Frye

Davis Frye is the Practice Group Leader of Butler Snow’s Tort, Transportation, and Specialized Litigation Group. He has extensive experience defending clients in litigation across numerous industries including healthcare, manufacturing, and professional services. Davis has tried dozens of cases to verdict and regularly argues before state and federal appellate courts.

• Health Care Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Premises Liability
• Labor & Employment
• Tort, Transportation & Specialized Litigation
• Business Torts & Unfair Competition
• Director & Officer Liability
• Governmental Litigation
• Professional Liability
• Products, Catastrophic & Industrial Litigation
• Health Law

Davis Frye is a seasoned litigator with nearly 30 years of experience guiding clients through high-stakes matters. As Practice Group Leader of Butler Snow’s Tort, Transportation, and Specialized Litigation Group, he focuses on complex civil litigation, commercial disputes, and employment law, with particular depth in healthcare.

Davis has tried dozens of jury trials, bench trials, and arbitrations to verdict, earning the trust of clients facing claims of catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and professional liability. He represents clients across industries—including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, insurance, education, and manufacturing—in cases involving negligence, personal injury, business torts, and employment matters.

In the healthcare space, Davis defends hospitals, physicians, long-term care facilities, and healthcare systems in matters involving medical negligence, credentialing, regulatory compliance, and peer review. His work often involves expert coordination, reputational risk management, and parallel regulatory investigations.

Davis also maintains an active appellate practice, having successfully argued cases before appellate courts in Mississippi and Tennessee as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Known for his strategic insight and calm under pressure, Davis helps clients assess risk, develop litigation strategies, and resolve disputes efficiently. He is AV® Preeminent™ rated by Martindale-Hubbell and recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® and Mid-South Super Lawyers®.

Davis is a frequent speaker on trial advocacy and healthcare defense and mentors younger attorneys through Butler Snow’s litigation training programs. He was honored at the 2023 Goodwill Salute Dinner for his volunteer work, reflecting his deep commitment to community service.

• Davis has extensive trial and arbitration experience, and he regularly defends healthcare providers in lawsuits involving claims of negligence.  He also defends businesses, healthcare systems, and medical clinics in litigation involving medical malpractice, employment disputes, antitrust litigation, and commercial disputes.
• In addition to his trial work, Davis routinely advises businesses and health care providers on a variety of day-to-day legal topics including contract issues, risk management, arbitration agreements, and employment matters. His other experience includes litigation involving the False Claims Act, OSHA, FLSA, FMLA and white collar crime.
• Representative Matters
  • Secured defense verdict in nursing home negligence trial involving allegations of inadequate hydration leading to a resident’s death.
  • Achieved defense verdict in a professional negligence case where the plaintiff alleged a nursing home allowed a foot ulcer to deteriorate into a stage IV wound, requiring amputation.
  • Obtained defense verdict in a trial involving claims of dehydration, malnutrition, infections, and pressure wounds resulting in a resident’s death.
  • Achieved directed verdict in a nursing home negligence case involving failure to assess a change in condition, resulting in dehydration and death.
  • Obtained directed verdict in a trial where the plaintiff alleged a nursing home allowed a foot ulcer to worsen and become gangrenous, leading to amputation and death.
  • Obtained finding of no liability in arbitration involving allegations of neglect resulting in pressure wounds and death.
  • Achieved appellate victory affirming a directed verdict in a wrongful death case involving a stage IV sacral ulcer.
  • Secured appellate reversal of a jury verdict in a nursing home malpractice case based on an evidentiary issue.
  • Obtained summary judgment in employment discrimination case involving claims of race, gender, and national origin bias.
  • Successfully mediated a global antitrust and consumer protection case on behalf of a multinational pharmaceutical company after eight years of litigation.

• Martindale-Hubbell®
  • AV®– Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated
• BL Rankings, The Best Lawyers in America®
  • Commercial Litigation, 2016-2026
  • Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants, 2024-2026
  • Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, 2024-2026
• Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers®
  • Mid-South Super Lawyers, 2014-2019, 2022-2024
  • Mid-South Rising Star, 2010-2012
• Mississippi Business Journal, Mississippi's Top 40 Under 40, 2007

• Mississippi, 1997
• Tennessee, 1998
• U.S. Court of Appeals
  • 6th Circuit

• Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D., 1997
  • Associate Editor, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
• Millsaps College, B.B.A., Business Administration, summa cum laude, 1994

• American Bar Association
  • Litigation Division
  • Health Law Litigation Committee
  • Employment Law Division
  • Commercial Litigation Division
• Mississippi Bar Association
  • Young Lawyers Division
    • Director, 2002-2004
• Tennessee Bar Association
• American Health Lawyers Association
• Defense Research Institute (DRI)
• Capital Area Bar Association

• Presenter, “Who Speaks for the Clinically Silenced?  When Life Sustaining Treatment Decisions Risk Liability”
• Speaker, “The Fightin' Side of Me: Trial Tactics”
• Author, "INJUNCTION GRANTED: AHCA Jumps the First Hurdle in Overturning CMS's Ban on Pre-Dispute Arbitration"
• Speaker, "Final Regulations: CMS' Ban on Pre-Dispute Arbitration Agreements," webinar for LeadingAge Texas
• Co-author, "Top 10 Ways to Avoid Litigation," McKnight's Long-Term Care News & Assisted Living
• Co-author, "State of Mississippi," State Antitrust Practice and Statutes, Chapter, Volume 2, Fifth Edition
• Author, "Top 10 Recommendations to Avoid Litigation"
• Speaker, "How to Prevent a Punitive Damages Verdict Against Your Long Term Care Facility"
• Speaker, "Avoiding Litigation in the Long Term Care Industry"
• Speaker, "Latest Trends in Long Term Care Corporate Structure"
• Speaker, "Avoiding a Big Verdict in Long Term Care Litigation"
• Speaker, "Enforcing Arbitration Agreements in Mississippi Nursing Homes"
• Speaker, "Legal Update: Charting in Long Term Care Facilities"
• Speaker, "Legal Implications of Policies and Procedures in Long Term Care Facilities"
• Speaker, "Strategies for Taking and Defending Expert Depositions"
• Speaker, "Enforcing Arbitration Agreement in Mississippi Long Term Care Facilities"