that need to be validated or reviewed. Once the key documents are identified and segregated, SBS will develop a protocol or review strategy for each category of documents, including summarizing contracts, validating corporate formation documents, identifying insurance policies and validating loan documents. In implementing these processes, we give careful consideration to staff due diligence and divestiture projects with attorneys with the right subject matter expertise and educational background
Contract Management
SBS’s Contract Management Services
SBS offers a variety of services throughout the contract lifecycle. SBS attorneys work with Corporate Counsel to develop playbooks for specific contracts. The playbooks include, among other things, standard templates, instructions on negotiations, preferred and alternative clauses and operational workflows. SBS attorneys can then implement the contract workflow and negotiate and draft the contracts. SBS works with the Corporate Contracts Management or procurement teams to index legacy contracts and contracts from acquired entities and divestiture targets. Once contracts are indexed or in a searchable format, SBS’s Managed Review Team can use technology and search and review contracts to identify, among other things, contracts up for renewal, key terms to be included in any renewal, pricing opportunities, statistical summaries and risk issues.
Appeals
Making Sure Your Case Is Heard
At Cosmich Simmons & Brown, our attorneys have successfully briefed and argued a wide variety of appeals in both state and federal appeals courts, including the Mississippi Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. We carefully consider and plan each aspect of briefing and oral argument to ensure that the client’s position is effectively advanced before an appeals court.
Local Counsel
Experience To Turn To
Cosmich Simmons & Brown frequently serves as local counsel for law firms from outside the state of Mississippi. We work with lead and national coordinating counsel as well as in-house corporate counsel in implementing effective defense strategies and providing advice on specific Mississippi laws and jurisdictions.
Contact Us
For help or more information about any of our practice areas, send us a message online or call 601-707-4627 today.