September 17, 2026
University of Mississippi School of Law & FormanWatkins Launch Appellate Litigation Clinic
A new clinic at The University of Mississippi School of Law is putting law students to work on real appeals this semester, with the opportunity to represent clients who could not otherwise afford representation. The Appellate Litigation Clinic, sponsored by Forman Watkins & Krutz LLP, pairs its inaugural class of student-attorneys with firm counsel to research, write, and argue cases in their final year of law school.
“Investing in and developing the next generation of attorneys has always been part of who we are at FormanWatkins, and this Clinic is one of the most meaningful examples of that commitment,” said Damonta Morgan, Clinic Director and attorney at FormanWatkins. “Through this Clinic, students will take on real responsibility for real clients because we believe that is the way we build outstanding lawyers. We are proud to partner with the University of Mississippi School of Law for the new Appellate Litigation Clinic.”
The Clinic’s six student-attorneys were sworn in for limited practice on August 26 by the Honorable Magistrate Judge David Sanders of the Northern District of Mississippi and the Honorable Lawrence L. Little of the Eighteenth Chancery District of Mississippi, granting them the authority to represent real clients in civil and criminal appeals. Since then, students have been working under close faculty and attorney supervision to review case records to identify appealable issues, research and draft legal memoranda, and draft briefs in three active cases ahead of oral arguments before the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
Beyond their casework, student-attorneys will travel to FormanWatkins’ offices in Jackson and New Orleans this semester. Later this month, they will tour the Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, speak with Justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court, and meet appellate lawyers from the Solicitor General’s office and the top appellate lawyer for the Office of the State Public Defender.
In November, students will travel to New Orleans to tour the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, meet with a Judge on that court, sit it on a live oral argument, and network with fellow student-attorneys at a New Orleans-based criminal appeals clinic.
The Clinic immerses student-attorneys in every stage of a real appeal, from reviewing the record and spotting appealable issues to researching, drafting, and ultimately arguing before the court, all under the direct supervision of Clinic Director Damonta Morgan and Supervising Counsel Will Brand from FormanWatkins. The program pairs rigorous, hands-on advocacy training for high-performing law students with pro bono appellate representation for underserved clients across Mississippi, giving these future lawyers real courtroom experience while expanding access to justice across the state.
“The University of Mississippi School of Law could not be more pleased with the opening of the new Appellate Litigation Clinic. Not only will the Clinic serve Mississippians in need of quality legal representation, and not only will our law students be able to learn valuable legal skills doing important work for real clients, but all of this will be done with the critical support and leadership of one of this state's leading law firms,” said Tucker Carrington, Professor & Dean of Clinical Programs, The University of Mississippi School of Law. “A lot of people talk about pro bono work. Some even do it. And then there are those, like FormanWatkins, whose commitment makes a resonant statement about making sure that the rule of law is available for everyone, no matter their station.”
