Montague, Pittman & Varnado, P.A.

Honor Announced during 25^th Anniversary Event in Atlanta, Georgia April 23-25, 2009

April, 2009 – Best Lawyers, the country’s original and most well-respected lawyer-rating directory, is pleased to announce that it honored the extraordinary accomplishments of Frank D. Montague, Jr. of Montague, Pittman & Varnado during its 25th Anniversary Event in Atlanta, Georgia, in April 2009.  The Event celebrated the distinguished careers of the 1,397 lawyers who have been listed in the publication since it began rating lawyers in 1983.

Frank D. Montague, Jr. has served as President of Mississippi Bar Association, the Mississippi Bar Foundation, the Lamar Order, Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association, the University of Mississippi Law Alumni Association and South Central Mississippi Bar Association, and as Chairman of Mississippi Institute for Continuing Legal Education. He represented four Southern States for two terms on the ABA Standing Committee on Professional Discipline, chaired the United States Supreme Court Disciplinary Rules Revision Committee, served as First Chairman of the Mississippi Tort Claims Board (for two terms by Gubernatorial appointment) and represented five Justices of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice, in a matter before the Mississippi Judicial Performance Commission. He has served as a specially appointed Supreme Court Justice. He was a member of the Executive Council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, a Director of the American Judicature Society and is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He has received the Mississippi Bar Foundation Professionalism Award and was the First Recipient of the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association Lifetime Achievement Award. He holds Juris Doctor and Civil Engineering degrees from the University of Mississippi and has attended, and taught political science and law classes at the University of Southern Mississippi.

The Event, held in Atlanta, Georgia, from April 23 to April 25, celebrated the distinguished careers of the 1,397 lawyers who have been listed in the publication since it began rating lawyers in 1983.  It opened with a gala at the Georgia Aquarium on Thursday April 23^rd, with remarks by Carolyn Lamm, President-Elect of the American Bar Association.  On Friday, April 24^th at the St. Regis hotel, attendees engaged in panel-led discussions about changes in the legal profession and legal education over the last 25 years.  David Boies, one of the country’s most prominent attorneys, spoke at a luncheon.

All proceeds generated by the event will go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

"We are so pleased to honor Frank D. Montague, Jr. as one of the lawyers who have been with us from the start," says Steven Naifeh, President and founder of Best Lawyers. Naifeh is a Harvard Law School graduate as well as a Pulitzer-Prize-winning author.

Best Lawyers, which published its first directory in 1983, is the oldest lawyer-rating publication in the U.S.  The company compiles its listings of outstanding attorneys through exhaustive peer-review surveys.  Every year, thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers and Best Lawyers tabulates more than 2.5 million votes.  Its annual publication, The Best Lawyers in America, which continues to be the only advertisement-free referral guide to the legal profession, now includes 36,126 attorneys in 78 specialties, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Best Lawyers now also evaluates lawyers worldwide and publishes its global lists online at www.bestlawyers.com.

“The Atlanta event provides an extraordinary opportunity to recognize the careers of the 1,397 lawyers who have been listed in Best Lawyers from its beginning,” says Naifeh.  “They have not only contributed in an exceptional way to the legal profession but most of them have also played important civic roles in their communities. Between them, they represent more than 25 millennia of legal experience. Because their insights into the changes in the legal profession are invaluable, we have focused the panel discussions on the changes in the legal profession during their professional lives. That’s also why we have asked each of them to bring a younger partner and a client to this event, so that they can share their collective wisdom with the next generation of preeminent lawyers.”

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For information about Best Lawyers, contact Cheryl Riley (703-683-1798 / email cherylrileypr@comcast.net).