Day 5 of the MS Bar Convention brings the specific section meetings, alumni lunches and the family Beach Bash.
Sections meetings, i.e. Family Law section of the MS Bar, are used to elect new officers, report to the members and gain an additional CLE hour or two. This meeting is well attended by family law attorneys and chancellors and is not a stuffy meeting. Other sections have their meeting as well.
Next comes the alumni lunches. The various law schools have there lunch of generic banquet food and talk about how great things are going…never better. We persevere through it.
Friday afternoon brings on the Build-a-Bear Workshop. This is a GREAT benefit of the Bar. Hundreds of children descend to claim their bears, dogs, cats, bunnies and whatever the popular character-of-the-moment is. The animals are complimentary, the accessories are not. Good luck escaping without a suitcase of accessories.
Friday brings on the President’s reception. The newest installed bar president shakes hands and takes pictures with the member. There is music and h’ors doevures, somewhat of a repeat from Wednesday night, but still good and still fun. There’s usually a chocolate fountain that ends in a huge mess of cake pieces, strawberries and a few chocolate covered build-a-bears, accidently!
Friday night culminates in the Beach Bash. Glow necklaces are your admittance ticket for crab hunting, limbo and the coveted hula hoop contest. Prizes for the most, biggest and smallest crab insure everyone has a chance. Limbo includes children and adult categories. And the hula hoop contest rounds out the night. Usually 2-3 heats and 3-4 rounds. This isn’t just standing and hula hooping. It’s on one leg, now hop, squat down, turn around hula hooping.
The night culminates in a booming, echoing show of fireworks that would make any 4th of July jealous. They are shot off of the beach and because of the height of the buildings the sounds resonate. There is no early bed time on Friday night.
Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney in Mississippi and looks forward to Fridays at the Bar Convention. His daughter just might be the three-time reigning hula hoop champion as well.
Day 4 of the MS Bar convention starts with a bevy of competing breakfasts, but culminates in the most serious of games in the Sunshine State, BINGO.
• Christian Legal Society Prayer Breakfast, Fellows of the Young Lawyers, MS Chapter American Board of Trial Advocates Meeting, MS State Alumni all have Breakfasts, to name a few.
There are various judicial conferences throughout the day, but everything is wrapped up by 2:30 for the annual Hunger Games…aka BINGO!
BINGO Thursday is the most competitive event at the Convention, including the golf and tennis tourneys and the crab hunt. Hands down BINGO is the most serious.
Get there early as the large ballroom fills quickly. Dozens of 12-top tables span the room, with a plethora of prizes on the dais up front. Show up 5 minutes late and you will be sitting on the floor or standing against the wall.
Action is quick. The games cover the gamut of bingo card challenges and the prizes – – the prizes include; pottery, yard art, home decor, inflatable rafts, animals and desserts, bird houses, candle sticks, tea towels, kitchenware, small electronic gizmos and large beach towels.
When a player shouts “BINGO!,” audible groans come from the judge’s table. “Double check that card!,” can be heard throughout the building. It was a BINGO!
Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney in Mississippi and has won every year he has attended bingo…May the odds be ever in your favor.
The Mississippi Bar Convention is the annual meeting where lawyers attend mandatory Continuing Legal Education (CLE).
2019 Agenda (partial)
Lawyers are required to attend 12 hours of CLE each year including an hour of ethics. Typically lawyers attend a session that coincides with their practice area.
The attorneys at TLF routinely are presenters at CLEs throughout the year for the MS Bar Center, MC Law, Ole Miss law, MVLP and the MS Center for Legal Services, among others.
Matthew Thompson is a frequent speaker at CLEs throughout the state and speaks on Family Law, Ethics and Gun Law.
Who would want to go on vacation with a bunch of lawyers?!
The Mississippi Bar Convention is the annual meeting where the Bar, the entity that oversees all lawyers admitted to practice law in Mississippi, conducts its installation of incoming officers, celebrates those lawyer & judges that have done praiseworthy acts, and hosts general family fun.
Lawyers can complete their annual requirements for Continuing Legal Education, meet other lawyers from different parts of the state and/or different practice areas and see your judges with their “hair down.”
There are parties, receptions, lunches, dinners, events and games. And all of this is happens on the sunny, sandy beaches of san Destin, FL.
So, who has two thumbs and wants to vacation with a bunch of lawyers? This guy.
Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney in Mississippi and has attended the convention for 13 years.
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