Adams and Reese is pleased to announce the promotion of four associates to partner, effective Jan. 1, 2017.
The four newest Adams and Reese partners are:
Matthew R. Dowd joined Adams and Reese in 2015 as Special Counsel in the firm’s Jackson office. Practicing law since 2005, he focuses his practice on products liability defense, in particular, silica defense, and also commercial and insurance litigation, personal injury, mass torts, premises liability, construction and other general litigation. Dowd has successfully tried numerous cases to verdict in a variety of areas, including several complex product liability cases. In the community, he is a former Board member of the Phoenix Club of Jackson and formerly served on the Epilepsy Foundation of Mississippi Executive Board as Secretary. Dowd earned his J.D. from University of Mississippi and received his B.S.B.A. from Millsaps College.
Matthew R. Jackson joined the Adams and Reese Mobile office in 2011 and practices in the areas of litigation, business and corporate law, education law, and economic development. Most recently, Jackson’s practice has focused on representing both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal trial and appellate courts in complex business and commercial disputes involving business torts, shareholder disputes, breach of contract, commercial fraud, commercial property disputes, creditors’ rights, and maritime liens. In the community, he serves on the South Alabama Volunteer Lawyers Program Board of Directors and as a Young Professionals Council member for the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce. Jackson is also a member of the Leadership Baldwin County, Class of 2016-2017. He earned his J.D. from Mississippi College School of Law and his B.A. from Huntingdon College.
Kellen J. Mathews joined the Adams and Reese Baton Rouge office in 2012 as part of the Litigation Practice Group. His practice includes complex litigation, products liability, education, construction, commercial and personal injury claims. He also maintains a robust labor and employment practice that includes defense of employers in discrimination claims at the administrative and state and federal court levels. In the community, Mathews serves on the board of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, the associate board of City Year Baton Rouge, the Louisiana State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Council, and is a member of the Louisiana Bar Foundation Capital Area Community Partnership Panel. He earned his J.D. from Louisiana State University’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center and his B.A. from Millsaps College.
Diana Cole Surprenant joined the Adams and Reese New Orleans office in 2011 as a member of the Litigation Practice Group and the firm’s Labor and Employment, Appellate, and Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Practice Teams. In her labor and employment practice, Diana represents employers in arbitration proceedings, in administrative proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Louisiana Commission on Human Rights, and in the state and federal courts. She also represents health care providers in medical review panel hearings, and her appellate work has included active post-trial motion practice and the drafting of appellate briefs in the area of toxic tort litigation. In the community, Diana is an active member of the Young Friends of St. Andrew’s Village and provides notary services and legal consultation through the HELP (Homeless Experience Legal Protection) program. She earned her J.D. from The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law and her B.A. from Colby College.
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