Meet Our Experienced Legal Team

Gordon James was born in El Dorado, Arkansas in 1954. He received his undergraduate degree from then Northeast Louisiana University in 1976, where he graduated Summa cum Laude. While at NLU, Gordon was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society and Phi Eta Sigma history honor society. He earned his Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1979. He served on the Louisiana Law Review and was also a member of Order of Coif.

Upon graduation Gordon moved to Monroe and began practicing with Hudson, Potts & Bernstein, where he has continuously practiced for over thirty years.

Gordon is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, Louisiana Association for Defense Counsel, where he has served as a representative, Defense Research Institute, International Association of Defense Counsel, and the International Inns of Court. He has also served as the Fourth Judicial District Bar President.

Gordon has spoken at conferences throughout the country, including the conferences sponsored by the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, Louisiana Medical Mutual Insurance Company, Shelter Insurance Company, Allstate Insurance Company, and State Farm Fire and Casualty Company.

Gordon has attended the Goldstein School Trial Advocacy in Chicago, Illinois, the Hastings School of Law Trial Academy in San Francisco, California, and the International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy, Boulder, Colorado. He has attended seminars for General Motors Products in Detroit, Michigan and the National HIPAA Summit, Washington, D.C.

Gordon has authored The Outercontinental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978, “Balancing Energy Needs with Environmental Concerns,” 40 Louisiana Law Review, 1979, and “Hearsay and the Confrontation Guaranty,” 38 Louisiana Law Review 858, 1978.

Email: gjames@hpblaw.co

Practice areas include:

• Class Action & Mass Tort Litigation
• Health & Healthcare Law
• Insurance Litigation
• Medical Malpractice
• Premises Liability

Jay has achieved an AV® Preeminent Rating – the highest rating available from Martindale-Hubbell, the leading independent attorney rating entity.Jay was born in Monroe, Louisiana, in 1963 and graduated with a BA in Political Science in 1985 from Louisiana State University. He earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center, in 1988.

Jay spent his first year practicing with a firm in Shreveport, La., before returning home to practice with Hudson, Potts & Bernstein in 1989, where he is a senior partner.

Jay currently serves as a Director on the Board of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, representing District 7. He is also a member of the Defense Research Institute and the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. Jay’s professional affiliations include the Louisiana State Bar Association and American Bar Association.

Jay is admitted to practice before all Louisiana Courts, the Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal Western District of Louisiana and the United States Supreme Court.
Jay is active in his community and church and has served on numerous boards and committees and is a past president of the Ouachita Parish LSU alumni association. He is married to Rayne Roques Adams, and they have two children, son Sean and daughter Ashleigh.

Email: jadams@hpblaw.com

Practice areas include:

• Arson Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Contracts
• Divorce, Custody, and Family Law
• Health & Healthcare Law
• Insurance Litigation
• Insurance Subrogation
• Medical Malpractice
• Personal Injury
• Premises Liability
• Toxic Torts
• Transportation Law Railroads & Trucking

Related Cases
Lewis v. Brown, et al
Jay Adams recently successfully defended his clients and won a zero verdict in the matter of Lewis vs. Brown, et al. Plaintiff and several other passengers on a city bus claimed that a three vehicle accident occurred involving the bus. However, evidence at trial resulted in conflicting testimony regarding whether there was any impact at all with the bus. Further, the physical evidence established that there was a significant collision between the two other vehicles near the bus but there was no physical evidence that the bus was actually impacted by either vehicle. As a result, the trial judge dismissed all claims, finding that plaintiff had failed to carry her burden of proof.

Denetrius Bryant Vs. Direct General Insurance Company
Jay Adams recently obtained a zero trial verdict on an issue of contested liability in an automobile accident case. As the defendant crested a hill on a rural highway, he was confronted by plaintiff’s vehicle stopped directly in front of him and a second vehicle, driven by plaintiff’s husband, had stopped in the oncoming lane. The Court found that even though defendant admitted he was traveling between 65-70 mph in a 55 mph zone, his speed was not a substantial factor in the accident, as the evidence established that the accident was unavoidable due to the fault of plaintiff and her husband, even if the defendant had been traveling at 55 mph.

Smith v. LSU Health Science Center-Monroe
Jay Adams won a dismissal for his client in a medical malpractice claim. The suit arose from an allegation that plaintiff had been administered two medications and that the provider had failed to warn the plaintiff of the inherent dangers in taking the second medication, which was allegedly contraindicated. Plaintiff claimed this failure resulted in congestive heart failure.

