Bar Foundation
Officers and Trustees
Past Presidents
The Mississippi Bar Foundation honors the legacy of its past presidents who have shaped the organization’s vision and growth. Their service reflects the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to justice, education, and public trust in the legal profession.
2000's
| 2023-2024 | Vicki R. Leggett | Hattiesburg |
| 2022-2023 | Linda R. Anderson | Jackson |
| 2021-2022 | Larry D. Moffett | Oxford |
| 2020-2021 | William T. May | Meridian |
| 2019-2020 | La’Verne Edney | Ridgeland |
| 2018-2019 | David W. Houston, III | Tupelo |
| 2017-2018 | Karl R. Steinberger | Pascagoula |
| 2016-2017 | Thomas Y. Page | Jackson |
| 2015-2016 | John H. Daniels, III | Greenville |
| 2014-2015 | Henry F. Laird, Jr. | Gulfport |
| 2013-2014 | Stephen W. Rosenblatt | Ridgeland |
| 2012-2013 | Ronald L. Roberts | Columbus |
| 2011-2012 | Karen K. Sawyer | Gulfport |
| 2010-2011 | John M. McCullouch | Ridgeland |
| 2009-2010 | Harold H. Mitchell, Jr. | Greenville |
| 2008-2009 | Colette Oldmixon | Poplarville |
| 2007-2008 | H. Hunter Twiford, III | Jackson |
| 2006-2007 | Nina Stubblefield Tollison | Oxford |
| 2005-2006 | H. Rodger Wilder | Gulfport |
| 2004-2005 | Robert L. Gibbs | Jackson |
| 2003-2004 | Richard G. Noble | Indianola |
| 2002-2003 | E. Brooke Ferris, III | Laurel |
| 2001-2002 | Harold D. Miller, Jr. | Jackson |
| 2000-2001 | Sharion R. Aycock | Fulton |
Pre 2000's
| 1999-2000 | Robert C. Galloway | Gulfport |
| 1998-1999 | William M. Dalehite, Jr. | Jackson |
| 1997-1998 | Landman Teller, Jr. | Vicksburg |
| 1996-1997 | Donnie D. Riley | Gulfport |
| 1995-1996 | Mark D. Herbert | Jackson |
| 1994-1995 | W. Allen Pepper, Jr. | Cleveland |
| 1993-1994 | William S. Mullins, III | Laurel |
| 1992-1993 | P. Nick Harkins, III | Jackson |
| 1991-1992 | James Hugh Ray | Tupelo |
| 1990-1991 | Paul M. Newton | Gulfport |
| 1989-1990 | Luther S. Ott | Jackson |
| 1988-1989 | George P. Cossar, Jr. | Charleston |
| 1987-1988 | Sherman L. Muths, Jr. | Gulfport |
| 1986-1987 | Pat H. Scanlon | Jackson |
| 1985-1986 | Dewitt T. Hicks, Jr. | Columbus |
| 1984-1985 | Eaton A. Lang, Jr. | Gulfport |
| 1983-1984 | George P. Hewes, III | Jackson |
| 1982-1983 | Robert Patterson | Aberdeen |
| 1981-1982 | Ernest Graves | Laurel |
| 1980-1981 | Roy D. Campbell, Jr. | Greenville |
| 1979-1980 | Lester F. Sumners | New Albany |
| 1978-1979 | Phineas Stevens | Jackson |
| 1977-1978 | Frank D. Montague, Jr. | Hattiesburg |
| 1976-1977 | Thomas R. Ethridge | Oxford |
| 1975-1976 | Fred M. Bush, Jr. | Tupelo |
| 1974-1975 | Harry Hoffman | Hazlehurst |
| 1973-1974 | Joe H. Daniel | Jackson |
| 1972-1973 | James Wilbourn | Vance |
| 1971-1972 | Bruce Aultman | Sumrall |
| 1970-1971 | Guy W. Mitchell Jr. | Tupelo |
| 1969-1970 | Frank Everett | Vicksburg |
| 1968-1969 | John T. Armstrong | Hazlehurst |
| 1967-1968 | Orma R. Smith | Corinth |
| 1966-1967 | Sidney Carlton | Sumner |
| 1966-1967 | David Cottrell, Jr. | Gulfport |
| 1965-1966 | Hugh N. Clayton | New Albany |
| 1964-1965 | N. W. Overstreet | Jackson |
| 1963-1964 | W. S. Henley | Hazlehurst |
| 1962-1963 | Homer Pittman | Hattiesburg |
Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program
Since 1984, the Mississippi Bar Foundation and The Mississippi Bar have worked with members of the Bar and with the banking community to administer the Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program. Lawyers’ trust funds which are small in amount or held for a short period of time are now established in interest-bearing accounts in participating financial institutions throughout the state. The interest on these accounts is sent to the Mississippi Bar Foundation to be used for public purposes under guidelines set forth by the Mississippi Supreme Court and the Internal Revenue Service.
