About Me Judge W. Allen Pepper Jr.

W. Allen Pepper, Jr.

W. Allen Pepper, Jr. took the Oath of Office as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi on July 21, 1999, having received the nomination on March 8, 1999. Before his appointment to the bench, he maintained a solo law practice for thirty years in Cleveland, Mississippi. A native of Belzoni, Mississippi, he graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1963. Following two years active duty as an officer with the 101st Airborne Division of the U. S. Army, he returned to Mississippi and received his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1968.

Pepper maintained an AV rating in Martindale-Hubbell for 15 years and was listed in Martindale-Hubbell’s Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers in the field of Civil Trial Practice.

He was a nominee for the Office of President of the Mississippi State Bar Association in 1991, and served two terms as a Director of the Young Lawyers Section; been on the Lawyer Referral Committee, the Admission Study Committee, the Complaints Committee, the Nominations Committee, the Legislative Committee, the Disciplinary Review Committee, the Law Office Management Committee, the Fee Dispute Resolution Committee and the Complaints Tribunal. He has been President of the Mississippi Bar Foundation.

Pepper was elected President of the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association in 1985 following service as Continuing Legal Education Chairman, Secretary, Vice President, and member of the Board of Governors and Executive Committee.

He has been chairman of the Lamar Order and a Director of the University of Mississippi Law Alumni. He is a Fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation, where he has also been a Trustee and a member of the Grants Committee. He holds membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates and American Inns of Court, and is a former member of the American Bar Association, was a State Committeeman for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, a Fellow of Young Lawyers Association of the MS Bar, and has been a frequent speaker at legal education seminars.

Pepper was a Public Defender for twenty-six years, was a member of the Mississippi Public Defenders Association, Inc., and was a participant in the Mississippi ProBono Project. He has held membership in both the National and the Mississippi School Board Attorney’s Association and is a former Adjunct Professor at Delta State University.

Active in civic affairs, he is a Past Chairman and was a twelve year member of the Bolivar County Elections Commission. Formerly President of the Lions Club, the Crosstie Arts Council and the Bolivar County Ole Miss Alumni Association, he has been Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and the Industrial Development Foundation and a Director of the Delta State University Booster Club and Sunburst Bank of Cleveland, now Union Planters Bank.

He also served as Chairman of the Administrative Board, Finance Committee, and Pastor Parish Relations Committee of the First United Methodist Church, where he was a Sunday School teacher for twelve years, is a member of the choir and Board of Trustees, Habitat for Humanity Volunteer, and served as Scout Master of the Cub Scout Pack.

In 1996, he was recognized for his contributions to the community by being chosen King of the Junior Auxiliary Charity Ball.

He is Vice President of the Fifth Circuit District Judges Association, on the Board of Directors of the Federal Judges Association, a former member of the Fifth Circuit Judicial Council, and a member of the American Inns of Court.

He has been married to the former Virginia Brown of Jackson since 1967, and they have one son, William Allen Pepper, III.