Blake Teller of Vicksburg was sworn in as the 117th President of The Mississippi Bar during its 2022 Annual Business Session held on July 15.

Chief Justice Michael K. Randolph of the Mississippi Supreme Court administered the oath of office. The Mississippi Bar is composed of nearly 9,000 active members who are licensed to practice law in Mississippi.

Teller was admitted to The Mississippi Bar in 1991 and began practicing law at the Jackson firm of Brunini, Grantham, Grower and Hewes. He returned to his hometown of Vicksburg in 1994 to practice law with his father, Landy Teller, and grandfather, Landman Teller, at what is now the law firm of Teller, Hopson & Schrader LLP.

Teller completed his undergraduate education at the University of Mississippi in 1988, where he earned a B.B.A. in banking and finance. In 1991, Teller graduated with a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Vanderbilt University. While at the University of Mississippi, Teller was a Forrest C. Mobley business scholar and a Mississippi Young Banker Scholar. He also was elected and served as President of the University of Mississippi Business School. At Vanderbilt, Teller was an Appellate Moot Court Finalist.

Teller has been active in local, state and national bar associations. He served as President of The Mississippi Bar’s Young Lawyers Division in 1998-1999 and served as a member of the Board of Commissioners of The Mississippi Bar from 1997-2000 and again from 2009-2012. Teller served as Chair of the Bar’s Real Property Section in 2007-2008; served as President of the Fellows of the Young Lawyers in 2010-2011; was inducted as a Fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation in 2015; served as Chair of the Summer School CLE Committee for the summers of 2016 and 2017; and served as Chair of the Bench-Bar Relations Committee for 2018-2019.

Teller has served as President and Secretary/Treasurer of the Warren County Bar Association and Warren County Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division; Director-At-Large of The Mississippi Bar Young Lawyers Division; and Delegate to the American Bar Association from the Young Lawyers Division. From 1995-1996, Teller served as Mock Trial Instructor for Vicksburg High School.

In his 29 years of practicing law, Teller has represented individuals, businesses, banks and government entities in a variety of legal capacities. He presently serves as the attorney for the Warren County Board of Supervisors, to which position he was appointed in December of 2014. Teller serves on the Advisory Board of Guaranty Bank & Trust Company in Vicksburg. He has also served as a member of the Vicksburg Medical Center Board of Ethics.

Teller is very active within his community. He has served on the Board of Directors of the United Way of West Central Mississippi, as President in 2008 and Campaign Chair in 2005; the Rotary Club as President in 2011-2012; the YMCA Board of Directors as President-Elect from 2018-2020; Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce as President in 2019; the Good Shepherd Community Center Board; on the Vicksburg Catholic School Board, as President in 2008; the First Presbyterian Church Kindergarten Board; and on the Boards for Haven House family shelter and the Warren County University of Mississippi Alumni Association. Teller regularly provides pro bono legal services to these organizations and others in the community. He is married to Stacey Mills of Jackson, and they have three children, Morgan Elizabeth, Barrett Mills and Brandon Blake.