Hattiesburg Criminal Defense & Family Law Attorneys

Three things set us apart. First, scale of representation: our attorneys handle matters at every level of the system, from Hattiesburg Municipal Court to the Mississippi Supreme Court, the U.S. Fifth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court, so clients never outgrow the firm as a case escalates. Second, depth: seven attorneys practicing together since 1980, including a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the City of Hattiesburg Public Defender. Third, our work speaks publicly: matters handled by our attorneys have been covered by the Associated Press, Reuters, PBS NewsHour, and Mississippi Today.

Yes, and it is one of the most practical advantages we offer. Divorce and custody disputes sometimes generate criminal issues, domestic violence allegations, protective order violations, or charges that threaten custody and visitation. Because our family law and criminal defense teams practice under one roof, we can protect your parental rights and your record simultaneously, rather than forcing you to coordinate two separate firms in the middle of a crisis.

Call us at (601) 582-5015 before anything else. Tell your loved one not to discuss the case with anyone, especially on jail phones, because most Mississippi jails record inmate calls. Mississippi rules require an initial appearance within 48 hours of arrest, and the decisions made in those first days, including bond, shape the entire case. An attorney can appear at the initial appearance, argue for reasonable bond, and protect your loved one from the very start.

Do not ignore them, and do not sign anything before a lawyer reviews it. Check which summons you were handed. A divorce complaint comes with an ordinary summons and gives you 30 days from service to file an answer. A custody, support, modification, or contempt petition comes with a Rule 4(i) summons (formerly called a Rule 81 summons) that names a hearing date instead, and for modification, contempt, and temporary relief that hearing can be as soon as seven days after service. Missing either deadline can cost you the ability to contest what the other side is asking for. Note the date you were served, keep every page together, and call us at (601) 582-5015. A chancellor, not a jury, will decide your case, and early preparation shapes custody, support, and property outcomes. Our guide to being served with divorce or custody papers walks through both clocks.

No. Mississippi chancellors decide custody using the Albright factors, a set of considerations focused on the child's best interest, and both parents start on equal footing. Caregiving history, the child's age, stability of each home, and each parent's health and work schedule all matter. Fathers win custody in Mississippi, and mothers do too. What wins is preparation and real evidence of day-to-day parenting. Our page on fathers' custody rights in Mississippi explains the statutes and the Albright factors from a father's side.

We are based in Hattiesburg and appear regularly across the Pine Belt: Forrest, Lamar, Jones, Marion, Covington, Perry, and the surrounding counties of South Mississippi. We also handle cases in the Jackson metro, including Hinds, Rankin, and Madison counties, and on the Gulf Coast in Harrison, Jackson, and Hancock counties, and our attorneys travel across the state for the right matter. If you do not see your county listed, call and ask. Our attorneys appear in Chancery, Circuit, Justice, Municipal, and Youth Courts, and in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.

Yes. Our partners have decades of experience handling federal indictments, white-collar investigations, and federal habeas corpus appeals alongside our state circuit court practice. Federal cases from Hattiesburg and the Pine Belt are tried in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, and three of our attorneys, A. Arman Miri, Tom Fortner, and Valorie Cochran, serve on that court's Criminal Justice Act panel, which means the federal court itself appoints them to defend federal cases. Arman Miri also serves on the Fifth Circuit's CJA appellate panel, and he and Tom Fortner are admitted in the Northern District of Mississippi as well. See our federal criminal defense page for how a federal case runs.

Yes. We treat what you tell us in a consultation as confidential, whether or not you hire the firm, so you can speak openly about your situation. Before the consultation, please send only basic details so we can check for conflicts first.

To maximize the value of your consultation, please bring any active court summons, existing legal orders, relevant financial documents (for divorce or support cases), and a chronological summary of the events leading to your legal issue. Full transparency allows us to build the strongest possible strategy.