A Vicksburg attorney and lawmaker has been selected to lead the Mississippi Bar Association.

W. Briggs Hopson III was elected to serve as president of the association that governs the nearly 10,000 attorneys licensed to practice in Mississippi, the bar announced earlier this week.

Hopson said he was humbled by the honor to be selected as leader of the Mississippi Bar.

“I was very honored to be nominated for it and frankly shocked to be nominated for it,” he said.

The bar association is a self-governing body that works to ensure ethical and honest practices by attorneys practicing in the state. If an attorney is found to be violating ethical standers, the bar association will revoke their license.

He will take up the duties of the office in July.

“His term will begin at the conclusion of the bar’s annual meeting. The Mississippi Bar is composed of about 9,200 lawyers who are licensed to practice law in Mississippi,” said Stephanie Chace, spokeswoman for the association.

Hopson is a partner in the Teller, Hassle & Hopson law firm where he has practiced for 18 years. He is board attorney for several school districts and represents Warren, Issaquena and Yazoo counties as District 23 state senator.

Hopson has an astounding work ethic, his law partner Blake Teller said.

“I don’t know how he does it, but he gets things done here and at the Legislature and now add that to the list,” Teller said. “We’re certainly proud of him being selected as the Mississippi Bar president. He certainly deserves it having been active with the bar for many years.”

In the legislature, Hopson is chairman of the Judiciary A Committee and has been vice chairman of the Public Health and Welfare Committee, which he said should be a benefit from his time as leader of the bar association.

“I think it will help a fair bit. I understand how policy creation works and I understand implications of the laws that we pass,” Hopson said.

The Mississippi Bar Association is the oldest in the country. The first state bar association was organized in Natchez in 1821 but disbanded several times — once before the Civil War— before permanently reforming in 1932.