Trace D. McRaney
Biography
Trace D. McRaney was born in Lucedale, Mississippi on January 7, 1968. The son of a teacher/coach/ administrator, Trace grew up all over South Mississippi, moving to the Coast in 1981. He graduated from Bay High School in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi in 1986, with honors. Trace attended Pearl River Community College, where he lettered in varsity football and was listed in the Who’s Who Among American Junior College Students. He then completed his undergraduate studies at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, graduating cum laude in 1990, with a B.A. in History. Trace lettered in varsity football and varsity baseball while at Millsaps and was also a member of Phi Alpha Theta, a history honorary. After graduating Millsaps, Trace attended the University of Mississippi School of Law where he was a member of the Mississippi Law Journal and obtained his Doctorate of Jurisprudence in 1994. Trace joined Dukes, Keating, Hatten, McRaney, Blum, P.A. in 1998 as an associate. In 2002, he became a shareholder in the firm.
Trace has extensive experience in the courtroom, having tried scores of jury trials to verdict and bench trials to conclusion. In addition to his trial court experience, Trace has handled numerous appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, Mississippi Court of Appeals and the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, including presentation of oral argument at the Court of Appeals and the Fifth Circuit.
Trace offers other attorneys his services as a Mediator to assist in the resolution of a variety of
Personal Injury cases.
Trace is the former President of the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association (2021), having previously served on the association’s Board of Directors from 2014-2017, as Vice President in 2018, Secretary in 2019, and President-Elect in 2020. Trace is a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC) and DRI. Membership in FDCC is reserved for attorneys who have been vetted by their peers and who have been recognized as leaders in their fields.
Trace is married to the former Wendy Shaw, and they have one daughter, Emma, a 2017 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Millsaps College, who is employed by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Trace and Wendy reside in Kiln, Mississippi.
Outside the office, Trace enjoys golfing, hunting, fishing, Ole Miss and Millsaps sports, and the Saints.
Litigation Percentage
- 99% of Practice is Devoted to Litigation
Representative Cases
- Waltman v. Payne, 535 F.3d 342 (5th Cir. 2008)
- Trivanovich v. Gulfport-Biloxi Regional Airport, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53399 (S.D., Miss 2008)
- Delmont v. Harrison County Sch. Dist., 944 So. 2d 131 (Miss Ct. App. 2006)
- Alley v. Northern Ins. Co., 926 So 2d 906 (Miss. Ct. App. 2006)
- Mercer v. Moody, 918 So 2d 365 (Miss. 2005)
- Satchfield v. Morrison & Sons, Inc., 872 So 2d 661 (Miss. 2004)
- Harvey v. Stone County Sch. Dist., 982 So 2d 463 (Miss. Ct. App. 2008)
- Barr v. Hancock County, 950 So 2d 254 (Miss. Ct. App. 2007)
- McGrath v. City of Gautier, 794 So 2d 983 (Miss. 2001)
- Harris v. Payne, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 26784 (5th Cir. 2007) (5th Circuit Court of Appeals 2007)
- Harrison v. McDonald's Mgmt. Co., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56583 (D.D. Miss. 2011) (2011)
- Rhodes v. Raffeo, 74 So.3d 915 (Miss. Ct. App. 2011)
- Pratt v. Gulfport-Biloxi Regional Airport Authority, 97 So. 3d 68 (Miss. 2012)
- Faulkner v. Mississippi Department of Human Services, 2016 U.S. District LEXIS 86787 (S.D. Miss. 2016)
- Werner v. Mississippi Department of Human Services, 2016 Miss. LEXIS (Miss. June 30, 2016)
- Netto v. Atlantic Specialty Insurance Company, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172906 (S.D. Miss. 2016)
- Lane v. MDOT, 220 So. 3d 254 (Miss. Ct. App. 2017)
- Atlantic Specialty Insurance Company v. Netto, 929 F.3d 214 (5th Cir. 2019)
- Rogers v. Thames, 2021 Miss. App. Lexis 2(Miss. Ct. App. 2021)
- Cornell v. Mississippi Department of Human Services, 2023 Miss. App. Lexis4 (2023)
Representative Clients
- Progressive Insurance Company
- Safeway Insurance Company
- USA Insurance Company
- Hancock County, Mississippi Sheriff
- Capitol Specialty Insurance Corporation
- Aspen Insurance UK, Limited
- Summit Risk Services
- Mississippi Tort Claims Board
- Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association
- Molokai Condominiums, Diamondhead, Mississippi
- Vela Insurance Services, Inc.
- Star Buffet, Inc.
Classes/Seminars
- Mississippi Premises Liability Law, Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport Authority, 2019
- Mississippi Conference of Circuit Court Judges, Mississippi Tort Claims
- Act: Strict Compliance vs. Substantial Compliance, 2014
- Mississippi Judicial College, 2013 MS Trial and Appellate Judges Spring Conference, Mississippi Tort Claims Act: Discretionary Functions, 2013
- Litigating Government Liability Claims, Mississippi Tort Claims Act: Discretionary Functions, 2013
- Coach-Trial Academy for Young Lawyers, Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association, 2009
Honors and Awards
- Martindale-Hubble Peer Review Rated AV, reserved for Attorneys recognized by their peers and judges for having preeminent legal ability and “very high” ethics
Areas of Practice
- Insurance Defense
- Automobile Liability
- Mississippi Tort Claims Act Defense
- Premises Liability
- Defense of Workers' Compensation
- General Civil Practice
- Civil Rights Defense - Title VII (sexual harassment) Claims and Section 1983 Claims
Bar Admissions
- Mississippi, 1994
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi, 1994
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi, 1994
- U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1994
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association (MDLA), President 2021; President-Elect 2020; Vice President 2018; Secretary 2019 and Board of Directors 2014-2017
- Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, Member
- DRI, Member
- Mississippi Bar Association, Member
- Harrison County Bar Association, Member
- Hancock County Bar Association
- Fifth Circuit Bar Association
Education
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University of Mississippi School of Law, Oxford, Mississippi
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J.D. - 1994
- Law Journal: Mississippi Law Journal, 1992 - 1994
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J.D. - 1994
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Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi
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B.A. History (Cum Laude) - 1990
- Honors: Dean's List
- Honors: Phi Alpha Theta History Honorary
-
B.A. History (Cum Laude) - 1990
