The Mississippi Bar is the integrated (mandatory)

bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to separ ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

History

The Mississippi Bar traces its lineage to a voluntary membership organization formed in 1821; however, this association lapsed after four years. It was revived in 1886, but lapsed six years later. In 1905 it was revived again; its first President was G.D. Shands. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, membership dwindled amid public skepticism about lawyer ethics. In response, the leading Mississippi lawyers successfully urged the passage of the state's Unified Bar Act in 1932, leading to the present-day mandatory Bar.

Structure

Bar policy is set by a Board consisting of the organization's officers plus Board members elected by state circuit court district. The Bar’s Consumer Assistance Program is designed to assist clients with every day consumer type problems with their attorneys. The Bar does not regulate the Bar exam; that function is fulfilled by the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions. The Bar enforces the rule that Mississippi lawyers must complete 12 credits each year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mississippi Bar American state bar associations Government of Mississippi 1932 establishments in Mississippi Organizations established in 1932