Christian & Small is pleased to announce the firm’s expansion into Mississippi with the opening of its new metro-Jackson office and welcome two new attorneys: Partner Sarah Beth Wilson and Associate Shauncey H. Ridgeway. The Ridgeland office, located in the business and financial district of Ridgeland on Highland Colony Parkway, marks Christian & Small’s official entrance into the Mississippi legal community.
“We are thrilled to welcome Sarah Beth and Shauncey to the Christian & Small team,” Managing Partner Deborah Alley Smith said. “They bring a wealth of experience and a professional dynamic that will allow us to better serve and advocate for our clients in Mississippi. We are confident that they will provide a solid foundation as we seek to expand our existing relationships and build new partnerships with the launch of this new office.”
- Partner Sarah Beth Wilson is an experienced litigator and board-certified specialist in business-bankruptcy law. She also sits as an appointed member of the Mississippi Board of Banking Review, was appointed to and serves as current Chairman of the advisory committee regarding the rules of practice and procedure governing in bankruptcy courts across Mississippi, is an appointed member of the Mississippi Bankers Association’s Bank Attorneys Committee, and was recently named the “2018 Madison County Young Professional of the Year” by the Madison County Business League & Foundation and Madison County Economic Development Association. Wilson has consistently been selected by Super Lawyers as a Mid-South Region “Rising Star” in the areas of Creditor-Debtor Rights and Business Litigation, maintains a Martindale-Hubbell AV-Preeminent Peer and Judicial Review Rating, and was recently featured by Benchmark Litigation on its “40 & Under Hot List” of the region’s leading young litigators. She also has been recognized by the Mississippi Business Journal as one of Mississippi’s “50 Leading Businesswomen” and among its “Leaders in Law” and was named to its “Top 50 Under 40” list of young business leaders statewide.
- Associate Shauncey Hunter Ridgeway is a litigator who focuses her practice in the areas of creditors’ rights, business-bankruptcy law, lender liability defense, real and personal property rights, title issues, and contract and loan modifications and enforcement litigation. Ridgeway additionally offers expertise in state agency and administrative law and procedures gained through prior experience serving as attorney advisor to the administrative law judges of the Mississippi Social Security Administration, as well as during her tenure as procurement attorney for the Mississippi Department of Human Services. In this capacity, Ridgeway earned her certification as a Mississippi Certified Purchasing Agent, counseled the agency’s various departments on state and federal regulatory compliance issues and procedures, and represented the agency in connection with administrative hearings.
Wilson, who will lead the firm’s Mississippi office, observed: “Christian & Small is well-known and highly-regarded as a commercial litigation firm comprised of only the most talented litigators and business attorneys and advisors in their respective fields. As my team and I have now had the pleasure of discovering, this reputation is well-earned, and indeed, understated.”
Wilson and Ridgeway represent lender and other corporate entity clients in litigation in state and federal courts across Mississippi and the Southeast, including in bankruptcy cases and adversary proceedings, as well as in collection matters, title and property disputes, loan modifications, and commercial foreclosure proceedings, and in defense against lender liability and related claims. Their client-centric focus and commitment to excellence make Wilson and Ridgeway a perfect fit for Christian & Small, a law firm devoted to matching the specific needs of clients with the specialized skills, knowledge, and experience of the firm’s seasoned business and litigation attorneys in order to produce strategic solutions for its clients.
“We could not be more thrilled about joining such an exceptional firm and the ranks of so many outstanding attorney-advocates,” Wilson continued. “We look forward to offering our existing clients the expanded services and support this new partnership makes available to them, and the opportunity to grow and expand our practice together with Christian & Small’s role as a now official member of the Mississippi legal community.”
About Christian & Small LLP
Christian & Small LLP represents a diverse clientele throughout the Southeast and the nation with clients ranging from individuals and closely held businesses to Fortune 500 corporations operating in industries including accounting, automotive, banking and financial services, commercial transportation, construction, economic development, equipment leasing, food services, health care, insurance, manufacturing, materials and aggregate production, media and communications, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, real estate, retail and hospitality, steel, technology, telecommunications and textiles. Each of these sectors presents unique challenges and opportunities, all of which demand specific legal and business experience. The firm meets those challenges with client and industry teams that combine the talents of seasoned legal professionals from a variety of disciplines to provide strategic solutions tailored specifically to its clients’ legal needs and business operations.
“Whether we are helping our clients defend lawsuits, acquire real property, comply with regulatory requirements, enter new markets, develop and distribute products and services, or merge or divest businesses, our attorneys treat each client’s problem as if it was our own. When our clients find themselves in need of legal assistance, we help them find the fastest, most effective solutions,” Smith said.
With offices in Birmingham, metro-Jackson, Mississippi, and the Alabama Gulf Coast, Christian & Small focuses on the areas of business and litigation, is a member of the International Society of Primerus Law Firms, and is the only Alabama-based member firm in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.