Member Highlight – Agent: David A. Weems
Originally from Jackson, David Weems graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2004 and Ole Miss law school in 2007. After the start of his career working in Mergers and Acquisitions involving poultry, healthcare and timber companies, he then accepted a position in the Public Lands Division of the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office where he assisted state agencies with various matters including real estate issues, reviewed 16th section leases, and handled tax-forfeited land. In 2019, David joined Young Wells Williams, P.A., where he now handles a variety of corporate and commercial matters with an emphasis on real estate.
Although David initially worked on large commercial transactions with multiple components, he realized that the “real estate components of these transactions sparked the most curiosity in me, and I quickly began to enjoy putting the real estate puzzle together on those deals,” he says. He has always been fascinated in the way that real estate can tell the history of our state. “From the Chickasaw Cession, to the course changes of the Mississippi River, to the donations of land for our state universities, . . . there are bits and pieces of this story in the land records of each county in the state.”
David’s office is located in Ridgeland, off Highland colony Parkway, an area thriving with new development. Young Wells is “too big to be a small firm and too small to be a big firm” with over sixty years of history in the Jackson metro area. David describes his firm as “the perfect blend of all the resources that you would expect from a top level law firm mixed with a family atmosphere.” “I’ve also been blessed to work with and for a lot of really good people,” he continues. “Working with good people towards a common goal is truly the most enjoyable part of the job. Good people to work with can sustain you even when the enjoyment of the subject matter ebbs.”
Over the course of his career, David has learned to value his relationships with both his clients and other attorneys. Closing large dollar deals can be a satisfying accomplishment, but he has found many smaller deals just as rewarding because “the value to the client of those deals was greater than just a dollar amount.” Whether seeking the advice of another attorney at Young Wells or one of the many attorneys with whom he has worked on transactions over the years, David says that the “value of someone who has ‘been there and done that’ is unmatched for figuring out how to handle a tough problem and for figuring out what issues may exist that you haven’t yet uncovered.”
David and his wife, Kyla, have two children, Alexander (13) and Merritt (8), and a dog, Hunter. Kyla owns and manages a few rental properties and does interior design work. Alexander and Merritt attend Jackson Academy where Alexander plays football, basketball, and trumpet in the band. Merritt plays soccer and softball and loves to sing and dance. David’s free time is spent “chasing our kids around town at their various sporting events and concerts,” in the woods during hunting season, and trying to watch sports on TV. Last fall, he went hunting in South Dakota for the first time and enjoyed watching the dogs flushing out pheasants. Having recently attending family weddings in Austin, Texas, and Washington, D.C., David notes, “It’s especially exciting to visit cities with your kids for the first time and getting to experience and explore those new places through their eyes.”