John Rouse Honored for 20 Years Serving Mississippi’s Legal Community
JACKSON, Miss. — Feb. 26, 2026 — Jackson partner John Rouse has been awarded The Mississippi Bar’s 2026 Distinguished Service Award after more than two decades supporting and elevating the state’s legal community.
This award recognizes lawyers who have strengthened The Mississippi Bar through leadership and service. The award is granted for outstanding achievement in or a significant contribution to the legal community beyond the lawyer’s normal job duties. The list of past honorees includes judges and attorneys who’ve shaped the legal profession over the last 40 years.
John is an experienced trial lawyer based in Phelps’ Jackson office. He helps a broad range of clients across multiple sectors, from aviation to health care. He resolves litigated disputes and other high-stakes claims across six states in the Southeast.
Service to the Mississippi legal community is a defining part of John’s career. As chair of The Mississippi Bar’s Professionalism Committee for the past two years, he guided the development of the statewide Local Bar Handbook to help county bar associations rebuild engagement after the COVID-19 pandemic. He continues to serve after 15 years on the Character and Fitness Committee for the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions, which he now serves as its chair.
John is deeply committed to The Mississippi Bar. He’s a graduate of the Bar’s Leadership Program and served on its Technology Committee for three years. He’s been a longtime leader on the Bar’s Professionalism Committee and has participated in the annual James O. Dukes Law School Professionalism Program at both state law schools since 2015.
John is an active member of the Madison and Rankin County Bar Associations. He also serves the Capital Area Bar Association in his second term on its Board of Directors. He is the past Chair of its Law Related Education Committee and currently serves as the Committee’s liaison to the Board, conducting an annual essay contest for middle schoolers for the past five years. Outside of his work with local bar associations, John served for nearly a decade as an adjunct professor at Mississippi College School of Law teaching appellate advocacy.
Outside of Mississippi, John is active in the American Bar Association, the Georgia Bar and serves as Marketing Chair of the DRI’s Aviation Law Committee.
John earned his B.B.A. from Delta State University and his MBA from the University of Mississippi. He obtained his J.D. from Mississippi College School of Law, where he led the Mississippi College Law Review, served on the Moot Court Board, and received the Joey Phillips Memorial Most Respected Classmate Award.
John will be presented with The Mississippi Bar’s 2026 Distinguished Service Award at the Bar’s annual convention in July.
