The attorneys at Merkel & Cocke are
committed to providing the highest quality legal services to our
clients. Click on an attorney name below to learn more about their
background and experience: Charles
M. Merkel, Jr. Charles
M. Merkel, Jr. - Managing Partner
In October 1970, Mr. Merkel returned to his native Mississippi accepting a position with the firm of Sullivan, Dunbar & Smith. In 1973, he was involved in the formation of the firm of Holcomb, Dunbar, Connell & Merkel where he was involved primarily in litigation until the spring of 1982 when Mr. Merkel and Mr. Cocke formed Merkel & Cocke for the purpose of handling complex plantiff's litigation with emphasis in medical malpractice, product liability, toxic torts, drug reactions, brain damage cases, and in general all catastrophic personal injury cases. Mr. Merkel has received multiple jury awards ranging from 1 million to 20 million dollars and many more million dollar settlements. He is active in trial lawyers activities and is a frequent lecturer on trial technique and advocacy appearing at seminars sponsored by the Mississippi State Bar, Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association, American Board of Trial Advocates, and others. For more than 30 years, Mr. Merkel has personally delivered hundreds
of jury presentations in the representation of personal injury victims
whose cases involved complex medical and technical injury mechanisms
and causation problems. Current Employment
Positions: Areas Of Practice: Litigation Percentage: Bar Admissions: Education: Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, District of Columbia,
1969 University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, 1964 Representative Cases: Thornton v. Insurance Co. of North America, 287 So.2d 262 (Miss. 1973) Canipe v. National Loss Control Service Corp., 736 F.2d 1055 (C.A.5 (Miss.) 1984) Fruehauf Corp. v. Trustees of First United Methodist Church, 387 So.2d 106 (Miss. 1980) Representative Clients: References: Honors and Awards: Professional Associations and Memberships: Fraternities/Sororities: Birth Information:
John Hartwell Cocke -
Partner After graduating from the University of Virginia Law School in 1975, Mr. Cocke moved to Clarksdale, MS to begin practicing in a general litigation firm. In 1982, Mr. Cocke and Mr. Merkel left that firm and established Merkel & Cocke, P.A., and since that time the emphasis of Mr. Cocke's practice has progressed more and more toward medical malpractice. At the present time his practice is exclusively devoted to handling medical negligence cases for the plaintiff, either as a result of direct contact by the client or as, more commonly occurs, on referral from other attorneys who are not familiar with the handling of medical negligence cases. Mr. Cocke handles all types of medical negligence cases, but a uniform requirement is that serious injury or death have occurred as a result of the medical mistake. Mr. Cocke has handled many "brain damaged baby cases", as well as deaths as a result of the failure to treat in the emergency room setting and the premature discharge of patients after surgery, as well as failure to promptly diagnose cancer. Mr. Cocke has developed a particular interest in the use of modern
technology in medical negligence cases and has spoken at seminars
on this subject. The Internet has developed into a very useful tool
in conducting medical research and communicating with other attorneys
handling similar cases via the Internet is also a major help in
the handling of medical cases. Current Employment
Positions: Areas Of Practice: Litigation Percentage: Bar Admissions: Education: University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1969 Representative Cases: Professional Associations and Memberships: Birth Information:
Current Employment
Positions: Areas Of Practice: Litigation Percentage: Bar Admissions: Reported Decisions: Education: Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 1978 Professional Associations and Memberships: Fraternities/Sororities: Birth Information:
Current Employment
Positions: Areas Of Practice: Litigation Percentage: Bar Admissions: Education: Birth Information:
Edward (Ted) P. Connell,
Jr. - Partner Ted Connell's practice includes litigation, real estate, gaming law, wills, trusts, estates, and workers compensation. He is admitted to practice before all state courts in Mississippi and Tennessee, the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the U. S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas and the Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee. Mr. Connell received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mississippi in 1994, graduating Cum Laude. This was followed by receipt of his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1997. While attending the University of Mississippi School of Law, Mr. Connell authored “Mississippi Casinos and the Detention of a Patron: What are the Parameters of a Casino’s Powers in Detaining a Patron and the Subsequent Liability Which Can Follow?” which was published in the National Gaming Law Review. He was also a member Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Eta Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Phi Delta Phi. Current Employment
Positions: Areas Of Practice: Litigation Percentage: Bar Admissions: Education: University of Mississippi, 1994 Published Works: Professional Associations and Memberships: Fraternities/Sororities: References: Charles
M. Merkel, III - Partner Born Clarksdale, Mississippi, April 5, 1973, admitted to bar, 1998, Mississippi; also admitted to practice before U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit; U.S. District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi. Preparatory education, University of Mississippi (B.A., summa cum laude, 1995; J.D., cum laude 1998). Fraternity: Taylor Medal Award Winner: English; Phi Kappa Phi; Chancellor’s Scholar; Phi Eta Sigma; Moot Court Board Member; Moot Court: “Best Written Brief Award,” 1996; Law Clerk to Hon. Henry T. Wingate, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Mississippi, 1998-99. Member: Coahoma County Bar Association; Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association (Currently on Board of Governors representing the 11th Judicial District); The Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Practice areas: Negligence, Medical Malpractice, Products Liability.
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