By Mississippi Supreme Court Order dated May 30, 1984, Mississippi IOLTA Program funds have been designated for use solely for the following purposes:
- to provide legal aid to the poor;
- to provide law-related education programs for the public;
- to improve the administration of justice; and
- for such other programs for the benefit of the public as are specifically approved from time to time by the Supreme Court of Mississippi for exclusively public purposes.
Mandatory IOLTA
On May 18, 2006, the Supreme Court amended Rule 1.15 of the Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct requiring lawyers to place all trust funds in an IOLTA account unless—in the lawyers’ judgment—the funds can earn income for the client or third party in excess of the costs incurred to secure such income.
Please use the following links (Below) to access more information on the Mandatory IOLTA program.
Enrollment
Effective January 1, 2007, the Supreme Court of Mississippi amended Rule 1.15 making the IOLTA program mandatory. If needed, an enrollment form may be downloaded here. Certification of compliance with Rule 1.15 is required annually by completion of the appropriate section on The Mississippi Bar enrollment Fee Statement mailed to all members of the Bar in August of each year.
Questions regarding mandatory IOLTA and annual certification of compliance should be directed to:
IOLTA Coordinator
601-948-3269
iolta@msbar.org.
Grant Awards
Mississippi Bar Foundation IOLTA Grants 2023 – 2024
Grant Awards
Legal Aid: $95,662
- Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence – $7,421
- Mississippi Center for Justice – $14,757
- Mississippi Center for Legal Services Corporation – $31,406
- Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project – $13,228
- North Mississippi Rural Legal Services – $20,937
- University of Mississippi Child Advocacy Legal Clinic – $7,913
Law-Related Education: $14,112
- The Mississippi Bar – Young Lawyers Division – $12,134
- The Mississippi Bar – Public Information Committee – $1,978
Administration of Justice: $ 40,226
- The Mississippi Bar – Lawyers and Judges Assistance Committee – $40,226
(9) Total Number of Awards
TOTAL: $ 150,000
Grant Information
The IOLTA Program was created by Order of the Mississippi Supreme Court dated May 30, 1984, and is administered by the Foundation. As provided in the Supreme Court Order, IOLTA funds have been designated for use solely for the following purposes:
- To provide legal aid to the poor
- To provide law-related education for the public
- To improve the administration of justice
For information on the IOLTA grant cycle (when grants may be submitted and when grants are awarded) or assistance in preparing your application, please contact:
IOLTA Grants Director
Kenneth Wheatley
601-260-4396 krwheatley@comcast.net
or IOLTA Coordinator at 601-948-3269 or iolta@msbar.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
IOLTA? What do I need to know? What is the basic concept of IOLTA?
Funds that are placed in IOLTA accounts are small or expected to be held for a short period of time and cannot earn interest for the client in excess of the costs incurred to collect that interest. The IOLTA program enables the attorneys who handle such nominal or short-term funds to place them in a single, pooled, interest-bearing trust account. The financial institution will send the interest earned on these accounts directly to the Mississippi Bar Foundation, Inc., which distributes the funds as grants to a variety of initiatives that support the justice system.
What will change with mandatory status?
The rule amendments require all lawyers to place all IOLTA-eligible funds into an interest-bearing IOLTA account. The rule amendments are effective January 1, 2007.
How do I determine what are IOLTA-eligible funds?
“Nominal” or “short-term” funds are those of a client or third party that the lawyer has determined cannot provide a positive net return to the client or third party. An attorney shall exercise good faith judgment in determining whether or not funds belong in an IOLTA account. No lawyer shall be charged with ethical impropriety based on the exercise of good faith judgment.
Who qualifies for exclusion?
The following Bar members are excluded: lawyers who do not engage in the practice of law; those employed in a corporate capacity; those employed by local, state or federal government; law clerks, professors or members of the judiciary; retired attorneys; lawyers whose practices do not require the maintenance of trust escrow accounts and those who do not have an office or maintain funds in depository institutions in the state. Exclusions shall be noted on the annual Mississippi Bar enrollment fee statement.
