Cory T. Wilson (left), president of the Mississippi Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, presents the Robert W. Upchurch Award to Lindy D. Brown. The annual award, including a $750 prize, is presented to the student demonstrating excellence in the field of federal jurisdiction and is funded by the Mississippi Chapter.

Nina Tollison (right) presents the $500 Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference, Inc., Scholarship to Dareth Anne Davis. The annual award recognizes the student making the highest grade in the bankruptcy-related class. Tollison, a partner in the Tollison Law Firm in Oxford, is past president of the Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference.

Jennifer Lindsey (left), president of the Law Association for Women, presents the Law Association for Women Leadership Award to Rosemary Eicher. The award recognizes outstanding service to women at the Law School.

T. Swayze Alford ('90), left, partner in the Oxford office of Holcomb Dunbar, presents the $1,000 Pat D. Holcomb Memorial Award for Excellence to Amanda Robins Poe. The award goes to the previous year's first-year law student who is selected most outstanding by faculty members teaching first-year classes. It honors the firm's late senior law partner Pat D.
Holcomb.


Jeffery P. Reynolds ('85), right, of Jackson presents the $1,500 Jeffery P. Reynolds, P.A., and Worth Thomas Diversity Essay Competition Scholarship to Warren Louis Martin Jr. The scholarship was established in 1999 and is presented to the minority student writing the best paper on a topic selected by Reynolds. Reynolds also presented four students with Jeffery P. Reynolds, P.A., Environmental Law Scholarship Awards, established in 1999 to recognize excellence in the study of environmental law. The $250 awards went to Daniel S. Cornacchioine Jr., Griffin Lane Knight, Vaterria L. McQuitter, and Ta'Shia R. Shannon.

Bill F. Cossar (left) and John T. Cossar, both of Jackson, present the $5,000 Mississippi Valley Title Insurance Company/George Payne Cossar Sr. Scholarship to Margaret Povall. The Cossar brothers, including George P. Cossar Jr. ('60) of Charleston, founded the annual scholarship 10 years ago to honor the memory of their father, George Payne Cossar Sr., who graduated from the Law School and practiced law in Charleston for many years.

Merilyn Charlton (center) of Oxford and her daughters, (from right) Mary Francis and Sarah, present Christopher P. Charlton Memorial Scholarships in Law to Michael Shane Painter and Tiffany L. Kilpatrick. The tuition award is $3,000 for each year of law school or a total of $9,000. The scholarship endowment was established in 1997 by friends and family of the late Christopher P. Charlton, a 1981 graduate of the Law School. Recipients are chosen through an essay competition in which student applicants describe how they plan to give back to society during their legal careers. Mrs. Charlton is one of a three-member committee making the selections. Recipients must maintain at least a 2.5 grade-point average.


Professor Robert A. Weems ('66), right, the Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens & Cannada Lecturer, receives the Outstanding Law Professor Award-for the sixth time-from Sherlock Grigsby, president of the Law School Student Body. D. Briggs Smith Jr. ('66), chair of the Lamar Order, was on hand with the $1,500 prize provided by the LO. The award recognizes Weems' outstanding contributions to legal education. A member of the faculty since 1977, he breaks the record for the number of times to have been so recognized. He received the same honor last year, shared it in a tie vote in 1999, and won in 1998, 1989, and 1980. He was named UM's campuswide outstanding teacher in 1994 as recipient of the Elsie M. Hood Award. He teaches evidence, torts, and wills and estates.

Sandra Cox McCarty (right), associate dean for administration, receives the Joan K. Murphey Outstanding Law School Staff Member Memorial Award from York Craig, president of the Law Alumni Chapter. The award includes a $500 prize funded by the LAC. Chosen for the award by the Law School Student Body Senate, McCarty is responsible for day-to-day operations, including managing the school's budget and overseeing the offices of admissions, career services, and registrar. She has been associate dean since 1996.

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