Jackson, MS—Attorney General Jim Hood is hosting a series of town hall meetings along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast to hear concerns from oil spill claimants.

The meetings are being held in coordination with the Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ), Mississippi Center for Legal Services (MCLS) and the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyer’s Project (MVLP) through the Mississippi Bar Association.

“It is important to me to hear directly from the claimants what they have been experiencing in this process,” said Attorney General Hood, who will have members of his staff at the town hall meetings to listen to GCCF (Gulf Coast Claims Facility) claimants.

The Attorney General’s Office will be on hand to gather information from claimants whose claims were denied and to hear their experiences with the GCCF process. Those claimants are asked to bring copies of their paperwork if at all possible.

Representatives from the MCJ, MCLS and MVLP will be on hand to provide an overview of the claims process and will have attorneys available to assist with individual claim issues.

Here are the dates/times/locations of each meeting:

Tuesday March 29, 2011
8:00am-11:00am
Bay St Louis/Waveland
Leo Seal Community Room
529 Hwy 90
Waveland, MS
(across from Walmart, next door to Hancock Bank)

Tuesday March 29, 2011
2:00pm-5:00pm
Gulfport
Handsboro Community Center
1890 Switzer Rd
Gulfport, MS

Wednesday March 30, 2011
8:00am-11:00am
Biloxi
Bolton State Building (on the back bay)
1141 Bayview Ave. first floor
Biloxi,MS

Wednesday March 30, 2011
2:00 pm-5:00pm
Pascagoula
Jackson County Courthouse
2nd floor courtroom
3104 Magnolia Street
Pascagoula, MS

Attorney General Hood filed briefing in the oil spill multidistrict litigation in February asking for court-appointed monitors to expedite the claims process for victims and for more transparency from BP and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility.