Ben Griffith Email & Phone Number

Oxford, Ms

University, Ms

Oxford, Ms

Oxford, Ms

Griffith Law Firm is located in University Office Park at 2086 Old Taylor Road, Suite 1023. Oxford is a nationally recognized town-and-gown community to which we returned 40 years after graduation from law school. I will continue to serve as Adjunct Professor for Election Law and the Municipal Law Practice Skills Course at the University of Mississippi School of Law. Ole Miss is the home of an exciting sports program, conveniently located an hour south of Memphis International Airport, and is the division site for the U.S. Courthouse for the Oxford Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.

Benjamin E. Griffith was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Litigation – Municipal 2016.

Bethesda, Md

The International Committee is a conduit to bring to local governments throughout the world the working knowledge and experience of the collective membership of IMLA in the operation of democratic forms of government at the local level. In January 2016, members of the Committee participated in a People to People trip to Havana, Cuba, interacting with legal, judicial, governmental and historical representatives of this island nation. Plans are now being finalized for an IMLA Mission to Israel during the last week of November 2018, following the time-tested format developed for the Cuba trip. The IMLA International Committee promotes and plans activities based upon the contributed efforts of the IMLA membership, provides assistance to local governments and the expertise of our members. These activities include internal local government structures, governing bodies and practices, land use planning, intergovernmental cooperation, state-local legislative relations, drafting and codification of local legislation, and key aspects of local government operations. Committee members also conduct training programs and networking with associations, including the Georgian Election Law Program presented with the Georgian Municipal Lawyers Association in at the Georgian American University School of Law in T'bilisi, Georgia on September 25, 2012, and the Legislative Fellows Outbound Program presented through American Councils for International Education in Kiev and Lviv, Ukraine, from May 29 to June 6, 2013. Past activities have included a joint conference with U.S. and Mexican municipal attorneys in Guadalajara, Mexico, international delegations to Dublin, Prague, Beijing, Shanghai, Kiev, and Edinburgh.

Stoneville, Ms

Chief legal officer for 17-county district responsible for management and conservation of surface water and groundwater resources in Mississippi Delta, addressing regulatory and administrative compliance issues relating to water management and resources

Chicago

Member of ABA Board of Governors (class of 2019), BOG Finance Committee (2016-2019), BOG Liaison to ABA Standing Committee on Election Law; BOG Liaison to Judicial Division's Administrative Law Judiciary Conference; BOG Liaison to Lawyer Referral and Information Services Standing Committee; Section Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates 2009-2016, the policymaking and legislative arm of the ABA; former Chair of ABA Section of State & Local Government Law 2007-2008, the premier ABA entity for lawyers involved in urban, state, and local government law and policy; Liaison to ABA Section of International Law for IMLA and WJA; member of ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources Committees on Water Resources and Water Quality & Wetlands.

Chicago, Il

The ABA Section of State & Local Law's International Committee has the primary mission of providing an international perspective and forum for programs, publications and presentations on local government law, municipal policy, and best practices. Most recently members of the committee attended and participated as speakers in the World Jurist Association's Biennial Congress in Barcelona, Spain from May 19 to 21, 2016, entitled The Internet: Challenges to Peace and Freedom. Ben Griffith and Sorell Negro were part of a panel on Justice, Civil Service and the Internet. Future Committee activities will be developed along the lines of this WJA program as well as programs co-sponsored by the Section during May 2012 at the Georgian American University in T'bilisi, Georgia, focusing on international election principles and electoral dispute resolution, and also patterned after the Legislative Fellows Outbound Program during May - June 2013 in Kiev and Lviv, Ukraine, sponsored by the American Council for International Education and the U.S. State Department, focusing on municipal best practices in the areas of open meetings, public records access, local government transparency, anti-corruption measures, and intergovernmental relations. The International Committee's work encompasses a dynamic field of law at the intersection of public law, government policy, and recognized principles of democratic governance and electoral accountability. In addition to ABA members who have already joined the Section, International Committee membership will be open to our international colleagues working in this field of law who are associate members of the American Bar Association and affiliate with the Section of State & Local Government Law.

Chicago, Il

The Task Force on International Election Law, ABA Section of International Law, is charged with identifying, evaluating and assessing trends in transparent electoral processes, objective election observation, and the body of regulatory, administrative and judicial precedent that comprise international standards for democratic elections, and making recommendations to the ABA and the international community that reflect the soundness, collective understanding and broad consensus on which those standards are based. In conjunction with the publication of International Election Remedies, edited by John H. Young, also a vice-chair of the Task Force, I contributed a chapter on Voting Rights and Remedies from an International Perspective. Publication by the ABA and Standing Committee on Election Law is scheduled for the last quarter of 2016.

International Conferences

The Impact of the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014 and Shelby County v. Holder on Alaskan Redistricting, IMLA Midyear Seminar, Anchorage, AK (May 20, 2014); CLE presentations & training in local governance structures, election law, voting rights, strengthening of emerging democracies, anti-corruption, and the Rule of Law: Tbilisi, Georgia,Intl Election Law Principles (Sept. 25, 2012); St. Thomas, USVI, Voting Rights in the US: History of Minority Electoral Participation and Political Access (May 14, 2010); Kiev, Ukraine, Legal Reform - Role of Lawyers, Rule of Law in a Changing World (March 22-27, 2009); Prague, Czech Republic, Honesty Against Corruption, Selective Reliance on Intl Law and Principles (May 2009); Alexandria, VA, Law & Catastrophic Disasters (March 5-6, 2009); Jerusalem, Israel, Role of Natl Govts in Providing Models for Continuity of Govt:Terrorism’s Challenges to the Rule of Law(June 14, 2008);Nashville, TN, Does It Take An Act of Congress? Current Immigration Issues Facing Local Govt (Oct. 28-31, 2007); Las Cruces, NM, Impact of Illegal Immigration on Local Govt. (August 29, 2007); Prague, Czech Republic, Transparent Election Process (May 2007); Beijing, PRC,Transparency in Electoral Process (Sept. 6-10, 2005); Kiev, Ukraine, Insuring Free and Impartial Elections (Sept.5-9, 2004); Guadalajara, Mexico, Role of Municipal Govt in Protecting Water Quality (Feb. 18, 2003)

Currently panel counsel with responsibility for providing and overseeing defense for institutional and commercial entities in civil litigation in MS, TN and GA.

Cleveland, Ms

Firm specializing in governmental representation and defense of state and local governmental entities in civil rights litigation, redistricting, election law, school desegregation and voting rights litigation, insurance defense, and environmental law.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Serves as chief legal officer for World Jurist Association at will and pleasure of President and Board. WJA's mission and founding principle is “A world ruled by law, not force.” This has been the World Jurist Association (WJA)’s mission since its founding in 1963. The WJA was formed in response to an international outcry for a free and open forum where judges, lawyers, law professors and other professionals from around the world could work cooperatively to strengthen and expand the Rule of Law and its institutions through the nations of the world.As a non-governmental organization with special consultative status at the UN Economic and Social Council, the WJA provides a unique forum for the international community. We have worked closely with governments, non-governmental organizations and international associations to foster a cooperative dialogue on world peace. Through our support, decision-makers from around the world work together as individuals, rather than representatives of a particular country, class or ideology.With nearly 50 years of accomplishments, the WJA is one of the few organizations working with such a broad range of stakeholders to promote the Rule of Law as the path towards world peace. Our members include sitting and retired Chief Justices, judges, government officials, law professors, lawyers and students from over 140 different countries. WJA has National Presidents in 85 countries and our Board of Governors represents every continent and aspect of the legal profession.This is a brief look at the ways in which the WJA has sought to build the foundation for a system of laws that will ensure peace without the use of force. The WJA is committed to its continuation to ensure peace through the Rule of Law for all generations.

Washington, Dc

The Standing Committee on Election Law was created in 1973 with the purpose of developing and examining ways to improve the federal electoral process. The Standing Committee has moved to the forefront of national electoral issues recently with the completion of Election Delays in 2012, the Resolution and Report on election delays submitted by the Standing Committee on Election Law for consideration by the ABA House of Delegates at the 2013 Annual Meeting, has been delivered to the President and President-Elect of the American Bar Association and is accessible online at http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/election_law/2012_election_delays_report.pdf.The resolution and report are based on study initiated by the Advisory Committee of the Standing Committee chaired by Jack Young and Trevor Potter and was prepared by William & Mary Law School students under the supervision of Professor Rebecca Green.

J.D., Law

Activities and Societies: Omicron Delta Kappa, Editorial Board of Miss. Law Journal, Phi Delta PhiMississippi Law Journal Editorial Board.

B.A., English & German

Activities and Societies: President of German SocietyB.A. in English and German, minor in Mathematics, University Symphonic Band and Ole.