Merrida "Buddy" Coxwell

Managing Partner · Mississippi Bar No. 7782

Merrida “Buddy” Coxwell has been practicing law in Mississippi since October 1980. He has spent that entire career here in Mississippi, not at a national firm with a Jackson branch, and not somewhere else first. He grew up in Clinton, Mississippi, when it was a small town. He is known throughout the community for his dedication to his clients, both injured people and people charged with criminal offenses.

He handles two kinds of cases: people accused of crimes, and people badly hurt by somebody else's carelessness. Those look like opposite legal practices, but they are not. Both types of cases come down to the same thing — the State or Federal government has decided a citizen did something wrong, or a huge national insurance company has decided it does not want to pay fair and reasonable compensation for the harms and losses suffered in car crashes or 18-wheeler crashes. Merrida realized over forty (40) years ago that when a lawyer can fight the State or Federal government for a citizen, that same lawyer can handle a fight with an insurance company and their attorneys without a problem.

Where He Practices

Coxwell & Associates is at 500 North State Street in Jackson, and most of the firm's work is in Hinds, Madison, and Rankin Counties. But a Mississippi lawyer who only knows one courthouse is not much use in a state with eighty-two (82) of them.

Merrida has appeared in all twenty-three (23) circuit court districts across Mississippi, including the following counties: DeSoto, Tunica, Bolivar, Coahoma, Panola, Yalobusha, Sunflower, Leflore, Washington, Humphries, Issaquena, Warren, Claiborne, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Amite, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River, Forest, Perry, Green, George, Lawrence, Jefferson Davis, Simpson, Walthall, Pike, Lincoln, Copiah, Simpson, Covington, Smith, Jasper, Wayne, Jones, Clarke, Lauderdale, Kemper, Covington, Newton, Scott, Leake, Nashoba, Rankin, Madison, Yazoo, Holmes, Attala, Carroll, Choctaw, Noxubee, Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay, Grenada, Carroll, Montgomery, Webster, Leflore, Chickasaw, Pontotoc, Lee, Itawamba, Prentiss, and Lafayette county..

He has represented people in injury cases and criminal cases in the United States District Court for the Southern District and Northern District of Mississippi, the Southern District of Texas, and the Federal District Court in Chicago, IL, and argued appeals before the Mississippi Court of Appeals and the Mississippi Supreme Court. Merrida has been part of federal multidistrict litigation groups representing Mississippians and injured people throughout the United States against national and foreign defendants.

That matters for a reason clients understand immediately. Every courthouse has its own rhythm. It makes a difference how that judge runs a docket, when the district attorney will talk, what the clerk needs, and when. An inexperienced lawyer who is learning those things on your case while he goes along is learning them at your expense. Merrida Coxwell has real experience from handling hundreds of injury and criminal cases and appearing in Courts throughout Mississippi and other states. His experience is real; not hollow words put on a website to impress someone needing the help of an attorney.

The Trial Record

Merrida and the attorneys at Coxwell & Associates, PLLC have had tremendous success for their injury clients, obtaining verdicts or resolving cases for the following amounts:

• $144,000,000.00
• $120,000,000.00
• $2,400,000.00
• $3,780,000.00
• $2,300,000.00
• $2,100,000.00
• $1,600,000.00
• $1,500,000.00
• $1,200,000.00
• $1,000,000.00
• $1,000,000.00
• $1,000,000.00
• $850,000.00
• $825,000.00
• $805,000.00
• $650,000.00
• $525,000.00
• $500,000.00
• $500,000.00
• $365,000.00
• $350,000.00
• $250,000.00
• $200,000.00
• $190,000.00
• $100,000.00
• $85,000.00
• $70,000.00
• $57,500.00
• $85,000.00
• $40,000.00
• $32,000.00
• $25,000.00
• $25,000.00
• $22,500.00
• $17,500.00
• $15,000.00
• $12,000.00
• $10,000.00

And many other cases

In criminal defense, Merrida is the attorney other attorneys call for advice. He has worked on over 200 appeals to either State or Federal Appellate Courts and obtained not guilty verdicts in murder cases, twice in a row in Federal drug conspiracy cases, sexual battery cases, Anthrax hoax case, successfully defended the Mayor of Jackson, successfully defended the Mayor of a municipality outside of Jackson, successfully defended a highly charged prosecution of a politician on sex charges, successfully defended Federal money laundering charges, successfully defendant a state prosecutor on criminal charges, successfully defended a businessman on ten (10) charges, defended a case that made national headlines and was made into a Hollywood movie, handled over twenty-six (26) death penalty cases, losing only one to the death penalty, and a supporter of The Innocence Project, helping free a man on death row for twenty-eight (28) years, and three (3) other individuals who were wrongly convicted.

Recongnition

Merrida has been selected to Super Lawyers and to the National Trial Lawyers Top 100, holds an Avvo rating of 10.0, and is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.[1]

In The Community

For eleven (11) years, Coxwell & Associates has hosted a Christmas toy collection for Jackson-area children. It now partners with Stewpot Community Services and collects clothing for the Stewpot Clothing Closet, as well as assisting local charities in need.

Merrida's view is this: "If we all do a little something, everything will get done."

Merrida is licensed to practice law in Mississippi, Arkansas, West Virginia, District of Columbia, and North Carolina. He is a member of the following legal organizations:

For Injury Law: Miss. Association of Justice- Past President, National Trial Lawyers Association, American Association of Justice

For Criminal Law: Miss. Bar Criminal Law Section,Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association,Arkansas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Tennessee Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense

Family: Merrida is married to Tara Sims Coxwell. They have four (4) kids, Cole, Grant, Beckett, and Gabriella. They live in Ridgeland, MS. As a family, they enjoy traveling, the beach, trips to the mountains, and swimming. Merrida is an avid reader and exercise fanatic who likes spinning, weightlifting, outdoor cycling on the road and in the woods, scuba diving, and fossil and antiquities hunting. Tara and Merrida enjoy long strenuous outdoor walks together.

Education

J. D., Mississippi College School of Law, 1980
Jackson, Mississippi

B.S., University of Alabama , 1977
Graduated with a B.S. in psychology and literature

Licensed In

• Mississippi
• West Virginia
• Arkansas
• North Carolina
• District of Columbia

Legal Organizations

Personal Injury:

• Mississippi Association of Justice - Past President
• National Trial Lawyers Association
• American Association of Justice

Criminal Defense Organizations:

• Mississippi Bar Criminal Law Section
• Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
• Arkansas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
• Tennessee Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
• Georgia Association of Criminal Defense