Benjamin E Griffith

Federal and state civil litigation practice representing state agencies, counties, cities, elected officials, nongovernmental entities and other private sector insureds and their insurers in Mississippi, Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington, D.C., focusing on civil rights defense, voting rights, election law and reapportionment litigation, representation of commercial entities and other private sector insureds in premises security and construction defect litigation, public entity insurance coverage disputes, and environmental law. Served as Board Attorney for the Bolivar County Board of Supervisors for 21 years from 1983 through 2003, Board Attorney for the 17-county Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Joint Water Management District since 1989. American Bar Association Section of State and Local Government Law Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates since 2010 and Past Chair of the Section (2007-08);Chair of ABA Standing Committee on Election Law (2010-2013); member of Section of International Law Task Force on International Outsourcing and Committees on China, Europe, Eurasia and Caribbean/Latin America; ABA TTIPS Government Liability Committee and Insurance Coverage Committee; ABA Litigation Section Governmental Liability Committee;Water Resources Committee of ABA SEER; Chairman of MS Bar’s Government Law Section (1992-1993). Member of Mississippi Bar’s Technology Committee since 1996; Professional Responsibility Study Committee responsible for drafting and recommending adoption of the Code of Professional Conduct; member of Professional Responsibility Committee from 1994 to 1996, Special Advisory Committee for the Adoption of Uniform Local Rules for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi in 2000-2001; President of National Association of County Civil Attorneys (1990-91) and member of Board of Trustees (1985 - 2000);Intergovernmental Relations Steering Committee (1992 -2000). Recognized by NACo for work on Special Task Force on Unfunded Mandates which led to Congress’ enactment of the Unfunded Mandates Act in 1995. International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) State Chair for Mississippi since 2003, Chair of IMLA’s International Committee since 2007, Chair of IMLA’s County and Special Municipal Districts Division 1999-2001, IMLA Local Government Fellow in 2001 for work in local government, recognized in 2003 for outstanding achievement in local government, President's Award 2009; World Jurist Association’s National President for the USA (2007-2010); Board certification in Civil Trial Advocacy and Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy through the National Board of Trial Advocacy since 1994; Fellow of the International Order of Barristers, Litigation Counsel of America, and the Mississippi Bar Foundation, and member of the Council on Litigation Management. President of the Bolivar County Chapter of Ole Miss Alumni, Lamar Order, University of Mississippi Alumni Board of Directors, Ole Miss Law Alumni Board of Directors. Federal Bar Association's State and Local Government Relations Section, Defense Research Institute's Steering Committee and Committee on Government Liability, Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association, and Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit. Best Lawyers in America- Municipal Law (2007-2013). Editor and chapter author of America Votes: A Guide to Modern Election Law and Voting Rights (ABA 2nd Ed. 2012; 1st Ed/ 2008; Supp. 2009); Census 2000 – Considerations and Strategies for State and Local Governments (ABA 2000);Sexual Harassment in the Public Work  (ABA 2001);Handbook for County Board Attorneys (2000 and 2005 eds.). Chapter author in Access to Government in the Computer Age (ABA 2008, Martha H. Chumbler, Ed.); International Election Principles: Democratic Elections and the Rule of Law (ABA 2008, John Hardin Young, Ed.); and A Legal Guide to Homeland Security and Emergency Management for State and Local Governments (2nd Ed. ABA 2009, Ernest Abbott and Otto Hetzel, Eds.).
Born in Cleveland, Mississippi, November 19, 1952. B.A. in English and German from Ole Miss in May 1973. Juris Doctor 1975 from University of Mississippi School of Law, Editorial Board of the Mississippi Law Journal, Phi Delta Phi Scholastic Legal Fraternity and Omicron Delta Kappa Men’s Leadership Fraternity, American Jurisprudence Award for the highest academic grade in Federal Jurisdiction. In Admitted to MS Bar, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth, Fifth, and Eleventh Circuits and the U.S. Supreme Court.