MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2015 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Wiggins, Bryan, Tollison, Tindell, Turner, Watson, McDaniel, Simmons (12th), Doty, Fillingane, Longwitz, Jolly, Blount, Browning, Burton, Butler (38th), Carmichael, Clarke, Frazier, Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd), Kirby, Lee, Norwood, Parker
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND CONGRATULATING SENATOR W. BRIGGS HOPSON III UPON HIS ELECTION AS PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE MISSISSIPPI BAR.
WHEREAS, The Mississippi Bar has announced that Senator Briggs Hopson of Vicksburg, Mississippi, has been elected President-Elect of The Mississippi Bar, with his term to begin at the conclusion of the 2015 Annual Meeting held in July. Senator Hopson is the first sitting State Senator to serve as President of The Mississippi Bar; and
WHEREAS, W. Briggs Hopson III is a partner in the Law Firm of Teller, Hassell & Hopson, LLP, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he has practiced for 18 years. Prior to that, Briggs practiced in New Orleans and Gulfport for over 6 years before returning to his hometown of Vicksburg. Briggs is licensed to practice law in Louisiana and Mississippi. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration (majoring in Banking and Finance) and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of Mississippi in 1987 and 1990, respectively. While in law school, Briggs was a member of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity and served as Law School Student Body President. His areas of practice include general litigation, education law, commercial law, admiralty and property law; and
WHEREAS, Briggs has served The Mississippi Bar on the Board of Bar Commissioners, as Young Lawyer's President, and on the Client Relations Committee. He is a Fellow of The Mississippi Bar Foundation and of the Young Lawyers Division. Briggs has served often as a facilitator in the James O. Dukes Professionalism Program and a speaker at various other Mississippi Bar programs. He has also served as Warren County Bar Association President. He is a former Adjunct Professor of the Mississippi College School of Law. Briggs is an active member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, the International Association of Defense Counsel, the Council of School Attorneys, and the Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute, where he has served on the Board of Directors; and
WHEREAS, Briggs presently serves as the State Senator for District 23, which comprises Issaquena, Warren and Yazoo Counties. In the Senate, he serves as the Chairman of the Judiciary "A" Committee and has served as Vice Chairman of the Public Health and Welfare Committee. He is a member of the Committees on Appropriations, Education, Tourism, Universities and Colleges, and others. Briggs also serves as a Commissioner for the Uniform Law Commission, Vice Chairman of the Law and Criminal Justice Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures, and he serves as a member of the Mississippi Tort Claims Board and the Drug Court Advisory Committee; and
WHEREAS, Briggs has been active in numerous civic endeavors, including serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the United Way of West Central Mississippi and the Good Shepherd Community Center. He has also served on the Board of Directors of Mission Mississippi, the University of Mississippi Alumni Association, the University of Mississippi Law Alumni Association, the Mississippi River Trail, and the Red Carpet Bowl Committee. He has served as Fundraising Chairman for the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. Briggs is a member of the University of Mississippi Law School's Lamar Order and is former Commissioner of the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium; and
WHEREAS, he presently serves as a District Chancellor for the Mississippi United Methodist Church and is an active member of Crawford Street United Methodist Church in Vicksburg, where he has served as Chairman of the Administrative Board and Stewardship Committee. Briggs and his wife, Alison (Ali), have three children: Liam (17), Walt (15) and Jane (11); and
WHEREAS, Senator Hopson has served as a leader and mentor in the Mississippi Legislature, supporting the professional standards of the practice of law, including ethics, integrity, civility, courtesy and adherence to the Golden Rule; and it is with great pride that we join the legal profession in recognizing a respected member of the Mississippi Legislature as the new leader of the purposes and functions of The Mississippi Bar:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize and congratulate Senator W. Briggs Hopson III upon his election as President-Elect of The Mississippi Bar, and join the legal profession in celebrating this auspicious event.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Senator Briggs Hopson, forwarded to Larry Houchins, Executive Director of The Mississippi Bar and the Mississippi Board of Bar Commissioners, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.