Prominent in Law and Economic Development
Bradley F. Hathaway, a partner with Campbell DeLong, LLP in Greenville, is known as someone with a stellar track record of representing clients while also finding time to hold a number of volunteer positions, including being a board member and past president of Washington County Economic Alliance and serving as a Trustee of the Mississippi Bar Foundation.
Hathaway moved to Greenville after graduating from the University of Mississippi School of Law, and has been practicing law with Campbell DeLong, LLP, for thirty years. The firm, founded in 1861, is one of the oldest in the state.
His day usually starts around 4:30 a.m.—if he can sleep that late. He often starts by either running or working out at the local YMCA. That helps him prepare for what can be a demanding schedule.
What makes him want to go to work each day?
“I think everyone is made to be industrious and be purposeful about that,” says Hathaway. “That is one component of what is going on. I also feel an obligation to be a good steward of the work the Lord has blessed me with. I have been very fortunate to develop a practice here in Greenville that is both a statewide practice as well as a practice that serves the needs of the local community.”
Hathaway honestly admits that part of the reason he decided to become an attorney was a basic need to make a living. But, with the benefit of looking back at providential events in his life, he realizes it was his calling all along to be an attorney.
Dave Clarke, a CPA with Bridgers, Goodman, Baird and Clarke in Greenville, has known Hathaway since he finished law school and came to Greenville. “He is an excellent attorney and he is an even better person,” says Clarke. “He is a hardworking, Christian-principled individual. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
Hathaway’s goal is providing the highest level of representation for his clients while maintaining goodwill and respect with judges and opposing counsel. He says despite what some may think from watching shows like “Suits,” those are not dueling concepts; if anything, they complement one another.
He likes the orderliness and consistency that the rule of law offers the public, in general, and clients, in particular. “At the same time, there is plenty of room reserved within the bounds of the law for creative lawyering,” says Hathaway. “The constant challenge is figuring out how to strike the right balance between these concepts to meet client objectives.”
Early role models who were influential include his father and mother who taught him the twin virtues of self-discipline and moral integrity. They prepared him to find value through seeking excellence at whatever he found to do.
“Later, as a young lawyer, I was privileged to work with what I still consider to be one of the finest collections of lawyers in the state, including Larry Wade, Roy Campbell, Jr., Roy Campbell, III, Jimmy Milam and Carl Hagwood,” says Hathaway. “They were just an awfully smart, hard-working, and honorable bunch, but they were also patient and generous with their time towards me––and I am grateful for that. They set a ‘high bar’ and did it in a way that made you want to reach it. Larry Wade, who later became my father-in-law, had a profound impact on me with his critical attention to detail, uncanny ability to simplify complex issues and skilled advocacy.”
Born in Colorado, Hathaway grew up in Waynesboro and graduated in 1988 from what was then Waynesboro Central High School. After earning a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1992, he went on to graduate cum laude from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1995, where he obtained a Juris Doctor.
Hathaway has a deep love of the Mississippi Delta.
“I’ve lived here now in this unique and special place for thirty years,” says Hathaway. “As far as the diversity of the economy, we still have a very nice industrial presence but we also have a significant agribusiness presence both from the standpoint of producers and agricultural research, such as that done at Stoneville.
“We have a thriving community hospital, which is a rarity in a rural community. We have the professional support services needed for a community of our size including banking, legal, accounting and retail. We have a really nice mix of different areas of commerce that have maintained a presence here in Greenville. I don’t see that going anywhere. In fact, I see opportunities for growth in those spaces. We have multiple modes of transportation including the river, highways, railroads and an airport.”
He is particularly proud that a new federal courthouse is under construction downtown for the Greenville Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.
“It is the division site for the local federal district and bankruptcy courts,” says Hathaway. “Consequently, the firm is well positioned to serve clients from diverse locales whose cases are pending in bankruptcy and federal district courts. Outside Greenville, members of the firm regularly appear in state and federal courts across Mississippi, and in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Moreover, the firm has two lawyers who practice in the field of taxation and handle matters before the U.S. Tax Court. The firm also includes counsel admitted in the state and federal courts of the adjacent state of Arkansas.”
Hathaway’s practice includes a wide range of casualty and commercial litigation in the state and federal courts of Mississippi and Arkansas. His work includes representing rural electric utilities, providing both litigation support and institutional representation to rural electric utilities. Hathaway also regularly counsels insurers on matters involving coverage and bad faith issues.
A graduate of the International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy in Boulder, CO. He is a past-chairman of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee and the Disaster Relief Legal Committee. In addition to serving on various other bar committees, he currently serves on the Mississippi Bar Summer School Committee.
Hathaway was appointed to serve two terms on the Special Committee on Judicial Election Intervention, dealing with allegations of ethical misconduct in campaigns for judicial office.
Hathaway has been working since about age eleven when he was a newspaper carrier for the Laurel Leader-Call. “I owned and was fairly skilled at operating the essential piece of equipment for the job—a reliable bicycle,” he says. “Since then, I have always worked. From that time until entering law school, I had a lawn service, was an oilfield roustabout, worked on a construction crew, worked in a machine shop, performed soil testing for an environmental engineering firm, and did a variety of other jobs in-between.”
Hathaway has been and continues to be a huge partner with the Washington County Economic Alliance, the county’s economic development organization serving as a board member and past chairman for several years. Parker England, President/Washington County, Planters Bank, says Hathaway was instrumental in leading the board and organization through the transition period of one executive director to the next, spending countless hours with the WCEA staff, officers, and business prospects to assure WCEA continued to move forward.
“Even though he does not currently serve on the WCEA board, Brad continues to be a great legal resource for the WCEA in our retention of current business as well as our recruitment of new industry to our area,” says England. “Brad is always a wonderful advocate for his clients, understanding what the client’s needs are and what results the client wants. Brad is very knowledgeable, drawing on his legal education as well as his past experiences. He is very hard working and determined. There are very few times that I ride by Campbell DeLong, LLP and Brad’s vehicle is not there, no matter if it is 7:00 a.m., 7:00 p.m., or the weekends.”
In addition to being involved with the WCEA, Hathaway has served on boards for the Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Habitat for Humanity, United Way, Hodding Carter Memorial YMCA, Rotary Club of Greenville (president 2012-2013), Washington School (past-president), Delta Compass, and the Washington County Republican Executive Committee.
Hathaway has been married for twenty-six years to the former Elizabeth Wade of Greenville. They have two sons, Farel, twenty-five, and Cooper, twenty-two, both of whom attend medical school at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The family attends the First Baptist Church of Greenville. When time permits, he also enjoys hunting, fishing, traveling, and all things outdoors, especially when it includes family or friends.