Judge Gibbs, Judge Perkins, AOC Director Surkin named as Fellows of the Mississippi Bar Foundation

JANS – Circuit Judge Debra Gibbs of Jackson, Chancellor Willie J. Perkins Sr. of Greenwood, and Administrative Office of Courts Director Katharine Surkin of Madison were among recent inductees as Fellows of the Mississippi Bar Foundation.

Twenty lawyers representing the highest level of professionalism and competence are inducted as Fellows of the Bar Foundation each year. Others inducted as Fellows at the Bar Foundation dinner on July 9 are U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert P. Myers Jr. of Gulfport, Michael J. Bentley of Jackson, Jay P. Carmean of Oxford, Assistant District Attorney Mary Ann Connell of Oxford, J. Matthew Eichelberger of Jackson, Lauren R. Hillery of Gulfport, former Mississippi Bar General Counsel Adam B. Kilgore of Jackson, Charles M. Merkel III of Clarksdale, Assistant Attorney General Harold E. Pizzetta III of Jackson, Mississippi College School of Law Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Assistant Professor Mary L. Purvis of Jackson, Everett T. Sanders of Natchez, Scott J. Schwartz of Hattiesburg, Aafram Y. Sellers of Jackson, Assistant District Attorney Matthew D. Shoemaker of Hattiesburg, Bonnie B. Smith of Ridgeland, Charles J. Swayze III of Greenwood, and Commissioner of Public Safety Sean J. Tindell of Gulfport.

 The Fellow designation is the Foundation’s highest honor. Selection is recognition by peers that the attorney has achieved the highest level of professionalism, competence, and leadership. Fellows are selected for membership based not only on their excellence as a lawyer but also by their dedication and service to the public and the legal profession.

Judge Gibbs began her service on the Hinds Circuit Court bench in January 2023. She previously served for six years in the Mississippi House of Representatives from District 72. She taught accounting at Jackson State University and was the founding director of JSU’s School of Business Center for Professional Development. She left JSU to become Director of Accounting and Finance at the Mississippi Department of Human Services, serving there through 1996. Gov. Haley Barbour appointed her as a Commissioner of the Mississippi Workers Compensation Commission in 2010. She served there until 2014, then returned to the private practice of law.

She grew up in Gulfport and attended Gulfport Public Schools. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Southern Mississippi, a Masters of Business Administration from Mississippi College, and a Juris Doctor from Mississippi College School of Law. 

Judge Perkins began his service on the Seventh Chancery Court in January 2019. He previously served for 25 years in the Mississippi House of Representatives from District 32. He was board attorney for the Leflore County School District, city attorney for Itta Bena, and attorney for the Greenwood Housing Authority and Central Mississippi Inc., CMI. He is a member of the Magnolia Bar, the Mississippi Bar and the NAACP. He is a graduate of Tougaloo College and the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Surkin has served as Director of the Administrative Office of Courts since Nov. 1, 2023. She has worked for the Supreme Court for 15 years. Before becoming AOC Director, she served as senior judicial law clerk and later Chief of Staff for Chief Justice Mike Randolph. Surkin began her legal career as a judicial law clerk for former Justice George C. Carlson Jr. in December 2001, serving in that position for three and one-half years. She practiced law for nine years with the law firm of Page, Mannino, Peresich and McDermot. She returned to the Supreme Court staff in August 2014. Surkin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Millsaps College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law.