JOHN H. RICE is a Partner in the Gulfport, Mississippi office and practices in the real estate and transactional section of the Firm. He is experienced in real property, residential and commercial transactions, estates, oil and gas matters, and is an agent for various title insurance companies. Mr. Rice has represented various developers, landowners, and financial institutions on a varied array of transactional matters, including the acquisition, construction, leasing, local entitlements, zoning issues, GO Zone, smart code, financing and development of retail, office and other real estate development. He has represented various oil and gas companies and independents on various issues in the industry throughout the Gulf Coast region. Mr. Rice has testified as an expert witness on real estate, title and oil and gas matters before Chancery Courts in Mississippi, the Mississippi Oil & Gas Board, Circuit Courts in Alabama, and the Alabama Oil & Gas Board.
Recently, John represented the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) and the Office of Governor Haley Barbour on the Homeowner Assistance Program, Phase I, Phase II, and the Elevation Grant, to flooded homeowners from Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This program provided Three Billion Dollars of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds through a HUD approved program and worked through various federal, state and local issues with various agencies, lenders, and public and private groups, such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Veterans Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service.
John also represents the Mississippi Emergency Management Authority (MEMA) and the Office of Governor Haley Barbour on the Alternative Housing Pilot Project in Mississippi through a Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved Two Hundred Eighty Million Dollars grant program to the State. This program partners Mississippi, FEMA, HUD, and other public and private entities to develop, implement and evaluate the replacement of FEMA temporary housing with modular housing as a pilot model for future disasters in the State and throughout the United States. John also has represented the State on hazard mitigation grant issues, and has been involved in other facets of disaster law at the local, state and federal levels.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
- Harrison County Bar Association
- Mississippi Bar Association, Real Property Section, Probate Section
- American Bar Association
- Mississippi Oil and Gas Lawyer's Association