A Supreme Choice

Alumni honored at annual Bar Convention

2009 University of Mississippi Law Alumnus of the Year Bobby Bailess (JD 73) (left) is honored by Dean Samuel M. Davis.

he annual Mississippi Bar Convention, held in summer 2009 in Destin, Fla., offered lawyers, professors and alumni of the School of Law the chance to share ideas, discuss current legal trends and to reconnect. A number of alumni and friends of the UM law school were honored during the convention, including Robert R. “Bobby” Bailess (JD 76), who was honored as the UM Law Alumnus of the Year during the UM Law Alumni Luncheon.

Bailess, a Vicksburg attorney, received his undergraduate degree from Ole Miss in 1973. A partner in the law firm Wheeless, Shappley, Bailess & Rector, LLP, Bailess practices in the areas of commercial litigation, commercial transactions, riparian rights law, corporations law, wills, trusts and estates. He is a member of the Warren County Bar Association, the American Bar Association and The Mississippi Bar, serving as president of in 2007.

Law Alumni Chapter board officers President-Elect Cham Trotter (JD 72) (left), President Aleita Sullivan (JD 65) and Immediate Past President Bill May (JD 82).

In announcing the award, UM Law Alumni Chapter President Bill May (JD 82) said Bailess is described as a model citizen in his hometown.

In addition to his membership in various community and legal organizations, Bailess has served as a board member of the Ole Miss Alumni Association and The University of Mississippi Foundation. During his undergraduate years at Ole Miss, he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and played linebacker for the Rebels under coaches Billy Kinard and John Vaught.

“Our honoree has demonstrated that it is very possible to balance family and profession,” May said. “He is a devoted family man who still visits his parents daily, and he managed to find time last year to serve as president of the Mississippi Bar.”

UM law alumni enjoy a Lamar Order luncheon hosted by the UM School of Law during the annual Bar Convention meeting.

Also honored during the Bar Convention were May, who was recognized for his service as president of the UM Law Alumni Chapter board; Sandy Sams (JD 63), who was recognized by Dean Samuel M. Davis for his service as Lamar Order chair; and George Fair (JD 73) current president of the Mississippi Bar.