Practice Areas

Our attorneys serve as general counsel for the cities of Ridgeland, Byram and Gluckstadt, with Byram and Gluckstadt being incorporated and chartered as a result of our victories in the Supreme Court in 2009 and 2021.  This unique position enables us to advise two rapidly-growing municipalities on a variety of issues including public purchasing, drafting ordinances, police and fire department matters, public utilities, municipal contracts and services, elections, zoning and planning, eminent domain, and numerous types of various other litigation.  As a result, we regularly practice in both Hinds and Madison county courts, and before the boards of supervisors in both counties. In Byram, our firm also serves as the city prosecutor in the municipal court.  In addition to representing these municipal clients, we have also represented other cities such as Meridian and Hattiesburg in matters ranging from water-rate disputes to redistricting and voting rights challenges.  In addition to regularly representing the South Madison County Fire Protection District, our firm has also served other smaller government agencies such as the Canton Municipal Utilities commission and the Madison County School District. This experience also enables our firm to assist individuals who are aggrieved by a decision of a local authority, whether it be a city council, a city board of aldermen, a county board of supervisors, an emergency communications district, or a zoning and planning commission. 

We have spent decades litigating municipal annexation cases in every corner of the state of Mississippi. Our clients include Southaven, Gulfport, D’Iberville, and Moss Point, to name only a few.  Not only have our lawyers represented numerous municipalities in their efforts to expand their own boundaries or prevent another municipality from annexing common land, we have also represented individual citizens in their efforts to oppose being annexed by a neighboring city.  There are many facets to this area of law, but all parties to such a dispute have their own sets of rights and are entitled to competent representation in a complex area which always carries long-standing results with a permanent impact. 

Another specialty of ours is representing both governmental agencies and aggrieved individual homeowners and business-owners in the area of land use, permitting, and zoning.  A common misconception in these areas is that an individual does not need a lawyer until later levels of appeals; in truth, the need for a lawyer in these matters is probably most important in the early stages when a decision is before a municipal or county zoning and planning commission, before the appeal reaches the Supreme Court or even the Circuit Court.  Under the law, those agencies may not make zoning or permitting decisions which are arbitrary and capricious.  We take our role seriously to ensure our individual clients will not be taken advantage of, and to advise our governmental clients to keep their actions within the confines of the law. 

Our firm works in the arena of voting rights and election law; however, every case is unique.  At times, we help individuals challenge a public body’s decisions which have adversely affected our client’s voting rights, such as political redistricting; at other times, we represent counties and municipalities to help them withstand such a challenge.  Because we analyze these matters on a case-by-case basis, we are able to work on either side of the argument, always with an eye toward protecting our client’s rights.

Recently, we successfully argued such a matter before the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and helped the City of Hattiesburg overcome a challenge to its redistricting plan. 

Following a trial or other initial proceeding such as a public hearing before a public commission or before a City Council or Board of Aldermen or County Board of Supervisors, individuals often find themselves aggrieved, intimidated by the appeals process, and without representation.  This can be because the individual either chose to represent himself initially, which is common in zoning matters, or because the attorney hired to represent the individual has completed his or her work and has no further obligation to represent the individual.  The attorneys at Mills, Scanlon, Dye & Pittman frequently will pick up a case at this stage, where another left off.  There are a number of ways an appeal can be taken in Mississippi from a number of legal proceedings, and the process can be quite dizzying.  Let us use our vast appellate experience to help you with your case at this stage of the game. 

In addition to these governmental and regulatory areas, our firm also represents individuals who have been injured through the negligence of others.  This includes automobile collisions, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and nursing home negligence.  We have represented those injured in car accidents, as well as homeowners in a case involving a gas company’s installation of a gas-heating system and a home explosion. 

Through our own experiences as prosecutors, we are prepared to defend those accused of a crime who nonetheless have their own rights to protect.  In this area, we primarily focus on misdemeanors.