OXFORD, Miss. – A Gulfport attorney who has excelled in the
areas of personal injury, products and medical malpractice
litigation has been named the 2007 University of
Mississippi School of Law Alumnus of the Year.
The annual honor was awarded to Harry R. Allen, a senior
member of Allen, Vaughn, Cobb, Hood & Atkinson, P.A., at a
luncheon earlier this summer. Allen, who completed his law
degree at UM in 1955, is listed in The Best Lawyers in
America in his fields. He has worked out of a temporary
office since Hurricane Katrina heavily damaged his firm’s
building.
“Harry is very deserving of this award,” said law Dean
Samuel M. Davis. “He served as chairman of the Lamar Order
(the highest level of giving among UM law alumni) this past
year, and more than that, he has made a personal commitment
to our Law School Campaign and has been of enormous help in
the campaign generally.”
The award seeks to recognize someone who has been of
outstanding service to the law school, Davis said.
Robert T. Jackson Sr., president of the Law Alumni Chapter,
has known Allen since he began practicing law in Gulfport
41 years ago.
“Harry was there, so I’ve known him that long,” Jackson
said. “He has been, and continues to be, a very
distinguished attorney. He has given generously of his time
for civic matters, charitable endeavors and service to the
Mississippi Bar Association.”
Allen, who also received his undergraduate degree from the
university, said he was surprised by the recognition
because of the many other outstanding alumni of the law
school.
“I felt particularly honored because I hold the Ole Miss
law school in such high esteem,” he said. “During the past
10 years under the leadership of Dean Davis, the law school
has produced graduates who are exceptional lawyers. The law
clerks and new lawyers from Ole Miss who have been hired by
our firm are better equipped to practice law than any I
have seen in the past.”
Allen has authored numerous published works and is a member
of the Mississippi, Harrison County and American bar
associations, as well as the Mississippi Defense Lawyers
Association, Defense Research Institute, International
Association of Defense Counsel and Maritime Law
Association. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he is a
fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation and was appointed
as a special assistant attorney general. He also served as
chairman of the Mississippi Supreme Court Commission on
Impaired Lawyers.
For more information on the UM School of Law, visit http://www.law.olemiss.edu