Watkins & Eager PLLC is pleased to announce that Adam H. Gates and Brooks Eason have joined the firm and will practice in the Jackson office.
“We are very excited to welcome Adam and Brooks to the firm,” said Paul H. Stephenson, III, Chairman. “Each brings a wealth of litigation experience that will be valuable to our firm and to our clients.”
Adam Gates counsels and defends employers, including manufacturers, health care facilities, food processing plants, energy utilities, and trucking companies. He helps his clients work through challenging management issues and provides options that allow them to accomplish their goals while minimizing exposure. He also defends them against charges filed with the EEOC and Department of Labor, regularly conducts internal investigations, drafts employment agreements, enforces restrictive covenants, and handles disputes in litigation and arbitration. He also has experience with general commercial litigation, including contract disputes, premises liability claims, and litigation involving former executives.
Brooks Eason has extensive experience representing corporations in complex business litigation, including multi-district litigation stemming from a catastrophic explosion at a fertilizer plant, a contract dispute arising from the failed merger of two biotechnology companies, and a lawsuit involving the construction of vessels for use in the offshore petroleum industry.
Brooks has served for more than 30 years as lead outside counsel in employment litigation for a naval shipyard in Pascagoula, the largest employer in Mississippi. He has successfully defended employers in class and collective actions and individual suits asserting claims for discrimination based on race, gender, age, religion, and disability, for sexual and racial harassment, and for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Brooks is the author of three books: Travels with Bobby, about hiking trips with his best friend to the mountains of the American West; Fortunate Son, a memoir about his adoption and learning the identity of his birth mother; and Bedtime with Buster, which consists of conversations between Brooks and his handsome hound.