Twiggs Lecture on Legal Professionalism

Endowed by the Pound Civil Justice Institute, this annual lecture honors the life and work of Howard F. Twiggs.

Howard F. Twiggs
1932-2010

Howard Twiggs was president of the Roscoe Pound Foundation in 1997-1999, and served Pound for more than twenty years as a beloved trustee, adviser, supporter, and defender. He also served the state, regional, national and international trial bars in a multitude of different capacities in a career that spanned more than fifty years, earning every honor accorded to those who champion the causes of injury victims and their families. His bar service culminated in his 1996-97 presidency of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA®, now the American Association for Justice).

Howard also had a public career as a state legislator, in which he was a tireless seeker of justice for all of the citizens of North Carolina, especially injury victims, those who suffered from disabilities, and those who were victims of injustice.

Howard spent untold hours teaching advocacy skills to younger lawyers in the United States and other countries, and he worked tirelessly throughout his career to support and enhance the cause of professionalism of all members of the bar. While not working on behalf of clients or bar organizations, Howard enjoyed sailing and fishing.

Upon his death in 2010, Howard was the senior partner in the Raleigh, North Carolina law firm of Twiggs, Beskind, Strickland and Rabenau. His passing was mourned by all segments of the legal profession in North Carolina, including defense lawyers, one of whom called him “a consummate peacemaker.”

2011 Lecture

The first lecture in the series was delivered by the Honorable James W. Kitchens, Associate Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court at the Annual Convention of the American Association for Justice, on July 11, 2011.

Honorable James W. Kitchens

Justice James W. Kitchens is a lifelong resident of Crystal Springs, Copiah County, Mississippi, and a graduate of Crystal Springs High School, the University of Southern Mississippi, and the University of Mississippi School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in the courts of Mississippi and the District of Columbia, and is a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court.

He was elected district attorney for the Mississippi counties of Copiah, Lincoln, Pike and Walthall in 1971, 1975 and 1979. He served for nine years before returning to the private practice of law. He did not seek public office again until 2008, when he was elected to an eight-year term on the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Justice Kitchens has been married to Mary Tooke Kitchens, now a retired public school teacher, since 1968. They have five adult children and eight grandchildren.

Justice Kitchens and Howard Twiggs were close friends for nearly 30 years.

To read the paper written by Justice Kitchens to accompany his Twiggs Lecture, click here.

To view the Mississippi Bar’s Lawyer’s Creed referenced by Justice Kitchens, click here.