Awards
Nominees are being Accepted
Nominees are being accepted for the three awards presented each year during the Bar’s Annual Meeting to individuals that have made significant contributions to the legal profession. The Awards are as outlined:
- Distinguished Service Award
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- Judicial Excellence Award
All nominations should be submitted to The Mississippi Bar, P.O. Box 2168, Jackson, MS 39225-2168 or emailed to communications@msbar.org. The deadline for award nominations to be received is January 3.
Award Recipients
Distinguished Service Award
Past Recipients
2024-25 Angel Myers McIlrath
2023-24 Toni Walker Terrett
2022-23 Malissa Wilson
2021-22 Jennifer G. Hall
2020-21 Parker S. Kline
2019-20 Edderek L. “Beau” Cole
2018-19 Carlyn M. Hicks
2017-18 Gwen G. Combs
2016-17 James B. Persons
2016-17 David W. Clark
2015-16 Tiffany Graves
2014-15 Thomas H. Freeland IV
2013-14 Patti Gandy
2012-13 Karen K. Sawyer
2011-12 La’Verne Edney
2010-11 Tom Alexander
2010-11 Amanda Green Alexander
2009-10 Tammra O. Cascio
2008-09 Harry R. Allen
2008-09 Powell Gee Ogletree, Jr.
2007-08 Jennifer Ingram Johnson
2007-08 Karl Steinberger
2006-07 Jeannie H. Sansing
2006-07 J. Clifford Harrison
2005-06 Amanda Jones Tollison
2005-06 Allen L. Burrell
2004-05 Ronald C. Morton
2004-05 Roy D. Campbell
2003-04 W. Scott Welch, III
2003-04 Robert L. Gibbs
2003-04 Anna C. Furr
2002-03 Robert P. Shepard
2002-03 Lydia M. Quarles
2002-03 James H. Heidelberg
2001-02 Susan L. Runnels
2001-02 Colette A. Oldmixon
2000-01 H. Hunter Twiford, III
1999-00 Charles L. Dunn
1998-99 William E. Ready, Jr.
1997-98 Thomas E. Williams
1997-98 Harold D. Miller, Jr.
1996-97 Mark Herbert
1995-96 Mark A. Chinn
1994-95 B.B. McClendon
1994-95 Pat Flynn
1994-95 Pamela Dill
1993-94 Martin Smith
1992-93 Amy Whitten
1992-93 Judge Robert Oswald
1992-93 S. Allan Alexander
1991-92 Lawrence J. Franck
1990-91 Thomas M. Fortner
1989-90 William C. “Cham” Trotter III
1988-89 Dwight Ball
1987-88 Hubbard T. Saunders IV
1987-88 Luther Ott
1986-87 Ben J. Piazza, Jr.
1986-87 Tommy Furby
1985-86 William H. Liston
Lifetime Achievement Award
This award will be granted for devoted service to the public, profession and administration of justice over the span of a professional career. Only lawyers or individuals who have worked within or contributed significantly to the system of justice or legal profession will be qualified to receive this award. The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented only on those occasions when a deserving recipient is nominated and selected.
Past Recipients
2025 – Judge Cynthia Brewer
2024 – Dr. Mary Ann Strong Connell
2023 – Judge Debra Brown
2022 – Margaret Oertling Cupples
2021 – Rebecca L. Wiggs
2020 – Judge Linda Anderson
2019 – Chief Judge Donna Barnes
2018 – Justice Dawn Beam
2017 – Lynn Fitch
2016 – Judge Denise Owens
2015 – Karen Sawyer
2014 – Judge Jacqueline Mask
2013 – Nina Stubblefield Tollison
2012 – Justice Ann Lamar
2011 – Lydia M. Quarles
2010 – Judge Sharion Aycock
2009 – Deborah H. Bell
2008 – Carolyn Ellis Staton
2007 – Kay B. Cobb
2006 – Joy Lambert Phillips
2005 – Lenore Loving Prather
2004 – Constance Slaughter-Harvey
2003 – Evelyn Gandy
2002 – Patricia W. Bennett
2001 – Carol C. West
2000 – Mary Libby Payne
1999 – Clare Sekul Hornsby
Judicial Excellence Award
The Judicial Excellence Award recognizes an exceptional judge who is an example of judicial excellence, a leader in advancing the quality and efficiency of justice and a person of high ideals, character and integrity. To be eligible, a judge must be a full time, sitting judge. Judges on senior status are eligible if they continue to be active on the bench.
Past Recipients
2023-24 District Court Judge Carlton W. Reeves
2023-24 Forrest County Judge Carol Jones Russell
2022-23 Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael K. Randolph
2021-22 Chancery Court Judge Deborah J. Gambrell
2020-21 District Court Judge Michael P. Mills
2019-20 Hancock County Judge S. Trent Favre
2018-19 Chancery Court Judge Denise Owens
2017-18 Chancery Court Judge Jerry G. Mason
2016-17 Chancery Court Judge Jacqueline E. Mask
2015-16 Rankin County Judge Thomas Broome
2014-15 U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Allan Alexander
2013-14 Supreme Court Chief Justice William L. Waller
2012-13 Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Gardner III
2011-12 U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Roper
2010-11 U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David W. Houston III
2009-10 Chancery Court Judge Edward E. Patten, Jr.
