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Biographical Information

PRACTICE AREAS

  • Divorce
  • Separate Maintenance
  • Child Custody
  • Property Division
  • Child Support
  • Alimony
  • International Child Abduction
  • Pre-Marital Agreements
  • Adoption
  • Mediation
  • Complex Property Division
  • Marital Contracts

William was born in Jackson, Mississippi, educated in the Jackson Public Schools and graduated from Murrah High School. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1968 and a Master of Business Administration in 1970 from the University of Southern Mississippi. William was a lieutenant in the United States Army with the 1st Infantry Division from 1970 to 1972. He earned his law degree from the University of Mississippi in 1974, and served as business manager of the Mississippi Law Journal.

William practices with Wright Law Firm, P.A. in Ridgeland, a firm of five lawyers with a statewide practice limited to the family law area, which includes divorce, child custody, property division, marital contracts and international child abduction cases. He also mediates family law cases. Wright Law Firm has been selected as one of the Best Firms for family law in America by U.S. News & World Report.

William has been listed in Best Lawyers in America in family law since 2001 and was named Lawyer of the Year in Family Law for 2013. He also has been listed in the Mid-South edition of SuperLawyers in family law since its inception. In 2008, 2011 and in 2013, William was named one of the top 50 lawyers in Mississippi in all categories by SuperLawyers. In 2010, The Mississippi Business Journal included him as one of 50 Mississippi lawyers in that publication’s initial Leadership in Law Class. William is rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

William has served on the Taxation Committee of the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association. He has been active with the Mississippi Bar and has served on numerous committees. William served two terms as Chairman of the Family Law Section of the Mississippi Bar and served on the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Bar Foundation. William served as a Mississippi Bar Commissioner from 2006 to 2009 served from 2010 to 2013 on the Committee on Professional Responsibility. He is Past President of the Capital Area Bar Association and served on its Legal Economics Committee and People’s Law School Committee for several years.

William is one of only three Mississippi fellows in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the state’s only fellow in the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. William is one of only 100 family lawyers in America elected as diplomats in the American College of Family Trial Lawyers. He served several years on the editorial board of The Matrimonial Strategist where many of William’s articles have been published nationally. William is a frequent speaker on family law topics, and in 2004 was asked by the University of Texas School of Law to be Moderator for the Symposium titled, The Civil Aspects of Internatioinal Child Abduction: Triumph or Disaster?

William is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Metropolitan Jackson, past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Downtown YMCA, and is a member of the Leadership Jackson Alumni Association. He is a member of the USM Alumni Association, the USM M-Club Alumni Association, and the University of Mississippi Alumni Association. William is a member of the Lamar Order, and has served on the Board of Directors of the USM Foundation. He has served two terms on the Board of Directors of The Shepherd’s Staff Counseling Center and formerly served as President and board member of the Neighborhood Christian Center and board member of Covenant Presbyterian Preschool. William has been a member of the Mississippi Museum of Art, Craftsman’s Guild of Mississippi, Madison County Foundation, Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership and Ridgeland Chamber of Commerce.

William and his wife, DeAnn, have two daughters; Julia, a graduate of Samford University, and currently working on her MA at Reformed Theological seminary; and Anna junior pharmacy major at Ole Miss. All are members of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson.

 

Admission Dates & Jurisdictions

  • Supreme Court of the United States of America, 2003
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit, 1974
  • U.S. District Court for Southern & Northern Districts of Mississippi, 1974
  • Mississippi Courts, 1974

Education

  • J.D., University of Mississippi School of Law, Oxford, Mississippi , 1974 
    • Law Journal: Business Manager, Mississippi Law Journal, 1973 – 1974
  • M.B.A., University of Southern Mississippi, 1970
  • B.S., Business Administration, University of Southern Mississippi, 1968

Professional Experience

Wright Law Firm, P.A.                                1996-present

Martin, Young & Wright                             1987-1996

Wright & Young                                            1984-1987

Wright, Overstreet & Young                       1981-1984

William R. Wright, Attorney                      1979-1981

Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes      1974-1979

Honors & Awards

  • Best Lawyers in America:  Listed in Family Law in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2020, 2011
  • Mid-South SuperLawyers:  Named to Top 50 Lawyers in Mississipi in 2008 and 2009
  • Mid South SuperLawyers:  Named SuperLawyer in Family Law in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011
  • Mississippi Business Journal:  Named in Top 50 Lawyers in Mississippi in 2010

Professional Associations

  • American College of Family Trial Lawyers 
    • Member Since: 2009
  • International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers 
    • Member Since: 2004
  • American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers 
    • Member Since: 1994
  • American Bar Association, Family Law Section 
    • 1992 – 1993 Executive Member,Taxation Committee
  • The Mississippi Bar, Family Law Section 
    • 1994 – 1995 Chair
  • Capital Area Bar Association, Family Law Section 
    • Chair

Fraternities

  • Phi Delta Phi
  • Omicron Delta Kappa
  • Kappa Alpha Order