Watkins & Eager is pleased to announce that former Chancery Court Judge Joseph Kilgore has joined the firm as Counsel in the firm’s Jackson office. Joey will initially practice in the firm's estate administration, public finance, governmental relations and alternative dispute resolution practice areas.
Joey was appointed to the bench by Governor Haley Barbour in 2010 and has been elected to the bench without opposition since that time. He served as Chancellor of the Sixth Chancery Court District, which includes Attala, Carroll, Choctaw, Kemper, Neshoba and Winston counties, for 14 years. He also served as Chairman of the Mississippi Conference of Chancery Judges from 2016 to 2017. He was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court to the Commission on Guardianship and Conservatorship and served as Co-Chair of the Commission. He was also appointed to the Mississippi Task Force on Foster Care and Adoption. He served on the Attorney General’s Mental Health Task Force, the Guardian ad Litem Transparency and Oversight Panel and the Secretary of State’s Probate Code Study Group. In 2022, the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project honored Judge Kilgore with the Beacon of Justice Award for outstanding leadership in promoting and supporting equal access to justice for indigent litigants.
Before he was appointed to the bench, Joey served as a general partner with the Philadelphia law firm of Alford, Thomas & Kilgore. He also served as board attorney for the Philadelphia Public School District and Philadelphia Utilities.
He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Mississippi in 2000 and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2003.