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Students Select Adjunct Professors of the Year


Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Jess H. Dickinson
A Mississippi judge and a prominent Jackson attorney are the adjunct professors of the year at the Mississippi College School of Law.

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Jess H. Dickinson recently shared the award with attorney Ken Harmon of the Jackson firm of Brunini Grantham Grower & Hewes. Founded more than a century ago by John Brunini, the firm is one of the largest in Mississippi.

Recipients of the award are annually selected by the law school's student body.

Justice Dickinson of Gulfport has served as an adjunct professor at the 550-student law school in downtown Jackson the past five years. He taught trial practice during the spring semester. Next fall and in the spring of 2010 he will teach evidence and trial practice. Dickinson has served on the Mississippi Supreme Court since 2004.

Dickinson received a bachelor's degree from Mississippi State University and his law degree at the University of Mississippi School of Law.

"Justice Dickinson cares for his students and is willing to give them the full measure of his time and energy," said Jim Rosenblatt, dean of the MC law school. "We appreciate his teaching and are pleased he was recognized by our students."

Said Dickinson: "I feel humbled and honored. As a member of the judiciary, I feel a strong obligation to interact with law students and provide them insight into the judicial system." He teaches at the law school two evenings a week.

Also pleased to receive the honor from students, Harmon has served as an adjunct professor at the Mississippi College School of Law for 15 years. The Jackson resident is a graduate of Tulane University and received his law degree at Vanderbilt University. He's been associated with the Jackson firm for 10 years.

"I really like the interaction with the students," Harmon said Wednesday. "It is so different from the practice of law. Here you are dealing with young people," he said. "The students have a lot of fresh ideas. I learn a lot from them."

Harmon's practice focuses on wills, estates and trusts and commercial real estate.

Dickinson, who grew up in Tallahatchie County, is a member of the Access to Justice Commission and serves as the Mississippi Supreme Court's liaison to organizations providing legal services to the poor.

Adjunct professors at the Mississippi College School of Law complement the school's full-time faculty, particularly in the skills training courses such as trial practice, Rosenblatt said.

The two Mississippians received the award at a ceremony at the new Jackson Convention Center.