William Copley of Weisbrod Matteis & Copley. Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi. |

Washington, D.C.-based plaintiffs firm Weisbrod Matteis & Copley has set its sights on the Deep South, opening an office in Jackson, Mississippi, as it continues a focus on representing natural disaster victims in insurance recovery actions.

Weisbrod Matteis announced the new office on Monday, marking the litigation-focused boutique's third outpost. In addition to its primary office in Washington, Weisbrod Matteis opened a Philadelphia office in 2016.

“I have personally spent a good portion of the past decade litigating in Mississippi, so this feels like a natural move for our law firm,” firm chairman Augie Matteis said. “With a large portion of our practice focused on insurance recovery after natural disasters, we will build a strong presence in coastal states beginning with this Mississippi investment.”

Among the firm's prominent cases, Weisbrod Matteis has handled two recent disputes centered in Mississippi. Those include a whistleblower action brought under the False Claims Act against State Farm, in which sisters Cori and Kerri Rigsby, former State Farm insurance adjusters, alleged that the insurance company mischaracterized wind damages as flood damages in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The company's alleged actions, according to the Rigsby sisters, caused the federal government's flood insurance program to overpay for Katrina-related claims.

The Rigsby case, pending now in federal district court in Mississippi, stems back more than a decade and has included a trip to the U.S. Supreme Court that resulted in a win for Weisbrod Matteis' clients. (Tejinder Singh of Goldstein & Russell argued for the Rigsby sisters at the Supreme Court, although Weisbrod Matteis filed the certiorari petition and served as co-counsel in the high court appeal.)

Weisbrod Matteis also serves as outside counsel for Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood in several state court cases that flowed out of Katrina, alleging that a number of insurance companies defrauded the state in the hurricane's wake. Hood is one of several state attorneys general that often strikes partnerships with private firms, such as Weisbrod Matteis, for high-profile cases.

A handful of litigators have either already settled into Weisbrod Matteis' new Mississippi office or plan to do so soon, the firm said in a statement. Resident in the Jackson outpost will be Chadwick Welch, who previously worked out of the Washington office, as well as three new additions: Missy Heidelberg, who joined Weisbrod Matteis from Mississippi's Watson Heidelberg; Jean Folsom, who joined Weisbrod Matteis from Holland & Knight; and Jan Gadow, a former Page Kruger & Holland lawyer who is expected to start at Weisbrod Matteis on May 1, according to the firm.

In the firm's statement, co-founder William Copley, who co-leads Weisbrod Matteis' litigation matters in Mississippi, said opening an office in a Gulf Coast state would have a clear benefit for the clients Weisbrod Matteis represents in the region.

“WMC is very committed to serving our Mississippi clients and growing our practice in the state,” said Copley. “Our Jackson lawyers are well positioned to provide even better service to our clients in Mississippi.”

For Weisbrod Matteis, the Mississippi office comes as the latest in recent efforts to expand. In February, the firm bulked up in Philadelphia when it brought on Joseph Khan, a former local and federal prosecutor who had also run, unsuccessfully, for the district attorney's office in Philadelphia as a Democratic primary candidate in 2016.

Before the arrival of Khan, who plans to focus at least a portion of his practice on cases stemming from the opioid epidemic in the U.S., Weisbrod Matteis announced another partner hire in January. That move bolstered the firm's insurance recovery practice with Gary Thompson, a former head of Reed Smith's Washington office.