Who is exempt?
An IOLTA account that has or may have the net effect of costing the IOLTA program more in fees than earned in interest over a period of time may, at the discretion of the Mississippi Bar Foundation, be exempted from the IOLTA program.
Lawyers may also request exemption if participation would work an undue hardship or would be extremely impractical. Attorneys desiring exemption due to hardship should make their request in writing to the Mississippi Bar Foundation Board of Trustees.
Are there any tax consequences?
No! Mississippi’s IOLTA Program is designed to avoid any tax consequences. No participating attorney, law firm or client is required to report IOLTA interest as taxable income.
How will my clients be affected?
They won’t, from the clients’ perspective. Placement of funds is irrelevant because the program only involves funds which an attorney would not otherwise invest on the clients’ behalf.
Can I still open a separate account for clients’ funds?
Certainly. In the past, lawyers have exercised discretion to determine whether a given trust deposit was of sufficient size or duration to justify placement in a separate interest-bearing account. The Rule 1.15 amendments do not affect the lawyer’s discretion in this matter. Indeed, the Rule amendments require lawyers to decide whether a separate interest-bearing account should be established to benefit the client or owner of the funds. If they are, they can’t be placed in IOLTA.
How does a mandatory program affect financial institutions?
Financial institutions may choose not to participate in IOLTA. However, the Foundation is available to work with banks on establishing the program at their institutions. Currently, 45 financial institutions participate in Mississippi’s IOLTA program. If your bank chooses not to participate, the Foundation can assist you in locating a bank that does offer IOLTA accounts.
Does IOLTA affect current trust account practices?
No. Once you open your IOLTA account, you will go about your client trust business as usual. The confidential, fiduciary relationship between you and your clients remains unchanged, and there are no new records to keep.
What about service charges and handling fees?
Fees for wire transfer, insufficient funds, bad checks, stop payment, account reconciliation, negative collected balances and check printing are not considered customary account maintenance charges and may not be assessed against an IOLTA account. Such non-routine fees must be brought to the attention of the lawyer or law firm, who in turn may absorb these specific costs or pass along those fees to the client(s) being served by the transaction (in accordance with attorney/client agreements).
Negative interest earnings resulting from service charges which exceed interest earned are prohibited on IOLTA accounts. The lawyers absorb fees.
How much of my time will this involve?
Virtually no additional time is required. The mechanics of converting an account are simple and, once that is done, there is no additional effort on your part. The process of determining where to place client funds is the same. The only difference is that eligible funds should be placed into an IOLTA account as opposed to a non-interest-bearing trust account.
Do IOLTA programs operate elsewhere?
Yes! Fifty states and the District of Columbia operate IOLTA programs in addition to a number of British and Canadian jurisdictions. With this conversion, Mississippi becomes the 32nd state to adopt a mandatory IOLTA program.
What should I do if I change firms or go into private practice?
If you join a firm, you may participate through their IOLTA account(s) and should indicate your change on the Change of Status form. If you are opening your own practice, you should complete a Notice to Financial Institution Form and refer to the above procedures on compliance with the Rule amendment.
Annual Meeting
Fellows
The Fellows designation is the Foundation’s highest honor. Only 10% of the lawyers in Mississippi are eligible for membership as a Fellow. Their selection is recognition by their peers that the attorney has achieved the highest level of professionalism, competence, and leadership. Fellows are selected for membership based not only on their excellence as a lawyer, but also by their dedication and service to the public and profession.
Lawyers Emergency Assistance Fund
What is the LEAF Fund?
The Lawyers Emergency Assistance Fund is designed to financially assist lawyers or their families suffering from financial hardship as a result of a catastrophic injury or illness to a lawyer.
Prior to the establishment of the fund in 1990, when the Bar or Bar Foundation was asked to assist lawyers suffering financial hardships as a result of a catastrophic injury or illness, they had been unable to respond because no funds were available. The Mississippi Bar and the Mississippi Bar Foundation joined together and established this program to provide financial aid in such cases. The Lawyers Emergency Assistance Fund is funded by direct contributions from members of the Bar.
What You Can Do
Tax-deductible contributions can be made to the Foundation and in turn directed by the Foundation to lawyers in need. Gifts from lawyers today can make a difference in the life of a colleague in the future. Donations may be made to the Mississippi Bar Foundation, LEAF Fund, PO Box 2168, Jackson MS 39225-2168