David A. Rueff Jr. is a shareholder in the Jackson office of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. His real estate practice is focused on commercial real estate and lending for commercial retail developers, lenders, landlords and tenants. He is also heavily involved in project management initiatives and administers Community Development Block Grants in the wake of disasters.
Mr. Rueff recently served as Senior Legal Counsel for a state Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) housing program where he worked with a Project Management Office. In this role, he counseled the state agency on issues of CDBG policy development, design of processes and databases to manage grant processing, oversaw grant project teams that included a department of 11 attorneys and 20 paralegals, and managed title verification and grant closings for more than 10,000 housing applicants.
Mr. Rueff is also Baker Donelson's Legal Project Management Officer. As a certified project manager through the Project Management Institute, Mr. Rueff oversees the Firm's other project managers and legal specialists and is responsible for implementation of the Firm's patent pending LPM system, BakerManage, which promotes efficiency and predictability in legal services in both litigation and transactional matters.
Mr. Rueff has participated in the creation and development of several Project Management Information Systems dating back to 1989, including the use of Geographic Information Systems for computer aided mapping, subsurface characterization, environmental investigations, and regional planning and development; the use of OnBase for eligibility verification, loan disbursement and compliance oversight for federal grant and loan assistance; and the development of the BakerManage system in SharePoint.
- "Mastering the Move to Legal Project Management," American Bar Association webinar (April 16, 2012)
- "Legal Project Management – Implementation and Technology," International Legal Technology Association Conference (August 2011)
- "Navigating the Real Estate Issues Associated with the Mississippi's Katrina Disaster Recovery Programs," seminar, Mississippi Bar Association's Real Property and Government Law Section (June 2011)
- "Landlord/Tenant Law, Important Lease Provisions and Commercial Lease Issues," Sterling Education Services, Inc. (September 2005)
- "Mississippi Land Use, Current Issues in Subdivision, Annexation and Zoning Law," National Business Institute (October 20, 2003)
- Mississippi Practice Series: Encyclopedia of Mississippi Law, Education Law: "School Property" (West 2001)
- Mississippi Practice Series: Encyclopedia of Mississippi Law, Property: "Relations Between Owners of Interests in Land" (West 2001)
- Urban Sensitivity to Biodiversity: An Alternative Planning Regime (1996)
- Sanitary Landfill Reclamation: Development of Planting Zone Descriptions, Criteria and Plant Selection (1991)
- Capital Lakes Rehabilitation Project, Environmental Investigations and Planning Studies, Transportation and Industrial Park Design (1991)
- Project Management Professional (PMP®) certified project manager through the Project Management Institute which demonstrates experience, education and competency to successfully lead and direct projects
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Real Estate Law since 2010
- Listed since 2008 in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers as a leading real estate lawyer in Mississippi
- Special Counsel, Governor's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal for the Mississippi Gulf Coast - Land Use, and Public Services Committees (2005)
- The Land Subdivision Process Seminar, National Business Institute
- American (Real Property, Environmental, Energy and Resources Sections) and Mississippi Bar Associations
- Member – American Society of Landscape Architects
- Associate Member – International Council of Shopping Centers
- Tri-County Real Estate Lawyers – Secretary-Treasurer
- Recipient – Baker Donelson Jackson Pro Bono Attorney of the Year (2007)
- Pro Bono Coordinator for Baker Donelson's Jackson Office
- Mississippi Volunteer Lawyer Project – Volunteer Attorney
- Athletic Director/Coach, St. Richards Catholic Church Football and Basketball Programs (2001 – present)
- Board of Management, 1-55 YMCA, Jackson, Mississippi (2001 – 2006)
- Mississippi, 1997
- Tennessee, 2007
- Mississippi College School of Law, J.D., 1997, cum laude
- Louisiana State University, M.L.A., 1991
- University of Tennessee, B.S., 1988, cum laude