Benjamin E. Griffith
Top rated State, Local & Municipal attorney in Oxford, Mississippi
Griffith Law Firm
Practice Areas: State, Local & Municipal, Civil Litigation, Insurance Coverage
Licensed in Mississippi since: 1975
Education: The University of Mississippi School of Law
Languages Spoken: English, German
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2006 - 2023 Griffith Law Firm
2086 Old Taylor RdSuite 1023
Oxford, MS 38655 Phone: 662-238-7727 Email: Benjamin E. Griffith Visit website
Details
Ben Griffith is principal in Griffith Law Firm of Oxford, Mississippi. A trial lawyer since 1975, he enjoys a multistate federal and state civil litigation practice that focuses on representation of public and private sector clients, including state and local governments, agencies, boards and officials; general liability, professional liability, public sector liability, public official liability, and special risk insurers; private sector insureds and self-insured institutional clients. His practice includes the areas of election law, voting rights, civil rights, insurance defense, public sector insurance coverage, general and professional liability insurance coverage, premises security litigation, and environmental law. He served as a member of the ABA Board of Governors (2016-2019), and BOG Liaison to and Chair of the Standing Committee on Election Law. He has served as IMLA's International Steering Committee Chair (2009-2020, and is a member of American Law Institute, the Wm. C. Keady Chapter of America Inns of Court (President 2015-2019), the ABA Cybersecurity Legal Task Force (ROLI Liaison) and the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative Council. He received the IMLA Charles Rhyne Lifetime Achievement in Local Government Award in October 2017, the Jefferson B. Fordham Award for Advocacy in Municipal Law on August 21, 2020, and was listed in the Top 10 Mississippi Leading Attorneys by Mississippi Business Journal's 2017 Leadership in Law. He is a Lifetime Fellow in the American Bar Foundation, Mississippi Bar Foundation and ABA Judicial Division National Conference of the Administrative Law Judiciary. See firm website at www.glawms.com for background, publications & MH peer review rating.
First Admitted: 1975, Mississippi
Professional Webpage: http://www.glawms.com/about/
Honors/Awards:
- Top 10 of 2017 Leaders in Law, Mississippi Business Journal
- Charles S. Rhyne Lifetime Achievement Municipal Law Award, International Municipal Lawyers Assn, 2020
- Fellow of American Bar Foundation, Fellow of Mississippi Bar Foundation, Local Government Fellow of International Municipal Lawyers Association, Best Lawyers in America (Municipal Law) 2006-present; MidSouth Super Lawyers (Municipal) 2006-present; Phi Delta Phi International Legal Fraternity;Editorial Board, Mississippi Law Journal, Omicron Delta Kappa, Jefferson Fordham Advocacy Award, ABA Section of State & Local Government Law, 2020
White Papers:
Educational Background:
- Juris Doctor earned from University of Mississippi School of Law, 1975
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:
- 17-chapter compendium containing in-depth analysis of current legal issues and battlegrounds in volatile field of election law and voting rights, including voter suppression, voter ID, voter fraud, recounts, nuts and bolts of VRA litigation, recounts and remedies, and FEC administration by leading scholars, public officials and nationally recognized litigators in the field, 1st edition 2008, 2nd edition 2012, and 3rd edition 2016, Editor and author, America Votes! Challenges to Modern Election Law & Voting Rights, ABA Publishing & Section of State & Local Govt Law, ABA, 2008
- There is no more important right a citizen of a democracy has than the right to vote in elections that determine who will govern the locality, the state and the nation. It is thus fitting and illuminating that since 2008 the American Bar Association has published a series of volumes entitled American Votes, that explore issues of concern and problems that threaten the security and fairness of the American electoral system. It was just three years ago, in 2016, that the American Bar Association published the third edition of America Votes: Challenges to Modern Election Law and Voting Rights. That volume, also edited by attorney Benjamin E. Griffith, who among many other distinctions served as co-chair of the ABA Section of International Law’s Task Force on International Election Law, was divided into three sections and seventeen chapters. They delved into election administration and technology; challenges to voting rights; and concerns about redistricting. It is indicative of the current high level of concern about the security and fairness of the electoral system in the United States that this all-new fourth edition, America Votes: Challenges to Modern Voting Rights & Election Law, addresses both new and recurring issues about elections in America. This expanded edition contains four sections and twenty-one chapters. They address voter qualifications and participation; the voting process itself including the use of early voting; cyber threats to election security; the impact of claims of voter fraud and vote-stealing on confidence in the electoral system; voting rights litigation and the ongoing impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder [1] which gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and continuing concerns about partisan gerrymandering of election districts. Today, concerns about the security of our electoral system have been given greater weight in light of the revelations in the Mueller Report about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[2] In 2018, the American Bar Association’s Paris Sessions hosted a panel discussion entitled Cybersecurity Best Practices in Elections, that Ben Griffith organized which included two of the authors who are represented in this edition: Nancy Thompson and Jack Young. The panel concluded that more resources must be invested and a greater commitment made by local, state and national governments to insure the security of our elections. Nothing has been done