Administrative Office of Courts
Justice Waller Named Fellow of Mississippi Bar Foundation Mississippi Supreme Court Presiding Justice William L. (Bill) Waller Jr. of Jackson was among 15 lawyers inducted Thursday, April 13, as Fellows of the Mississippi Bar Foundation. Being named a Fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation is the highest honor given by the Foundation. Only 10 percent of the state’s lawyers are eligible to be named as Fellows, Bar Foundation President-Elect Nina Tollison said before announcing the inductees at a dinner ceremony at the Old Capitol Inn in Jackson. The Fellow designation signifies peer recognition of professionalism, competence and leadership as well as dedication and service to the public and the legal profession. Others inducted as Fellows Thursday include 4th Circuit Court Judge Betty W. Sanders of Greenwood, U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. of Gulfport, Mississippi College School of Law Professor Carol C. West of Jackson, Special Assistant Attorney General Leyser Q. Hayes of Jackson, and attorneys Lemuel G. Adams III of Brandon, David W. Baria of Bay St. Louis, Don Barrett of Lexington, Leigh Kennington Berry of Columbia, Stephen C. Edds of Jackson, John A. Ferrell of Booneville, Armin J. Moeller of Jackson, Marjorie T. O’Donnell of Oxford, William E. Ready Jr. of Meridian, and Karl R. Steinberger of Pascagoula. Presiding Justice Waller joined the Mississippi Supreme Court in January 1998 after 20 years of private practice of law. He is a former municipal judge for the city of Jackson. He is chairman of the Rules Committee of the Mississippi Supreme Court, a responsibility he has held since 2001. He has served since 2004 as chairman of the E-Filing/Court Docket Management Study Committee. He previously served as chairman of the Public Defender Task Force 2000-2005, and was principal architect of what became legislation that created the Office of Capital Post Conviction Counsel and the Office of Indigent Appeals. He was one of three recipients of the Chief Justice Award in 2005 for his work on the development of a statewide docket management and e-filing system. He was honored with the Judicial Innovation Award for 2003-2004 from the Hinds County Bar Association and the Jackson Young Lawyers Association. #### |
