History & Purpose

Mississippi Women Lawyers Association (“MWLA”) is comprised of women representing all facets of the legal profession including private, corporate, and government practice, judiciary, academia, and law students. MWLA was founded in 1976 by a group of thirty women attorneys from throughout the State of Mississippi to enhance and develop the image of lawyers in Mississippi, promote fellowship among the members of the legal community, and advance women in the legal profession. Today, there are approximately 1500 women lawyers practicing in Mississippi in all sectors of the profession, many of whom are members of MWLA. Community involvement and philanthropy are significant parts of MWLA’s involvements. The Association emphasizes the importance of the attorney’s role in giving back to the community through projects that benefit charitable organizations, the provision of scholarships to outstanding law students, and pro bono work. The Association also awards the Martha Gerald/MWLA scholarship in honor of MWLA’s first president, Martha Gerald, to female law students at the University of Mississippi School of Law and the Mississippi College School of Law.

MWLA is proud of its Outstanding Woman Lawyer Award, given annually to honor the Mississippi female lawyer who has demonstrated the greatest accomplishments during the previous year.  Prior recipients include Dr. Carolyn Ellis Staton (1995), Pat Flynn (1996), Dr. Mary Ann Connell (1997), Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Lenore Prather (1998), Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Mary Libby Payne (1999), Amy Whitten (2000), Constance Slaughter-Harvey (2001), Professor Patricia Bennett (2002), Margaret Williams (2003), Colette Oldmixon (2004), Professor Deborah Bell (2005), Joy Lambert-Phillips (2006), Sharon D. Bridges (2007), Christy D. Jones (2008), Patti Gandy (2009), Judy Guice (2 010), La’Verne Edney (2011), Lynn Fitch (2012), Tiffany Graves (2013), and Justice Ann Lamar (2014), Amanda Green Alexander (2015), and Rebecca Wiggs (2016).