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When the opportunity arose to take on a new challenge and work with a tremendously talented group of lawyers at Adams and Reese, I could not pass it up.

Primary Practice:

Deborah Challener, former academic affairs associate dean and longtime professor at Mississippi College School of Law, is a member of the Adams and Reese Litigation Practice. 

For 20 years, Deborah served as a leading administrative and faculty member for MC Law, most recently holding the title of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Owen Cooper Professor of Law. Prior to MC Law, Deborah taught at the University of Maine and Washburn University, worked for the law firm of Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco, and clerked for two federal judges. 

In 2022, Deborah was a recipient of the “Outstanding Woman Lawyer Award” from the Mississippi Women Lawyers Association. 

At MC Law, Deborah’s scholarship focused on civil procedure, with an emphasis on the removal of cases from state to federal court and the myriad of issues that arise therefrom. She taught Civil Procedure I and II, Conflict of Laws, Federal Courts, Complex Litigation, and Removal Jurisdiction, an Intersession Course. She won numerous teaching awards, including Professor of the Year.  

Deborah has published several articles on civil procedure issues and has authored four chapters in Mississippi Civil Procedure. She formerly served as a member of the Mississippi Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Rules and as a CALI Civil Procedure Fellow.  

After receiving her J.D. in 1998, Deborah clerked for The Hon. Deanell Reece Tacha at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and The Hon. Thomas A. Wiseman, Jr., at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.  

Deborah received her B.A. degree from Oberlin College, her Master’s degree in Public Policy from Vanderbilt University, and her J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law.  

Education

  • University of Tennessee College of Law, J.D., 1998
  • Vanderbilt University, Master of Public Policy, 1995
  • Oberlin College, B.A., 1990

Bar Admissions

  • Mississippi
  • California

Court Admissions

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of California

Community Involvement

  • Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) 
    • CASA Mississippi – Board of Directors (2016-2019, 2003-2007), Diversity Committee (2005-2007) 
  • Stewpot, Volunteer 
  • Animal Rescue, Volunteer 
  • American Cancer Society Relay for Life, Former Participant 
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Acknowledgements

  • Outstanding Woman Lawyer Award, Mississippi Women Lawyers Association, 2022 
  • Professor of the Year, American Association of Law Schools 
    • First Year Professor of the Year, 2022-23 (Section Award) 
    • Professor of the Year, 2020-21 
    • First Year Professor of the Year, 2020-21 (Section Award)
    • Professor of the Year, 2019-20 
    • First Year Professor of the Year, 2019-20 (Section Award)  

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

  • The Mississippi Bar
  • The State Bar of California 
  • American Bar Association 
  • The Historical Society of the Tenth Judicial Circuit 

Related Knowledge

  • "Practice Pointer: Unrefrigerated Dead Fish and Other Tips for Getting the Most You Can Out of the Standard of Review," earlier version published by the American Bar Association, Appellate Practice Pointers, November 2024 
  • "Procedural Lessons for Litigators from Fifth Circuit Decision in Palmquist," published in Texas Lawyer, an ALM/Law.com publication, June 2024
  • "Choice of Law," Mississippi Civil Procedure, Jeffrey Jackson, Donald Campbell, and Justin Matheny, eds. (Thomson Reuters) (updated annually) 
  • "Finality of Judgments," Mississippi Civil Procedure, Jeffrey Jackson, Donald Campbell, and Justin Matheny, eds. (Thomson Reuters) (updated annually) 
  • "Personal Jurisdiction," Mississippi Civil Procedure, Jeffrey Jackson, Donald Campbell, and Justin Matheny, eds. (Thomson Reuters) (updated annually) 
  • "Venue," Mississippi Civil Procedure, Jeffrey Jackson, Donald Campbell, and Justin Matheny, eds. (Thomson Reuters) (updated annually) 
  • "Teaching and Learning Personal Jurisdiction After the Stealth Revolution," 70 Fla. L. Rev. F. 96 (2018) 
  • "Mixed Cases of Law and Equity in Mississippi Courts," 35 Miss. C. L. Rev. 386, with Michael H. Hoffheimer (2017) 

Seminars & Presentations

  • Administrative Boot Camp for New and Aspiring Deans and Associate Deans, American Association of Law Schools Annual Meeting, New York City, NY (2022, 2023) 
  • Res Judicata in Mississippi, State Appellate Judges Conference, Oxford, MS (2018)
  • Notice of Service and Process, Computer Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) Lesson (2019) 
  • Diversity Jurisdiction, Computer Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) Lesson (2018) 
  • Removal and Remand: The Basics, Computer Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) Lesson (2018) 
  • Removal and Remand: Litigation Strategy, Computer Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) Lesson (2018) 
  • Mixed Jurisdiction in Mississippi Courts, State Trial and Appellate Judges Conference, Biloxi, MS (2017)