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MS Bar Foundation History & Purpose
History
The Mississippi Bar Foundation, Inc. was organized in 1963 shortly
after Mississippi State Bar President Sidney Carlton recognized the
need for an organization which is representative of the bench and
bar and is able to improve and facilitate the administration of
justice. A six-man study committee chaired by N. W. Overstreet, Jr.
carefully reviewed the experiences and operations of twelve legal
foundations throughout the country. The committee recommended
unanimously to the Board of Commissioners of the Mississippi State
Bar that a non-profit corporation be established to direct its
research skills and efforts toward supplying essential information
and ideas for the solution of current legal issues in the public
interest and to improve the administration of justice. The
recommendations of the committee were approved by the Board of
Commissioners of the Mississippi State Bar at its meeting December
6, 1962. On December 11, 1962, the Charter of Incorporation of the
Mississippi Bar Foundation, Inc. was issued.
Purpose
- Statement of Purpose
The Foundation will strive to improve the administration of justice through the support of organizations, which provide legal services to the poor and needy. The Foundation will work to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Mississippi's judiciary through education, training, technological improvements, and by recognizing and honoring significant contributors to this cause.
2. Statement of Philosophy
The Foundation will advance the science of jurisprudence by providing scholarship assistance and support to law schools, students and faculty and by sponsoring significant legal research, education and training projects.
3. Statement of Scope
The Foundation will work to improve relations between the Bar, judiciary and public by sponsoring law related public education programs designed to improve public understanding of the legal system.
4. Statement of Policy
The Foundation will strive to preserve the form of Government established by the United States Constitution by developing and sponsoring programs which explain the rights, privileges and responsibilities of citizenship and the role of our legal system in the preservation of the freedom citizens enjoy.
All lawyers who are invited to become Fellows and all members of the Foundations' Board of Trustees must pledge to support the Foundation's purposes.