J. Kirkham Povall

Kirkham Povall was born in Lexington, Mississippi, in February 1949. He graduated from Lexington High School in 1967 and attended the University of Mississippi where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science in 1971. While at Ole Miss served as President Omicron Delta Kappa; Treasurer of his Senior Class; Vice President of his Fraternity, Phi Delta Theta; Captain of Scabbard and Blade; a Member Moot Court Board, and a Member Phi Delta Phi. He was also recognized as a Member of Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities.

After graduation, Kirkham attended law school at the University of Mississippi and received his Juris Doctor degree in August of 1973. He moved to Cleveland with his wife, Hilda, accepted employment at the law firm that was to become Jacobs, Eddins & Povall. Following 6 months of National Guard duty in 1991 during Desert Storm, the first Iraq war, Kirkham opened his own firm, now Povall & Jeffreys, P.A. He is licensed to practice in Mississippi as well as in the U. S. District Courts, Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi; U. S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, New Orleans; U. S. Court of Military Appeals, and the U. S. Supreme Court. Kirkham is a Member of the Mississippi Bar Association, a Fellow in the Mississippi Bar Foundation and the Bolivar County Bar Association (served as President 1978-1980). He served as a Member of the Board of Mississippi Bar Commission (1995-1998), a Member, Board of Trustees, Mississippi Health Care Trust Fund (June 1999 to Jan. 2000, appointed by Governor Fordice), and as Chairmen Mississippi Tort Claims Board ( June 29,2009 to July 1, 2012, appointed by Governor Barbour & Confirmed by Mississippi State Senate). He is also a member of the Lamar Order at the University of Mississippi School of Law. He serves as Special Master of the Seventh Chancery Court District, a position he has held since 1980. Kirkham holds an "AV" rating assigned by Martindale-Hubbell