Administrative Office of Courts
Supreme Court makes appointments to Board of Bar Admissions Attorney Ann Bowden-Hollis of Ocean Springs has been appointed to the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions. Supreme Court Justice Jess H. Dickinson of Gulfport appointed Bowden-Hollis for a three-year term which ends Oct. 31, 2009. Supreme Court Chief Justice James W. Smith Jr. signed the order of appointment Nov. 27. Bowden-Hollis replaces F. M. "Rae" Turner. Justice Dickinson said, “Ann is an extremely capable and intelligent person who will serve the bar and the state of Mississippi well.” The Supreme Court also renewed appointments for three veteran members of the Board of Bar Admissions. Presiding Justice William L. Waller Jr. reappointed Ridgeland attorney James R. Mozingo, who serves as chairman of the Board of Bar Admissions. The term ends Oct. 31, 2009. Justice Oliver E. Diaz Jr. reappointed Karen K. Sawyer of Gulfport. Her term ends Oct. 31, 2007. Justice George C. Carlson Jr. reappointed Marjorie T. O’Donnell of Oxford. Her term ends Oct. 31, 2009. The Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions is made up of nine practicing attorneys. Board members are appointed by the Supreme Court to staggered terms. Each member of the Supreme Court has an appointment on the Board. The Board administers the rules and statutes governing admission to the practice of law in Mississippi. The Board of Bar Admissions oversees the preparation, administration and evaluation of two bar examinations each year. The Board also, in conjunction with its Committee on Character and Fitness, oversees the investigation and evaluation of the character and fitness of each person who applies to become a member of the Mississippi Bar. Bowden-Hollis, who has practiced law for 26 years, is a member of the law firm of Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens & Cannada, PLLC. She works in the firm’s Gulfport office, where she is a member of the labor and employment group. She concentrates her work in the areas of handbooks and policy manuals, staffing and employment contracts, compliance and problem-solving guidance. In the healthcare industry, in addition to employment matters, she advises institutional and other healthcare providers about matters related to consents, confidentiality and patient rights. She previously served as chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Mississippi Bar. She is a member of the Labor, OSHA & Human Resources Committee of the American Health Lawyers Association. Mozingo is the longest serving member of the Board of Bar Admissions, having first been appointed in 1988. He is a former vice-chair of the Board and is a former chairman of the Board’s Committee on Character and Fitness. He currently serves on the Education Committee of the National Conference of Bar Examiners and is a past member of the NCBE’s Multistate Essay Examination Policy Committee. He is a member of the firm of Upshaw, Williams, Biggers, Beckham & Riddick and works in the firm’s Ridgeland office. He has practiced law for 28 years. Sawyer is a member of the law firm of Bryant, Dukes & Blakeslee, PLLC. She previously worked as a registered nurse and an Ob-Gyn nurse practitioner. She has practiced law for 14 years. O’Donnell is a member of the law firm of Holcomb Dunbar, P.A. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Mississippi School of Law. She has practiced law for 20 years. #### |
