RIDGELAND, Miss., Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Butler Snow attorney Tray Hairston has been selected to participate in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellows program. Hairston is the fourth Butler Snow attorney to be selected for the program.
LCLD is an organization of more than 320 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who have dedicated themselves to creating a truly diverse U.S. legal profession. The organization carries out its mission by implementing action programs designed to attract, inspire and nurture diverse talent within their member organizations, thereby helping a new and more diverse generation of attorneys ascend to leadership positions.
Launched in 2011, LCLD’s fellows program selects high-potential, mid-career attorneys from diverse backgrounds and sets them on the path to leadership of their organizations. Participants will embark on a year-long professional development regimen that includes in-person conferences, training in the fine points of legal practice, peer-group projects to foster collaboration and building relationships and extensive contact with LCLD’s top leadership.
“Tray’s dedication and commitment to making an impact on our profession and the clients we serve is reinforced by this prestigious recognition,” said Christopher R. Maddux, chair of Butler Snow. “We applaud him as he joins a select group of accomplished attorneys from diverse backgrounds who have been recognized for their efforts to promote inclusivity in their organizations.”
Hairston is a member of Butler Snow’s public finance, tax incentives and credit markets group. He concentrates his practice on public finance and economic development matters, including all types of municipal bond issues, serving as bond counsel for both taxable and tax-exempt financings. He has served as bond counsel for various cities and counties and has worked on transactions totaling more than $100 million.
Prior to his legal career, Hairston served as counsel and economic development policy advisor to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant. He was also a member of the Global Business Division at the Mississippi Development Authority where he provided project management assistance to companies and consultants looking to locate new businesses in Mississippi. He also previously served as an adjunct law professor at the Mississippi College School of Law. Hairston regularly publishes scholarly legal articles, with his most recently published paper titled “The Future of Economic Development, 35 Miss. C.L. Rev. 370 (2017)”. Hairston has also served as a lecturer at the Trent Lott National Center for Excellence in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship at The University of Southern Mississippi in the school’s Masters of Economic Development Program.
The Bond Buyer has also recognized Hairston as a Rising Star. The publication’s Rising Stars program honors 28 municipal finance professionals under the age of 40 throughout the country whose leadership, collaborative spirit and innovative work with issuers has positively impacted their communities. Rising Stars are nominated by their peers, and submissions are judged by a panel of municipal finance leaders throughout the country and The Bond Buyer’s editorial leadership team.
Additional accolades include being recognized by Mid-South Super Lawyers for Government Finance (2016-2019), Mississippi College School of Law as Young Lawyer of the Year (2013) and Mississippi Business Journal as one of its Top 40 under 40 (2012-2013). Hairston is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers, International Economic Development Council, Southern Economic Development Council, Mississippi Economic Development Council and Mississippi Bar Association. He received his undergraduate degree from Tougaloo College, his MBA from Belhaven College and his Juris Doctor from the Mississippi College School of Law.
Butler Snow attorneys Gadson William (Will) Perry, Ashley N. Wicks and Kathleen Ingram Carrington are also fellows of LCLD.
About Butler Snow
Butler Snow LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 385 attorneys collaborating across a network of 27 offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Ranked as a leading firm for client relations and one of America’s Top 100 law firms in the BTI Power Rankings, Butler Snow is recognized as one of the nation’s top law firms for client service. The firm was recently ranked 48th out of 650 firms in the BTI Client Relationship Scorecard for understanding client business, anticipating client needs, unprompted communication, legal skills, quality and keeping clients informed. For more information, visit www.butlersnow.com or follow the firm on Twitter @Butler_Snow.
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