Barney's practice focuses on commercial litigation and governmental litigation. He is Vice Chair of the Committee on Character and Fitness of the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions and is a member of the Standing Committee on Local Civil Rules for the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi.
Overview
Barney's practice focuses on commercial litigation and governmental litigation. He is Vice Chair of the Committee on Character and Fitness of the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions and is a member of the Standing Committee on Local Civil Rules for the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi.
Practice Areas
About
Barney focuses on high-stakes commercial disputes, routinely representing businesses large and small, including financial institutions such as banks, credit card issuers, debt buyers and payday lenders. In addition to entity clients, Barney regularly represents individual officers, directors and shareholders. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in commercial disputes, in numerous federal and state jurisdictions, arbitral fora and before federal and state governmental agencies. Barney also represents clients in federal and state appellate matters, including as amicus counsel.
Barney has substantial experience with unfair competition disputes, closely held business shareholder disputes, lender liability, credit-related litigation such as usury, FCRA, FDCPA, SCRA, TILA, RESPA and ECOA, and a broad range of generalized commercial litigation. Barney has successfully obtained injunctive relief against governmental actors on behalf of corporate clients based on both constitutional and statutory claims.
In his bar service, Barney has served for many years on both the Standing Committee on Local Civil Rules for the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi as well as the Committee on Character and Fitness for the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions.
In addition to his civilian legal practice, Barney served in the Mississippi National Guard for over 30 years as an Armor Officer, and later as a Judge Advocate, including deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom, predominantly in Mosul and Qayyarah, Iraq. At the time of his military retirement, Barney was the State Judge Advocate for Mississippi and held the rank of Colonel.
Experience
- Obtained defense arbitral award in Delaware proceeding alleging corporate “freeze out” and breach of fiduciary duty to former shareholder in closely held fuel transportation business
- Obtained injunction against a state attorney general prohibiting the criminal prosecution of a Fortune 40 company CEO and the company relating to claims practices
- Defeated over 3000 consumer finance mass tort claims related to refinancing and credit insurance sales practices
- Defeated two state attorneys’ general investigations of national debt buyer
- Obtained a state supreme court decision rejecting “Chevron Deference” six years before the United States Supreme Court decision in Loper Bright
- Obtained injunction for national bank against a state insurance commissioner regarding insurance sales practices.
- Represented several national trade association amici before the Fifth Circuit in an en banc case that resulted in a seminal decision on federal court diversity jurisdiction
Distinctions
- Martindale-Hubbell®
- AV® – Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated, 2010-2024
- Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business
- Litigation: General Commercial – Mississippi, 2014-2025
- BL Rankings, The Best Lawyers in America®
- Lawyer of the Year, Litigation – Banking and Finance, 2022
- Commercial Litigation, 2010-2025
- Litigation – Banking and Finance, 2011-2025
- Bet-the-Company Litigation, 2024-2025
- Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers®
- Mid-South Super Lawyers, Business Litigation, 2006-2019, 2021-2024
- Top 50: Mississippi Super Lawyers, 2013-2014
- Benchmark Litigation
- Litigation Star – Mississippi – 2012-2013, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2025
- Member, Standing Committee on Local Civil Rules for the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi
- Vice Chair, Committee on Character and Fitness, Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions
- Retired Colonel and Former State Judge Advocate, Mississippi Army National Guard
- Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
- Military Awards: Legion of Merit Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Mississippi Magnolia Cross, Army Achievement Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Iraq Campaign Medal Campaign Star, Army Service Ribbon, Parachutist Badge, Mississippi War Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Mississippi Emergency Service Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Mississippi Longevity Medal (6 Oak Leaf Clusters), Armed Forces Reserve Medal with M Device, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Service Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (7 Oak Leaf Clusters) and Overseas Service Ribbon.
- FEMA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE, IS-00100.b, Introduction to Incident Command System, ICS-100
- FEMA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE, IS-00200.b, Initial Action Incident, ICS-200
- FEMA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE, IS-00700.a, National Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction
- FEMA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE, IS-00800.b, National Response Framework, An Introduction
Bar Admissions
- Mississippi, 1992
- U.S. District Courts
- Mississippi: Northern and Southern
- U.S. Court of Appeals
- 5th Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Army Court of Military Review
Education
- University of Cambridge (Magdalene College), LL.M., Class I Honors, 1992
- University of Mississippi School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1991
- Washington and Lee University, B.A., 1988
Associations
- Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
- Defense Research Institute (DRI)
- Mississippi Bar Association
- Veterans of Foreign Wars
- American Legion
- National Guard Association of the United States
- Mississippi National Guard Officers Association
- United States Army Battle Command Knowledge System Domestic Operations Forum