James L. Robertson is Of Counsel to Wise Carter where he has served since 1993. He graduated from Harvard Law School, and served almost ten years as Justice, Supreme Court of Mississippi. His practice interests have ranged from First Amendment to public education to homicide. Over 15 years, he has taught at three law schools, lectured at many others.

A prolific author, Robertson has recently published a 500 page historical work on Mississippi law and humanity. He is currently expanding his work on state constitutional law. An active life member of the American Law Institute, Robertson has run Fathers’ Day in Central Park, the Delta Catfish Festival and Bay-To-Breakers in San Francisco. He enjoys classical music.

• Harvard University, 1965, J.D.
• University of Mississippi School of Law, 1962, B.A.

• Adjunct Professor of Law, Mississippi College School of Law, Spring 2010
• Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Millsaps College, Fall 1994
• Visiting Professor of Law, Fordham University, New York, New York, 1992
• Justice - Supreme Court of Mississippi, 1983-1992
• Faculty, University of Mississippi School of Law, 1977-1992

• All Mississippi Federal and State Trial and Appellate Courts
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

• American Law Institute
• American Bar Association
• Maritime Law Association of the United States
• The Mississippi Bar
• Capital Area Bar Association

• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® 2017-2021:
  - Admiralty & Maritime Law
  - Appellate Practice
  - Civil Rights Law
  - Commercial Litigation
  - Environmental Law
  - Insurance Law
  - Litigation: Antitrust
  - Litigation: Environmental
  - Litigation: First Amendment
  - Litigation: Intellectual Property
• Named The Best Lawyers in America® 2017 - Jackson, MS Litigation: Antitrust "Lawyer of the Year"
• Ranked in Chambers USA 2016 - Litigation

• Innocence Project, New Orleans, Board of Directors (2003-2013)
• Mississippi Opera, President (1996-1997), Board of Directors (1994-2007)
• Red Sox Nation

• The Strange and Unfortunate Story of Judicial Review of Interlocutory Agency Action in Mississippi, 77 Miss. L.J. 1095, (2008)
• Constitutional Law, in 3 Encyclopedia of Mississippi Law 1-241 (J. Jackson and M. Miller, eds., 2001)
• The Law of Corporate Governance: Coming of Age in Mississippi?, 65 Miss. L.J. 477 (1996)
• Subject Matter Jurisdiction in 1 Mississippi Civil Procedure 1-1, et seq. (J. Jackson, ed., 2008) (updated annually since 1996)
• The Law of Business Torts in Mississippi, Part II, 15 Miss. C.L. (1995)
• Myth and Reality – or is it “Perception and Tase”? – In the Reading of Donative Documents, Fordham Law Review (1993)
• Discovering Rule II of The Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, 8 Miss. C.L. (1988)
• Fairness and Access to Counsel: Mississippi’s Opportunity, Vermont Law Review (1988)
• The Lawyer as Hero, 53 Miss. L.J. (1983)

