John G. Corlew
In Memoriam (1943-2023)
In Memoriam (1943-2023)
For over half a century, John served clients throughout Mississippi. He was a well-respected veteran of the legal community who practiced law in Pascagoula and Jackson, where he helped found the firm of Corlew, Munford & Smith.
John enjoyed the intellectual challenge inherent in the law and always found his work worthwhile. He was known for his extensive background in commercial and mass tort litigation. John participated in dioxin defense for International Paper Company; lead paint defense for The Sherwin Williams Company; PCB defense for Kuhlman Electric Company; and benzene defense for Plantation Pipeline Company.
In addition to John’s commercial law practice, he worked with several government clients, including litigation for two former Mississippi governors, as well as the state’s former Commissioner of Agriculture, former State Auditor and current Commissioner of Insurance. His government work stemmed from and was informed by his own experience as a legislator. From 1973 to 1980, John served in the Mississippi State Senate and concluded his tenure as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
John graduated from Ole Miss with a journalism degree in 1964 after serving as editor of the Daily Mississippian. In that role and also on behalf of the Associated Press, he covered pivotal events in the state’s civil rights struggles of the 1960’s. He was a lifetime devoted member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. His first political campaign, which he won, was for Student Body President at Ole Miss. He was later named to the Ole Miss Hall of Fame.
The next chapter of John's life took him to Vanderbilt University Law School, where he graduated as one of the top two students in his class and was managing editor of the Law Review in 1967-1968. In 1967 he married Lee Scott, whom he had met at Ole Miss. John served as law clerk to the Honorable Walter Nixon in 1968-69 and joined the law firm of Megehee, Brown, and Williams in 1970 (later Megehee, Brown, Williams and Corlew). After a brief interim of solo practice, he became a senior partner at Corlew, Krebs and Hammond. John was active in local civic and community life through the Jaycees and the Methodist Church. He quickly became the go-to lawyer for major industries on the coast and nationwide— but he also served clients with little to offer in payment. If he believed they had a worthy case, he was as passionate about representing clients who could never pay him as he was in arguing for national and international industrial giants.
In 1974 Jackson County elected John to the Mississippi Senate. He served in the Legislature from 1974-1980. He and a group of other young progressive legislators, with help from allies like “Miss Evelyn” Gandy, organized to pass significant legislation which permanently reformed and modernized Mississippi law. They steered passage of Open Meetings, Open Records and other laws which increased transparency and public access to public proceedings. John presided as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee in 1979, served on the Legislative Audit Committee in 1978, and the Constitution Committee from 1975 to 1979. Appointed by Governor Winter, John served as Chairman of the State Board of Public Welfare from 1980 to 1984.
In 1984 Jackson lawyer Bill Goodman, impressed with John’s legal skills as a courtroom opponent, persuaded John to move to Jackson so John could join Bill at the Watkins & Eager law firm. John was a leading partner there until 2009 when he again established a small independent firm, Corlew Munford & Smith. He continued there until 2021, when he joined Mayo Mallette until retirement.
John was a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the American College of Trial Lawyers, and the Mississippi Bar Foundation. He was a member of the Order of the Coif, an honor society for United States law school graduates. He received the Professionalism Award from the Hinds County Bar Association in 2007, and also from the Mississippi Bar Foundation in 2013. He was a Member of the Charles Clark Inns of Court. John was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for bet-the-company litigation and his commercial, mass tort, environmental, and banking and finance litigation work. He was also listed as one of Mississippi’s top 50 lawyers by Mid-South Super Lawyers and was recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer for commercial litigation and environmental work. He was the author of two books on Mississippi trial practice: The Mississippi Jury: Law and Practice and Damages Law for Mississippi Trial Practice. John also served on the Lawyers Advisory Committee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 2001 to 2004, the Governor’s Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee from 2004 to 2012, and the Committee on Judicial Elections Campaign Intervention from 2014 to 2015.
Practice Areas
Admissions
Mississippi Bar
Northern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
United States Court of Federal Claims
United States Supreme Court
Honors & Achievements
Fellow, American Bar Foundation
Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
Fellow, Mississippi Bar Foundation
Professionalism Award, Mississippi Bar Foundation, 2013
AV Preeminent from Martindale-Hubbell
Education
J.D., Vanderbilt University Law School
B.A., University of Mississippi