Debbie Worley v. Allstate Insurance Co.
Jay Adams successfully defended Allstate in a trial in which plaintiff asserted underinsured motorist claims, obtaining a zero verdict on all claims. Plaintiff, a stock broker, was unable to prove any loss of wages claim resulting in a complete dismissal against Allstate.

A native of West Monroe, Louisiana, Trey graduated from West Monroe High School in 1997 before pursuing his undergraduate degree at Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana. In addition to obtaining a B.A. degree, magna cum laude, in history, Trey served on the Student Government Association and was a member of a number of academic honor societies including, Omicron Delta Kappa, Alpha Lambda Delta, Alpha Mu Gamma, Sigma Tau Delta. Trey then attended Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center, receiving his J.D. in 2004. While at LSU, Trey was a semi-finalist in the Robert Lee Tullis Moot Court Competition in 2003 and served on the Moot Court board the following year. Upon graduation from law school, Trey returned home in 2004 and has since been practicing at Hudson, Potts & Bernstein.

Trey is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association and the Fred J. Fudickar American Inn of Court. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana.

Email: tzeigler@hpblaw.com

Practice areas include:

• Arson Litigation
• Divorce, Custody, and Family Law
• Insurance Litigation
• Insurance Subrogation
• Medical Malpractice
• Personal Injury
• Premises Liability

Related Cases

Sharona George v. Brookshire Grocery Company d/b/a Super 1 Foods
Recently, Trey Zeigler successfully defended his client, Brookshire Grocery Company, in a lawsuit filed by Sharona George. Ms. George claimed she slipped and fell in a red liquid causing her debilitating injuries. Trey convinced the Court that plaintiff did not meet her burden of proof in showing that the store was negligent. Rather, as Trey showed a third party customer spilled the liquid on the floor minutes before Ms. George’s incident, and store employees acted promptly and reasonably in cleaning the substance. As a result, the trial court returned a defense verdict absolving Trey’s client of all liability.

Donna Ferlicca v. Brookshire Grocery Company
Trey Zeigler successfully convinced the Second Circuit Court of Appeal to reverse an unfavorable judgment entered by the trial court in slip and fall case. Trey defended Brookshire Grocery Company in a suit brought by the plaintiff Donna Ferlicca, who claimed she slipped and fell on a rainy day at the entrance of a grocery store due to the store’s negligence. Trey argued that the trial court erroneously held the store liable despite evidence of such proactive precautions as permanent carpeting in the store entrance-way; multiple rubber-backed mats in place on the tiled portion of flooring beyond the carpeted area; the presence of a bright yellow, waist-high wet floor warning sign; frequent inspection by store employees; and frequent dry mopping by store personnel. The Second Circuit agreed with Trey finding that defendant had put on ample evidence of reasonable safety measures to prevent slips at the store entrance on this rainy day. Consequently, the Second Circuit reversed the trial court and ordered that judgment be entered in favor of defendant, dismissing all claims.

Katherlena Peterson v. Brookshire Grocery Company d/b/a Super 1 Foods
Trey Zeigler represented Brookshire Grocery Company in a claim brought by plaintiff, Katherlena Peterson. Ms. Peterson claimed that she was injured when she was struck by a runaway shopping cart. Plaintiff claimed that a store employee who was retrieving shopping carts from the parking lot negligently allowed a shopping cart to drift into her, striking her and causing personal injury. Trey showed the Court that despite plaintiff’s claims that the employee was rude and insensitive to her, even laughing at her, she did not report the accident to store management that evening. Trey further showed that while plaintiff claimed that she began experiencing pain immediately after leaving the store, she did not return to report the accident and the alleged conduct of the employee and further that she did not seek medical treatment until nearly two weeks after the incident. The Trial Court accepted Trey’s argument, holding that plaintiff failed to show that a store employee’s negligence caused such an incident. The Trial Court ruled that plaintiff’s claims of a store employee being at fault were “nothing more than conjecture.” The Court further held that notwithstanding plaintiff’s failure to prove liability, plaintiff also failed to prove that her complaints were the result of such an incident, as she had had similar complaints that predated the incident. The Court concluded by returning a judgment in favor of defendant dismissing all claims.

