The University of Mississippi School of Law inducted Batesville attorney D. Briggs Smith Jr. at its annual Alumni Hall of Fame induction ceremony on March 29 as part of Law Alumni Weekend. 

The event took place in the Gertrude C. Ford Ballroom in The Inn at Ole Miss in Oxford.  

This year’s honorees were Smith (BSPh 62, JD 66),  Steven E. Farese Sr. (BA 71, JD 77), of Ashland; Martha W. Gerald (LLB 44), of Jackson, who was inducted posthumously; Betty W. Sanders (JD 79), of Tupelo; and William C. Trotter III (BA 69, JD 72), of Belzoni.

“Each year, we have the privilege of honoring outstanding alumni whose careers and contributions exemplify the excellence and impact of our law school,” said Frederick G. Slabach, dean of the School of Law. “This year’s Hall of Fame inductees continue that tradition, demonstrating the leadership, integrity and dedication to justice that define our alumni community.”

Born in Meridian, Briggs Smith earned a pharmacy degree from Ole Miss in 1962. He served with the 186^th United States Air Force Combat Support Squadron as a medic/pharmacist and worked in the family pharmacy in Meridian and at the University of Mississippi Medical Center before attending law school and earning his J.D. in 1966. 

In 1967 he made Batesville his home where he began practicing law. In 1974 he became a founding partner of the Smith-Phillips Law Firm. He handled cases involving products liability and personal injury. 

Following the legalization of casinos in Mississippi, he became one of the first attorneys in the state to practice gaming law. 

Smith is past president of the University of Mississippi Law Alumni Chapter’s board of directors, past chair of the Lamar Order and a past Ole Miss Alumni Association board member. In 2003 the law school named him its Law Alumnus of the Year.