• Homicide cases, including:
  - Parvin v. State, 113 So.3d 1243 (Miss. 2013)
  - Bell v. Watkins, 692 F.2d 999 (5th Cir. 1982)
  - Fisher v. State, 481 So.2d (Miss. 1985) (reversed/remanded/change of venue/not guilty verdict at new trial)
  - Clemons v. Slate, 535 So.2d 1354, 1367 (Miss. 1988) (dissenting opinions), vacated by SCOTUS in Clemons v. Mississippi, 494 U.S. 738, 741 (1990)
  - Minnick v. State, 551 So.d 77 101-104 (Miss. 1998) (dissenting opinion), adopted by SCOTUS in Minnick v. Mississippi, 498 U.S. 489 (1990)
• Mississippi Speaker Ban Litigation cases, including:
  - Molpus v. Fortune, 432 F.2d 916 (5th Cir. 1970)
• Professionals' Commercial Speech Litigation cases, including:
  - Schwartz v. Welch, 890 F.Supp. 565 (S.D. Miss. 1995)
• Freedom of the Press, including:
  - Ferguson v. Watkins, 448 So.2d 271 (Miss. 1994)
  - Fulton v. Mississippi Publishers Corp., 498 So.2d 1215 (Miss 1986)
• Right of Privacy, religious freedom, including:
  - In Re Mattie Brown, 478 So.2d 1033 (Miss. 1985)
• Right to Free Public Education, including:
  - Clinton Mun. Separate School Dist. v. Byrd, 477 So.2d 237 (Miss. 1985)
• School Lands Trust cases, including:
  - Papasan v. U.S.(N.D. Miss.), reversed as Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265 (1986)
• State Correctional Officers defense, including:
  - Bogard v. Cook, 586 F.2d 399 (5th Cir. 19878)
• Littoral and Riparian Owners Litigation, including:
  - Cinque Bambini Partnership v. State, 491 So.2d 508 (Miss. 1986), aff'd sub nom.
  - Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Mississippi, 484 U.S. 469 (Miss. 1998)
  - Dycus v. Sillers, 557 So.2d 486 (Miss. 1990)
  - Wineman v. Shannon Bros. Lumber Co., 368 F.Supp. 652 (N.D. 1973)
• Inland Waterways Litigation, including:
  - Atkins v. Greenville Shipbuilding Corp., 411 F.2d 279 (5th Circ. 1969)
• Corporate Governance cases, including:
  - Omnibank of Mantee v. United Southern Bank, 607 So.2d 76 (Miss. 1992)
• Commercial credit cases, including:
  - Shutze v. Credithrift of America, Inc., 607 So.2d 55 (Miss. 1992)
• Employment Contracts, including:
  - Shaw v. Burchfield, 481 So.2d 247 (Miss. 1985)
• Employment Discrimination cases, including:
  - Payne v. Travenol Laboratories, Inc., 565 F.2d 865 (5th Cir. 1978)
• Rule Against Perpetuities cases, including:
  - Matter of Estate of Anderson, 541 So.2d 423 (Miss. 1989)
• Charitable Trust cases, including:
  - Tinnin v. First Bank of Mississippi, 502 So.2d 659 (Miss. 1985)
• Tort Liability cases, including:
  - Stong v. Freeman Truck Line, Inc., 456 So.2d 698 (Miss. 1984)
  Berkline v. Bank of Mississippi, 453 So.2d 699, 701 (Miss. 1984)(cited as leading case in Restatement (Third) of Torts: Economic Loss.
• Medical and Healthcare Liability cases, including:
  - Hall v. Hilbun, 466 So.2d 856 (Miss. 1985)
  Hardy v. Brantley, 471 So.2d 358 (Miss. 1985)
• State Constitutional Law, including:
  - Dye v. State ex rel Hale, 507 So.2d 332 (1987)(authority of lieutenant governor; separation of powers)
  - State ex rel. Moore v. Molpus, 578 So.2d 624 (Miss. 1991)(constitutional stare decisis)
• Mississippi Property Tax Equalization Litigation, including:
  - State Tax Commission v. Fondren, 387 So.2d 712 (Miss.1980)
  Mississippi State Tax Comm'n v. Moselle Fuel Co., 568 So.2d 720 (Miss. 1990)
• State Administrative Law, including:
  - McGowan v. Mississippi State Oil & Gas Board, 604 So.2d 312 (Miss. 1992)
  - Concerned Citizens to Protect the Isles and Point, Inc. v. Miss. Gaming Comm'n, 735 So.2d 368 (Miss. 1999)
  - Concerned Citizens to Protect the Isles and Point, Inc. v. Miss. Gaming Comm'n, 735 So.2d 368 (Miss. 1999)
  Mississippi State Tax Comm'n v. Moselle Fuel Co., 568 So.2d (Miss. 1990)
• International Commercial Arbitration
  - Northrup Grumman Ship Systems v. Republic of Venezuela, 575 F.3d 491 (5th Circ. 2009)