About Edward Connell
Edward P. Connell, Jr. is a partner at Merkel & Cocke, P.A., a law firm based in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mississippi in 1994, graduating cum laude. In 1997, he received his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law. During law school, he authored an article titled "Mississippi Casinos and the Detention of a Patron: What are the Parameters of a Casino’s Powers in Detaining a Patron and the Subsequent Liability Which Can Follow?" published in the National Gaming Law Review. He was also a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Eta Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa. Phi Delta Phi.
Mr. Connell is admitted to practice before all state courts in Mississippi and Tennessee, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi. He is a member of the Mississippi and Tennessee State Bars, Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association, Association of Trial Lawyers, and the Coahoma County Bar Association. He served as the Coahoma County organizer for the Mississippi Bar’s "Lawyer in Every Mississippi Classroom" program in 2007 and assisted with the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project in conjunction with North Mississippi Rural Legal Services when they hosted a "Know Your Rights Summit" in 2009. His practice areas include general litigation, negligence law, workers’ compensation, gaming law, real estate, and wills and trusts. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a "Rising Star" from 2008 to 2010 and as a "Super Lawyer" from 2011 to 2019.
In 2017, he became a Fellow in the Mississippi Bar Foundation and the Litigation Counsel of America. He was honored by the Mississippi Business Journal as one of the "Leaders In Law" in 2012 and by the Delta Business Journal as "Top 50 Under 50 in the Delta" in 2003. Mr. Connell is actively involved in his community. He is a member of St. George’s Episcopal Church, serving two terms on the vestry from 1997 to 2000 and 2006 to 2009, and on the Board of its Day School from 2003 to 2006 and 2008 to 2010. He was a member of the Rotary Club from 1998 until 2016, serving as President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and on the Board of Directors for Clarksdale Area Habitat for Humanity from 2003 to 2015. He also serves as pro bono General Counsel for Clarksdale Area Habitat for Humanity and served in this same position for St.
George’s Episcopal Day School until its closing. He was on the board of directors of Delta Council from 2007 to 2008, a previous member of the Board of the Clarksdale/Coahoma County Chamber of Commerce from 1999 to 2002. Was an active fundraiser for the local chapter of Boy Scouts of America from 1997 until 2007. He also served as President of the North Delta Ole Miss Alumni Club for 2005 and 2006. Mr. Connell's office is located at 30 Delta Avenue, Clarksdale, MS 38614. He can be reached by phone at (662) 627-9641 or via email at tconnell@merkel-cocke.com.