2009-10 Chancery Court Judge Margaret Alfonso
2008-09 Rankin County Judge Kent McDaniel
2007-08 Circuit Court Judge Henry Lackey
2006-07 Chancery Court Judge John Clark Love
2005-06 Chancery Court Judge Sebe Dale, Jr.
2004-05 Adams County Judge John N. Hudson
2003-04 Court of Appeals Judge Leslie H. Southwick
2002-03 Circuit Court Judge M. Keith Starrett
2001-02 Circuit Court Judge Robert I. Prichard, III
2000-01 Supreme Court Chief Justice Lenore L. Prather
Outstanding Young Lawyer Award
Each year the Young Lawyers Division of The Mississippi Bar selects a Young Lawyer who is deemed to be the Outstanding Young Lawyer of Mississippi for the year based on his or her contributions to both the Bar and community, state and country. This person exemplifies the degree of ethical, moral and professional standards that serve as a standard of the lawyer’s place in society. The deadline is usually in February.
Past Recipients
2023 – 2024 Christina Nunez
2023 – 2024 Jasmine Magee
2022 – 2023 Assma A. Ali
2021 – 2022 Elizabeth Hyde
2020 – 2021 Kye C. Handy
2019 – 2020 Andrew Harris
2018 – 2019 Christina Seanor
2017 – 2018 Matthew D. Shoemaker
2016 – 2017 G. Austin Stewart
2015 – 2016 Clarence Webster III
2014 – 2015 Jeremy T. England
2013 – 2014 Michael S. Carr
2012 – 2013 Alison B. Baker
2011 – 2012 Jennie S.H. Pitts
2010 – 2011 Tiffany M. Graves
2009 – 2010 Corey D. Hinshaw
2008 – 2009 Stephanie R. Jones
2007 – 2008 Carlos E. Moore
2006 – 2007 Amanda K. Jones
2005 – 2006 David F. Maron
2004 – 2005 Scott R. Hendrix
2003 – 2004 Meade Mitchell
2002 – 2003 Deanne Mosley
2001 – 2002 A. Kelly Sessoms
2000 – 2001 Keith Obert
1999 – 2000 Chip Wilbanks
1998 – 1999 Lynn P. Ladner
1997 – 1998 A. Matt Pesnell
1996 – 1997 Susan Fahey Desmond
1995 – 1996 J. Hale Freeland
1994 – 1995 M. Binford Williams, Jr.
1993 – 1994 C. Joyce Hall
1992 – 1993 Denitia M. Newman
1991 – 1992 A. Camille Henick
1990 – 1991 D. Michael Cockrell
1989 – 1990 J. Richard Hurt
1988 – 1989 James Arden Barnett, Jr.
1987 – 1988 R. Wilson Montjoy, II
1986 – 1987 Tommy E. Furby
1985 – 1986 Shelby R. Rogers, Jr.
1984 – 1985 Mark D. Herbert
1983 – 1984 W. David Watkins
1982 – 1983 William C. Hammack
1981 – 1982 Claude F. Clayton, Jr.
Susie Blue Buchanan Award
The Susie Blue Buchanan Award is presented by the Bar’s Women in the Profession Section to a woman who has achieved professional excellence in her field and advanced opportunities for women within a practice area or segment of the profession. The award is presented each year at the Price-Prather Luncheon during the Bar’s Annual Meeting. This award, named for the first female lawyer licensed to practice before the Mississippi Supreme Court, honors an outstanding woman in the profession who has achieved professional excellence and has actively paved the way to success for other women lawyers. The 2024-2025 nomination deadline is March 3, 2025.
Past Recipients
2025 – Judge Cynthia Brewer
2024 – Dr. Mary Ann Strong Connell
2023 – Judge Debra Brown
2022 – Margaret Oertling Cupples
2021 – Rebecca L. Wiggs
2020 – Judge Linda Anderson
2019 – Chief Judge Donna Barnes
2018 – Justice Dawn Beam
2017 – Lynn Fitch
2016 – Judge Denise Owens
2015 – Karen Sawyer
2014 – Judge Jacqueline Mask
2013 – Nina Stubblefield Tollison
2012 – Justice Ann Lamar
2011 – Lydia M. Quarles
2010 – Judge Sharion Aycock
2009 – Deborah H. Bell
2008 – Carolyn Ellis Staton
2007 – Kay B. Cobb
2006 – Joy Lambert Phillips
2005 – Lenore Loving Prather
2004 – Constance Slaughter-Harvey
2003 – Evelyn Gandy
2002 – Patricia W. Bennett
2001 – Carol C. West
2000 – Mary Libby Payne
1999 – Clare Sekul Hornsby