Marcia Chunn v. Brookshires Grocery Company a/b/a Super One Foods, et al
Trey Zeigler successfully represented the defendants in a trial involving an alleged trip and fall accident on a wrinkled floor mat in the produce section of a grocery store. The plaintiffs were seeking $174,000.00 in total damages. Trey convinced the Court that plaintiffs failed to meet their burden of proving that store personnel created the condition of the mat or had actual or constructive notice of the condition. Accordingly, the Court rendered judgment in favor of defendants, completely absolving them of any fault.

BORN:
Brantford, Ontario, Canada, May 21, 1965

Admitted to Louisiana Bar 1992, U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana, U.S. District Court Middle District of Louisiana

EDUCATION:
University of Louisiana-Monroe (B.B.A., magna cum laude, Accounting, 1988) Southern Methodist University (J.D., 1992)

MEMBER:
Louisiana State Bar Association
Fourth Judicial District Bar Association
Louisiana State Board of Certified Public Accountants (non-practicing)

Email: snorth@hpblaw.com

Practice areas include:

• Banking and Commercial Lending Transactions
• Business & Commercial Law
• Commercial Transactions
• Contracts
• Estate Planning & Probate
• Real Estate Transactions

Margaret was born in 1981, in Mer Rouge, Louisiana. She graduated in 2003 from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, earning a B.A. in Mass Communications with a concentration in Advertising. Margaret earned her Juris Doctorate from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2010. While working on her law degree, Margaret was on Loyola’s Moot Court and competed in the National Health Law Moot Court Competition at Southern Illinois University School of Law.

Upon graduation from Loyola, Margaret returned to Monroe and began practicing with Hudson, Potts & Bernstein, L.L.P. in 2010.

Margaret is licensed to practice law in both Louisiana and Mississippi. She is a member of the Louisiana and Mississippi State Bar Associations, and is involved in the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. She is additionally admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Eastern, Western, and Middle U. S. District Courts of Louisiana.

Email: mpruitt@hpblaw.com

Practice areas include:

• Health & Healthcare Law
• Insurance Litigation
• Medical Malpractice
• Estate Planning & Probate
• Business & Commercial Law
• Personal Injury
• Social Security Disability

A native of Ruston, Louisiana, Jason obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Louisiana Tech University in 2009 with cum laude honors. He earned his law degree from Mississippi College School of Law in 2012 where he was awarded for his excellence in legal research. Prior to joining the firm, Jason practiced with Shotwell, Brown & Sperry APLC for two years where he focused on small businesses, civil litigation, real estate transactions, and successions. In 2014, he moved his practice to Dean Morris, LLC where he worked extensively with national lenders in bankruptcy and foreclosure proceedings throughout the state of Louisiana. Jason began practicing with the firm as an associate in 2020.

Jason is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association and is admitted to practice in the Federal Courts of Louisiana. He is also admitted to practice in the State of Mississippi.

Email: jsmith@hpblaw.com

Practice areas include:

• Commercial Litigation
• Creditors’ Rights in Bankruptcy
• Foreclosure, Replevins, and Collections
• Oil & Gas Law

Rebekah was born and raised in Bastrop, Louisiana. She is a 2015 graduate of Prairie View Academy and a 2019 graduate of Louisiana Tech University with magna cum laude honors. While at Tech, Rebekah served as membership director of Phi Mu.

In 2022, Rebekah earned her Juris Doctorate from Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Virginia. While working on her law degree, Rebekah served as executive editor for the Journal of Global Justice & Public Policy, the founding vice-president for the Women’s Law Association, a Center for Global Justice law clerk, and an associate member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Board.

During law school, Rebekah was a member of the 2021-2022 Ms. JD Fellowship class, making her the first Regent Law student to hold the honor. She was also the first-place winner in the Virginia State Bar Family Law Section First Annual Writing Competition. Her article, Abused, But Not Physically Bruised: How Virginia Can Protect Coercively Controlled Domestic Abuse Victims, was published in the Virginia Family Law Quarterly in 2022. At graduation, Rebekah was the recipient of the Family Law Book Award, which was presented to the graduate who demonstrated the most promise and potential for the practice of family law.

Upon graduation, Rebekah served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Judges of the 15th Judicial Circuit of Virginia. After her clerkship term, she returned home and began practicing with Hudson, Potts & Bernstein, L.L.P in 2024.

Rebekah is also an active volunteer in her community. She is a member of the Junior League of Monroe, the honor policy adviser for Phi Mu at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and the housing corporation president for Phi Mu at Louisiana Tech University.