News

Judges participate in ethics and professionalism programs for law students

August 15, 2006

Mississippi Supreme Court Presiding Justice William L. Waller Jr. of Jackson will give the keynote addresses to first year law students at orientation programs on Wednesday, Aug. 16, at Mississippi College and on Thursday, Aug. 17, at the University of Mississippi.

Presiding Justice Waller will address Mississippi College School of Law first-year students at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 16 at Nelson Hall – Swor Auditorium on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton. He will address the University of Mississippi School of Law students at 9 a.m. Aug. 17 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts in Oxford.

Twenty trial and appellate judges and more than 70 lawyers from across the state are expected to participate in orientation programs for law students entering Mississippi College School of Law and the University of Mississippi School of Law. The Mississippi College orientation will be conducted at the Clinton campus, and the University of Mississippi program will be at the campus in Oxford.

After the keynote address, lawyers and judges will be paired with small groups of students to discuss ethics and professionalism issues using hypothetical situations. Two or three lawyers or judges will lead discussions with each group.

Judges acting as facilitators for the breakout sessions with Mississippi College School of Law students include: Supreme Court Justice Jess H. Dickinson of Gulfport; Chancery Judges J. Larry Buffington of Collins, Janace Harvey Goree of Lexington, James B. Persons of Gulfport, James H. C. Thomas Jr. of Hattiesburg, and Patricia D. Wise of Jackson; Circuit Judges Winston L. Kidd of Jackson, James T. Kitchens Jr. of Columbus, and Frank G. Vollor of Vicksburg; Rankin County Court Judge Kent McDaniel of Brandon; and U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett of McComb. Former judges participating in the program include former Supreme Court Justice Fred L. Banks Jr. of Jackson, former Court of Appeals Judge Mary Libby Payne of Pearl, former Hinds County Circuit Judge Robert L. Gibbs of Jackson, and former Jackson County Court Judge Maxine Lawson-Conway of Moss Point.

Judges acting as facilitators for the breakout sessions at the University of Mississippi School of Law include: Court of Appeals Chief Judge Leslie D. King of Greenville; Chancery Judges J. Larry Buffington of Collins, Kenneth M. Burns of Okolona, Robert L. Lancaster of Columbus, and Randy G. Pierce of Pascagoula; and Circuit Judges Andrew K. Howorth of Oxford, Forrest A. Johnson Jr. of Natchez, and Ann Hannaford Lamar of Senatobia; and Mississippi Workers Compensation Commission Administrative Law Judge Deneise T. Lott of Jackson. Retired Circuit Judge Barry W. Ford of Jackson is also participating.

The annual orientation for entering law school students, known as the James O. Dukes Professionalism Program, is organized by the Professionalism Committee of the Mississippi Bar. It is named in honor of its founder, the late James O. Dukes of Gulfport, former president of the Mississippi Bar.

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