since them to change that conclusion. In fact, the twenty-one articles in this edition of America Votes make for very sober reading. There is much that needs to be done across a whole host of issues to restore confidence in the fairness, equity and security of the voting process in communities across America. This volume describes in detail what these issues are. Whether we as a people and a nation have the confidence and the will to reach a consensus on how to address these issues, and then to address them, remains to be seen. In fact, how partisan gerrymandering should be addressed has become more complicated in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Rucho v. Common Cause,[3] that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions that are beyond the reach of the federal courts. This fourth edition of America Votes is a necessary and outstanding source of information and insight, presented by a brilliant group of experts in their fields. It will be of value not just to lawyers, but also to all who are concerned about the security and fairness of our electoral process and want to know what can be done to address these problems and improve our system. [1] 570 U.S. 529 (2013).[2] Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Electionby Robert S. Mueller III, Two volumes, 448 pp., 2019) available at www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf, Co-Editor, America Votes! Challenges to Modern Election Law & Voting Rights, American Bar Association, Legal Profession, The Federal And State Judiciary, Academia And "politics", 2019
- 17 chapter compendium of current topics and issues relating to election law and voting rights, Editor and Chapter Author, America Votes! Modern Election Law and Voting Rights (2d ed.), 2012
- Editor and Chapter Author, America Votes! Challenges to Modern Election Law and Voting Rights (3d ed.), 2016
Videos:
- Chair's Message of ABA Section of State & Local Govt Law Section of ABA 2007-2008, Chair's Message, 2008
Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):
- TAYLOR BELL V. ITAWAMBA COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, 859 F. SUPP. 2D 834 (N. D. MISS. MARCH 15, 2012); ORAL ARGUMENT BEFORE BARKSDALE, J., GRAVES, J. AND DENNIS, J., HELD DEC. 3, 2012; AFF’D IN PART, REV’D IN PART AND REMANDED BY DIVIDED PANEL, 774 F. 3D 280 (5TH CIR. DECEMBER 12, 2014), PETITION FOR REHEARING EN BANC GRANTED, 5 CIR., 2014, 774 F.3D 280); EN BANC ARGUMENT MAY 12, 2015; AFFIRMED, MAJORITY OPINION BY BARKSDALE, J., (5TH CIR. AUGUST 20, 2015) CERT. DENIED, NO. 15-666 (U.S. FEBRUARY 29, 2016)., 2016
- Right of Privacy under American and German Law: A Comparison of Perspectives, IMLA Berlin Confererence, November 4, 2019, 2019
- Off campus cyberspeech with on-campus disruptive effect: Taylor Bell v.Itawamba County Board of Education, 859 F. Supp. 2d 834 (N. D. Miss. March 15, 2012);oral argument before Barksdale, J., Graves, J. and Dennis, J., held Dec. 3, 2012; aff’d inpart, rev’d in part and remanded by divided panel, 774 F. 3d 280 (5th Cir. December 12,2014), petition for rehearing en banc granted, 5 Cir., 2014, 774 F.3d 280); en bancargument May 12, 2015; affirmed, Majority Opinion by Barksdale, J., 799 F.3d 379 (5thCir. August 20, 2015), petition for certiorari denied, No. 15-666 (Feb. 2016). County Redistricting: One Person, One Vote; Mootness: Attala County, Mississippi Branch ofthe NAACP et al v. Attala County, Mississippi Board of Supervisors et al , 1:11-cv-00060-MPM-JMV (N.D. Miss. July 16, 2014)(Mills, J.)Dismissal of One Person, One Vote Claims and Claims for Post-Election Relief on Groundsof Mootness; Inapplicability of “Capable of Repetition, Yet Evading Review” Exception toMootness Doctrine; Failure to Show Egregious Violation of Voting Rights Act.County Redistricting: One person, One Vote; Elections under existing district lines: NAACP etal. v. Simpson County Board of Supervisors, et al., Civil Action No. 3:11CV123 DPJ-FKB,NAACP et al. v. Warren County Board of Supervisors, et al., Civil Action No. 5:11CV28DCB-JMR, NAACP et al. v. Wayne County Board of Supervisors, et al., Civil Action No.4:11CV33 HTW-LRA (S.D. Miss. May 16, 2011), motion to alter denied (S.D. Miss. June 13,2011) (Guirola, C. J.); on remand, dismissed on grounds of mootness (S.D. Miss. August 19,2013), affirmed (5th Cir. 2014).
Other Outstanding Achievements:
- IMLA Charles Rhyne Lifetime Achievement Award in Municipal Law 2018, 2018
Bar/Professional Activity:
- Council of the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI), 2019
- inducted into American Law Institute, 2019
- ABA Board of Governors class of 2019, Chair of ABA Section of State & Local Government Law 2007-08, and International Committee Chair; ABA House of Delegates 2008-13; World Jurist Association National President for United States 2015-present; President of National Association of County Civil Attorneys 1992-93; Chair of Mississippi Bar Section of Government Law 1991-92; President of Mississippi Association of County Civil Attorneys 1990-91; DRI (Governmental Liability Committee 1983-present); William C. Keady Chapter of American Inns of Court (President 2015-present); Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association;IMLA International Steering Committee Chair.
- Adjunct Professor, University of Mississippi School of Law, Election Law
Pro bono/Community Service:
- First Presbyterian Church Session, Oxford, MS; American Inns of Court, W.C. Keady Chapter; Ole Miss Law Alumni Board, University of Mississippi , 2019
Special Licenses/Certifications:
- Board Certified in Civil Practice Advocacy by ABA-sanctioned National Board of Trial Advocacy 1994-present; Board Certified in Civil Pretrial Practice Law by National Board of Trial Advocacy 2012-present; licensed CE/CLE instructor in Illinois, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, New Hampshire, 2021
Industry Groups:
- ABA State & Local Government Law Section
- DRI Governmental Liability Committee
- IMLA International Committee
Office location for Benjamin E. Griffith
2086 Old Taylor Rd
Suite 1023
Oxford, MS 38655
Selections
18 Years Super Lawyers
- Super Lawyers: 2006 - 2023
